Kemppi adaptive?

[wortgames]

I've just about killed my old Boss building my tandem trailer. It had done a lot of hours before I got it, and I've put a few on it myself. I was planning to build a new rolling cart for it, but I can't really bring myself to invest any more into it.

My local industrial supply has just got the latest Kemppis in, and they look great. Easy to wheel out and stash away again, perfect for a small multipurpose workshop like mine. The adaptive setup sounds really good - I'm a pretty infrequent welder and still a long way from figuring out this mig game, so anything that will assist me to get in the ballpark whenever I need to build something is appealing. Mostly I'm sticking RHS together, building frames and trailers and light tractor implements etc. I'm looking at the 251A.

Interested to hear any thoughts, pro or con!

 

[dom501]

Hi there I'm on the look out for a mig set at the moment and that same machine has caught my eye, aswell as the RA251R. Only thing is my local supplier BOC only stocks Jasic and Lincoln machines (originally I was looking at the Lincoln Powertec 271C) but it's only got 2 drive rollers and I know that the wire feeder is going to be the welders weakest point.
I'm also looking at Oxford welders aswell for the same price as Kemppi machines you still get 4 roll wire feed system with more power, but these are your more basic pots.
I do like the design and functions of the Kemppi machines though, they've been well thought out, so that's the way I'm leaning.

 

[Appyasme1]

You will not get any machine better than Kemppi.Buy it!!!

 

[wortgames]

Ha, it's all so easy when it's someone else's money isn't it?!

Apparently all of these Kempact models are the exact same size and weight so maybe the 4 roller module would be a drop-in upgrade, if the 2 roller ever failed?

For me, the question is more about how good is the adaptive control - will it change the life of a handyman-level welder like me?

 

[Hitch]

We have the bigger 323 models, one an R, and one an A.

To be honest, personally I don't like some of the settings and 50% of the time end up adjusing them to suit, by the time you've done that, you may as well just used the R and pocketed a few quid.

I think the A comes into its own if you are looking into anything more than just traditional welding on mild steel.

 

[wortgames]

Thanks Hitch. Just out of interest, how close does the A model get to picking a decent setup though? Are you just making little tweaks for personal preference or is it way off?

I'm getting half decent at sticking 3mm RHS together but I still struggle with anything much thinner or with joining different thicknesses. If the A can get me a passable weld out of the box for any given joint, that would be a great head start and give me confidence to have a crack at more challenging projects, which is easily worth a few extra bucks IMO.

 

[Hitch]

On the lower settings it's pretty good to be fair. When it gets cranked up its a bit out for my liking.
You could pay the extra, but you still have the same number of knobs to adjust on the top.
Admittadly only one of you like the programmed settings.Once you've got yourself a handfull of decent settings, on a R, it's no harder to use than an A really.
It does have 4 settings you can store which could be useful to you by the sounds of it though. Swap between at the press of a button. Ideal for say a programme for welding a 12mm plate to a 3mm wall box for example. Once you've done one and it's nice, store it.

It sounds like you are getting at not having any starting point to setup from for Volts/wire. I can give you a few guideline settings if necessary.


Like I say, if you plan on doing any mig brazing, or stainless, you'd want the A, for sure.

 

[wortgames]

Interesting you say that, I'd love to do some stainless in the future. Why do you think the A is better for that? Is it just the head-start thing or is there something else?

My main problem is that I don't find the time to do a lot of practise, so I do all my learning 'on the job' when I have a project. I don't do much thin stuff, and when I do it's ugly, so I try to avoid it.

Sounds like the adaptive model could be right up my street then!

 

[Hitch]

The A, has functions like post gas, crater fill etc. easily selectable between materials, still giving the Adaptive functions for that material.

 

[wortgames]

Thanks Hitch, I have to say it sounds really handy to me. I'm expecting a bit of a bonus in the next few weeks so I'm seriously considering it as a Chrissy present to myself...