Looking for a good quality welder...I'm pretty clueless!

[Music Guy123]

Hi there,

I'm sure you have seen hundreds of threads like this before, but I hope you could spare some time to help me, or at least move me onto a thread which will provide me with a recommendation.

I am not completely new to welding, but I am fairly new. I got taught to MIG and Arc weld a couple of years ago. I haven't really welded since, but have been working with a guy who Arc welds everything (he's a farm mechanic, arc welds absolutely everything!!). I can't keep depending on this guy to do my welding for much longer so I'm going to have to get myself a welder! I haven't done much welding in the last 2 years, so am still a complete novice. However, I would like to learn, there are a couple of guys that I know are happy to teach me which is nice . My welding will be put towards cars, I currently have a sandrail/dunebuggy but that is almost done welding wise. I will be using it for other odd jobs, maybe trailer constructing and the numerous other car projects I have planned for the future etc, you get the idea! Mainly car based anyway...!

I'm assuming MIG will be the best option for me? I know I do have access to a very heavy duty oil cooled arc welder for the really intensive stuff. However, I've seen these 3in1 thingys, are they any good??

I am still quite young and have my whole life ahead of me with cars etc so I am looking for a welder that will last. It is unlikely to be used day in day out, it will probably go through stages of being used intensively and then put to rest for a while. So I'd like a truely reliable welder. I'd also like it to be powerful enough to get through some pretty thick steel. I am currently on single phase, but I can get access to 3 phase. So my thought is to get a welder that can run on both (up to 150/160 amp on single phase) then to say 250 amps (is that a reasonable figure, should i look for more or less, I'm a bit clueless here?) on 3 phase.

Budget wise, I'm happy to pay the extra if it's worth it. It will actually be a present for my birthday from various family members . If paying a bit more will get a better welder, then we're more than happy to do that.

Also, I currently have NO welding equipment, so I will need a lot! I guess that includes:

helmet,
gloves (gauntlets),
Wire,
Gas bottle (is it best to buy or rent, I was thinking buy and then just pay for refills),
Regulator (with or without flow meter??)

Anything else?

Sorry for all the questions, I hope it isn't too confusing. I hope someone can help me .

Thanks,

Music Guy

 

[cumbriasteve]

For car panel work then yes MIG is what you will require.

You could of course have a good quality hobby style MIG for the car work and use arc for your heavier work, but assuming you want a MIG for both then something like the Portamig 235 may be an option, not very portable but built to last a lifetime

Access to 3 phase could also allow you to purchase one of the many good second hand machines that come up for sale, experienced help is essential when viewing though.

A helmet need cost no more than £25 for an auto darkening from ebay, they work well., the more expensive one's tend to have a better quality shell and headband.

Gauntlets readily available for around a fiver a pair

Gas is such a varied market it depends what you have locally, I rent mine locally for £4 a month, refills are £33 and that's a large bottle.

A regulator showing bottle content and flow rate will suffice.

 

[Weld Kid Newby]

Hi there,

I'm sure you have seen hundreds of threads like this before, but I hope you could spare some time to help me, or at least move me onto a thread which will provide me with a recommendation.

I am not completely new to welding, but I am fairly new. I got taught to MIG and Arc weld a couple of years ago. I haven't really welded since, but have been working with a guy who Arc welds everything (he's a farm mechanic, arc welds absolutely everything!!). I can't keep depending on this guy to do my welding for much longer so I'm going to have to get myself a welder! I haven't done much welding in the last 2 years, so am still a complete novice. However, I would like to learn, there are a couple of guys that I know are happy to teach me which is nice . My welding will be put towards cars, I currently have a sandrail/dunebuggy but that is almost done welding wise. I will be using it for other odd jobs, maybe trailer constructing and the numerous other car projects I have planned for the future etc, you get the idea! Mainly car based anyway...!

I'm assuming MIG will be the best option for me? I know I do have access to a very heavy duty oil cooled arc welder for the really intensive stuff. However, I've seen these 3in1 thingys, are they any good??

I am still quite young and have my whole life ahead of me with cars etc so I am looking for a welder that will last. It is unlikely to be used day in day out, it will probably go through stages of being used intensively and then put to rest for a while. So I'd like a truely reliable welder. I'd also like it to be powerful enough to get through some pretty thick steel. I am currently on single phase, but I can get access to 3 phase. So my thought is to get a welder that can run on both (up to 150/160 amp on single phase) then to say 250 amps (is that a reasonable figure, should i look for more or less, I'm a bit clueless here?) on 3 phase.

Budget wise, I'm happy to pay the extra if it's worth it. It will actually be a present for my birthday from various family members . If paying a bit more will get a better welder, then we're more than happy to do that.

Also, I currently have NO welding equipment, so I will need a lot! I guess that includes:

helmet,
gloves (gauntlets),
Wire,
Gas bottle (is it best to buy or rent, I was thinking buy and then just pay for refills),
Regulator (with or without flow meter??)

Anything else?

Sorry for all the questions, I hope it isn't too confusing. I hope someone can help me .

Thanks,

Music Guy

Hi
Music Guy
I have just purchased a multiprocess welder from a company I found on the web.
I found them very helpful and the welder was delivered quickly.


http://www.yorkshirewelding.co.uk/multi-process-welders-122-c.asp

I bought the Xcalibur XCM which more than meets my needs
I am using it for Tig and Mig on an old car refurb which has been in the garage for years and thought I had better start on it.
The machine is more than capable and easy to use as I'm only starting out on my welding journey

 

[Rocketman]

The portamig goes all the way down to 15amp setting and they start at £580ish.

 

[Jim Davey]

You are spoiled for choice these days, there is so much kit out there it can be hard to spot the wood for the trees.

The advantage of the 3 in 1 machines are obvious, downsides are always the fact that universal machines are never as good as a dedicated machine type. (There are a few exceptions, but migs that tig and stick rarely do the tig and stick bit as well as a dedicated stick or tig set)

Plus point on multiprocess kit is the big saving in initial purchase price, it's way cheaper to get a 3 in 1 set than it is to buy the three types of machine individually. If you want to do a sand rail or buggy then a mig, with the option of lift arc DC tig for roll cage tubes etc could be a real boon. General car work requires nothing more technical than a basic mig set though. Don't get too hung up with how low a set will go, on really thin stuff it's more a case of how fast you can release the trigger as you can't get away with constant runs as you'll burn through the material in no time.

The big question you need to answer is budget, how much can you afford to spend and that will be the determining factor in how good a machine you end up with.

 

[Music Guy123]

Thanks everyone for your wonderful help, it's much appreciated!

I had spotted the portamig 235 before, looks good, at £700, it's not cheap, but this is about my budget, don't think I can warrant spending any more.

Just wondering though, I've heard good things from weldequip, but what is the difference between the portamig 235 and say one of these two?:

http://www.spawelding.co.uk/online-...ders/1132-231-tec-arc-compact-mig-welder.html (This one is cheaper)

http://www.spawelding.co.uk/online-...ders/1133-251-tec-arc-compact-mig-welder.html (This is basically the same price)

Is there really much of an advantage of using the portamig 235 over the 215, am I really likely to notice the difference??

As for the 3in1 thingys, I think I might just go for dedicated MIG right now. For really tough stuff I have access to a very high quality industrial ARC welder. Haven't got access to TIG, but I'll live without I think, I've never done it before anyway! Also, I think a high quality dedicated MIG is likely last longer, I'm looking for ruggedness and reliability tbh, I think the portamig or tec-arcs will offer that better than a more complicated 3in1 or am I wrong?

Budget wise, £700 is about my maximum I think. Also, what are people's suggestions on these rent free companies like adamsgas or hobbyweld for the gas bottle??

Cheers for all the replies so far guys, your help is so much appreciated so a big thank you

All the best,

Music Guy

 

[Jim Davey]

Rent free makes massive sense if the volumes of gas consumption are low (say no more than 2-3 small bottles per year) over that amount it makes more sense to rent a full size bottle.

Personally I'd choose an inverter over a step mig any day, I'm sold on the benefits and like the increased mobility and easier storage, plus I prefer the way they weld over most step switched sets I see. Choosing the right one is the key though.

 

[Music Guy123]

Yeh, I think rent free would be logical for me.

I'm not concerned about mobility and storage. But what is the difference weld quality and ease wise? Also, which is likely to be more robust and reliable??

Also, what is the difference between the tec-arcs I linked earlier to the portamig provided by weldequip??

Cheers for all the help everyone, very kind of you all.

Music

 

[Jim Davey]

Well, many inverters have what they call a synergic control system, what that means is that as you increase or decrease volts (heat) the machine automatically matches wire feed speed to match (based on a memorised system of volts/wire speed) you always have the option to trim the amps/volts manually to tailor the result to your exact requirements but having the safety net of a program that gets your arc condition in a workable zone right off the bat is very handy for beginners and experts alike.

Of course once welding there is often little difference between an inverter or transformer based set. But the inverter due to it's faster switching is usually smoother unless you pay a lot of money for a really good quality transformer machine, inverters often draw less power the mains too meaning you can use more of the sets power more of the time (13amp 240 is the most common outlet, and you won't get many sets that will go higher than about 150 amps continuously on a 13 amp supply).
Ok, inverters are more complex than transformers so potentially less reliable but copper and steel keep going up and up and as inverters don't require a lot of either of those materials the prices relative to conventional machines seem to be coming down year after year.