Mig Welder 500 ish budget

[Dan..]

Hi all,
First of all thanks for the advice previously which resulted in me getting a nice ac/dc tig.

Now I want something for throwing bits together at a faster rate, a mig....

I have used my friends cheapo mig and it's ok. ... He has since bought a nice Clarke 255TEC which i have to say is a dream to weld with presumably due to the large smoothing caps.

With the above in mind I've decided I want a better machine, must be able to run from a single phase supply. Doubt I'll weld much thicker than 6mm very often certainly no more than 8mm. Think I'd prefer a transformer based machine without too many fancy electronics though did end up bidding on a nice synergy only the be outbid yesterday.
what options fit my budget happy with 2nd hand, max is 500 happily spend less if it's not necessary.
any makes models and expected price to pay or links appreciated.
cheers

 

[Kent]

Those fancy electronics will save you a lot on you electric bill

 

[Dan..]

I'm not a heavy user besides I don't pay the bill.its included in the garage rent.

 

[Dan..]

So you would recomend one of these portamigs over say a 2nd hand set like:
Miller Compactblu 201?
Lincoln Powertec 191C?

 

[Bill Edwards]

You can get excellent second hand machines for the same or less than a new machine will cost. In doing so, you take a gamble and I can't say what is best out of the options you are looking at.

But I can say that the Portamig is very highly regarded on this forum and if buying a new MIG and happy to spend money it would be my choice.