Mig welder - Bester, is it the best......

[Redeye]

Hello,
I have had many welders over the years and now use a lightweight Jasic 180SE MMA. I want to get another mig welder, the one I use to have was a Lincoln Compact 185 which weighed a ton. Looking around there is an awful lot of choice and I have narrowed it down to either a Lincoln Bester 200S, probably the multi use machine with TIG and MMA or the RTech 181. Both run off a 13A supply and lightweight. Having used a Lincoln in the past I am familiar with its quality, it came from BOC at the time. R tech spend a lot on advertising, more than others, are they worth consideration. Some of the transformer type copper wound models I considered are discontinued and new models released, there is a new range of Oxford non transformer models. Can anyone say anything about the Lincoln Bester - is it the best!
Regards

 

[Craig-SM]

I have the Rtech 180 bought on recommendation from here, not a bad word to say against it and their customer support is top notch too.

Lincoln Bester I cant comment on

 

[Redeye]

Thanks for your reply, do you know if the newer 181 is any better than the 180 apart from digital features
Regards

 

[northwest]

I have the Lincoln Bester, I don't have a bad word to say about it, terrific thing it just works. @Tinbasherdan has used it and he declared it 'allright' so that's that then. However, I also have several bits of kit from RTech and I cannot fault their customer service, first class.
In reality it comes down to this: where are you buying the Lincoln from, if it is someone local to you that you get good service from in the past, that could swing the vote or if it is via mail order (as we used to refer to it) then RTech's track record may be the influencer, as far as the machines themselves, there isn't much in it.

 

[chris pruteanu]

Last month i was in the same position as yourself, I was in need of a decent, portable mig welder for bodywork repairs and light duty, up to 200 Amps. A mate offered me a choice between a bester and a wurth (stel miggy171 in disguise). There wasn’t much in them, stel was smoother with a crisper arc and produced less spatter but the bester had the edge on power ! Fortunately he sold the bester before I made my mind up and I had to get wurth ! Thinking about I am glad I went for the wurth as it’s a better build machine built to a much higher standard with simpler controls ! My only gripe it’s they both use 5kg spools but-judging by the weight(18kg)-you’ll think the stel is using the larger spools of wire !
My only gripe is the feed mechanism, I would have liked a cast aluminium 2 or 4 roller setup but that’s something that can be upgraded if the need comes !
I did kind the bester and it’s cheap amongst the diy machines but I could spend a little more and but a 2nd hand professional machine with better resale value !

 

[Craig-SM]

Thanks for your reply, do you know if the newer 181 is any better than the 180 apart from digital features
Regards

@doubleboost has had his hands on it so would be a better qualified to answer.

 

[doubleboost]

Thanks for your reply, do you know if the newer 181 is any better than the 180 apart from digital features
Regards

The 181 seems to weld better for some reason . It also has adjustable burn back control.
For the extra money I personally think it is well worth buying the 181.
People have said the screen is just something else to go wrong .
The 5 year warranty would cover this .
R Tech have made a very good MIG welder even better .

 

[Redeye]

Many thanks

 

[Redeye]

I will probably go for an Oxford Migmaker or Tec Arc transformer welder, no flashing lights.....

 

[Redeye]

Decided on an Oxford 240-1 so looking forward to getting on with welding up next project......thanks for the all the help. I decided there is so much new technology go into inverter welders that it would be better to hang off, and I also has some advice from a technician who repairs welders, they get a lot of work on R-Tech, say no more.

 

[Welding_Supplies_Direct]

Decided on an Oxford 240-1 so looking forward to getting on with welding up next project......thanks for the all the help. I decided there is so much new technology go into inverter welders that it would be better to hang off, and I also has some advice from a technician who repairs welders, they get a lot of work on R-Tech, say no more.

Good choice, solid reliable and very little to go wrong. Just make sure that you get a Binzel torch fitted to it, not the Chinese one normally supplied