Mig welder purchase

[quench]

Hello all
I am looking to purchase an inverter mig, budget 700 inc vat max, I am looking at the Migatronic RallyMIG 161i, as it seem to fit the bill nicely, my issue is that Migatronic do not seem to have much of a dealer network.
Does anyone here have one of these, any problems ?
Thanks in advance

 

[skotl]

Welcome to the forum I'm sure someone who knows that unit will be along shortly, but if you let us know what you're looking to do with the welder then I'm sure you'll get a lot of suggestions (probably too many!) - you'll get some decent choice for £700.

 

[123hotchef]

Hi mate welcome to the forum where about in kent r u at I am west wickham

what kind of work will the welder be used for dont say welding lol

 

[quench]

Thank you x2
I am a hobby welder I make manifolds, exhaust systems in stainless, and tanks and odds and ends in ally
18 months ago I treated myself to an Ewm tig, i always had budget machines prior to this.
I like the idea of a synergic m/c for speed and ease of use
I have previously used a Migatronic mig (3ph unit) and was happy with it, dont have access to 3ph anymore, so its got to be 220v, thickest material i will weld is 3mm stainless, dont expect to use it all for ally. I want the mig for tacking and filling transitions (joints between flanges and tubes) in manifolds
I am nr Gravesend

 

[123hotchef]

I would probably go for a Rtech inverter then

 

[123hotchef]

@skotl didnt u buy a rtech?

 

[quench]

I would probably go for a Rtech inverter then

The 180 is certainly withing budget, I have heard rumours that they (Rtech) have a high failure rate, is that correct or just bad mouthing

 

[123hotchef]

not sure I have not used one they look very similar to the cheaper inverters on ebay and the like but the Rtech warenty and customer service is suppose to be spot on

 

[cumbriasteve]

The 180 is certainly withing budget, I have heard rumours that they (Rtech) have a high failure rate, is that correct or just bad mouthing

As far as I know they don't have a high failure rate, although my MMA failed within five minutes, phoned them up, big apologies and a replacement arrived next morning, that's fair enough to me.

That would have annoyed most buyers but I accept things can happen and in my view it provided an insight into the after sales support, the machine is about 5 years old now and I really like it, it's not had a great deal of use.

I have only heard very good feedback on their customer support, I doubt you would get anywhere near the same support from the Ebay cheapies, if you got any support at all.

I would be happy enough to buy from them, especially with the extended warranty offer after the initial two years is up.

 

[quench]

not sure I have not used one they look very similar to the cheaper inverters on ebay and the like but the Rtech warenty and customer service is suppose to be spot on

As far as I know they don't have a high failure rate, although my MMA failed within five minutes, phoned them up, big apologies and a replacement arrived next morning, that's fair enough to me.

That would have annoyed most buyers but I accept things can happen and in my view it provided an insight into the after sales support, the machine is about 5 years old now and I really like it, it's not had a great deal of use.

I have only heard very good feedback on their customer support, I doubt you would get anywhere near the same support from the Ebay cheapies, if you got any support at all.

I would be happy enough to buy from them, especially with the extended warranty offer after the initial two years is up.

Thank you
I have been down the chinese clone route with tigs (never again, under any circumstances), so ebay is not an option for me, I will only from purchase from reputable dealer surrounded by bricks and mortar
My welders do not get a lot of use, it tends to come in batches, I have a bit on at the moment so decided now is the time to get a decent mig.
I dont really want to spend more that £700, I was hoping i could get something that would be very reliable and a pleasure to use for that money, i did fancy a Kemppi but not at the price they go for .
I have seen that the Rtech supplier has a good track record for back up, but wanted to get a m/c slightly above the Rtech in terms of quality and function (synergic)
Thank you both for your input

 

[Tom Orrow L]

A couple of good ones within your budget -
Parweld XTM 182i
Jasic MIG 160C
Thermal Arc Fabricator 181i

All very good machines, all capable of doing what you need but certain machines have more aspects that are attractive.

Parwelds warranty is 3 years (no quibbles)
Jasics warranty is 5 years subject to yearly service
Thermal Arc is 2 year standard warranty (read terms about that one)

Parwelds got the synergic panel, 4 roll feeder and 15KG reel capabilities buts it's quite large.

Jasic is very compact, simple volts and wire feed speed but it has a panel on the wire feed unit to show settings. It's got a smooth arc on both MIG and MMA and has a very good dealer network in the U.K.

Thermal Arc, have a very good reputation for build quality, the best torch as standard (Tweco Fusion 180), capabale of using a foot pedal on DC TIG.
I think this is a very good choice but they are a bit basic.

 

[Mee]

R Tech got a bad press from people who didn't have one, or who had tried one; this led to lots of people making the assumption of them being Chinese and operated solely on that incorrect assumption and slated them. If you go for the R Tech 180 MIG you get the benefit of an invertor MIG and the benefit of a stick welder all in one unit.

We have several R tech units at work now which are mainly confined to site work on architectural metalwork and they are outstanding, the only problem we have ever had with these as site machines was one shutting down due to a fault, when we got our spark on site he got his exotic kit out and found their extension cable was undersized and had a defect, we swapped it for one of ours and all was well again.

 

[Tom Orrow L]

R Tech got a bad press from people who didn't have one, or who had tried one; this led to lots of people making the assumption of them being Chinese and operated solely on that incorrect assumption and slated them

But they are Chinese.. that's a well known fact

 

[Mee]

Parts of them are Chinese.

 

[Tom Orrow L]

Parts of them are Chinese.

And those Chinese parts are assembled in China too, they don't deny that at all.

 

[cumbriasteve]

I may be mistaken but I think there has been a 'what is made in China' debate on the forum before.

So perhaps we don't need to clog this thread up with the same

 

[Tom Orrow L]

Yep, not a problem with me. I personally think they're decent machines, was just pointing out that they are made in China

 

[skotl]

And I agree with everything said on this thread re R-tech, to date Used mine today for the first time in a few weeks and it got straight in, no problem!
Love the welder and mucho love the service and support from the supplier.

 

[quench]

Been a while
I purchased a few months old Rtech, I can confirm that it’s worked faultlessly