New mig for restoration

[Leeman]

New to the forum but every time I search for welders it pops up so thought I'd join.

Currently restoring my rusty old bmw and my little sealey mig I found has finally given up. A 150/5 wasn't very good in the first place anyway.

Looking at replacing with something perfect for the bodywork.

As I already have a miller inverter I've only looked and the miller mig 175 unit which is basic but my inverter unit has never gone wrong in 9 years.

Just wondering what else is out there that may be better for the job, any suggestions or just go for the miller.

Thanks for the help

 

[Tom Orrow L]

The Miller 175 unit isn't an inverter unit, it's a transformer. That being said it is a great bit of kit for bodywork.

Also consider, the Thermal Arc Fabricator 181, GYS Smartmig 162 & the Parweld XTM 182i. All very good options at not too much money.

 

[Leeman]

How do the inverter unit compare with the transformer type when it comes to mig?

 

[Tom Orrow L]

How do the inverter unit compare with the transformer type when it comes to mig?

In what respect?

 

[Leeman]

this might sound stupid but the way it welds. My inverter mma is a lot 'smoother' than the transformer one we have is it the same for the migs?

 

[Tom Orrow L]

Oh okay. In some respects yes but it can vary from brand to brand. I.e a Lorch transformer mig will weld nicer than an SIP inverter MIG.

The advantages of inverters are that they're lighter, more portable, inverter machines are usually Multi process, usually have more adjustability / fancy gubbins.. they also have a lot more to go wrong with them, but if you get yourself a decent branded machine then it's less likely to go wrong.

What sort of budget are you working with?

 

[Leeman]

Initially I didn't want to go over 500 ex vat but in looking I'd rather spend a bit more to get a better quality machine that's reliable, well built, going to last and is easy to repair if needs be.
So 500-600 ex vat or there abouts.

 

[Burdekin]

Mig is great for a lot of car work but then tig and gas are better for some things like exterior panel repairs as the welds can be planished and distortion removed. It all depends on how you plan on doing things, you can make do with mig but you can do some repairs better with a tig. Weldquip, retch etc have some nice machines that will do all you need for car work. Tom who has replied may also be able to do you a deal. ;-)

http://www.weldequip.com/

http://www.r-techwelding.co.uk/

 

[Tom Orrow L]

Initially I didn't want to go over 500 ex vat but in looking I'd rather spend a bit more to get a better quality machine that's reliable, well built, going to last and is easy to repair if needs be.
So 500-600 ex vat or there abouts.

Okay, you've got a decent budget for a quality machine then. That sort of money gets you into the realms of Miller, Thermal Arc, GYS etc.. which are all brilliant machines.

GYS have just (September) released a new machine aimed at car body work which is the EasyMIG 160 which from reports off my GYS rep is absolutely outstanding and better than their ever famous SmartMIG 162.. This is the info sheet they provide - http://www.gys.fr/pdf/datasheet/uk/032255.pdf and its well within your budget.

If you did wanna spend a bit more for a proven machine then I think the Thermal Arc Fab 181 is your best bet.

 

[Leeman]

The thermal arc 181 was the only other machine I've really had a look at before posting. Won't be needing the stick or tig functions but seems to have more adjustablity than the miller 175.

 

[Tom Orrow L]

The thermal arc 181 was the only other machine I've really had a look at before posting. Won't be needing the stick or tig functions but seems to have more adjustablity than the miller 175.

That's fine, they'd be there just in case you ever did need them.. and I'm sure you'd probably find something in the future that required a stick welder.

You're right in that it has got more adjustability about it, trigger matching burnback, meters etc.. very useful really. It's also got a tidy panel on the inside of the wire feed for getting your settings right even down to 0.6MM steel.