Parweld MIG options

[stevieturbo]

I'm interested in buying a new MIG to replace my old trusty Murex 150A machine.

I've narrowed it down to two units. Not interested in buying online and can get these locally at keen money so at the minute not really considering other brands.

http://www.parweld.co.uk/product/xtm-200i-mig-inverter/

http://www.parweld.co.uk/product/xtm-182i-mig-inverter/

The smaller machine would be a bonus for the rare occasion I need to weld places other than at home. Plus it'd take up a little less room in the garage ( although would need a trolley for it and the bottle anyway )

The larger machine has the bonus of taking full size rolls...of which I have around 10-12kgs's worth of stainless wire on a roll. Which aint cheap but would be useless for the smaller machine.
The larger machine with it's integral frame etc does seem bloomin huge and very heavy at 50+kgs, compared to the smaller 12kg unit ?
In terms of functionality is there really much between them ?

It is just mostly for light car work and fabrication, with occasional 4mm or so repair work on steel frame equipment. But want something with a bit more poke than my current 150A for when needed.

Is the Synergic of the larger unit a worthwhile feature ?

Any opinions welcome.

 

[Tom Orrow L]

The 182i is a nice machine, although as you say it is quite big. Its got the 4 roll feeder which is a bonus and the synergic interface can be somewhat useful if getting your parameters set isn't your forte.

Personally, I'd be compromising on the size and going for the 182 over the 200i

 

[Kent]

There are ways of spooling wire from a big reel onto a smaller one. If you are not doing lots a full size reel will actually last too long, offsetting it's benefits with its larger size.. I do about three reels a year working full time. But not always with mig. Do you actually use much of that stainless wire? Might be worth moving it on rather than storing it if not and put the cash towards to new kit

 

[stevieturbo]

I dont do a lot in general, but do need both mild and stainless. The big roll must be near 10 years old and new one's are damn expensive ! lol

I think the larger unit is probably the better long term purchase, I just find it odd both are inverter machines, the smaller one is more powerful yet 1/4 the weight. Unless the details they list are wrong. Some of the front page info on their site for the smaller XTM200 seems to relate to the 160 machine so there are definitely errors.
I always thought it was the transformer core that carried most of the weight in welders so even the larger machine here being inverter based should be way under 50kgs ?

When I went into the seller a few weeks ago they didnt have any in stock of that model to actually see though, they just had bigger machines