Please convince me not to do it.

[MikeBs]

Don’t wait too long, the R-tech 181 mig is on special offer at the moment.

I could buy it now, but I want to be able to go to the shop for a demo. Half an hour with a proper welding person that I can quiz while being shown my failings. “Priceless”.
Plus, my moral is a bit low at the moment and the thought of a brand new MIG sitting doing nothing in my shed would not help it.

 

[Jelly_Sheffield]

But you need to have all options available to you. When you need to weld aluminium who are you going to rely on?

With a short torch, Aluminium MIG is fine even without a push-pull or spool gun... And a new teflon liner is a lot cheaper than a TIG torch.

Best to learn yourself and TIG is a so much cleaner and precise welding method. Very versatile and a great skill to learn.

True, but TIG also has hands down the worst deposition rate of any mainstream welding technique... (Including Gas Welding)

Unless OP has a specific interest in very thin sheet metal work, or very high cleanliness welds in stainless or alu, MIG or Arc will always be a more natural choice to get things done.

 

[MikeBs]

Unless OP has a specific interest in very thin sheet metal work, or very high cleanliness welds in stainless or alu, MIG or Arc will always be a more natural choice to get things done.

This is exactly the conclusion I came to.
My hobby involves fixing or making stuff in the garden and tool shed. I work with horseshoes, rebar and bits of stainless or angle iron that I get from the local scrap merchant.
Much as I would love to be proficient in all forms of welding, the truth is I am OK at MIG and content that my wife and daughter like the stuff I make even though the skill level used to make it is not quite sufficient to make it properly.

 

[GRW]

or get a transformer based unit which will sit in the shed getting cold ,damp and ignored for years on end while you deal with silly things like work/life family , and will still work irrespective of time left , as long as the wires not gone rusty in the liner

I confess this was at the front of my mind when I bought my Oxford MigMaker 180-1. I knew it'd spent way more time unused than in use.

As for "talking out of it" - surely the OP isn't expecting to get quitting support from a large group of active addicts

 

[MikeBs]

As for "talking out of it" - surely the OP isn't expecting to get quitting support from a large group of active addicts

I must admit, I wasn’t expecting so many people telling me not to buy a HitBox.
If it was someone else’s money, I may have suggested buying 2 or 3 for when the first one stops working

 

[addjunkie]

I must admit, I wasn’t expecting so many people telling me not to buy a HitBox.
If it was someone else’s money, I may have suggested buying 2 or 3 for when the first one stops working

Just buy the rtec…..if you save money your beneficiaries will just waste it anyway!