portamig 216

[WorkshopChris]

Considering the cost of the item i am very surprised that it does not arrive in a pallet box, the possibility of damage and the associated return cost plus the possibility of loss of customer confidence cant be worth the difference in price.
The risk of sending a tatty heavy box prone to damage over the slightly high initial cost for a pallet rate.

 

[arther dailey]

Agree with the above, but the problem is transport is cut throat, and lets face it nobody wants to pay say £12 for a small parcel when hermes will do it for £4, I get large stuff palletised and use a firm I know and trust rather than the cheapest, so far they have collected and delivered several thousand pounds worth with no damage .
I still think they (tecarc)need telling as its not the first welder that they have delivered damaged, and eventually their reputation will be ruined through using couriers that allow this damage to occur.Arther

 

[james butler]

thanks cumbriasteve,
hopefully it wont have to come to that but i will keep you all updated.
regards

james

 

[arther dailey]

you also have a cooling off period ,when you buy something but decide its not quite right, geussing someone on here will know the time limit....gives you the right to return it.

 

[cumbriasteve]

Just had a 'hmmmmm' thought, you have used the machine, now I am no legal expert but enjoy being a clueless armchair solicitor and even barrister with a couple of pints in me.

I wonder if by using it you have actually 'accepted it' in the legal way of consumer law, there is little doubt you could have returned it as damaged but I think it has to be returned in the condition you received it, not minus a few metres of wire and dirty torch tip.

I think your best hope now is to get a little something out of them as recompense for the damage and to ensure customer satisfaction, if not then you still have a nice machine you like a lot.

 

[julianf]

Strikes me that the OP was happy enough with the purchase, until everyone here said otherwise! : )

 

[cumbriasteve]

He was but I think he will admit he had not thought about any damage the rough handling could have caused to the internals.

Not as delicate as an inverter but the fragile warnings on the package were well and truly ignored by the looks of it.

 

[arther dailey]

There is always the argument that it was just tested , (?) anyways yes seems he is well happy with way it welds,just the thought now has been put forward ..what if..damage may affect it down the road,still suggest a polite well worded email wouldnt go amiss so everyones in the picture.Arther

 

[james butler]

i really do like the way it performs and if im honest im not that bothered by the damage as its so "minor". its disappointing yes but not end of the world as it will be loaded and unloaded out of my van to do various jobs it will end it getting scratched and whatnot being pushed around my small workshop.

He was but I think he will admit he had not thought about any damage the rough handling could have caused to the internals.

this is true i hadnt really thought about it, i do try to look after my stuff but my last welder had taken a bashing over the years so i thought the mighty portamig might be up to taking a bit of a bashing?

as regards use of the machine i bought it from steve at weldequip so he supplied the torch and regulator and i supplied my own wire so all i received essentially from tech arc was the basic machine so i dont think they would know if i had used it? but i have already told them in the email i sent that i had "tested it" to prove it works despite the damage.
i just dont want it happening to anybody else and some reassurance that it will probably be ok.
i suppose if it lasts till out side of the warranty then goes kaput then either way im at a loss, i just hope it doesn't happen.

it might be a bitter pill i will have to swallow and a big warning to any other buyers to check EVERYTHING before signing no matter what the courier tells you.

 

[james butler]

when i first noticed the damage i did ring steve and let him know and (im not blaming him at all here) he suggested trying it just to make sure it works which made sense to me.

Strikes me that the OP was happy enough with the purchase, until everyone here said otherwise! : )

so this was also true but i appreciate the concern and support as you are all right as there could be hidden damage and its bang out of order the way its been treated by the courier.

still wouldnt put me off buying another tho

 

[james butler]

some positives and more about the machine though, it may be twice the price of my old sealey welder but its got 3 times the number of power settings! great low down power for the really thin stuff and plenty of top end power for the thicker stuff.
the main reason i chose this welder over the others is the duty cycle at 100% is 90 amp so very unlikely to overheat with the stuff im doing (mainly car body work) and good duty cycle for the thicker stuff as and when the opportunity arises (like the press i made).
ive never had a welder before that automatically sets the wire speed according to the amperage your using and its something ive really been missing out on all these yearsit makes life so much easier!
as has been said before you really notice the difference between this machine and cheaper chinese made machines.
the euro torch supplied by steve is comfortable and feels good quality unlike the moulded handle of the sealey, this might sound odd but it was easier to feed the wire through although it could be that there was something wrong with the sealey (i did change the liner but made little difference).
is there something i can do to extend the life of the tips? maybe using tip dip or something just to help protect and extend the life of the tip and shroud?

did seem strange the wire reel spindle is angled upwards, no idea why its like that but apparently thats normal and came with an adapter to fit my 5kg drum to the machine.
the other thing is how quiet the machine is in operation! other than the fan and the contactor when you pull the trigger it doesnt really make any real noise at all.
my old sealey made a right racket from the wire feed motor when it got going (allways did this from new).

not saying sealeys a bad machine as its more than paid for itself over the years with all the jobs its done but if i could do it again i would have invested in the portamig no questions asked lol
the sealey just seems to require more skill to get a decent weld as the portamig just makes it easy.

 

[pondy]

The damage may only be minor but tecarc need to be informed . There was an Oxford machine here recently that was damaged on arrival, if your happy with damage they may offer some money back and have you take cover off and check internals. Do these still have 2 year warranty? I think you'll find tecarc only cover the one year and Steve covers the other? At least this is what Tecarc told me before.
Don't tell them it's not been used, a member on here works for tecarc. Mine came on a pallet, was a couple of years ago

 

[gaz_moose]

mine came in a big box like that, it was delivered by a pallet delivery company but just not on a pallet. one of the tangs that hold the chain was also bent down just like yours but it bent back up without damaging the paint so I wasn't too bothered.

seems a decent enough machine.

 

[arther dailey]

If its any help I bought a second hand tecarc 180,although badged mercury 190, its over ten years old,slightly scruffy on the paintwork, but welds excellent through the complete range, with the covers off it looks brand new,was used by a maintainance fitter previously.So yes they are robust physically.Arther

 

[xmetal]

I had a Portamig 236 delivered around June time and fortunately it was undamaged and the correct way up. It had four strips of wood under the machine in the box and various layers of expanded polystyrene surrounding the welder inside the cardboard box. Steve at Weldequip had informed me to contact him if the Portamig arrived in a damaged state. The welder gets shipped direct from the factory and the torches, etc come from Weldequip. I'm pleased with the machine so far.

 

[james butler]

had an email back from tech arc and they apologies profusely and have lodged a complaint with the courier service Tuffnels.
one of their engineers asked me to open up the machine and take pictures so they could see if any components have dislodged.
good news is the engineers convinced nothing appears to have moved or would be cause for concern and to contact them directly on the service hotline should i have any issues or queries.
apparently their is very little in the machines that can be damaged from vibration or knocks and they only put the lable on so the couriers would take it easy with them to prevent them arriving with damage like this (i dread to think what it would look like if it didn't have the handle with care sign on it).
i personally think it would be better to pay little more and have it delivered on a pallet like has already been said.
oh well I'm still happy with it as i made my first "thing" this morning. an extended strut top mount to raise the suspension on my vw by 20mm
great fun.

 

[james butler]

one thing that is interesting is the capacitors are not like in the photo on the weld equip site.
instead the welder has 2 giant caps close to the front panel.
when i get chance i will put the pictures up so you can see whats inside.

 

[arther dailey]

Glad all is well, and now contact has been made they are aware of the situation.

 

[james butler]

heres a few pics of the insides should anyone be interested.

 

[james butler]

just thought ide update this thread
to anyone looking at buying a portamig you should know, even after the rough start with bad delivery and last 7 years of going in and out of the van and being bumped about the workshop its still going strong
definitely recommend! although if i did it again i wouldn't bother with the spot weld function I've never used it!