Recomend a Mig

[MINGER]

Could any one recommend a good mig welding machine?

Over the years, Ive tried the cheap SIP, with disastrous results, both Gas and Gas-less, i cant recommend them.

Ive tried the cheap Clark Gas Mig, again little better than useless.

I have tried many cheap, but well known brand name welders over the years, who's name i cant remember at the moment, but either way, i could not recommend any of them, they were so bad.

The one i have got at present is the best ive ever had, though on thin mettle it still burns through, you cant continuously weld thin mettle, with out it burning through, unless you keep cooling the mettle of course.

The Mig i have now is a Telwin TelMig 150/1, this i would recommend, but only as the best of a bad bunch, its by far better than all the other's ive had, and its a name ive never heard of before buying this one.

Surely there is a mig now days that will weld thin car body work with out burning through.

I am looking now for a good mig, that will weld thin sheet mettle ie? car body's and also wrought iron, as ime considering going in to making gates and fencing etc.

Could any one recommend a good Mig to go for, from personal experience, if so i would be very grateful.

 

[English Steve]

A lot of people on here recommend the Portamig from Weldequip. Some of them have a bottom end of 20a so are ideal for thin stuff, but will also wind up to cope with heavier gauges depending on the model selected. They are not cheap, but you get what you pay for (I'm currently waiting for my 185 to arrive).
Have a look through the 'Welders' section for more unbiased views!

 

[malcolm]

You'll need to be looking above £500 for the controllability that you need for thin metal. That makes more of a difference than low amps in my view.

I use a Portamig 181 on my Renault bodywork,and I understand the competitors like the Butters 181 are also good machines. These machines will be a big improvement on the Telwin, but will still require skill on the thin stuff.

For really good performance on thin metal I've heard the pulse welders are the way forward, but they are £1500 and above.

 

[shenion]

For thin metal technique is more critical than minimum amps.

Mine goes down below 20 amps and I struggled with it on a low setting. The wire speed was so slow, it was hard to follow the bead smoothly. Also, the wire tended to stick to the tip as it was moving so slow. I finally found that cranking up the volts and feed then moving faster was easier. Still blew through at times, but was much faster and produced much more consistent results.

A stitch technique is best on a standard MIG.

A pulse MIG would help as the peak current will still give good penetration/fusion while the lower average will keep the heat down.

 

[MINGER]

Thanks Steave, Malcolm and shenion, i value your comments, could any one tell me the is the difference between the Porta mig 211, the 181 and the 185?

Thanks.

 

[MBConfuse]

Check out this thread when i was asking the asme question
http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=5419

 

[English Steve]

Hi Minger,
The Porta 185 replaces the 181, the 211 has a higher top end. For full specs send a PM to Weldequip.

Steve

 

[MINGER]

Thanks MP, thanks Steve ile check that out now, and then PM Weldequipe