Replacement fittings help

[Barry675]

Hello,

I'm completely new to Mig welding and am about to buy the following Mig Welder from this site:

http://www.wholesaleweldingsupplies.ie/index.php?route=product/product&path=43_81&product_id=1233

I am wondering what additional consumables I need to buy? I'd like to have enough spare tips to last me a while so that I can learn without having to immediately source spare parts.

The same supplier also has a section for spare parts here:

http://www.wholesaleweldingsupplies.ie/index.php?route=product/category&path=84

Can someone please tell me all the additional spares I will need to get going. Basically I don't know what torch corresponds to the one given with the Mig welder and don't want to make a silly mistake and get the wrong parts. Also will I need to get some sort of gas hose to connect the tank to the welder?

All the best,

Barry

 

[Wozzaaah]

Hi Barry, welcome to the forum.
That welder is supplied ready to go, no need to buy any hose or fittings etc. , the only thing you'll have to do is wire it in as it won't come with a plug fitted.
The torch is a standard Binzel MB15 type so all you need is a pack of two spare shrouds or two and plenty of contact tips. All available on this page.
They do two sizes of tips, 0.6 and 0.8mm so get the ones that match the wire you'll be using or better still, at those prices I'd get 2 packs of both sizes as you may decide to try bigger or smaller wire.

 

[Wozzaaah]

Just out of interest, what will you be doing with it?
For info, it's no good for car bodywork, the minimum power setting is way too high at 45A.

 

[Barry675]

Hi,

Thanks a lot for the info, it's greatly appreciated. It confirms what I though about the M15 corresponding to MB15 but I just wanted to be sure!

I was also planning to get a 15kg reel of 0.8mm mild steel and a reel of 0.8mm aluminium too.

I don't have a specific use in mind just yet but I hadn't really planned on car bodywork. I'd be thinking more of structural steel welding and maybe pipe welding or pressure vessels in the (very) distant future.

Out of interest... Is the option I have chosen any good? I'm by no means an expert nor do I have a specific use in mind but I strongly believe in buying decent equipment because I've been hit before by going too cheap and being limited once I got into it.

I'm buying this to accompany some of my other tools, I've a milling machine, lathe, pillar drill and soon a bandsaw. To give you an indication of the quality bracket I'm going for my machines are all about £1000 each machines. Not exactly industry level but not cheap and cheerful either.

I don't look to spend that much on a welder but if I need to stretch up from what I'm planning to spend above for something an order of magnitude better, I will!

Thanks a lot!

Barry

 

[Wozzaaah]

Not really sure that would be man enough for the sort of stuff you're going to throw at it Barry.
The duty cycle is very low (how long you can use it at a given setting before it gets too hot and needs time to cool down), it's more suited to the occasional repair rather heavy duty fabbing. If you want something that you can use on thick stuff but which won't keep overheating you're going to be looking at something considerably bigger.
Buy the right machine first time and you won't outgrow it.

 

[Barry675]

Wozzaaah,

Thanks for the comment. Would you have any suggestions? What sort of price range would I looking at for something like that? I'm a little reluctant to make a big commitment just yet before I've even tried my first Mig weld!

I might have overstated my intentions, I don't plan to be building ships here, naturally I just want as versatile a machine I can get for my (limited) budget. Also single phase is a must!

Barry

 

[Wozzaaah]

I think you need to decide what sort of things you want to make and what sort of thickness steel you'll likely be using most of.
Manufacturers are crafty when it comes to machine specs, they'll often tell you a machine will weld 'X' mm thick steel but what they won't tell you is that it won't weld it for long before the thermal cutout trips and you'll then have to wait several minutes for it to cool down before it comes back to life.
Very frustrating, believe me.
Single phase is no problem whatsoever, I have a 360A mig which I bought from the man upstairs a few years ago.
It runs on a single phase supply and the duty cycle is a colossal 270A @ 100% meaning I could weld 8mm steel all day in spray transfer without stopping for a brew.
I'm not suggesting you need something that big but something in between would be ideal.

 

[Barry675]

Wozzaaah,

I think that I'll probably just go with the one that I've already picked. It's a much lighter duty machine but I reckon it's not going to get a lot of heavy use.

If I really, really get into welding I'm sure I can upgrade again in the future to something serious. I'd rather just learn the art first and get some welds going first.

I think that the one I picked was a reasonable entry level machine/price?

Regards,

Barry

 

[Wozzaaah]

For the occasional bit of light duty fabbing it'll do you fine Barry, a few members have them and I've certainly not seen anything negative written about them.

 

[Barry675]

With the VAT and all the extras (plenty of replacements bits and various reels of wire) it's going to come out around €900 total which is near the top of my range. I'll probably go through with that in the morning.

I do have one last question however, what type of plug will be on the unit? I'll need to wire a dedicated wall socket in my garage and need to know which one to buy. Would be great to get it done in advance if I could!

Is it going to be something that goes into a socket like this?

http://www.walshengineering.com/shop/Electrical+Equipment/220v+Plugs+%252526+Sockets/220v+Wall+Socket+-+32amp+-+3+pin.html

 

[Wozzaaah]

It won't have a plug fitted as it needs a 20A supply to get the full 210A out of it.
The one you linked to is a 32A, you may be able to run it from a 16A supply if you use a type D breaker, consulting a sparky would be the best bet.

 

[wheresmejumper]

im no expert,but wouldnt the SWP 220 from weldequip be a better deal?30 - 220amp,12 voltage settings compared to 6.i know steve speaks highly of them.when you add in vat to the original(23%!) it would be close on price