Sealey Mighty Mig 100 Mk2 (not gasless)

[catceefer]

A while ago, I was given one of these welders as the owner had finished with it.

I used it a few times, but never really got on very well with it, even though I can arc weld quite well. The former owner used it to weld up an old Alfa Sud (shows how old the welder is) and I seem to recall that he struggled with it. I now need to buy new tips, shrouds, wire and gas as all of the consumables have either run out or worn out and then practice a lot more. However, reading on this site, I get the impression that it is not exactly a well-reputed machine.

My main reason for resurrecting it is that my son has bought an old BMW that will probably need new sills and a few other patches. I reality, is this machine likely to be adequate for such a job or would I be better off buying something else, rather than persevering with the Sealey? If replacement is the sensible route, can anyone suggest a sound, lower priced unit?

Thank you.

James.

 

[Elaine Wu]

hi, James,
You want a brand welder? Or common ones?

 

[Jan]

I'm assuming that you're working to a tight budget so if you replace all the consumables and follow the instructions in the link near the bottom of this response you could give this old welder a new lease of life for around £50 or so while making it more flexible for future needs.

Even a 100 amp machine should be more than man enough to weld the steel panels on any modern car. It might be struggling with the chassis on some earlier Land Rovers and the like, but with care and attention to detail should cope even there. However will you be welding in a comfy draught free garage/workshop or out in the open air? If the latter you will be struggling to maintain a proper gas shield over the weld puddle. Then you would need to add the option of flux cored (gasless) wire. It's just a bit of rewiring and the addition of a pair of Dinse plugs and sockets to reverse the polarity of the torch/earth.

Have a look here for the details on how I did the conversion on my SIP 130. Yours shouldn't be significantly different.

 

[catceefer]

Thank you both for your replies.

Elaine,

If I replace it, I am not fussed about the brand, as long as it is good value for money. I have bought other lesser-known brand tools before and found them to be excellent (Skil, for one), so mkae is not a concern.

Jan,

I shall have a read thorugh your link, which looked interesting at a glance. In reality, most welding will be outside, not in a garage.

Regards,

James.

 

[lshigham]

What is your budget? I know you say value for money but someone could argue a £1k portamig is vfm as they are well built and reliable

 

[catceefer]

Ishiqham,

Good point: about £175 - £200.

Regards,

James.

 

[catceefer]

I'm assuming that you're working to a tight budget so if you replace all the consumables and follow the instructions in the link near the bottom of this response you could give this old welder a new lease of life for around £50 or so while making it more flexible for future needs.

Even a 100 amp machine should be more than man enough to weld the steel panels on any modern car. It might be struggling with the chassis on some earlier Land Rovers and the like, but with care and attention to detail should cope even there. However will you be welding in a comfy draught free garage/workshop or out in the open air? If the latter you will be struggling to maintain a proper gas shield over the weld puddle. Then you would need to add the option of flux cored (gasless) wire. It's just a bit of rewiring and the addition of a pair of Dinse plugs and sockets to reverse the polarity of the torch/earth.

Have a look here for the details on how I did the conversion on my SIP 130. Yours shouldn't be significantly different.

Jan,

I am not familiar with the gasless machines, but am I right in assuming that if I fit the connectors as you descibe, I can simply use gasless, fluxed wire, rather than bare wire and gas, provided that I reverse the polarity of the earth and torch by swapping the leads around?

Other than overcoming the wind blowing away the gas envelope when working outdoors, what advantages does gasless offer?

Regards,

James.

 

[the snooper]

Jan,

I am not familiar with the gasless machines, but am I right in assuming that if I fit the connectors as you descibe, I can simply use gasless, fluxed wire, rather than bare wire and gas, provided that I reverse the polarity of the earth and torch by swapping the leads around?

Other than overcoming the wind blowing away the gas envelope when working outdoors, what advantages does gasless offer?

Regards,

James.

the wire is more expensive more spatter, I wouldn't go down the gasless route id rather build a wind shield for what is costs id try replacing your liner and tip, it may improve its performance

 

[Jan]

As said: Gas is better than gasless, but when the devil drives ... it's horses for courses and a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. According to some applying a spray of vegetable oil can help in preventing weld spatter from sticking to parts of the metal you'd rather stayed clean but NOT on the joint being stitched. Sometimes it's just not practical to sufficiently draught proof the area you're working in to use gas, which is when flux cored wire comes into its own despite its other drawbacks.

 

[catceefer]

Thank you for the replies.

For the cost involved, I shall have a go at the conversion and give gasless a try as well.

Jan: I am unclear about one part of your conversion, although it may become clearer once I take the cover off from my welder. You say to cut the positive feed to the contactor and attach it to the new socket. What I am not clear about is how the torch now gets it power feed. Do you have any pictures of your conversion, by any chance?

Regards,

James.

 

[Jan]

Often the thick(ish) wire going to the torch is a continuous length. Sometimes it's split to give a more 'positive' anchor in the front of the machine. Either way you're merely interrupting it to take it to the Dinse socket and then reconnecting it with the matching Dinse plug. Obviously if you do the same for the negative (earth) lead it means that they can be swapped around to give a negative torch and a positive ground for gasless (flux cored) use.

 

[catceefer]

Jan,

Thank you. I shall pull off the cover and have a look.

Final question: as I will need to get 0.8mm tips for the fluxed wire, is there any advantage, or disadvantage, in using 0.8mm wire with gas, rather the current 0.6mm wire?

Regards,

James.

 

[Jan]

The 100 might struggle a bit with 0.8 gas wire, but the same diameter in gasless is easier since the quantity of metal per foot/yard/metre is less than that in solid wire. 0.6 gas wire should be quite adequate for most jobs that the welder is meant to be used on.

At some time in the future you might want to 'move on' to a better (higher amperage) welder, but since you've not spent much on this one - plus you've improved its capabilities - you should be able to get back any money spent on it. In the meantime you've got a machine that can do many jobs while giving you the opportunity to learn to MIG at a reasonable cost.

 

[catceefer]

Jan,

Thank you for the helpful replies. I shall order some 0.6mm solid wire and tips, along with the 0.8mm tips and fluxed wire tonight and give it a go.

I agree that in time, a more powerful machine will be useful, but, as you say, for now, this one will be a good start.

Regards,

James.

 

[catceefer]

Conversion to gasless completed. Just need to try actually welding with it now.

Regards,

James.

 

[Jan]

This is how I've done mine.

 

[catceefer]

Are the plugged leads the leads out to the earth and torch or are they power from the transformer? With mine, I did all of the changes internally, so that the two leads that I swap are the torch feed and the earth lead. Seeing your label reminds me that I still need to label mine.

Regards,

James.

 

[Jan]

The red lead loops back into the machine to go to the torch via the original connector. The black one is the earth, of course, which has been cut and attached to the back of the dinse socket.

 

[catceefer]

I tried to use the machine yesterday and ran into an obvious, but unexpected, problem. With the polarity of the earth and torch leads reversed , the wire feed motor no longer works. The switch in the torch simply loops the original positive feed back to the motor controller, but revsersing it results in two negative feeds to the controller. I am currently installing an additional switch to reverse the power feed as well.

Regards,

James.

 

[Jan]

Looks like you've cut the feed(s) at the wrong point.