SIP Ideal 301 250 amp mig/arc

[rasdaz]

After a portable powerfull single phase welder, on bit of a budget as am family man and money doesn't hang about.
Anyone used or got any views on this welder? Or got better idea for under £1000.
Would be using it to re-plate narrowboats with 6mm plate, so lots of hrs work.
Cheers
Daz

 

[Engineer]

Forget the Chinese rubbish...........look for a used British made pro standard set. Be careful of anything "British" today, as most are made either outside the UK entirely, or assembled in the UK often with a fair amount of Chinese or eastern european made parts.

 

[Wozzaaah]

Engineer, once again a totally useless reply.
You've chimed in with your usual response but have not bothered to point the OP in the direction of a recommended set.
I'd suggest if you have no useful recommendations for specific machines then don't bother replying.

Daz, it sounds like portability and accessibility might be a big factor but to get a duty cycle suitable for your needs you're looking at a hefty machine.
I'm not keen on the idea of those all-singing-all-dancing multi-purpose machines, they're probably very complex internally and therefore quite difficult to repair.
Portamig do much bigger machines that the ones in Weldequip's shop but they're big and heavy. The duty cycle is very good though.

 

[rasdaz]

Thanks for replies,
I was of the believe that SIP are an Italian company, not Chinese.
I generaly use a 3 phase Camarc (British) for building boats on the yard, but get called out to do repairs, fix mates cars etc where 3 phase isn't available. I want a welder I can bung in boot of car and work onsite without needed two people to lift it or break my back.
I very rarely stick weld, mainly when its raining or fixing cast so thought it'd be handy to have that option on the machine. Does it really make it multi-purpose as the power source is already there for miging?

 

[Engineer]

Engineer, once again a totally useless reply.
You've chimed in with your usual response but have not bothered to point the OP in the direction of a recommended set.
I'd suggest if you have no useful recommendations for specific machines then don't bother replying.

Daz, it sounds like portability and accessibility might be a big factor but to get a duty cycle suitable for your needs you're looking at a hefty machine.
I'm not keen on the idea of those all-singing-all-dancing multi-purpose machines, they're probably very complex internally and therefore quite difficult to repair.
Portamig do much bigger machines that the ones in Weldequip's shop but they're big and heavy. The duty cycle is very good though.

Maybe warning him about cheap shoddily made SIP sets, might actually save him from wasting his money? As outlined in my post I would suggest a used pro standard industrial set, but as choice is limited in 240v it would be worth looking at the Murex range of machines, which can often be found on Ebay in 250A form for less than £500.

However as the OP doesnt state whether he is wanting to do mainly repair or production work and whether or not portability is an issue, so a good used Murex set would also leave enough over to get hold of an MMA/TIG inverter, which could be used pretty much anywhere, and would complement the MIG set.

 

[rasdaz]

I'm fully aware sip make some cheap sets.
Saying that I've also owned and used an sip ideal 240, which was very robust with a metal wire feed unit, it's still going strong after 3 years replating boats.
I (the op) have stated twice that portability is key, I have large machines but want a portable one. It's main uses will be fitting boat windows, engine bay work, and welding 4mm roof sheets up. Duty cycle is important and being able to lift it easily is too

 

[grim_d]

Something like an 200A ESAB caddy would fit the bill for portability and budget but their duty cycle will probably be too low for your needs (25% @ 180A).

Who else makes portable MIGs?

 

[Robotstar5]

Something like an 200A ESAB caddy would fit the bill for portability and budget but their duty cycle will probably be too low for your needs (25% @ 180A).

Who else makes portable MIGs?

Kemppi MiniarcMig any good?

 

[Wozzaaah]

I wouldn't have thought one of those would be big enough for boat repairs, I'd imagine it involves some pretty long welds so a high duty cycle is needed.

 

[Robotstar5]

Another suggestion, at work we get our welding supplier to recommend something for a new job, he will usually bring one in for a "test drive". If it does what we want we may buy from him if price is right, but otherwise shop around for best price.

 

[rasdaz]

I've had a Kemppi miniarcmig but alas it died, so I had it fixed and sold it on.
I then got an r-tech mig inverter, it cuts out after 10 mins welding due to duty cycle protection.
The duty cycle is the issue which the sip ideal 301 has, 60% @ 220amps.
The other portable mig I've found is the warrior 250 but it's £250 more.
I think trying to get hold of one on trial is a good plan but not found anyone selling one nearby.

 

[Wozzaaah]

That Warrior 250 looks a decent enough bit of kit, it's Chinese but I see Phil Weeks are offering a 3 year parts and labour warranty on it.

Have you thought about a transformer-based mig with a separate wire feed unit? Not cheap but if reliability and power are the main factors and you're using it for commercial purposes then tbh, cost shouldn't be your limiting factor.

 

[rasdaz]

Hi Wozzaaah,
I'm fine for welding in the yard where I build boats, I'm running a 3 phase Camarc with a 5 mtr torche so can reach most things, although the inverter would be handy for tacking up the roof. I'm watching a murex 400 amp set with separate wire feed on ebay at mo too, hopefully it'll stay cheap.
I really need a portable 240v machine for use at home and on call outs.
Would SIP not be more trusted than a Chinese set? They have a 2 year warranty

 

[madkayaker]

what about a generator stick set with a wirefeed unit? and that would give you power for tools etc. i must admit though i have little clue about the prices etc

 

[Wozzaaah]

Would SIP not be more trusted than a Chinese set? They have a 2 year warranty

I think (though I'm not certain) those SIP inverters you first linked to ARE Chinese in origin. The one advantage over an unbranded or Ebay special one is that SIP are a big, well-known company so aftersales support 'should' be pretty good if things go wrong.

Ok, so a portable 240v machine...realistically what sort of work would it get? If it's just the occasional smallish repair then maybe we could point you towards something a little smaller as duty cycle wouldn't be such a big factor.

 

[rasdaz]

Well next week for instance I've got to replace part of the bottom of a boat, it'll take two plates of 2500 x 1250 6mm to do the job, so several meters of welding over two days at at least 180amps. No 3 phase where it's dry docked
I've got a 160 inverter mig but it can't hack it, welds ok but cuts out every 10 mins.

 

[Wozzaaah]

No way round it then, a big machine is in order, 250A +.
Unfortunately I think you're between a rock and a hard place, you just won't get a portable mig with the duty cycle you need for that sort of stuff so an inverter stick welder might be a better option.

 

[eddie49]

How about the TecArc M2000i ? It is a 200A inverter MIG ( "max up to 240A" ), also does 170A MMA, and 200A TIG even, weighs 13Kg, 1.0mm wire, 25% duty cycle at 200A, and it is within your £1000 budget.

 

[Wozzaaah]

The duty cycle's not high enough.

 

[wellyweld]

A couple of points for consideration. Normally for this type of work, we would recommend a machine with a separate wire feed unit, this would enable a smaller unit than the power source to be moved around without worrying about long primary cables getting run over/damaged etc. Disadvantage is cost, normally a few more hundred quid than equivalent compact model.
Second point is whether you have 240 or 415v available, for this type of work you could get away with a 240v model & would need about 250Amps power. Naturally we are in favour of our BritArc 241 which will have the power, is British made & whilst not portable like the Esab Caddy is still moveable on its 4 wheel undergear. Works from 240v supply.

Realistically for separate feeder option say 300Amps you would be paying around £1100-1200 I would think, so compact route quite a bit cheaper.