Dont forget to use the interest free credit. made it painless for me..
- Thread starter TulTrak
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I would second this, the Portamig can go down to 15 amps and are built like tanks. I said the Clarke for your original budget but for me at your new price range the Portamig is the stand out option.
cumbriasteve
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I will third it...is there such a thing as thirding?...oh well there is now!
One thing he needs to bear in mind is that you are comparing apples with oranges. The R-tech is a small foot print portable inverter technology welder. The portamig is a Transformer based welder. In my experience I found an inverter much easier to weld with unless its a 3 phase machine , which I found smoother. As the OP is brand new to welding he needs to take this into account!
I fully understand the comparison between apples and oranges, but if I was looking for a welder now, I would want to know more than say three options. I would want to know that there was a reliable, low amp versatile option that was uk based, built. Before I spent 700. to be honest, ideally, id want a go of them andcsee them in the flesh. Even if it was, eg from another forum member for example. It isca gery confusing time!
Appreciate that but the reason I reply to the newcomer posts is that i went through it all just over a year ago. i sued to have various welders and could not use any of them with much success. Until I had a 3 phase welder.
I then lost my unit (flattened due to houses) and had to have a single phase option so shopped around, finally visited the factory as i was skeptical before I purchased from R-tech.
I like various things about them , plus the interest free option and it welds mint for me and my son who has never welded before and my mate Dave drools over it!
Any one can come and use mine. But it would help to know where the Op comes from as that could help make up his mind. It just says UK in his profile.
Hope this clarifies things.
I then lost my unit (flattened due to houses) and had to have a single phase option so shopped around, finally visited the factory as i was skeptical before I purchased from R-tech.
I like various things about them , plus the interest free option and it welds mint for me and my son who has never welded before and my mate Dave drools over it!
Any one can come and use mine. But it would help to know where the Op comes from as that could help make up his mind. It just says UK in his profile.
Hope this clarifies things.
Bearing in mind that £700 did not buy just the welder, but over a lots of protective gear, deposit on a gas bottle and some new cutting and grinder discs. It would be nice to have stretched to the Portamig but where do you stop? Also I researched the usefulness of below 30A and the impression I got was that it wasn't as good as it sounded. That said I was blowing plenty of holes on a car panel practicing today with the power turned right down.
To clarify I am welding in my parents' open garage with 13A supply, and the stuff has to be stored in the house when I'm away so the R-Tech is great for this.
Thanks Racer
Its possible I wont bother in future mate. ;( Unless I am being paranoid (at my age thats easy) some people dont like some things mentioned. Some jump to conclusions that "there must be something in it for them". personally a I work on a principle and try not to cal a rope a line.
If you need any help just shout. I am NOT a welder I can not give you technical help I can merely give you real life experience.
Thats fine then if you are aware of other options. I was not having a go ukracer. Just think a person in a purchasing position should seek lots of advice first. Personally, I can see the smooth/easy welding advantages of an inverter mig. Having attempted sticknwith one, itvwascso much easier than my buzz box. Also storage is an issue. Two years rtb good too for the lad. paranoid-tell mecabout it. I posted a few questions ages ago, jomreplies, thought itvwas me. Sillybreally. Whatever you choose, I hope you are very happy with it.
steve.h
Fire Starter,,,,
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I too had never welded in my life before buing the Portamig 215, I wanted a machine that would make the learning process as easy as possible, a few years on and I have never regreted paying the extra for it. it is a fantastic machine, the really low amps make welding thin sheet so easy, that alone is well worth the money, it will also weld up to 10mm if you prepare the pieces being welded with a beveled edge etc....
If you can afford it go for it you will not be dissapointed.
If you can afford it go for it you will not be dissapointed.
steviec_lj
Rust Welding Professional
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Just to throw a spanner in the works, and this is going on written accounts available ALL OVER the net...
Portamigs aren't the best out there!! From what I've read on numerous sites is that yes, they're good for thin stuff, but they're not as smooth when it comes to the thicker stuff.
Personally, I've never used one, because I can't, at the moment, justify spending £700 on a welder, also finding one nearby to test out over a period of a few days on different materials and conditions isn't easy. I will however, commend Technical Arc on their customer service, its brilliant!
However, there are other welders out there, that are as good and some may even be better! The R-Tech for instance is a UK seller and they do some blinding deals AND machines!
A poor welder will always be poor no matter what machine they use.
What about the GYS Migs? Weldequip must trust them as he wouldn't stock poor machines..
Portamigs aren't the best out there!! From what I've read on numerous sites is that yes, they're good for thin stuff, but they're not as smooth when it comes to the thicker stuff.
Personally, I've never used one, because I can't, at the moment, justify spending £700 on a welder, also finding one nearby to test out over a period of a few days on different materials and conditions isn't easy. I will however, commend Technical Arc on their customer service, its brilliant!
However, there are other welders out there, that are as good and some may even be better! The R-Tech for instance is a UK seller and they do some blinding deals AND machines!
A poor welder will always be poor no matter what machine they use.
What about the GYS Migs? Weldequip must trust them as he wouldn't stock poor machines..
steviec_lj
Rust Welding Professional
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Oh..and another spanner for the pile..
The IFL kit is meant to be good, from the delight on my uncles' mates face. He's had it 2 weeks and can't fault it..
Doesn't matter WHERE a machine originates, its the support, parts and customer service you want to think about!
The IFL kit is meant to be good, from the delight on my uncles' mates face. He's had it 2 weeks and can't fault it..
Doesn't matter WHERE a machine originates, its the support, parts and customer service you want to think about!
OK Stevie, I understand your point, Esab caddymig, Kemmpi also do similar inverters that pretty much every owner has raved about. IFL I believe are British made in the West Country and I would be tempted by any of them too. My original point was and still is , that in order to make a better informed purchasing decision, it would be helpful for many (over 3) welders to look at/try even! I too think that Technical Arc are very good at service, indeed they converted a welder for me in the past and Malcom was very helpful/informative. Took me around the engineering/manufacturing area - I would not hesitate to recommend them to any one I liked! I think the OP should go for an inverter for the simple fact of his storage requirement. But I love old (simple to fix) transformer stuff - each to their own. Has he thought about Wellywelds migs? Wellington Welding I think. Main issue really is too many sweets in the sweetshop!
Well as stated I have already bought the R-Tech 180 and have been practicing with it the last couple of days. As a newcomer and only having an old car panel at the moment to practice on which is a bit thin, I can't comment on the machine other than to say it was very straight forward to set up and I can carry it up stairs with one arm.
I didn't notice Wellington Welding until I started looking for a gas supplier. They have some machines in the £300-400 range which may have been more appropriate for me, but I'm not complaining.
In an ideal world, I'd have a 3 phase transformer machine, with a fancy plasma cutter, in a spacious workshop...
I didn't notice Wellington Welding until I started looking for a gas supplier. They have some machines in the £300-400 range which may have been more appropriate for me, but I'm not complaining.
In an ideal world, I'd have a 3 phase transformer machine, with a fancy plasma cutter, in a spacious workshop...
womble1983
New Member
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Keep your eye on ebay and gumtree you will find a good deal, best to get a quality second hand mig. I got a murex autolynx 3 130 amp for £67 the other day and its very easy to use is built to last and is 20 amps on the lowest setting so is perfect for cars. Make sure you do the volkszone deal at boc for argohield light its the cheapest.
