Tell me about my MIG Welder

[Tin Can]

Hi All

I have a Britool branded MIG welder that is approx 18 years old which apparently was made for Britool by Oxford Welders. As the manual that came with it doesnt give much detail on specifications etc I am hoping that some of you could answer a couple of queries,
Brief Background - brought 18 years ago whilst i worked in the parts dept of an MG Rover dealership, tinkered with it for a couple of weeks and then put it back in the box and left it untouched in the spare bedroom for the last 18 years. Now working in the office of a small engineering company and bitten by the welding bug so want to get into welding as a hobby

Details from label on welder

MIG 161
Continuous rating - 70 amps
Maximum rating - 160 amps
20% duty cycle - 120 amps
240v 1ph 50/60hz
thermal overload protected
Uo 21/ 35v
fuse rating 13 amps

1st Question - in order to compare it to current Welders that show duty cycles at 60% - how do i calculate mine at 60%

2nd Question - what thickness steel will it weld up to (max out)

3rd Question - what do you guys think of the spec etc (in fact any comments on the welder to give me an insite into its capabilities and worthiness etc would be great)

Thanks in advance

Mark

 

[pedrobedro]

Oxford is a name associated with quality industrial equipment. 160 amps should be good up to 6mm from my personal experience but others may have different opinions. Duty cycle is usually based on welding for 10 minutes so 20% would be 2 minutes continuous welding which is a long run for a diyer before the trip cuts you out. A lot of diy migs are very optimistic in their duty cycle claims I have found.