TIG and MIG options

[Van_Denton]

Hi there!

Ive been a long time lurker of this forum and today finally signed up as i need some advise.
Currently i have a rubbish Clarke 100a welder which ive had since I was 17, im 40 now! so its time to replace it.

I will be using this for automotive fab work and body repair (my hobby).

Id like a fairly decent one next but here comes the problem! lol i would like to learn to TIG as well, as Ive paid for quite a bit of TIG work to be done in the past but now id like to learn for myself.

I have a budget of about £650

So at first I thought about this

IFL i-TECH 170 MIG INVERTER
with lift TIG, now ive never done TIG before but it seems that lift TIG is in between scratch start and HF so might be a pretty good option.

With further research I found this

Thermal Arc / Victor Fabricator 181i Mig Welder £650

This seems slightly better as it has down slope and the ability to have a pedal which will be a plus.

But then......... I saw this

SIP (S.I.P) 05266 P178 HF TIG/MMA/Inverter £285

Now this is TIG and stick only but it has HF and from what ive heard that makes life so much easier and will probably make life much easier for me as i start to learn, it also has an optional foot pedal.

So that would leave me with roughly £400 to spend on an inverter MIG but im not sure which one.

I dont really want to buy second hand and would like warranty so im not really looking at ebay stuff.

So im just really looking for advice, has anyone here used the SIP P178?

Thanks,

Paul

 

[Tom Orrow L]

Steer clear of SIP's latest stuff mate.
Check out the Tec arc multi 200i, it's MIG with HF TIG and stick and in your price range.
Either of your first choices would also be a good shout for you if you're wanting to do a bit of light work or practice.

 

[Van_Denton]

Cheers mate, will look into that one although it is abit over my budget As its £800 with a TIG torch including VAT

 

[Bigjoe]

Both the IFL and Thermal arc are well thought of machines, don't know much about the new Sips but the old ones weren't much use.

Might be worth a chat with Weldequip above when He's back at work about the Ifl.

My local dealer says the 181I is a good machine but the 211 is better (ie less warranty claims) he believes that the bigger machines are built in a different factory although he can't prove it

I would mention that the Thermalarcs don't normally come with a regulator although some dealers include one but allow for a reg in your budget possibly.

Happy pondering

 

[Tom Orrow L]

Cheers mate, will look into that one although it is abit over my budget As its £800 with a TIG torch including VAT

What is you're wanting to be doing with it? If its just some basic MIG/TIG practice or thin work then lift TIG should be fine either way.
Have you looked at Jasic stuff? The 160 Multi Process unit is in your budget.

 

[Van_Denton]

I want to do car fab work, I would really like to get good at TIG too, its something Ive always wanted to do and am willing to put the time into it.
So i didnt want to compromise too much on the TIG side.
Maybe I should buy a dedicated TIG machine and save up abit more for a better MIG rather than combine the 2.

How much better would this be? then say the thermal arc machine.

Jasic DC TIG 180

 

[Tom Orrow L]

IMO MIG is best for car body work because of the ability to strike an arc with very low amps and ease of use.

If you wanted to try TIG then that machine would be alright for you, I've actually used jasic's range of DC TIG sets and they're very nice, I've been using one in the bay's at work and in working in a review if it currently for my site.
I can send you the video of how it welds if you want.

The thermal arc machine is a nice machine tho.. But you'll have to pop a TIG torch in top of that price whereas you can haggle a TIG torch ti be thrown in with the Jasic 160 Multi process unit.

 

[NickyEng]

My wife is not in the mood for arguing with me tonite so can I start one on here by recomending an R-tech welder.
Haha just kidding, Toms right if you can get the Multi process welder in budget go with that. SiP is not the best Anyway IMO . JASIC is much better and well supported in the Uk and good warranty

 

[paulmitchell1984]

good reading, im also in the market for TIG as im wanting to start welding ally and do some more intricate work than MIG will allow, sorry to thread steal but didnt want to start a new topic for very similar wants

 

[daleyd]

good reading, im also in the market for TIG as im wanting to start welding ally and do some more intricate work than MIG will allow, sorry to thread steal but didnt want to start a new topic for very similar wants

Hi Paul, if you fancy welding ally (tig at least) then don't bother with multi process machines, they are dc only and will do steel/stainless but not ali.

You need an ac tig for ali, as far as I know you won't get a multi process ac machine.

 

[NickyEng]

Yep Dales right no full multi process A/C tig capable welders.
Ac/dc tig inverters usually are mma capable too so that's what you need really.

 

[paulmitchell1984]

cheers guys, will be mainly ally, but occasional steel too (fuel tanks etc), id got MIG so thats fine for other work, and have access to oxcy\acet and Stick welder..

Are there and good ac/dc tigs for 4-500 or would i be looking at more expensive, id rather buy a good machine than a basic one and find that i then "outgrow it" if that makes sense,

Also from what iv read its 100% argon for TIG, would this be ok to use for MIG aswell save me haveing 2 bottles in my ever shrinking garage

 

[Tom Orrow L]

Ally MIG is a pain in the backside unless you've got a spool gun.
A decent AC/DC TIG will set you back a grand or so.. £800 at least

100% argon for MIG won't really work, argon Mix is best.

 

[paulmitchell1984]

yeah wanted to avoid ally MIG

so about 1k thats fine, just need to save abit longer ,

need to re jig the garage then for another Gas bottle

 

[NickyEng]

Yep ally Mig is a pain in the butt but you can yield good results with a decent Mig inverter with soft start wire feed and adjustable inductance.
For the very best results on long runs you need pulse to control the heat input - things get out of hand very quickly with aluminum. Tom will point you in the right direction for a Ac/dc tig from his place when the time comes