what mig do i need?

[BrokenBiker]

[QUOTEconsider this then? which would you say is better, an austin mini or a rolls royce?

Ermm... the Rolls. The mini will do 70mph, but not for long...the Rolls will keep doing it all day long. SIP v Fronius [/QUOTE]

but the roller wont do a rally stage will it? which is my point, every thing is only as good as its purpose. a mig for occasional use is just as good as a mig that is battered every hour of the day on a robotic welding line, providing the hobby mig works when its needed. i know the torture of needing to weld something and the welder not working (yesterday was the last time that happened) which is why i look for reviews rather than adverts

 

[Jim Davey]

I think what Chris was trying to say is there is some awfully good quality used equipment out there for similar or less money than a new budget set.
Answer me this, do you think that used plant sales and refurbishment companies like Westermans or Fast Arc etc buy up old R-Techs to renovate and sell abroad or to UK industries? No, their inventories will be full of Murex, ESAB, SAF, EWM, Miller, Hobart, L-Tec, Panasonic, Hitachi, Fronius, Lorch, Lincoln, I could go on. Most big users of welding kit wouldn't touch R Tech with a barge pole new or used. They'd rather have something built to last rather than something built to last the length of its warranty. Value is hard to quantify, especially here where a large proportion of the posters are hobbyists with different needs to most professional welders. And don't get me wrong, R Tech have got the marketing and aftercare just right, I just think their reputation as suppliers of great welding kit isn't entirely accurate.

 

[Chris Stevens]

so you are telling me that more expensive units are better than cheaper ones? consider this then? which would you say is better, an austin mini or a rolls royce?

both do the same job, but for completely different people...i am more interested in a unit that i can throw in the boot of the car when someone wants me to fix a gate, or do a patch for an mot, not a unit that has to sit in the corner of the shed becasue it is too heavy to be moved any great distance. if it gets kicked around and looks tatty, i dont care, as long as it works when i want it too. i couldnt care less who makes it providing i can find a good amount of decent reviews that show it as a good unit, like the clarke units, the r-tech untis, parweld units, GYS units, even CWS best migs are starting to show good reviews although as they are cheaper than more hobby transformer machines i expect you may have a problem with those too...

i have had parweld kit and it was made from chinese parts, where it was made i dont know, but i doubt it was in the uk, more likely to be shipped in, have some quality tests done and then put on the shelf...sound familiar? thats becasue a lot of the suppliers you listed are doing the same thing to their units...

weldequip, thanks for the PM, i get paid friday, i will come back to you then to see whats what

A welding set is a tool like any other. Compare the cheap no brand stuff on Ebay to car boot sale spanner sets, and the upper end of the budget stuff to Draper or Halfords spanners. The top end well known brand gear is more like a Snap ON spanner set. Nothing at all wrong with Draper or Halfords spanners, but its not comparable to Snap On, not likely to last as long, but works perfectly well for most users.

 

[Chris Stevens]

I think what Chris was trying to say is there is some awfully good quality used equipment out there for similar or less money than a new budget set.
Answer me this, do you think that used plant sales and refurbishment companies like Westermans or Fast Arc etc buy up old R-Techs to renovate and sell abroad or to UK industries? No, their inventories will be full of Murex, ESAB, SAF, EWM, Miller, Hobart, L-Tec, Panasonic, Hitachi, Fronius, Lorch, Lincoln, I could go on. Most big users of welding kit wouldn't touch R Tech with a barge pole new or used. They'd rather have something built to last rather than something built to last the length of its warranty. Value is hard to quantify, especially here where a large proportion of the posters are hobbyists with different needs to most professional welders. And don't get me wrong, R Tech have got the marketing and aftercare just right, I just think their reputation as suppliers of great welding kit isn't entirely accurate.

Yes spot on Jim, but I think many newcomers to welding are put off buying quality used equipment by the fact that they feel its likely to be as unreliable as budget kit, so wont risk anything without a warranty? R-Tech seem to have very good marketing and promotion, and if their equipment was comparable to the advertising/promotion side of things, there might not be quite so many problems with DOA and early failure of equipment. Incidentally think the GYS you supplied to Ted of SVS is very good indeed, and well worth looking at for anyone who wants quality water-cooled set, but who doesnt have £4k to spend.

 

[gaz1]

as goes with most things that we buy we have to choose which one is best to buy

old vs new old has the intention of lasting years part of the problem is getting parts for them but they have durability over the years and some have outlasted many a new machine and weve seen many an old machine refitted and working

the new systems have the parts available of coarse at cost but they are easy to maintain

which one would i buy i like old but i also like new as well which machine has a garantee with it yes you can buy from a dealer which also has the garantee with the machine would i buy from ebay at high prices no

 

[Chris Stevens]

Its the difference between new Draper or used Snap On for not much more money. Personally over the last 25 years the idea of used high quality has worked very well for me.