what would you buy

[rusty69bus]

now that you've got use to mig welding what machine would/should you have bought with hind sight.

i wish i'd bought one with a euro torch

 

[shenion]

Would have gotten the Clarke 180EN instead of the 130EN. The 180 is 220v, has more power.

The 130EN works fine, but is the max you can get out of 120V. Says it draws 13A but blows 20A breaker (later in the docs it says needs 20-25A breaker.)

Been watching craigs list and ebay for something better. Been some old, heavy duty MIGs, but shipping these 400lb gorillas is major $$$.

 

[MigTig]

Should have gone straight for a Portamig (over Clarke)
Im pretty happy with my TIG though, if it carrys on working

 

[boombang]

I'd have gone for a portamig, only based on the many opinions on this site though and not from actually using one.

Having said that, the Clarke Pro 90 I got (mainly doing car bodywork so decided to go "budget") has been awesome and pretty much flawless.

Mate had some cracks in his trailer which was around 4mm and with cutting a nice deep groove into each one, and getting a lot of heat into it, the little baby Clarke actually welded it very well with loads of penetration.

 

[malcolm]

There's nothing wrong with starting off cheap and upgrading later.

I started with a Clarke 155TE and ran that quite happily for 13 years. Only really upgraded because I'd given myself a toys budget after selling a car and wanted something a little better on thin stuff - so went for the Portamig 181.

I don't regret buying either welder in any way - they've both been great.

Why would you want the eurotorch Rusty? I've never removed mine, so a fixed torch would make little difference apart from being half the price come replacement time.

 

[Hitch]

A small one. But with the same output.
Very expensive at the time though.

 

[bump]

3PH so I wouldn't have had to change machines, and have lathes and milling machines hanging about for use "one day".

 

[rusty69bus]

why a euro torch? well my fist mig was a very early sip autoplus 130 (metal wire feed) torch got broken ask about a replacement torch and got told about £100+vat machine cost not much more, if i'd known i would have paid a little more for a euro torch fitting, as euro torch £35.
but i do like the extra lenght of a euro torch makes it easier when your half way under a chassis

 

[DIY Welding]

The first mig you buy depends upon your budget Clarke are ok if you are on a small budget, can never understand the forums fixation with portamig yes its not a bad machine but there are just as good if not better on the market, the Portamig is assembled in the UK how many parts are British? Rectifier? Transformer? Control board? I know the answer but dont want to upset the forum members with the answer

 

[weldequip]

can never understand the forums fixation with portamig yes its not a bad machine but there are just as good if not better on the market

Sounds like sour grapes there to me DIY! Name some. Same specification at the same price??
The case & chassis are made by local tin-bashers. The main transformer & choke transformer are wound locally. The PCB is designed & manufactured in the UK. The machines are built from the ground up in the UK. Yes, some of the parts are imported, such as the wire feed motor from Sweden & switches from Austria; but this is only because it is simply not possible to source those parts in the UK.
weldequip

 

[snowcat]

Fronius Transnergic 4000 the multivoltage jobby, only mig iv seen that will truely weld ally, Didnt have the £5000 then, havent got the £5000 now,

 

[DIY Welding]

Not sour grapes just have a larger view of the market in general could sell Portamig from Technical Arc if I wanted but choose not to, what percentage share of the single phase UK Market does this machine have? I would say less than 1% also does it meet the new Rohs compliance test? the Murex Challenger181, or Lincoln 181 are good machines in this price range and the Butters 181 has proved reliable all credit to you Weldequip you have done a great selling job on forum members!

 

[malcolm]

The Portamig has sold a lot to forum members through word of mouth. Can beleieve there are other welders just as good at the same price. On the forum what's happened is a couple of people have bought them and been very impressed, and others have decided to buy on the recommendation.

 

[weldequip]

Not sour grapes just have a larger view of the market in general could sell Portamig from Technical Arc if I wanted but choose not to, what percentage share of the single phase UK Market does this machine have? I would say less than 1% also does it meet the new Rohs compliance test? the Murex Challenger181, or Lincoln 181 are good machines in this price range and the Butters 181 has proved reliable all credit to you Weldequip you have done a great selling job on forum members!

Sounds like the old ESAB sales rep. in you there DIY, "market share, percentages" & all that b****x!
All the above machines you mention are more expensive than the Portamig (Murex Challenger has been dropped) & none of them have just the same spec. when you start looking closely.
Oh, and that Classic MIG 160 you have just introduced on your website is not a 160 amp machine, it's 140 amps. The Duty Cycle figures you quote are also incorrect, they should be:-
100% @ 50 Amps (not 70 amps as you state)
60% @ 65 Amps (not 115 amps as you state)
35% @ 85 Amps (not 160 amps as you state)

Sales Reps.
weldequip

 

[DIY Welding]

So Portamig is not ROHS ? the classic mig duty cycles I have in front of me in black and white from the manufacturer and are what we have stated on our site Esab are market leaders in the UK for welding equipment so perhaps the ESAB in me is not a bad thing? I do not sell Murex or Lincoln so my views are not for financial gain it is a opinion which is what this forum SHOULD be about

 

[weldequip]

As a manufacturer it is their responsibilty to be fully compliant with all the relevant legislation & I would not even question that they are not.
I too have the figures in black & white and they are what I stated. Whatsmore, I actually have a machine in stock; I like to see what I'm getting for my money & put them through their paces before selling them, not just cut & paste a picture & sell from that!
I sell the Portamig because it is the best machine available at it's price level, and enough forum members have formed their own opinions of them & ask me when they want one.
weldequip

 

[DIY Welding]

We stock around 50 different types of welding equipment and wel test all our welders before we list them just for the benifit of the forum members can you actually CONFIRM that the Portamig is ROHS because if its not then forum members should be aware

 

[Hitch]

I would love to have a go on a portamig, see what they are all about.

 

[weldequip]

Doubt you would be impressed Hitachi, not after using your 7 grand synergics at work!
ROHS Certificate on it's way DIY, just waiting for an email.
weldequip

 

[rusty69bus]

Now now weldequip, DIY Welding friendly banter only this thread is "what would you buy in hind sight".

techinical side of things would be nicer in the "mig welding best buy" thread that i also started.

lol