Which inverter welder/mig

[Heath Robinson]

Hello everyone.

I'm in need of an inverter arc welder that won't break the bank, and if possible I'd like a plasma cutter on it too. Any thoughts or suggestions, on both new and used stuff, would be greatly appreciated.
It's going in the belly-box of a workshop truck, so air is plentiful, and there's plenty of power for an inverter, but it will need to tackle welding truck chassis-plate, and cutting anything up to 6mm maybe.
I have access to a whacking gurt mig, so this will be my emergency do-it-all go-anywhere jobbie.
Thanks in advance,
Jake

 

[shenion]

What power source do you have in the truck? It better be a big generator to run a welder.

 

[Heath Robinson]

A 10kw solar rig with 4 tons of batteries that work out to about 5100ah at 24v. The 240v inverter runs at 6kw peak, 3kw constant use. It runs my cheapo 200a stick welder off a 32a supply, so it'll probably manage an inverter welder!

 

[Desertrat]

Arc and plasma...never heard of anyone making one. A decent plasma will set you back over a £1000, although I have heard some of the cheaper ones are getting better. Not sure if it will run off your truck system either? If anyone know it will be on here that you will find your answers!

 

[Wozzaaah]

Arc and plasma...never heard of anyone making one.

The Chinese make them by the container load.

 

[Heath Robinson]

Does anyone know anything about these Chinese jobbies? Has anyone tried them?
Also, has anyone seen or used or even hear tell of one of these? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/STAHLWERK...799?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item23278fefb7

Looks like a real useful lump (I'm looking to do a tig course this spring) and, pending better specs from the seller, looks like it'll do all that I want and more. Slightly out of my budget, but then, eating's over rated... Fits perfectly in the belly box too!

Plasma is a bonus, not an essential, and even then it would likely only be for <6mm plate. What I really need is something that'll definitely work when I need it to, and definitely do what it says on the tin.

Power really isn't an issue. The big lump in Wozzaahh's link, the ct-518 only pulls 30A as an arc, and tops out at 35A when cutting at full chat, which is for 12mm plate. To be honest, using a plasma cutter on 12mm plate is passing up the chance to play with the gas axe, so I'd be happy limiting it to a 32A supply (which is already on the truck).
Our PA system can peak out at around 30A, and there's a few 16A feeds running cider coolers, camp services, and lighting etc. besides. Welding isn't generally needed to be done when anything else is going on, so I basically have what I'm fairly sure is one of the biggest mobile solar rigs to play with.

That made-in-china.com is a bit confusing, but haven't they got some toys!

Thanks again guys,

Jake

 

[andy m]

It's all getting a bit confusing. If they aren't straight from China it seems the *** have had their hand in somewhere in the equation, whether supplying the item then it is assembled elsewhere or some component parts. I had some advice early on to avoid Chinese if possible but it's not that easy. The R tech stuff doesn't seem badly priced but again *** input??? I suppose if the kit bought sees the warranty out and beyond is a bonus. We just bought one of the new vax hoovers, it lasted 8 months, had a new one under warranty, *** again. They are hard to avoid nowadays.

*Mod edit - derogatory, racist terms have no place on here!!*

 

[Desertrat]

Just went to the ebay link, at least you will have lots of knobs and buttons to play with, the whole thing sound too good to be true. I also had a look around their site and tried to look at other machine, most were not available.

I would be very careful if I were you, just because it says "German" does not mean quality anymore. I still travel back as I used to live their in the 80's and they have as much eastern crap as we do, and if you want quality I find you generally have to pay for it!

 

[wheresmejumper]

i came across these in German site lately
tigchina
at least they arent hiding the origin in the video,which is a nice change

 

[matt1978]

It's all getting a bit confusing. If they aren't straight from China it seems the *** have had their hand in somewhere in the equation, whether supplying the item then it is assembled elsewhere or some component parts. I had some advice early on to avoid Chinese if possible but it's not that easy. The R tech stuff doesn't seem badly priced but again *** input??? I suppose if the kit bought sees the warranty out and beyond is a bonus. We just bought one of the new vax hoovers, it lasted 8 months, had a new one under warranty, *** again. They are hard to avoid nowadays.

*Mod edit - derogatory, racist terms have no place on here!!*

This where I sympathise with purchasers because its now turned into a minefield. There are many manufacturers who buy completely assembled/manufactured units from China and the stick there company name/logo on the side and "pretend" they are made in Europe.

There are still some well known makes that do design and build there products in there own country.

You can still buy proper German made products as you can, Austrian, American, Finnish etc. But at the end of the day you get what you pay for. It all depends what you want/expect from the unit.

 

[Heath Robinson]

After a little more poking around on the Made-in-china website, I found exactly the unit I linked earlier, but without the German veneer. I've asked the manufacturer for more details, as it's still interesting, but not necessarily ideal for my needs.

What would be a good second hand MMA unit to look out for? Ideally I'd like to spend less than £300, and all it needs to do is arc weld. The plasma was a bonus that seems to have overshadowed my real question. I just need a robust, reliable inverter that'll weld thick stuff off a 32A supply.
An emergency box to weld back on that which my ham-fisted colleagues have snapped off.
Thanks

 

[wyn]

Around £300 would get you a nice brand new inverter...a couple here

 

[F.J.]

I know it's not Chinese your after but I have a Giant 200amp inverter MMA/tig welder from Local Tool Sales. I havnt used the tig function but is a great stick welder. It arc's up really easy and lays nice beads. I've used it on 3mm all day and have played on some 12mm scrap which it welded no probs with multi passes. I only bought it as a back up as I have a diesel welder genny but find myself using instead of the genny.

Another thing, I bought a Giant Cut 40 plasma cutter again from Local Tool Sales for a restoration I am doing. Only bought it as it was cheap and thought I'd only use it for the thin car steel but actually used it on 6mm plate today. Had to go slow with it but got a clean cut.

The welder was £180 new and the plasma was £210. I did loads of searching and after chatting with the guy who repairs my other welders (Lincoln and cebora) he said that most machines within the lower price range are going to be from china. I thought that if I get at least 1-2 jobs using the welder before it broke at least I'd had my monies worth out If but I've used it plenty of times without a hint of it giving up.

 

[Heath Robinson]

Looking around, I think I'm going to plump for the PlasmaPart 200A lump.
It's cheap, has a monster duty cycle, and is British. Couldn't ask for more.
This one - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271138436055?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Thanks for the thoughts.
Jake

 

[Wozzaaah]

It's British?
Where did you see that? It's as Chinese as they come, trust me!

 

[Heath Robinson]

Their website claims that they are "uk sourced", which I took to mean they are at least in part made or assembled here.
http://www.plasmapart.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=98
Still seem to be a good buy though, and are based here, even if the parts come from china.

 

[Wozzaaah]

I'd put money on it that that welder is made in China but as they offer a 2 year warranty then it's probably worth a punt.
Are you ever intending to have a go at tig welding with it?

 

[wheresmejumper]

from their website: sourced from the UK

not in

 

[hotrodder]

A bit late on account of the link but...

They are sourced from the UK, where they are individually tested before dispatch

If i order something from say France by picking up my phone i'm the guy sourcing the item and i'm in the UK . Individually tested covers everything from plugging 'em in to tweaking/fixing them

FWIW The Department of Trade and Industry says...

Where is the country of origin?
Section 36 of the Act states that goods are deemed to have been manufactured or produced in the country in which they last underwent a treatment or process resulting in a substantial change. The Act does not define “substantial change” although one Order has been made under this section, which explicitly states that the process of silver-plating stainless-steel cutlery does not constitute a “substantial change”. It would ultimately be for a court to decide whether the particular country or place specified is indeed where the last substantial change took place. If you are in doubt about where your goods originate you should consult your local trading standards department, or seek legal advice.

 

[wheresmejumper]

there was a big thing in either Ireland or UK hospitals recently about using scalpels with 'made in Germany' stamped on them,but most of the production work was done in china