Which Mig to choose

[mpats]

Hi gents, sorry this is kind of another which mig thread, but it's more of a get my thoughts in black and white and get some help making the decision of which mig welder to go for now I have the garage weather tight and power hooked up.

I've been thinking and looking for a while now, read all the which welder threads that pop up and have a rough idea which direction I'm heading in. I've got £650 squirreled away in my welder fund but I'm happy to add another £100 or so to it.

So at the moment I am thinking along the lines of either the r-tech 250-1 or the oxford migmaker 240-I. I have considered the Lincoln speedtec 200c, while I could afford to spend the money I would rather not and save some hard earned for the plethora of other tools I would like to add to the workshop (table saw, plasma cutter etc)before long.

Any other suggestions in the 250amp range for the £750 mark. I have a nice wee 180amp arc welder so don't need to go down the inverter route, and size isn't a massive issue.
Looking to make this decision before the good lady looses the plot with me humming and haying and starts shouting at me

All comments and opinions to help me decide are welcome.

 

[cumbriasteve]

Perhaps some more information on your intended use, metal thickness etc would help get more benficial answers.

No need to spend a lot if all your work is on car panels for example, different altogether if you are fabricating heavier steel on a regular basis.

 

[Tom Orrow L]

Aye, Info that Steve mentioned is gonna be of big use to everyone here. You've got a good budget so I'm sure we'll find something for you

 

[mpats]

It's a good question, should have thought to put it in the original post. Not really intending doing much in the way of car work, more of a general fabrication thing. Done a couple of gas bottle wood burners which were good fun to do but in areas would have been easier, for me at least with mig, but would be nice to do some thicker stuff with it as well when making..............well, whatever takes my fancy. Sorry, that's not very specific.
Got an idea to make a christmas pressie for my brother using some of the free box section I have stockpiled.
For example, I have some 5-8mm plate I would use when making something, if I go down the route of a smaller mig it'll mean swapping between mig and arc, whereas if I go for something with a decent bit of power so I can go up to say 8 to maybe 10mm I only need to use the arc set when doing stuff outside when it's a bit blowy (reasonably regular occurrence up here!).

Does that make sense?

 

[Gareth0123]

This is what I would be looking for for in a single phase mig welding plant if I was in the market to buy one today.
1) Inverter set without a single doubt after using one commercially for 2 years now
2) Euro connection for torch and lead.
3) Ability to accept 15kg Mig wire reels.
4) Female Dinse connectors for the earth return in front panel. I now have 3 X earth/return cables for my welder A) 4 metre cable permanently bolted to my bench B) a flying 4 metre spring clamp C) flying 4 metre mag-clamp, I also have an additional 4 metre extension that any of my other earth cables can plug into.............. all on Dinse 35/55 plugs and sockets
5) MMA (Arc) facility via Dinse connectors
6) Light enough to be carried to a job when necessary (wire reel removed).
7) Pole reversal for the emergency use of a reel of gasless flux cored mig wire when your cylinder of gas has run out.
8) No nonsense fully variable controls...... not switched steps.
9) Excellent duty cycles.
10) Spool gun socket. This gives you the option of easily mig welding Aluminium or Mig brazing,


It is easy enough to find out what brand welder I am using these days, so I won't harp on about them.

 

[mpats]

Cheers Gareth, your end of 2 year review was what started me thinking about maybe taking the slightly cheaper route of the r-tech.
I've not been in a hurry to purchase so have been indulging in my 2 favorite activities of procrastinating and researching (read dithering) so just need some sort of final push to help me pull the trigger as it were.

 

[Tom Orrow L]

Have you had a look at the Parweld XTM 252i? 250A, single phase MIG with 15KG reel capability, 4 roll feeder & synergic panel? Somewhat within your budget too.

 

[mpats]

Have you had a look at the Parweld XTM 252i? 250A, single phase MIG with 15KG reel capability, 4 roll feeder & synergic panel? Somewhat within your budget too.

I hadn't to be honest Tom, just had a bit of a gander at it on their site, I'll not lie it's at the top end of what I would spend, but I would prefer to be down in the £750 region. That said it reads well on the Paraweld website, but I can't say I've heard much about them, I'm guessing they are pretty decent machines? The 3 year warranty certainly looks appealing, although, is this one of the ones I have a vague memory of reading about where it needs to go back for a service every year to keep the warranty valid? Or was that on an industrial type machine?
I like the idea of the tig function for the future, would be nice to try and learn, even using a basic scratch start kit.

 

[Tom Orrow L]

Parwelds warranty is "no quibble" so AFAIK the machine doesn't need servicing every year unless in industrial use. They'll honour it either way & they'll get it picked up too.
Its possible to get one within your budget, you've just got to do a bit of haggling / bartering.
Parweld have got some very good reviews and have really good backup in the UK. Plenty of chaps on the forum who've got their kit who love it.

 

[mpats]

Parwelds warranty is "no quibble" so AFAIK the machine doesn't need servicing every year unless in industrial use. They'll honour it either way & they'll get it picked up too.
Its possible to get one within your budget, you've just got to do a bit of haggling / bartering.
Parweld have got some very good reviews and have really good backup in the UK. Plenty of chaps on the forum who've got their kit who love it.

I've just read RossC's review and he does singing it's praises. I will admit to being quite keen on the idea of an inverter, the duty cycle being what it is etc. Very good on the warranty side of things as well to be fair.
I must admit to being quite surprised that there's quite so much haggle room, I suspect I will have to do some investigating (read get in touch with you direct)!

Out of interest, does it come with the paraweld torch as standard or does one usually have to add that to the package? Is it worth going for something else, say a Binzel if this is the case?

 

[Tom Orrow L]

I've just read RossC's review and he does singing it's praises. I will admit to being quite keen on the idea of an inverter, the duty cycle being what it is etc. Very good on the warranty side of things as well to be fair.
I must admit to being quite surprised that there's quite so much haggle room, I suspect I will have to do some investigating (read get in touch with you direct)!

Out of interest, does it come with the paraweld torch as standard or does one usually have to add that to the package? Is it worth going for something else, say a Binzel if this is the case?

Aye, sometimes there is, sometimes there isn't. I have to say that when I've personally used it I've really enjoyed it.

I also have to say that there isn't much use coming to me at the moment as we've sold all our stock of them recently and Parweld haven't got any in until the end of November so I'm not going to be much help haha

One of the other guys might have one on the shop floor, @Jim Davey perhaps?

 

[mpats]

I also have to say that there isn't much use coming to me at the moment as we've sold all our stock of them recently and Parweld haven't got any in until the end of November so I'm not going to be much help haha

You absolute tease!

To be honest Tom I should probably wait till the we have finished wiring up then clearing, sorting and organizing the garage. I'm not in any rush, and now you've added an addition thing for me to consider I can procrastinate a little longer!
I might get in touch at the end of the month to see if anything has become available if I haven't gone for something else by then.

 

[Tom Orrow L]

You absolute tease!

To be honest Tom I should probably wait till the we have finished wiring up then clearing, sorting and organizing the garage. I'm not in any rush, and now you've added an addition thing for me to consider I can procrastinate a little longer!
I might get in touch at the end of the month to see if anything has become available if I haven't gone for something else by then.

No worries, best to have plenty of time to think things over

 

[Kent]

I should buy a good brand second hand transformer set if space and size isn't an issue. Make sure you include a proper connection for the electric 32amp or whatever the set requires whichever way or your not doing more than 5-6mm migging anyhow

 

[mpats]

I should buy a good brand second hand transformer set if space and size isn't an issue. Make sure you include a proper connection for the electric 32amp or whatever the set requires whichever way or your not doing more than 5-6mm migging anyhow

I have a slot in the consumer unit in the garage for a 40amp MCB to go in for a dedicated supply for the welder, save running it off the mains socket, although I have been wondering if 40 is a bit overkill? I have been keeping an eye out for something in the local, or down central belt as I can always travel a bit (pop in at the brother and sister in law), would prefer to see it running before parting with the hard earned.

 

[Kent]

I have a slot in the consumer unit in the garage for a 40amp MCB to go in for a dedicated supply for the welder, save running it off the mains socket, although I have been wondering if 40 is a bit overkill? I have been keeping an eye out for something in the local, or down central belt as I can always travel a bit (pop in at the brother and sister in law), would prefer to see it running before parting with the hard earned.

Depends on what you need if it needs 30 you don't put 40 In

 

[addjunkie]

With all this which mig etc inverter or transformer....does anyone ever consider the enviroment they are stored in.

For example was at the daughters farm the othr day and there is their nice mig stood in an open barn, not moved in a couple of weeks. How will inverter gear fair longer term in such places as unheated garages etc..

Opinions!

 

[123hotchef]

that is why I didn't choose an inverter the mrs would not be happy with that in the bed

 

[Gareth0123]

With all this which mig etc inverter or transformer....does anyone ever consider the enviroment they are stored in. For example was at the daughters farm the othr day and there is their nice mig stood in an open barn, not moved in a couple of weeks. How will inverter gear fair longer term in such places as unheated garages etc..Opinions!

Exactly the same..... there is a lot of printed circuit electrickery involved in today's transformer welding sets.

My workshop is unheated, is damp in wet weather, is sometimes very unconformable to work in due to being too hot in Summer and too cold in Winter, and really is no better than a farm barn. I usually have 2 fortnight long trips to India between the beginning of November and the end of March, and I try not to work the week between Christmas and new year reserving that time for Pike fishing, Hunting with my Hawks & Falcons and Cycling. So my equipment is very often left unused for periods of more than a few days during the winter in a far from ideal environment and I have yet to experience any issues either with my previously owned old transformer sets or my current 2 year old inverter sets (Mig, Tig & Plasma) .......... I did buy a second-hand BOC Murex Mig set in November of 2002 from a farm in Suffolk and when I got around to wanting to use it in the April or May of 2003 the filler wire had rusted into the liner.

 

[Kent]

With all this which mig etc inverter or transformer....does anyone ever consider the enviroment they are stored in.

For example was at the daughters farm the othr day and there is their nice mig stood in an open barn, not moved in a couple of weeks. How will inverter gear fair longer term in such places as unheated garages etc..

Opinions!

Better although they still contain electronics the system is more robust Imo its also more fixable at a lower cost