Evening all,
I'm at the point of the year where I peruse reasonably priced welders, then steadily increase the spec, justifying it to myself at every stage, to where I'm looking at machines twice the price of those when I started - because you should always future proof purchases, right?
I started looking at Lincoln Bester 200-S, and then went through the various Rtech machines. After reading through some of the posts on this forum, I took a look at the Paton series of machines, starting with the StandardMig-250, and eventually looking at the Pro variants with the separate wire feeder. Do I need this now? Absolutely not. In the future? Who knows.
I'm currently comparing these two machines/deals:
paton.uk
paton.uk
What I'm not understanding is why the Multi process machine in the second kit is cheaper than the non-multi process machine in the first kit. If you buy the machines on their own, the multiprocess machine is more expensive. It seems that it's actually cheaper to buy the kit than the machine individually, too.
Looking at the spec, the difference between the two appears to be the HF Tig start in the multiprocess machine. I assume it's capable of lift start too, but I'm not sure. There are some other differences in supplied mig torch, too (grip vs evo pro).
What am I missing?
Lastly, I'd be grateful for recommendations for anything else to consider - or for experiences with Paton or these machines in particular. I think I've read through most of the recent threads on Paton, so I'd be keen for any other input.
I have a lot of 2mm steel welding in my future, and I need to start practicing. Fortunately, my company gave me redundancy for Christmas, so I suddenly have a little free time on my hands and the need of doing something productive to take my mind off things. Whilst I have no need of a 250 amp machine right now, having something more capable for the future might not be a bad shout, and my thinking is that running a more capable machine at lower settings is better than a less capable machine at higher settings, for longevity.
Thank you all, this turned into a much longer post than intended.
I'm at the point of the year where I peruse reasonably priced welders, then steadily increase the spec, justifying it to myself at every stage, to where I'm looking at machines twice the price of those when I started - because you should always future proof purchases, right?
I started looking at Lincoln Bester 200-S, and then went through the various Rtech machines. After reading through some of the posts on this forum, I took a look at the Paton series of machines, starting with the StandardMig-250, and eventually looking at the Pro variants with the separate wire feeder. Do I need this now? Absolutely not. In the future? Who knows.
I'm currently comparing these two machines/deals:
Welder Inverter Paton ProMIG 250 (15-4) MIG/MAG MMA/TIG Lift
Welder Inverter Paton ProMIG 250 (15-4) designed for semi-industrial and industrial use | MIG/MAG | MMA TIG | PULSE welding mode | IP33
paton.uk
Welder Inverter MultiPRO 250 MIG/MAG MMA/TIG HF PULSE Kit 1 | PATON™
Paton MultiPRO-250 MIG Welder (15-4) designed for semi-industrial and industrial use | MIG/MAG | MMA | TIG HF | Accessories – Kit 1
paton.uk
What I'm not understanding is why the Multi process machine in the second kit is cheaper than the non-multi process machine in the first kit. If you buy the machines on their own, the multiprocess machine is more expensive. It seems that it's actually cheaper to buy the kit than the machine individually, too.
Looking at the spec, the difference between the two appears to be the HF Tig start in the multiprocess machine. I assume it's capable of lift start too, but I'm not sure. There are some other differences in supplied mig torch, too (grip vs evo pro).
What am I missing?
Lastly, I'd be grateful for recommendations for anything else to consider - or for experiences with Paton or these machines in particular. I think I've read through most of the recent threads on Paton, so I'd be keen for any other input.
I have a lot of 2mm steel welding in my future, and I need to start practicing. Fortunately, my company gave me redundancy for Christmas, so I suddenly have a little free time on my hands and the need of doing something productive to take my mind off things. Whilst I have no need of a 250 amp machine right now, having something more capable for the future might not be a bad shout, and my thinking is that running a more capable machine at lower settings is better than a less capable machine at higher settings, for longevity.
Thank you all, this turned into a much longer post than intended.
" I'd be off like a rocket " 
to the sales area of our site to look to see if any of the lads or lasses on site have a reasonable semi industrial welder ........ for sale ....would be my first stop.
