what welder will i need?

[reg of the overflow]

I am rebuilding my 1961 SWB (not restoring) and need to do a bit of welding here and there. I also need to do some on the work trailer and a few other bits and pieces. As wifey and I will start looking for a couple of acres next year, to sit back and do bugger all, I dare say a welder will come in handy on the farmlet.

Now, the question is, on a budget, what sort will I need now to do the work on the Landie (floor, chassis, etc). I haven't welded for many years but may well take some course to brush up on skills.

All suggestions taken on board.

[spudboy]

A small MIG will probably be the go, if all you need to weld is mild steel. You can make a MIG weld aluminium with different gas & etc, but it's not what they're good at.

If you want to do fine stuff, like 2mm sheet and you want to do Ali, then you'll need a TIG and then you are starting to talk bigger dollars. A DC TIG will do Stainless and Mild steel of course, but using AC they can do Ali very nicely. Takes some practice though.

What sort of budget have you got?

[reg of the overflow]

not really sure about budget, just starting to look around. I have heard mig is the go

[Slunnie]

Without having used gasless MIG, you may find outside welding around the farm better with stick.

[Sitec]

Ok. Tip 1, avoid gas less migs! Once you have learnt to use a mig, you'll understand why.. Tip 2. Buy the biggest you can afford at the time. You will use it later for bigger jobs for sure... Especially if you buy a block.

The biggest mig a single phase 240v circuit will handle is a 250/255 amp. I managed to buy a Cigweld 250 (blue covers with silver light grey body) for $900 on special. It has a std euro torch (the welding gun), came with a 'free roll of wire' and regulator. Its big enough to weld 10mm plate yet small enough to repair thin .8 and 1.0 mild steel. Its been faultless for the last 2 yrs, and has done a lot of work! Hope this helps a bit. I can give you the exact specs of the welder once home tonight along with a pic if it helps. Just remember to account for cylinder rental... BOC, Air Liquide, and CORGAS are some of the choices.
Cheers. Simon.

[blitz]

I had a mig and gave it away - damned good welder but unless you are using it regularly the wire will rust and you have to cut that off or replace the whole roll which becomes quite expensive.

Another option is a inverter stick / tig. they are light easy to use and they are able to weld mild steel (stick and tig) stainless or ally (Tig)

Either way you go both have pro's and con's.

Cheers

Blythe

[mattyg]

What are those 3 in 1 - gas / gasless mig tig welders like? Those Uni mig $1000 type jobs. Sorry for the hijack but I'm in the same boat as the OP and they seem ok

[steveG]

What are those 3 in 1 - gas / gasless mig tig welders like? Those Uni mig $1000 type jobs. Sorry for the hijack but I'm in the same boat as the OP and they seem ok

I'm in the "home welder" category. Don't do a huge amount of welding, but have welded with stick/oxy/TIG/MIG for the last 30yrs or so.
I've got the 250A version of the 3-in-1 Unimig inverter models. Nice MIG and stick welder. Haven't used the TIG function as I've already got a separate AC/DC TIG.
Consider portability if you are looking at a non-inverter MIG. At 70kg+ they aren't exactly easy to move around unless you've got a good concreted floor to roll them on.

Whatever you do, don't get a cheap MIG. They are an absolute PITA to use and you will be sorry you bought it.
I've had a couple and hated using both of them - but love using the Unimig I've got now.

If you can't afford to spend $800+ on a MIG but still need to do some welding, then get an inverter stick welder. Obviously that won't cut it if you need to do thinner sheet metal, but will do pretty much everything else by using the right size/type of rods. VERY portable and much more flexible than a MIG. Cheaper to run (at least compared to gas mig).

Steve

[slug_burner]

I got the biggest single phase gas MIG I could get. Yes they are big and heavy, yes the wire rusts and yes the cylinder has to be paid for. It is fairly easy to weld with it, I have only used it on steel.

If I was doing it again I'd be looking at one of those multi function plasma cutter TIG machines. I just don't know enough about them to be able to comment.

On a budget, I'd go the stick welder, the inverter models are X2, X4 as expensive but are light and portable. Can still get some small transformer ones you will just get less duty cycle. IF you don't do much welding then the stick without rental of gas bottles, smaller size might be the go.

[Chops]

Has anyone got, or tried one of these?

I have a mig and a stick, but as others have said, with the mig, unless your using it reasonably regularly, the wire can rust, the bottle can be expensive, (over time), and of course, depending on your shedding, difficult to move around.
I use my stick more than anything,, and a mate used the mig for quite a while :eek:. So, I'm thinking of selling the mig and getting something similar to the small inverter welder listed here.

Weldsmart 200 AMP DC TIG Pulse MMA Inverter ARC Welder Quality Stick Welding | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/WeldSmart-200-Amp-DC-TIG-Pulse-MMA-Inverter-ARC-Welder-QUALITY-stick-welding-/130783832117?pt=AU_Welding&hash=item1e7352e835)

It'd be nice to be able to tig weld stainless and alloy, even if only occasionally. Mind you, tig welding steel has a nice finish to it too ;)

[angus1]

My Series 3 needed a bit of welding and I have an inherited 120A gasless MIG, don't even go there. It's way too small for 2.5mm steel and drove me mad. I bought the Weldsmart 200A MMA inverter (the cheapest one) and it is a dream. Light to carry, easy to start even down to 30A with a 1.2mm rod on thin steel. It also cost only $199 as I picked it up from the distributor in Canning Vale, WA. I made up a new front cross member from 3mm steel from the local steel merchant and never had a problem, even though my technique is far from professional. The 200A can run 2.4mm rods at 100% duty cycle and that size will do 3mm steel. It can do up to 4mm rods so should anything you come across in a farmyard.
Best of luck!

[steveG]

Has anyone got, or tried one of these?

I have a mig and a stick, but as others have said, with the mig, unless your using it reasonably regularly, the wire can rust, the bottle can be expensive, (over time), and of course, depending on your shedding, difficult to move around.
I use my stick more than anything,, and a mate used the mig for quite a while :eek:. So, I'm thinking of selling the mig and getting something similar to the small inverter welder listed here.

Weldsmart 200 AMP DC TIG Pulse MMA Inverter ARC Welder Quality Stick Welding | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/WeldSmart-200-Amp-DC-TIG-Pulse-MMA-Inverter-ARC-Welder-QUALITY-stick-welding-/130783832117?pt=AU_Welding&hash=item1e7352e835)

It'd be nice to be able to tig weld stainless and alloy, even if only occasionally. Mind you, tig welding steel has a nice finish to it too ;)

If by "alloy" you mean aluminium, then unfortunately that machine won't do it. You need an AC TIG to do aluminium.
That one looks like pretty reasonable value to me. Comes with a TIG torch which would cost $100-150 by itself. Would probably be an ideal machine to do your stick welding and also have a play around with TIG.
I don't know too much about the brand other than they have been around for at least a couple of years as I recall seeing them when I was looking.

Steve

[Chops]

Thanks for the info Steve,
I mostly want it for Stainless,, although I thought I could do Alloy too,, but alas, no it seems :(.

One of the things I like about having something this small and versatile is the fact that I can pack it away in the bus when we head off.

[loanrangie]

I will be looking for a mig myself shortly,i have been using my old mans little SIP gas/gasless mig but its over 20 years old and the wire feed plays up and not worth fixing.

[Rick1970]

I currently use a Migmate 180 compact from BOC. Ok for what I need it for and went this way mainly for a small/light machine. If I need more, have access to a 335amp Mig at work, or drag the stick welder out.


While have run gasless, I now use gas and leave the gasless only for if I really need to use it outside in the wind on stuff like gates/fences etc. The only up side to the gasless stuff is that's its a lot less fussy about rust and paint on the material that your trying to weld. For general use, gas wins
hands down...