2nd hand mig

[loanrangie]

I'm looking at a 2nd hand mig as opposed to a cheap new chinese mig (unless someone can convince me otherwise) , one i'm going to check out is a cigweld 130 that is about 10years old.
Apart from checking that it works is there anything i should worry about with a 10yo mig ?

[roverrescue]

Check note that it wont be big enough and in a short while you will be looking for a 250A model ;)
Best way to check it is to turn up with a bottle of gas, some clean scrap steel and a roll of wire and burn it at max setting for a while... check the duty cycle specifications and then see if it will do them without trouble.

Obviously if it lets the smoke out it fails the test but likely the seller wont be too happy!!!

But honestly check if a 130A MIG unit is going to do what you want in the first instance.

S

[loanrangie]

I dont need a mig for anything thicker than say sheet metal as i have an arc for that, really only want it for 1-4mm mild steel.
I dont have gas but i can at least roll up with a spool of flux core wire and some scrap.

[bee utey]

I assume this mig is single phase. 130 amps is fine, I set up my single phase mig to run 0.8mm wire instead of the more common 0.9mm and it welds anything I need it to, from 0.6mm to 10mm and over. I've never had it at the highest setting in the 25 years I've owned it, and multiple pass welding is a doddle with a mig. Remember always, the metal you weld has to be scrupulously clean, rust, moisture and paint don't go well with a mig.

Have a look at the hand piece and the feed rollers, significant wear will cost you a bit to fix so long as spares are still available. That's the problem with mine, it's an ancient French made Air Liquide mig and parts are basically whatever you can make fit.

[loanrangie]

Yep single phase , the reason i'm looking at 2nd hand is i cant afford a new decent one and i dont want to buy a cheap chinese one that parts are hard to get. So i figure a decent 2nd hand one would do me.

[Bigbjorn]

I have a Transmig 195 bought new about 25 years ago. At the time it was the biggest one that was on 240 volts. Uses the large reels of wire, mild steel wire reel is 15 kilos. It has been totally trouble free. I use 0.9 mild steel wire and have another conduit and handpiece for 1.2 which I use with 1.0 aluminium wire. 16 gauge is its limit on aluminium. About 10 years ago a counter hand at BOC looked up their parts computer listing and told me they "still had a few parts for those 'old' machines". Probably got none now.

Check it feeds wire properly, no slippage. Check the rollers for wear and that the pressure adjustment stills functions nicely. Try a few runs at various speeds and voltages. Nothing much can go wrong with them really.

[loanrangie]

Thats why i'm hesitant to get a cheap unit, the transmig 130 i'm loking at is $120 so i wont be out of pocket if it does work and i dont like it - wont buy it if it doesnt work, 1 owner and low usage so i cant see there being much wrong with it.

[Graz]

I'm looking at a 2nd hand mig as opposed to a cheap new chinese mig (unless someone can convince me otherwise) , one i'm going to check out is a cigweld 130 that is about 10years old.
Apart from checking that it works is there anything i should worry about with a 10yo mig ?

I have have one that has done a **** load of work that is approx 15 years old. The feed roller motor and gearbox died due failed bearings. Was able to purchase a new spare off the shelf assembly at one of the outlets in Perth.
Probably wouldn't be any good for ally wire as it has trouble feeding steel that has slight rust on it.
Apart from small jobs mine has welded the trusses for a 6 x 9 metre shed, boat trailer for my 16ft jet boat and the tray back and trades back on my 130.
Depending on the price I'd say go for it.

[loanrangie]

I agree Graz. Seller is a good bloke and let me try it out with some scrap steel he had and a spool of gasless wire that i took with me, my wire was a little corroded so kept getting jammed so he cut a couple of metres off his larger spool and hooked up his gas bottle and it welds no problem at all.
$120 for the mig plus a trolley is a bargain and even it i want to upgrade in 12 months i'd easily get my money back.

[Didge]

Yeah, just go for it. I bought one of those chinese jobbies - a 195 amp mig but I think they meant 1 x 95 amp mig; that's about the performance of it. A 2nd hand good one is far better than a new crap one.