which welder

[Fusion]

Hi Guys , I'm looking at getting an arc welder just for some small work in the shed and wondering what brands are the go ? what do you guys have ? and do you like them or should of got something else ? :)

[rangieman]

Hi Guys , I'm looking at getting an arc welder just for some small work in the shed and wondering what brands are the go ? what do you guys have ? and do you like them or should of got something else ? :)
Why not get a mig ,as they are fairly cheap to buy now and are just the right bit of kit for doing light welding jobs:D

[gumby190]

Yeah buy a MIG, so much easier than an ARC welder & these days not to much difference in the price.

[dirtdawg]

i weld all day and for home jobs your better off with a mig

[blitz]

Me too go the mig BUT that was only half of your question if you are really after a stick welder and they have some good points over a mig get the inverter sort they are lovely to use. the rods can be kept in a PVC container made from plumbing bits

Migs have continuous welding ability but if the wire gets rust on it throw it away - an expensive exersize if you only weld occasionally.

IMHO get some sort of training from a VET / TAFE provider then make your desision.

Cheers Blythe

[mark2]

Yeah buy a MIG, so much easier than an ARC welder & these days not to much difference in the price.

MIGs are nice but dont forget to factor in the cost of gas and bottle rental - allow a couple of hundred $$ per year for occasional use. Gasless wire isnt worth bothering with IMHO...........

A cheaper alternative in terms of initial and consumable costs is an inverter stick welder - these produce a very clean arc and are much nicer and easier to use than a traditional transformer stick welder, use less current and are about the size of a medium size car battery but much lighter. A good one can be had for just over $300 - (BOC smootharc) but there are plenty of other good ones around for not much more.

I also think its better to learn on an arc welder rather than a mig - if you can arc weld, you can mig weld, but not necessarily the other way around.....

[Fusion]

i got a catalog today from mitre10 with a arc welder in it for $99 the brand was i think sig or siq . Are these any good ?

[rangieman]

i got a catalog today from mitre10 with a arc welder in it for $99 the brand was i think sig or siq . Are these any good ?
sip maybe
i know they are cheap

[cookiesa]

I have a "cheap" $99 welder (included face maks etc from memory) I have built a trailer with it (self taught stick welding) and was very happy with the result I achieved. Had it checked by a boiler maker and he said the penetration etc were fine. (It was nice of him not to mention the "look" of the welds LOL (Just means more work with the grinder)

Mine is a GMC I think. Only thing I would say is one with a cooling fan would be good. Mine isn't fan cooled and when doing lots of welding mine cuts out on thermal but I usually take that as a sign to do some grinding/painting/cutting/re apply sunscreen etc.

I also bought a new welding helmet as the type you hold up that come "free" are a pain. One of the ones that changes from light to dark would be nice!

I have also welded up a roof rack and several other jobs including fabricating display units for our shop.

If I could justify the expense I would get the inverter sort, not much more really especially if you are getting a brand one.

[colrospeake]

wannalandy
I run a engineering department at a local high school and I have found that the $99 ones if they are over heat protected are great.
Understand that students give everything a hiding, but the $99 ALdi yes ALDI units are standing up better than some better known varieties. If it were me -- Mig first if you can afford it , then a cheep stick welder. You can get a gas less mig which will cut costs a bit.
Redback

[LandyAndy]

Mate
Dont bother with ARC!!!! Especially if you have done no welding before.
Save up get a gas mig,NOT GASLESS!!! Once you get the hang of it your welding torch is the same as a sillcum gun!!!!
Im self trained as far as welding goes,BUT I have a couple of boiler maker mates.Got lots of help from them!!!
There are a few on here who can weld,ask the questions as you learn how to weld,everyone that can will pitch in with advice!!!
Andrew

[stevo]

I bought a three in one welder has the stick,tig and plasma cutter in the one unit, only used the stick so far only problem is the other half cannot use her hair dryer at the same time it will trip the circuit breaker:p

[ladas]

With the costs of MIgs so low now I wonder why you woul want to go arc.

eBay Australia - mig welder, welder, mig, tig welder items at low prices (http://search.ebay.com.au/search/search.dll?from=R40&_trksid=m37&satitle=mig+welder&category0)=

[uninformed]

just remember you get what u pay for!

brands that are good = kemppi, WIA, BOC top line stuff made by kemppi,
esab, lincon,

i have a boc(kemppi) 250 mig and a boc (kemppi) 150 arc/tig inverter..

both very very smooth great to weld with easy to learn on and will last a life time

serg

[olbod]

I have had an Easywelder EC arc welder for years. Top little unit for
big or small jobs. Secret with stick is to use the right stick for the job !
EG: Dont use a down stick to weld up. Use different sticks for wet or dry days etc:
I also have a BOC oxy acetalene jobby.
I dont feel the need to buy anything else after all these years.

Not knocking these other types as I have never used them, but there is no welding job that I would not tackle with what I have.
Have always done my own panel repair work. Using oxy is fine as long as you know how to avoid distortion and stretching. Oxy is also fine for welding alloy.

Me Granpa taught me how to weld metal using tongs, hammer and forge.
I like to weld stuff.

Back in tha 70's in the big smoke, I was a big fan of Johny Leffler in
the blue Mini Cooper S. I bought a Cooper S for me daily.
I used the oxy to remove all of the seams on the body and crafted and welded in nice hand made double curved flares.
I painted it black with a thin red pencil stripe along the side.
It looked beautiful and I loved it. Have a photo somewhere.
Learning to weld correctly with any sort of gear is the secret of success.
Cheers.

[Fusion]

I have done some welding with a stick welder ( not a great deal) and none with a MIG . And at the moment my wallet is saying go with the stick welder for $99 . So thanks for the replys guys ;):).

I noticed that you get a welding mask with the welder but it's hand held . It seems like a pain in the butt to me . Can anyone suggest what sort of mask to get thats not worth a house ?:p

[dungarover]

For the amount of times I weld, I was going to buy a MIG and decided against it. Too costly for the bottle rental, gas, wire goes rusty, etc.. if you weld a fair bit then a MIG is a good option

I have a crappy old CIG Weldmaster that's about 25 years old. I bought it for $40 from a garage sale when I was about 13, now 30 and it's been a great investment. It took me years to get the hang of using it but I perserverd. My welding isn't the neatest but it strong and that's all it matters to me.

Seen those new inverter arc welders, at $400 or so they look the goods. Anyone have one because I'm keen to upgrade to a bigger unit so i can weld thicker plate anyway.

Trav

[Tank]

I have done some welding with a stick welder ( not a great deal) and none with a MIG . And at the moment my wallet is saying go with the stick welder for $99 . So thanks for the replys guys ;):).

I noticed that you get a welding mask with the welder but it's hand held . It seems like a pain in the butt to me . Can anyone suggest what sort of mask to get thats not worth a house ?:p
Mig welders are useless outside if its windy, are hard to get into confined spaces where you need tp see the arc, cost a packet to buy and bottle rental and gas purchase. Saying that I have a CIG Cigweld 135 and it is great for light work, small frames, sheetmetal and exhaust pipes.
If you go to an Arc welder pick a brand name, CIG, Champion, Lincoln, I have a Champion, built a few water tanker (2000gal.) trucks with it, never had a problem with it, go for a COPPER wound (not aluminium wire), they have a longer duty cycle and will run off a 15amp (240V) powerpoint no problems, most aluminium wired welders have a shorter continous duty cycle and require a cooling fan, get a head mounted flip up welding helmet mask about $20+, Regards Frank.

[cookiesa]

I bought the "helmet" style one that is just a dark lens for about $40 from a hardware store, the changing one woul;d be better but they cost as much as my welder did (and what all the steel for my trailer frame cost)

[Disco_owner]

I have a Cigweld Arc Welder Jobbie from Bunning which I think I paid $179.00 for , I like you went with a $99.00 welder , can't remeber the Brand but even with a coolling Fan it had a very short duty cycle , it was absolute rubbish , After 3 days of welding it blew up , took it back to bunnings and exchanged it for the Cigweld, like Frank said go for a reputable Brand and you'll keep it for years , have had the Cigweld Welder for 3 years now , think it's also 135 AMP , I have about 3 different size sticks in garage which I use depending on the application.

cheers Khos

[D3Jon]

I bought the "helmet" style one that is just a dark lens for about $40 from a hardware store, the changing one woul;d be better but they cost as much as my welder did (and what all the steel for my trailer frame cost)

You can get solar assisted + battery auto-darkening helmets for around $99 now if you shop around, I've even seen them for $89.

Picked one up myself a few months ago from Glenfords tool store, it has adjustable darkness control - it's great. Plenty of tool shops seem to sell them nowadays - cheap as chips, made in China but most importantly they comply with ADR's (at leat mine does). :)

Jon

[mark2]

For the amount of times I weld, I was going to buy a MIG and decided against it. Too costly for the bottle rental, gas, wire goes rusty, etc.. if you weld a fair bit then a MIG is a good option

I have a crappy old CIG Weldmaster that's about 25 years old. I bought it for $40 from a garage sale when I was about 13, now 30 and it's been a great investment. It took me years to get the hang of using it but I perserverd. My welding isn't the neatest but it strong and that's all it matters to me.

Seen those new inverter arc welders, at $400 or so they look the goods. Anyone have one because I'm keen to upgrade to a bigger unit so i can weld thicker plate anyway.

Trav

The inverter arc welders are definitly worth upgrading to - you wont believe the difference:cool: I bought a BOC one for $309 which came second in a test of about 12 inverter welders ranging from $300 - $1500. I would probably recommend buying the larger one which is just over $400 if you want to weld plate over about 6mm.

[JohnE]

Hi Guys , I'm looking at getting an arc welder just for some small work in the shed and wondering what brands are the go ? what do you guys have ? and do you like them or should of got something else ? :)


Interesting how everyones perspective on welding starts from the cheap and works its way up to the expensive.

In my interpretation the key words are ' small work in a shed', a bit hard to justify an expensive mig with gas. Or even an inverter ( which are the ducks guts)
From my perspective, I bought a $89 GMC, not fan cooled, had an average duty cycle when using the larger CIG rods, so i went to the smaller ones the satincraft ones are perfect, even bought some ozito rods from bunnings to try and havne;t had a problem with the thermal cutout. I can use 3 rods one after the other and its fine no cut out.
Perfect for the shed, have welded thin steel and thick steel and as my welding teacher said if your not sure about penetration belt the weld with a lump hammer if it comes apart it wasn't hot enough.

Thats my 5 cents worth for a shed welder.

john

[Fusion]

was looking on ebay and found a few fancy helmets ...... worth more than a bloody welder :eek:
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/02/22.jpg
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/02/23.jpg
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/02/24.jpg
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/02/25.jpg
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/02/26.jpg

[dirtdawg]

get an auto darkening helmet, i would not work without one they make everything so much easier

[stevo]

Just used the plasma cutter on the 3in1 welder bought a $150 compressor from repco so far it has been brillant I have been making up a new bar for the front of the disco and needed to cut out sections of pipe for the winch fairlead and driving light mounts.

The brand is mitech not to be mixed up with the chinese copy mitec that you see on ebay done a heap of welding last 6 months

[mcrover]

The thing is that with inverter arc welders these days the old style transformer type ARC is obsolete and in comparison is awful to use.

I had an ESAB ARC when I was out on road service (previous job) which when we bought it was around the $500 mark but then I upgraded to an inverter which is a 1/4 of the size and 1/10th of the weight as well as I can use it as a TIG as well or plug in a hand held wire feed hand piece/torch (which is gas compatible) it can be used the same as a MIG.

There are other Inverters that can be used as a Plasma cutter as well and they are great for sheet work.

The other advantage of an ARC is that you can use it to weld Steel, Stainless, Cast, and Cast Alloy with only minor changes as well as a change of rods so you dont have to completely change the machine to change the material you are welding as you do with MIG.

I have (at work) MIG for general welding, ARC for either when the MIG doesnt work or when I need to weld something other than steel and OXY for everything else and I find I use all 3 but would love an Inverter at this job as well so I could get rid of the Giant old ARC welder (which could weld anything) and be a bit more usefull for other jobs.

As far as masks goes, there are fairly cheap automatic masks (about $120)around these days, I have one at work which are fine, I have only had a minor problem of the battery going flat and it being a rechargable tiny little thing and the supplier just replaced the whole thing which was about 3 yrs old which I thought was pretty good.

[mcrover]

was looking on ebay and found a few fancy helmets ...... worth more than a bloody welder :eek:
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/02/22.jpg
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/02/23.jpg
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/02/24.jpg
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/02/25.jpg
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/02/26.jpg

My supplier sells the Millars for between $300 and $400 depending on whats on it, their standard helmet is cheaper to the personalised ones are pricey but they are the best in my opinion but my elcheapo does the best.

[WildOne]

What did you pay for the 3 in 1 Stevo?
Cheers, Phill


Just used the plasma cutter on the 3in1 welder bought a $150 compressor from repco so far it has been brillant I have been making up a new bar for the front of the disco and needed to cut out sections of pipe for the winch fairlead and driving light mounts.

The brand is mitech not to be mixed up with the chinese copy mitec that you see on ebay done a heap of welding last 6 months

[stevo]

What did you pay for the 3 in 1 Stevo?
Cheers, Phill

$940

[gumby190]

Wannalandy, I just bought a little SIP mig welder today, cost $220.00. It's pretty damn good, I have not really tried to weld anything in a long time, gave it a crack today & after a few false starts away I went. Pretty happy if I do say so myself. Haven't used a MIG for about 5yrs.

We have an ARC welder hanging around at work, I have tried to weld a few things & given up pretty quickly.

[graceysdad]

I have a little Italian made Telwin, its ideal for light work and with a nice satin craft 2.4 rod you can weld sheetmetal if your careful, the only problem is they dont have a cooling fan and shut down after a while to cool down but for under 200 clams they are a good buy.

[mcrover]

I just wanted to add,

One of the problems with a gas sheilded MIG and TIG over an ARC is that they are a pain to use out side as the gasious (Argon/Corgon) shield can get blown away from the work so an ARC or Gasless MIG is the best to get used outside if it's windy anyway.

[rovercare]

I just wanted to add,

One of the problems with a gas sheilded MIG and TIG over an ARC is that they are a pain to use out side as the gasious (Argon/Corgon) shield can get blown away from the work so an ARC or Gasless MIG is the best to get used outside if it's windy anyway.

Just turn the gas up;)

Although at $60 an E refill, keep it down:(

[dungarover]

Just turn the gas up;)

Although at $60 an E refill, keep it down:(

That's whay for the amount of times I weld I just stick with the ARC. My welding looks crappy anyway so regardless it wouldn't make much of a difference.

Trav

[rovercare]

That's whay for the amount of times I weld I just stick with the ARC. My welding looks crappy anyway so regardless it wouldn't make much of a difference.

Trav

Yep, but I have the mig out, most days I'm working on something and the old man isn't far of it either, you've got one car to work one, I work on cruntloads;)

[dungarover]

fair enough, like I said if you use your MIG reguarly I can see the value in buying one.

I had a MIG once (small 120 amp job though, bit of a toy really :() and used it twice in 18 months, the wire went rusty and the bottle wascosting me a small fortune in rental for little use so I just couldn't see the value in one for me that is.

Trav

[rovercare]

fair enough, like I said if you use your MIG reguarly I can see the value in buying one.

I had a MIG once (small 120 amp job though, bit of a toy really :() and used it twice in 18 months, the wire went rusty and the bottle wascosting me a small fortune in rental for little use so I just couldn't see the value in one for me that is.

Trav

Costs a dollar a day to rent Oxy, Acet and argoshield light bottles, its a ****ing fip off:mad:

[Bennett]

I want a plasma cutter and stick.... Sort of goes against everything people have been saying brand wise I suppose -->

http://http://cgi.ebay.com.au/TIG-STICK-WELDER-PLASMA-CUTTER-Solid-Performer_W0QQitemZ130201198131QQihZ003QQcategoryZ 11774QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem (http://cgi.ebay.com.au/TIG-STICK-WELDER-PLASMA-CUTTER-Solid-Performer_W0QQitemZ130201198131QQihZ003QQcategoryZ 11774QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

Could cut the beer kegs up with plasma :)

You can't weld AL with inverter arc welders can you..? I suppose you could with above welder using TIG? Sort of defeats the purpose of getting a stick welder if I then have to go buy gas for the TIG component.

[mcrover]

I want a plasma cutter and stick.... Sort of goes against everything people have been saying brand wise I suppose -->

http://http://cgi.ebay.com.au/TIG-STICK-WELDER-PLASMA-CUTTER-Solid-Performer_W0QQitemZ130201198131QQihZ003QQcategoryZ 11774QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem (http://cgi.ebay.com.au/TIG-STICK-WELDER-PLASMA-CUTTER-Solid-Performer_W0QQitemZ130201198131QQihZ003QQcategoryZ 11774QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

Could cut the beer kegs up with plasma :)

You can't weld AL with inverter arc welders can you..? I suppose you could with above welder using TIG? Sort of defeats the purpose of getting a stick welder if I then have to go buy gas for the TIG component.


You can weld cast ally with cast ally rods with a ARK welder but extruded ally you need to TIG it or if your good you can use OXY Ive been told but I havnt seen it or been successful trying it.

BOC has (or were advertising) disposable bottles of argon, CO2 and corgon as well as OXY and Acetalene but they were very small bottles, about the size of a 1.25 coke bottle.

I would imagine they still wouldnt be cheap but at least you could keep it for a long time and not be paying rent.

[stock]

my 10 c worth in 1998 I bought a greshim inverter welder have welded everything from excavator buckets to a 6mm nut on to 1.5mm cladding bought a tig kit for it as well great yoke