Thread: Mig Welders ??

Had an SIP 196 for about 3 years now with no major issues (used regularly for private use only). dont fall for the baby 140amp gas/gasless toys. What ever you pick, use good wire and keep the cover on over the wire reel/drive to keep dust/cr*p out of the feed
Paul

I have a Thermodyne Cigweld 165 amp unit. This is the absolute smallest unit that I would recommend. It has a three metre welding lead. The smaller unit only has two metres. It has much more control than the small unit. I have quite easily welded 5mm plate, and would weld heavier. I would not get a unit with smaller capacity. This unit is the biggest unit that cigweld sell in the small physical size.

No matter what brand or size that you intend to buy, make sure that it does both gas and flux cored welding. Gas will give you a better finish, with no slag (so no possibility of slag incursion). Flux cored is useful if you must weld outside with a breeze that will blow the gas away.

Don't get a unit that only uses disposable gas canisters. Gas bottle rental is not that expensive.

Aaron.

Amps depending on how thick you want to weld
Duty cycle depending on how much you want to weld
variable power and wire feed speed for finer control
single or 3 phase, prob single is enough for home
weight, size and ability to move/store, carry argoshield bottle with welder
Euro fittings to quick and easy handset replacements
standard tips and shields in the handpiece fo easy to get parts
Wire spool capacity, so it allows the bigger 5kg spools if you are going to do a lot.

I really like ESAB equipment but there are a lot of people that like Unimig, Migomag, CIG, Lincoln. I find I'm chasing the BOC industrials a lot and theyre very light for what we're doing but prob ok for home, though I'd like to give the BOC MagMAtePro a run, these on paper look like excellent machines, but I'm not yet sure about their durability.

Blitzer;

find out about TAFE auctions , they sell awesome old gas-MIG units at auctions relatively cheap.

Have a look at this one you can get at BOC, Kemppi inverter mig.

It is one of the best Migs Ive used, much like using a 3 phase machine how it holds it's arc.

Great for a small shop or home.

There are some Chinese copies that are nearly as good just the power supplies arnt that good at low settings but most of the time you run migs pretty high anyway.

I dont recomend gasless wire as the fumes are cancerous but apparently you can get disposable bottles of argon but I havnt been able to find them as yet.

The other thing that might be worth looking at are the inverter stick welders with a TIG kit, they are scratch start and easy to use, you still need argon but the welds are much better than MIG but they are slower but you can still use them as a normal ARC welder as well if your doing big stuff.

If it's just for home I would go for the later but if your in a workshop then I think you need both......as well as an OXY...

Copper (or steel) wound welders are no good if they are cheap, they normally have a great arc to start with but drop off as the power supplies heat up and the qualities of the windings dont lend it self to propper cooling so they have a low duty cycle at full amps but the more expensive units are great but you need the power supply to back them up.

On 240v 15a you are limited with an old school welder to what real amps it will put out but if you have 20 amp supply or 3 phase then you will get a lot more out if it.

When shopping, look at the duty cycle and what supply that is measured on as some of the cheaper welders will put an 80% duty cycle at 100 amps on a 20a on a 200amp welder where as a good quality welder may say it's a 60% duty cycle at 200amps on a 15amp supply means the more expensive welder will pump out more power for longer on a lower amperage supply.

The beut thing about inverter welders is that they will pump out the power yet draw very little meaning that you can normally use them at their max for ages on a 15amp supply and they dont drop power or cut out to cool down but like I said, the cheaper ones tend not to hold a clean wave form at lower amps but that only really matters with really light rods or with TIG.

Hope that helps.

Look at what is readily available and easy to get parts and decent wire for. I have seen issiues with different branded wire not feeding properly and difficulty getting parts.
CIG IMHO are propbablly the best for the home handyman as bits are available everywhere and they are priced and work well. Currently I have a mates CIG 135 in my shed and will be getting a 165 for Xmas.
Having said that I have a cheap SIP ARC welder that I have had for about 15 years and it has not missed a beat.
If you have distributors near by (not resellers who only sell the unit) Lincoln are a great brand as well. There are heaps more around and most are good, but as said parts and backup service are important.

Originally Posted by Slunnie

I really like ESAB equipment but there are a lot of people that like Unimig, Migomag, CIG, Lincoln. I find I'm chasing the BOC industrials a lot and theyre very light for what we're doing but prob ok for home, though I'd like to give the BOC MagMAtePro a run, these on paper look like excellent machines, but I'm not yet sure about their durability.

do you mean BOC's top line that is made by Kemppi?

how do you mean chasing?

i have a BOC 250C
very good smooth welder!

highly recommend it to anyone for a single phase welder, shop or home.

Serg

the cig 135 is fine for working on land rovers and associated gear if you use .8 wire. i have welded 20mm plate with mine and a little preheating with an oxy so they are pretty versatile if you have a little nouse...

whatever brand you get make sure you can get consumable parts like nozzles, tips, and rollers without to much trouble.