BOC Smootharc MIG welders

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Originally Posted by hot rover

WIA are made in China too. They stopped making welders in Australia a couple of years ago. They are not the quality that they once were.
Cheers Rod

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is that all there MMAW and GMAW range?

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Originally Posted by Psimpson7

I have a single phase 250amp ESAB MIG Welder which is excellent.

They were made in Sweden, not sure if they still are?

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I have only heard good things about Esab. I believe that Kemppi is still made in Finland?

the 175i is a good home / light farm use unit with easy to get spares...

when my current old unit dies that is what i will be buying...

flux cored wire is good for chassis work... good penetration and really not that messy if you get your wire speeds right... and the polarity :p

I cant believe a MOD just talked about chassis welding :p

seriously though Im not sure flux core would meet the basic AS codes for any of "that" type of welding

all mine have passed :p

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Originally Posted by steveG

I'm looking at getting a decent MIG in the coming months, so have been having a read of the other "which MIG" threads on here, and elsewhere.
My current cheapie MIG runs well on gasless wire (but its a PITA to clean up etc), but sucks when run on gas. Inconsistent wirefeed etc Have you changed your polarity when going from gasless to gas? May be a source of your problems and I'm sick of it. Most of the time now I end up dragging out the stick welder.

So, I'm looking for a decent single phase unit, as large as I can get - probably in the $1-2K range.

Migomag have a really good reputation, so they are definitely on the list, but I also had a look at the BOC offerings today.
They currently have their Smootharc Advance 275 for $1133 ex GST. Its an 275A inverter unit, 4 roller wirefeed (2 are driven) and 60% duty cycle at 213A.

Anyone got one, used one, or have any feedback on them?

Steve

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First I would be figuring out the source of your problems first before going and spending the coin on a new one. You usually go done a size in gas wire from your gasless, Have you chosen the correct drive roller for the wire size?

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Originally Posted by uninformed

I cant believe a MOD just talked about chassis welding :p

seriously though Im not sure flux core would meet the basic AS codes for any of "that" type of welding

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He has been known to successfully change his own oil too:p

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Originally Posted by incisor

all mine have passed :p

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Im guessing it depends on which state you are in, whos doing the inspection and what part you are welding. From what I have looked into here in QLD its hard to get a black and white answer about what can be done, who needs to do it etc for it to be road legal. And if its not road legal I can forget about insurance coverage.

If I was buying again I would research the following brands:

Kemppi
Esab
Lincon
Cig
WIA

Im sure there are some others but these are the good names I know of.

dont just look at duty cycles, but actual components used. Look at the wire feed units. Mine is not an inverter, and as is the case with most of them in this range it only has 2 knobs for voltage 1 coarse and 1 fine adjuster. The wire feed controls wire feed and amps. However I think some models now have display of actual volts and amps which is very handy.

With the inverters that will mig, tig and stick, and if shopping at a certain price range, is it a case of getting more functions at the cost of quality when compared to a conventional mig?

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Originally Posted by rovercare

He has been known to successfully change his own oil too:p

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;) as have I.....but like most things in life a simple small stuff up can sometimes lead to a cluster f.............welding is not void to this.

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Originally Posted by crash

First I would be figuring out the source of your problems first before going and spending the coin on a new one. You usually go done a size in gas wire from your gasless, Have you chosen the correct drive roller for the wire size?

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There's LOTS of different issues with my current, and they all relate to the $175 delivered price I paid for it. Yes - I'm doing the polarity change, and using correct rollers etc.
Its done the main job I bought it for, and that was to make up a couple of sets of D1 sliders/steps for myself and a mate, but its time to move on.
At higher wirespeed settings the wire doesn't stop feeding instantly - like its going too fast to stop, and you end up with about 2cm of wire hanging out. PITA having to trim it before each new weld. At higher feeds its also super sensitive between too slow and too fast - impossible to adjust with gloves on. Its a 4 setting 1/2/LO/HI switch arrangement, and really only the middle 2 are usable.
A decent MIG is a pleasure to use, and my current one just isn't.

The CIG 175i that was mentioned earlier looks like a nice machine and has good reviews elsewhere. My local welding shop has some of the last Australian made WIA's (175A I think) that they found in the back of their warehouse somewhere (brand new but in dusty boxes). The list price on them is around the $1500 mark but they are working out what they will let them go for so might be an option.
Also had a look at a 200A Unimig inverter unit for around the $1100 mark. Metal wire feed body and looked very solid.

Thanks to Hot Rover for the reminder about needing a 32A supply for the larger units. I currently only have 15A.

Sooo many choices, but think I'm slowly narrowing it down.

Steve