Welder Advice...

[Justin_Elliott]

Been thinking of getting myself another Mig welder... (Had one a few years ago that I got rid of before getting the LC)

Anyway, bit lost on what model to get - I was thinking of a ~150A

Seen a Sureweld Monomig 152 advertised locally... any good?

Thanks

 

[j555fjr]

my advice is this.....spend a little more because you only get what you can pay for.. miller is very very good, kempi not bad either... dont know if miller do a 240volt mig but it would be worth looking into, even a second hand one would be good if it was clean and tidy as spares are easy. size wise it all depends on what you want it to do? if you want to weld small stuff with .8 wire it would be ok any bigger and 240volts doesnt really like it for prolonged periods, although i have used 1.0 wire on 240 for long periods but it was on a 180 amp welder but the plug did get alittle hot and the nail instead of the fuse was not a good idea! what ever you buy check spares availability first as it can be expensive if you cant fix it and it goes in the bin and with anything nowadays there can be alot to go wrong.
dont just take may advice, ive only been in the game a short while (21yrs!) but here is a
couple of companies local to me you can try for advice

thos, carlisle and newcastle
huner welding, carlisle
they are both good lads and will help even if your not local to them

 

[Justin_Elliott]

Thanks, for the advice will give it some thought. Thanks for the contacts, our local welding supplies place seems to have shutdown/moved?...

...and the nail instead of the fuse was not a good idea!...

 

[j555fjr]

or maybe a lincoln......

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

If you go for one of the higher powered single phase welders just run a dedicated feed from your fuse box and use the appropriate connectors instead of using a 13 amp plug Can't help you much with branding but I'd go a bit bigger than you think you need, unless you're already at the top end, because the higher capacity welders work much better at 75% capacity than a medium at 100%.

 

[Justin_Elliott]

I'm thinking the most of my welding would be at ~3mm and whilst 'occasional' was planning on going with refillable gas.. so I was heading for a ~150A (or bigger). But wanted the flexibility to go thinner..

Using the info on http://www.mig-welding.co.uk but advice heavily varied (as users needs vary..)

So I thought I'd ask on here...

Agree with the dedicated plug, no chance of running off a standard 13a plug in this house (would definitely trip!) - So planned to get a 'motor' rated MCB fitted and a round plug - whilst I'm at it...

 

[uHu]

Kemppi Minarc 200 Evo is perfect for car use. (Used to be Minarc 180 Evo)
Up to 4 mm it's "Non plus ultra".
ESAB is also excellent.

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

I'm thinking the most of my welding would be at ~3mm and whilst 'occasional' was planning on going with refillable gas.. so I was heading for a ~150A (or bigger). But wanted the flexibility to go thinner..

Having higher max power shouldn't exclude you from working on thin panels, my 250amp machine works fine on very thin stuff at it's minimum power setting and my 150amp machine which I bought first sits idle (should have just got the bigger one to begin with!).

 

[Crushers]

i will pass on the advice i recieved when i was shopping for a new welder, and it has served as good advice ...
buy the biggest you can afford.

i ended up maxing out my funds to get a Lincon 255 and it does everything i have asked from it.
minimum i would recommend is the 215 since it has cheap aluminum spool gun, welds thick steel fine and can do sheet metal

before i bought this one i was playing with a 110V light duty and from day one i wish i would have put out the money.

think of it this way, if you like welding then sooner or later you will be making up armor for your rig, side bars, bumpers, roof rack, belly bars, etc etc and you will be kicking yourself if you cheap out...

just my Canadian 2 cents.

 

[Matt Richards]

Highly recommend the Portamig as sold by 'Weldequip' on http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/

 

[Justin_Elliott]

Thanks all... lots of good information again

Will keep the piggy bank growing for a few more months then.

I suppose this will also allow me to work up the designs and collect materials for the next project.