Welders - what have you got???

[Gav Peter]

I've bugged a few of the fabricators on here about what welding equipment thay have & why but have forgotten most of the answers since then...

So here it is to put it down in print for the canals of history...

I'm looking to buy a MIG set for use around the home; I recall 160-180A rating is desirable for heavier lumps of metal; its gotta be 240v supply...

What have you got; why have you got it; would you change it & why; whats your dream welding machine?

 

[dollythelw]

erm...

mostly I have...


Esab LAU 400
Migatronic 450 with KT320 wire drive
Miller Aerowave AC/DC Tig
Ready Welder
Ally Spool gun
Single phase Butters Mig
Oxy acteylene
Oxy Propane
Arc


I wouldnt mind a dual gun Miller Dynasty mig

for home use I'd recommend an old NBC or Butters mig, buy 'em heavy, anything you can pick up is too light

 

[Chris]

I have a Butters Weld Wizard 180. It has 5 power settings, spot weld and variable wire feed. That's it. No flashing lights, no read-outs.

I would say as a basic spec
Yes to 180
Single phase but get a motor rated MCB in your fuse board
Euro torch and earth
Go with proper bottled gas not mini bottles. Something like an X or Y of Argoshield light
Befriend your local welding supplier and get all your kit there
Full sized spools of wire - 15kg
Auto changing mask. Parweld do a very good one at £40 but if you can spend £100 .....
Wheels and on board bottle carrier

Obviously ESAB very nice. Spend more than you can afford and yes, if you can lift it it's not good enough.

Chris

Get on here Gav http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/ You may even see someone you recognise.

 

[pugwash]

erm...

mostly I have...


Esab LAU 400
Migatronic 450 with KT320 wire drive
Miller Aerowave AC/DC Tig
Ready Welder
Ally Spool gun
Single phase Butters Mig
Oxy acteylene
Oxy Propane
Arc


I wouldnt mind a dual gun Miller Dynasty mig

for home use I'd recommend an old NBC or Butters mig, buy 'em heavy, anything you can pick up is too light

stop showing off- we can't all have a polished garage with 4 post lifts, flunkys to clean up the swarf and electric gates...............

hang-on..

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

160 is getting a bit low IMO, duty cycle won't be great, think 180-240. Generaly the higher the amps the better the duty cycle will be when you're only welding thin 5mm stuff My main mig is a Clarke 255 I bought second hand off ebay for cheap and it works well enough for me My little one that's handy for carrying to the truck for tack welding stuff is a Clarke 160 I think and for a cheapy welder it's still nice to use but for thicker stuff the duty cycle would be low and I'd use tips and shrouds up pretty quick. Ideally you want a machine with a Euro15 torch although you can apparently convert the fixed torch machines to Euro for a few £.

EDIT: gas is getting quite expensive, I think my last refill inc handling charge was about £85 but it'll last a while.

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

I knew I'd seen another thread like this recently Gav - viewtopic.php?f=27&t=7842

 

[Gav Peter]

Many thanks for the replies guys - all really helpful to me.

Your collection sounds handy Jez One day...

The connection of it to the grid was one of my concerns Chris - my workshop is at the far end of the garden some 100 feet from where the juice comes into the house... I have fitted a new board in the house & have a few spare/unconnected slots but I have no idea where the line out to the garage is looped from... S'pose it'll be a question of plug in whatever I get & see what happens...

Got you all on the Euro torch & the big gas bottles - no worries there & there's plenty to think about on the other link you spotted Jon.

I've got a couple of places to go have a thrutchel at welding kit round here. Machine Mart seem to keep a range of the Clarke equipment in & they are on my list to visit; Graham's Machinery also have a big place in Chester so they're getting a visit too.

If now't pops up on Fleabay, I'll get me shortlist together for comment.

Cheers gents

 

[dollythelw]

Jim, you know all my toys are from hard work so dont give me that one ya lazy sod - all you need to do is 20 hour days for 4-5 months at a time

one old NBC welder and a budget of fek all;

one rusty turd

add tarpaulin, snow, rain and a 30 degree incline

and go trophy raiding..

My tip for what its worth;
go to college and do a course, then weld anything and everything that passes by slow enough to fire up the plant for, then go back to college and do all the follow up courses, repeat process until you think you've got it...... at that point you'll understand what a weld is and what it needs to be, you'll know what a good weld should look like and why your welds need constant improvement. I try to do a bit of welding here and there and find it a constant learning process.

 

[Gav Peter]

I might just do that course idea Jez... Although I am very fortunate to have a buddy who's been born with a welding torch in his right hand who has been giving me a good load of hints & tips - for now, I want to get a welder in the garage with a big pile of steel & just blow a reel of wire away for practice!!!!

I'm reluctant to start off with a 2nd hand unit off fleabay in case I end up with a pile of sh!t & have to start fixing that along with the rest of the DIY tasks I have been avoiding...

Any experience with Miller equipment? Have been offered a 171 for 'around' £600 plus VAT but including Euro torch & regulator etc with 3 year warranty...

 

[Gav Peter]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140466080485&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:GB:1123

What would the collective's opinion be on this wee beastie as a starter set? Looking in the machine mart book a 160TM goes for £310 but it does not look as though it has the Eurotorch fitting - cable comes straight out of the front...

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

Low amps and not a euro torch, put the money towards a better one IMO

 

[Gav Peter]

I knew you'd say that!!!

Was kindof heading that way in my mind already...

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

better on a budget: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HEAVY-DUTY-MIG-WE ... 43a25f4591

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

or: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Mig-Welder-Cebora ... 415366cf80

 

[Gav Peter]

I'd even looked at the second one of those Jon... Might have a punt - cheers!!!

I'm down in South Wales next week on hols with me folks so even that one could work out!!!