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MIG welders

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Phillmore
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MIG welders

Post by Phillmore »

Looking to get a MIG welder. I'm new to MIG welding and have only used ARC welders in the past which I found excellent for making more holes than I had before! I'm after quality not cheapness and the Portamig 165 seems to have an impressive spec (if a little expensive). Any advice from you seasoned welders?
Andy

1954 Conquest Mk1, 1956 Conquest Mk2, 1957 Conquest Century Mk2, 1955 Austin A90 Westminster

Chris_R
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Re: MIG welders

Post by Chris_R »

Have a look also at www.r-techwelding.co.uk - a friend has one of these and rates it quite highly.

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JohnM
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Re: MIG welders

Post by JohnM »

Hi Andy,
two sites I've found really useful are::
http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/
and
https://www.thewelderswarehouse.com/

I get all my consumables from the second one, and a lot of advice on the first!

I have an old Clarke 130T which still works well, but the new ones are so much smaller and more portable. Also, if you don't already have one, invest in a good auto-dimming visor helmet (watch out for the cheap Chinese ones - they're too slow to react.)

Hope that helps,
John
John M in Middlesex, NW London
1962 SP250 "B" Spec
DLOC Herts Region Sec

Simon Hyslop

Re: MIG welders

Post by Simon Hyslop »

At that sort of money, hopefully you're getting what you're paying for. I used to reckon that a cheap machine - under £200 -had done well enough if it did one decent job I.e. most of the trouble on one car sorted out before the
MIG fell apart.
I have an SIP one presently which has had a new torch and wire liner. If you can keep the machine clean and the torch cables neatly stored off a floor so they don't get stood on, without kinks in them, it should last a while.
I buy the wire in as big a roll as the machine will take but if it is kept somewhere damp during the winter the wire will rust and become more difficult to feed through the machine. Also, buy spare tips and shrouds in packs of 5 or 10 if you are meaning using it quite a bit.
If you are using throw away bottles of gas rather than a hire bottle, buy the ones with 54% extra in them as there's not much welding time in the small bottles. An automatic welding helmet will speed up your MIG welding no end - really good tip from John on that.
Once you use one you'll wonder how you managed without it. A good earth, as you'll already know about with the arc welder , is essential but at lower power settings you may also need to clean the work a bit more than may have been acceptable for arc welding. I know, it should all be clean all the time but ......
Finally, don't throw away the arc welder because for anything thicker, from broken dynamo lugs upwards, the arc welder is by far the cheaper method to use. The MIG will certainly fill any spare time you want filling.Happy zizzling (you'll get to recognise that sound of a MIG working well).

Phillmore
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Re: MIG welders

Post by Phillmore »

Thanks for the advice and interesting links. I was planning to get an auto helmet (non Chinese of course)! I am also planning to use a CO2 bottle (rather than Argon) courtesy of my local pub.
Andy

1954 Conquest Mk1, 1956 Conquest Mk2, 1957 Conquest Century Mk2, 1955 Austin A90 Westminster

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JohnM
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Re: MIG welders

Post by JohnM »

Have a look at some of the advice on the sites I gave you before going down the CO2 route, Andy - "straight" CO2 makes life difficult compared to a CO2/Argon mix, and although Simon's right about the disposables, you can do a surprising amount of up to 2mm plate welding on one of these. If your welder doesn't come with a gauge regulator, invest in a cheap ball flowmeter so you can set the gas flow at the torch, otherwise you'll use more gas than you need, or get spattery welds.
Cheers,
John M in Middlesex, NW London
1962 SP250 "B" Spec
DLOC Herts Region Sec

buckfield
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Location: south wales

Re: MIG welders

Post by buckfield »

Hi, had one of these for about 8 years and no problems, SWP 170C, plenty of power for 8,9,10mm plate etc, also very good on thin sheet steel 1mm, bit expensive for what it is but came to me highly recommended, pub gas not pure enough for me but the extra capacity disposables will last a while use mostly argon 20% mix with co, just get the wire tension right and off you go. all the best Tony. http://welders.co.uk/Product/0000003231/9335

Christopher Storey
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Re: MIG welders

Post by Christopher Storey »

Frankly, I believe that using disposable cylinders is a waste of time and money . The normal sized ones last only a few minutes. After years of using gas, I finally decided to try coated wire , ( my machine can use either type of wire ) and it was a revelation, particularly because I weld out of doors where the wind tends to disrupt a gas envelope. The results are visually not quite as good as the best results with gas, but it is far, far easier to get good penetration and a good result

Trabant77
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Re: MIG welders

Post by Trabant77 »

I have a FEMA mig welder Italian £180 on eBay gasless but comes with gas liner installed ( convert it to gas ) absolutely brilliant machine goes down to 25amps ideal for body panels and thick stuff like chassis does beautiful welds much better than any SIP or Clarke I've ever used.

Phillmore
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Re: MIG welders

Post by Phillmore »

I think the Potamig goes down to 15 amps which is the lowest I've seen.
Andy

1954 Conquest Mk1, 1956 Conquest Mk2, 1957 Conquest Century Mk2, 1955 Austin A90 Westminster

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