Which mig welder

[gardnerw]

Hello,

I have booked onto an evening class starting in January to learn some welding, the van is in need of usual panel replacements and plates.


In the excitement i fancied getting a welder ahead of time and get practicing, I found this local to me on ebay

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... %26otn%3D2

Is it worth a punt of totally unsuitable?

Is a budget of less than £200 sensible for a usable second hand unit or should I put aside more beer tokens?

Many Thanks

[CovKid]

This question has been asked before. Have a look at:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=72446&hilit=mig+welder

Ebay item looks ok but factor in replacing parts as a s/h one invariably needs a good service.

[gardnerw]

Cheers Covkid,

thats answers all the answers i haven't even considered yet!

Will

[CovKid]

I won't expand too much on this thread simply because its been covered so well previously but if you get the jist of the answers, much depends on how much welding you plan on doing and for how long a period each time. Mine would bite the dust within a few minutes trying to weld up the fourth bridge as the transformer gets too hot and I've barely done a couple of welds before it surrenders and it tells me to go inside and have several cups of tea while it 'rests'. Now to me, thats a match made in heaven but clearly would be frustrating for many. Pretty sure the addition of a whopping great fan and a heatsink would help but for the small bits I do, thats fine.

Essentially if you're committing yourself to evening classes, you just need to avoid the El-budget "It would just do" category of MIG and go for the "No problem I'm ready to play" type. Nowt wrong with s/h - thats route I'd go to be honest, long as its not clapped out.

That thread is very thorough with good points raised by hardened 80/90 welders. Says far more than I could. Metalmickey is a helpful chap in that regard - he virtually stitches T25's together. Chickenkoop (when he's on) is also a good welder.

[sarran1955]

Hello,

Yes, a monomig is a good plant.

If you could get a demo, or take someone who can weld with you, thats good.

Remember you will need a regulator to go on top of the gas cylinder, a spanner for it, and of course a cylinder of gas, Argon/CO2 mix (8% CO2) is best.

This plant will take a standard spool of wire, use o.8 mm diameter.

Glad you are going to classes, and already being a plant owner, with even a little experience is soooooo useful.

Buy an auto welding mask, and a cotton boiler suit.

Oh, and a pair of steel toecap welders boots that have a one piece 'tongue' , fit leather laces.
This way you will avoid the dance of the burning socks

You will be able to practice what you learn, and be able to direct your course better to your needs.

Good luck and happy welding,

(the first 37 years are the worst, then you just don't care)


Cordialement,

[ZanderJay]

I think that's the best recommendation and plan for choosing the right person to weld your things. As we can see, the ratios on the welders are too close thereby making the system great to them. This might be a good way as well to know that trusting a welder takes good time.

[ianboydsnr]

I think that it was the best recommendation and plan for choosing who can weld your things. And then, we notice that the ratios about the welder are too close, that's why they could be great to them. This might be a good way that trusting the welder can take a good time.

English is not your first language, but welcome

[silverbullet]

For what it's worth, mine's a 1970's "portable" B&W trolley-type set, but is massively built with proper hard-wired components on the control board (no flimsy pcb's there) so you can repair anything if it blows.
Disposable gas bottles are a waste of time and money but you also need to justify renting a gas bottle from BOC or whoever (a good £40 a year, not including refill exchange even for a small one) so make sure that you are going to use it plenty.
Big transformer = stable arc and tidy welds

[ianboydsnr]

the clarke sets are the best of the cheapies, I have a 100en, thats been fantastic, lasted 20 years, though its a little underpowered

this one would be ideal
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Clarke-MIG-welder ... 45f64a0776

or this one
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Clarke-mig-160EN- ... 2a0b653521