Mig welders - what to go for??

[roadkill]

Hi all,

I'm looking at buying myself a mig welder and am after some help on what to get. I'd like to know what brands are good and what are bad, what to look for in them (features) and also if anyone knows of some good places to go to get one - i'm on the northside of brisvegas. So far i've looked at kempie(boc brand) coppermate, lincoln and cigweld and they are all about the same price. It's mainly going to be for car panels and odd jobs around the home and have been recommended to get something around 180amp mark. I will be using gas and would like the ability to use it for aluminium later down the track.

Any help is much appreciated.

Sorry if this is in the wrong section but i thought it was most appropriate here.

bEn

[roadsailing]

sounds good, but good luck with aluminium, it can be difficult with MIG.

have a search, i think it has been covered a few times, try to find one that has reasonable after sales service, maybe talk to the guys at BOC, see what they reckon.

[The Real Roadrunner]

wilbo666 started a thread in non car or general car about tigs but it turned into migs, had some decent info in it. check there but if you have no luck i may find time to go into specific


cheers
linden

[amichie]

If you want use it for Aluminium then you will need a teflon liner and special feed rollers.

The cheaper ones often just come with steel liners and can't be upgraded.

You will also need different gas for aluminium.

[Grega]

i have a SIP Coppermate 170.
It does Mild Steel and Alloy (with the right gas - alloy needs 100% Argon - MS needs Argoshield which is a mix of Argon and O2 i think?) However I can only weld very thin ally to get the penetration - IIRC ally to weld needs a bit more oomph that MS.
This has plenty of power for all the work i've done car wise and general jobs around the home wise.

[RA35GT]

i have a SIP Coppermate 170.
It does Mild Steel and Alloy (with the right gas - alloy needs 100% Argon - MS needs Argoshield which is a mix of Argon and O2 i think?) However I can only weld very thin ally to get the penetration - IIRC ally to weld needs a bit more oomph that MS.
This has plenty of power for all the work i've done car wise and general jobs around the home wise.

Argoshield is a mixture of argon/carbon dioxide/oxygen. Your right though, its not suitable for ally welding due to presence of oxygen. For alloy welding you would generally use straight argon. For higher current ally welding they also use argon mixed with helium.

Rudi

[Ben Wilson]

Argoshield is a mixture of argon/carbon dioxide/oxygen. Your right though, its not suitable for ally welding due to presence of oxygen. For alloy welding you would generally use straight argon. For higher current ally welding they also use argon mixed with helium.

Rudi

Nope - Zero oxygen in argosheild, it's there to shield the weld from oxygen. I know you need straight argon for TIG on aluminium, but that's apparently due to the AC ionising the CO2 and causing weirdness.

[twentyEight]

I have one of these and it's brilliant... I'm pretty sure that RiceburnaGTV still has one left for sale...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v605/riceburna73/DSCF0888.jpg

It's got 4 heat/load settings (140A, 120A, 80A, and 57A) and a variable speed wire feed... I'm pretty sure it has teflon liners also...

And it runs off a 10A plug...

[roadkill]

Hi all

thanks for the replies. The lincoln that i looked at actually had a seperate set you could buy for aluminium welding. IT included the torch with lead and wire feed inside (so you don't have to take off your old spool etc) and a switch that needs to be installed that controls alu/steel welding. IT sounded like a great idea (was 280 extra) and was told that it would be one of the best ways at using a mig for aluminium. What do we all think???

My big concern with the lincoln is it is a U.S. made product. Their reputation from what i can gather is quite good but i haven't seen many of them here and it makes me ask the question of what happens if something breaks. Does it get fixed here or do i screwed around and have it sent back to the states. I know cigweld are made in melbourne so that wouldn't be such a problem.


I did search for a mig thread but there wasn't really anything that seemed relevant going by topic for the past 12 mths or so. Just wanted a fresh view.

Many thanks,

bEn

[RA23]

I have one of these and it's brilliant... I'm pretty sure that RiceburnaGTV still has one left for sale...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v605/riceburna73/DSCF0888.jpg

It's got 4 heat/load settings (140A, 120A, 80A, and 57A) and a variable speed wire feed... I'm pretty sure it has teflon liners also...

And it runs off a 10A plug...

Just out of interest, how much are these things?

[RA35GT]

Nope - Zero oxygen in argosheild, it's there to shield the weld from oxygen. I know you need straight argon for TIG on aluminium, but that's apparently due to the AC ionising the CO2 and causing weirdness.

Argoshield – for MIG welding
Argoshield is the tradename for BOC’s range of shielding gases containing the following three gases:

Argon – for its ability to create the welding arc that allows spray transfer to be achieved, increasing the amount of weld metal deposited.
Carbon dioxide – to improve the size and shape of the weld bead through increased melting and improved fusion characteristics.
Oxygen – to reduce the surface tension of the molten metal and droplet sizes and therefore reduce the amount of welding wire needed, and the risk of cracks.

Straight from http://www.boc-gases.com/products_and_services/by_product/welding_gases/index.asp

[twentyEight]

Just out of interest, how much are these things?
Normally about $1500, but where RiceburnaGTV works had a few for $500...

[thechuckster]

wilbo's thread about TIG/MIG welders:
http://www.toymods.net/forums/showthread.php?t=26714


edit: fwiw: i have a SIP gas/gasless welder i got from glenfords - from memory its the 125amp model (am not at home so can't duck downstairs to check). Only cost about $450. has variable wire speed and 6 power settings. Spare nozzles and shield are from another brand and a quite cheap at trade tools.

You need to allow more funds to get a decent gas regulator/flow control (off ebay) and allow for regular wallet raping from your nearby gas supplier for tanks of argon or argoshield.

[Grega]

actually chuckster brings up a good point
tips and shields for it and to think of it the feed wheels - make sure there is somewhere that will support whatever u buy
i havent had a problem with the SIP stuff UNIMIG stuff fits mine just fine. i think though the torche/gun is prolly a nato standard anyway but meh, my 2c.

[Ben Wilson]

Argoshield – for MIG welding
Argoshield is the tradename for BOC’s range of shielding gases containing the following three gases:

Argon – for its ability to create the welding arc that allows spray transfer to be achieved, increasing the amount of weld metal deposited.
Carbon dioxide – to improve the size and shape of the weld bead through increased melting and improved fusion characteristics.
Oxygen – to reduce the surface tension of the molten metal and droplet sizes and therefore reduce the amount of welding wire needed, and the risk of cracks.

Straight from http://www.boc-gases.com/products_and_services/by_product/welding_gases/index.asp

There you go, I would have never expected oxygen in sheilding gases...

[Yumbo]

Get the biggest welder you can afford. I have had a Sip Supermig 250 for a few years and its pretty good for a budget welder, it had a 15 amp plug but i run it on 10 amp, i have welded car panels, to 10mm plate with it. I have also used a lincoln liquid arc 250 (i think), and its also a good welder but i think it would be more expensive.

fwiw: looking at the gas bottle will tell you whats in it, argoshield is mostly peacock blue, for argon, medium grey, for C02, and a tiny black ring at the top for oxygen.

Cheers
Andrew

[Gary]

ive got a cigweld 135

does alright, nothing spectacular. works good though, i've hit 1-4mm w/t RHS and its done fine. i knocked up intercooler pipes (out of MS, temp job really) with it as well, and messed about here and there for little bits. ive lent it out to mates, they've used it reattach snapped exhaust brackets for their fourbies - nice thick plate and the welder did fine :D I havent tried panel yet, at least not properly so i dunno how she'd go with that just yet.

ive only really used it on and off so ive gone with disposable canisters for my sheilding gas (C02/Ar), i'll be getting into it fairly heavy soon so I'm looking at hiring a nice fat tank instead of going disposable all the time. Disposables are $25-$30 each retail, the other option depends on how big a cylinder you want. you need a specific regulator for disposable bottles too ($20-$40 ive seen them for. i think i paid $30 or so for mine)