jgtr
Part of things
Posts: 270 
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Dec 15, 2020 18:36:47 GMT
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Hi all, looking at purchasing a MIG welder. Looking at the Sealey Super MIG 150 as have used one before and got on well with it. Wondered if anyone has any other recommendations?
I see gas less MIGs are now available....are these any good?
Also how much will gas set me back and is it easy to get hold of?
Cheers
Jay
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Dec 15, 2020 21:52:22 GMT
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Depending on your budget the Rtech 180 is the best under £500.
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Dec 16, 2020 10:12:36 GMT
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Any recommendations will depend on what your intended use is. I'm guessing body work in which case the low power settings matter. I have a Sealey 150 amp mig, it's over 20 years old and is still soldiering on. I modified it to euro torch about 3 years ago. I believe that at that age they were made in Italy by Cebora (could be wrong) and production moved to China later so quality is probably not what it was. The only other mig welders I have used have been large industrial stuff e.g. Lincoln, Cebora etc so I cannot comment on any other hobby units. Forget flux cored arc welding aka gasless, it's productionised arc welding (developed in the 50's for ship building and other heavy industry's) and works best at higher power imo. It's only benefit is escaping the cost of gas. There's plenty of gas suppliers about now. I have a BOC hobby account, suits me as the depot is 10 minutes away. There are other suppliers such as Adams gas. I would suggest a trip over to www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/ for lots of good advice on welders and gas supplies. |
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duncanmartin
Club Retro Rides Member
Out of retro ownership
Posts: 1,320
Club RR Member Number: 70
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Dec 16, 2020 10:23:23 GMT
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The Mig welding forum has all the answers you could ever need!
In terms of machines, it all depends on your budget, but I wouldn't discount buying a good quality secondhand one for the same price as a cheap new one. It's worth contacting local welding suppliers if you want to go down that route, as they sometimes have decent plant stuff that they have taken back when selling new equipment.
Gas - definitely don't go for those tiny bottles you can buy at Machine Mart. Depending on how much you are going to use a rent free bottle (you pay up front for the bottle and then a little more for refills) might be more cost effective than a rental bottle from BOC (you pay bottle rental per month, but the gas refills are a bit cheaper). The ultimate cheap way is a CO2 bottle from a pub, but unless you know a landlord I'm not sure how you would go about it.
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Dec 16, 2020 10:54:52 GMT
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To add to duncanmartin's post (something I forgot), look at how much gas you get for your money. Bottle pressures vary quite a bit so what looks cheap may not be.
Edit. The BOC hobby account is an annual payment, £62 for a Y size argon for my Tig.
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Last Edit: Dec 16, 2020 11:03:41 GMT by crockpot
Proton Jumbuck-deceased :-(
2005 Kia Sorento the parts hauling heap
V8 Humber Hawk
1948 Standard12 pickup SOLD
1953 Pop build (wifey's BIVA build).
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cb11acd
Part of things
Posts: 132
Club RR Member Number: 122
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Dec 16, 2020 11:48:29 GMT
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I have the RTech 180. Very capable and runs well off a 13amp wall plug, any more power would need a 16amp or 32amp fuse (and an electrician).
I am very happy with it, only ued for a bit but I can't fault it. I would look for one with a euro torch. I hada Clarke previously and the quality difference was night and day.
I would also avoid gasless unless you are welding outside without protection from wind. If you can set up a couple of wind breaks then gas works well. Also like above avoid the disposable ones and go for refillable one. I have hobbyweld as I am using it on and off and don't want the rent fees. Get whichever is local, easy to refill and works for how you work.
If you can't stretch to the RTech one (I think you can ring them and get an ex-demo one for less) Then I would look for a second hand one from a decent brand. You don't need to spend mega bucks on all the features like auto power setting etc, you can weld around a lot of things like that
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Dec 16, 2020 13:29:10 GMT
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If going for the RTech, mention Retro Rides - you might get some discount  |
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Dec 16, 2020 13:59:19 GMT
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My two tips:
Don't buy anything by SIP
Don't get the gas from BOC, get it from one of the other places that don't charge a bottle rental.
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tofufi
South West
Posts: 1,452
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Dec 16, 2020 14:34:52 GMT
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I have a 16 year old Clarke 150TE and am borrowing a Sealey Super Mig 180. The difference between the two is quite large. I now use the Clarke 150TE just for stainless, and the Sealey for mild steel. Buy a decent machine and you won't regret it if you use it a lot. Don't bother with gasless wire  |
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Last Edit: Dec 16, 2020 14:35:32 GMT by tofufi
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slater
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 6,390
Club RR Member Number: 78
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Dec 16, 2020 18:00:27 GMT
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I get my gas from SGS. They do big bottles so its fairly economical and the deposit on them isnt too insane compared to some. That said if you have a different supplier closer it might work out better from somone else. I've got an SGS dealer 5 mins away so handy when you run out mid job.
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Dec 16, 2020 18:03:49 GMT
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Ive replaced my 15+ year old sealey with a cheap inverter mig and I'm more than happy with it. Seems to be two opinions on these that they are decent for what they are or they are cheap chinese garbage - usually by people who have never used or seen one. I was all for buying a decent Clarke machine, but saved £100 and bought an uptime inverter mig. Only time will tell but so far it welds really well and the quality seems really good. have a read. retrorides.proboards.com/thread/216517/which-welderId get a clarke over a sealey just because you will be able to get any spares much easy from ay machinemart. Gas is much better unless you are outside in the wind. You can get a full pub sized bottle for about £60/70 an then its about £20 for a refill/bottle swap. |
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jgtr
Part of things
Posts: 270
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Dec 16, 2020 19:11:48 GMT
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Cheers guys, had a look at the R Tech welders - they look nice and they do interest free credit!!
Not sure how much use it would get but it looks a solid investment - I’m currently doing some work on my VW T4, had a quote for £2k+ for the work so thought I’d save money by buying all the gear and doing it myself. I was a qualified panel beater many many years ago so have half an idea lol.
It’s just whether I’d ever use it again or I’m just better off borrowing one for this job
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jamesd1972
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,834
Club RR Member Number: 40
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Dec 17, 2020 19:22:29 GMT
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Received my Rtech 180 today, got 5% discount, free gloves and plug after a bit of a nudge over the phone.
Not sure if the best deal ever but as soon as I had permission to proceed from the finance minister I had to hit go !
Collecting a hobbyweld cylinder tomorrow then going to start trying sticking some scrap together !
Will report back how I get on.
James
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cb11acd
Part of things
Posts: 132
Club RR Member Number: 122
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Cheers guys, had a look at the R Tech welders - they look nice and they do interest free credit!! Not sure how much use it would get but it looks a solid investment - I’m currently doing some work on my VW T4, had a quote for £2k+ for the work so thought I’d save money by buying all the gear and doing it myself. I was a qualified panel beater many many years ago so have half an idea lol. It’s just whether I’d ever use it again or I’m just better off borrowing one for this job Welders don't get released every year like mobile phones. Infact the Clarke I bought over 12 years ago is still for sale for the smae price now.
If you end up using it on and off for a bit to fix your van then find you don't use it for a while you could probably sell it for most of what you paid for it. Will work out cheaper and less stressfull than renting as well.
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oldisbetter
Part of things
If it has a ECU it's complicated :)
Posts: 478
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jamesd1972
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,834
Club RR Member Number: 40
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Dec 29, 2020 14:26:54 GMT
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Cheers guys, had a look at the R Tech welders - they look nice and they do interest free credit!! Not sure how much use it would get but it looks a solid investment - I’m currently doing some work on my VW T4, had a quote for £2k+ for the work so thought I’d save money by buying all the gear and doing it myself. I was a qualified panel beater many many years ago so have half an idea lol. It’s just whether I’d ever use it again or I’m just better off borrowing one for this job So it took about 3 days on and off to clear the space for the new toy before / after below. I had a rusty piece of 5mm plate that was polished up a bit to go as a base to protect the very firm workbench. Watched a couple of 'how to set up your welder' bits on youtube so was relatively easy to do. Before:  Thin stuff first welds   Test piece of strip  'After' in the middle of playing  Lumpy brackets in paint to hide the welding ! Not going to come apart but took a fair bit of grinding shall we say.  Welding corner.  So first impressions -arrived next day well packaged and appears well constructed. As a complete novice it sticks stuff together, the mask I bought works well but I need to remember to wear some reading glasses and practice where I'm welding carefully. I bought the 0.6mm wire (to weld body panels long term) but have been welding thick 5mm plate which really needs the 0.8mm wire. I was practicing on the 5mm by making some brackets as this is what I have in the shed to play with, not going to come apart but not pretty either. I probably need to make a check-sheet list - if anybody can add to the below that would be helpful ! 1, Gas on 2, Earth strap on 3, Gloves on 4, Check settings 5, Check wire length 6, Check area for fire safety 7, Check for people nearby 8, Check mask on. Probably in the opposite order but something like this so get into good habits. James |
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Last Edit: Dec 29, 2020 14:46:00 GMT by jamesd1972
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