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I have the Kempii Evo 200. Brilliant bit of kit. Takes a bit of getting used to setting up,but once you have it sussed,it’s a real pleasure. Amazed how with a couple of tweaks you can go from having little balls spattering themselves all over the show,to not a ball in sight. Yes,it is a fair wedge of money,but sometimes you got to say,”I am worth it” 🤣🤣🤣 |
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Well me hearties!! - Uh, no thats ivanhoew  Stuff,......STUFF arrived!!  R-Tech welder. Box seems nice & sturdy and it arrived with no damage   Nice thick box walls;  A fair bit smaller than my SIP 150.  And lots of acc came with it.  So, approx 4.7 seconds  later it was all set up to try some side by side comparison welding against my old SIP - which I have modified a bit for better welding. **there was an issue with the SIP that I found later** 1.2mm steel sheet, top weld is the R-Tech, bottom is the SIP. R Tech was a million miles better 'crackle' and has welded deeper into the metal, also just welded better.  5mm plate steel. Top is the R Tech and the bottom with the SIP. R Tech has a lot more spatter for some reason? It again has welded far deeper into the steel, the SIP sitting more on top.  Tried 3 different settings with the SIP and 1 more run with the R-Tech. Top 2 runs are the R Tech and bottom 3 with the SIP at different settings.  At the end of this I realised the power cable to the gun for the SIP had frayed all but about 5 strands of the cable where it exits the welder! So this may be a bit unfair as a test. I've repaired the cable and found a slight leak in the hose (strands had gone hot and melted it a bit) so once the repair to that has cured I'll do some more comparisons tomorrow. The SIP still seems to hold up fairly well considering it's about 30 years old! but I do like the big adjustability of the R Tech, I'm sure its a lot better on thinner steel from how it felt on the 1.2mm test. It's certainly going to use less room in the workshop, my mrs is buying me a welding trolley to go with is as a late birthday present That SIP was one of the last decent ones they made. I had a 196A like that. Couldn’t fault it. Used it for thousands of hours and it never missed a beat. Still going strong I believe. Just used to blow the grinding dust out of it every couple of months. Only mod I did was make a spacer to offset the euro torch connector when doing Aluminium, as I couldn’t get the wire feed fast enough and it used to metal spray. Had a friend who worked for one of the big welding suppliers and he couldn’t believe it. Reckoned it was pumping out well over 200A to be able to do that. He was the one who suggested the oversize wire feed roller,which ultimately solved the problem. Had I not moved continent, I would still have had it.😊 |
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Last Edit: Jun 10, 2020 5:28:22 GMT by Deleted
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Jun 17, 2020 21:34:17 GMT
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Sip is now off to its new owner, so that subsidises the R Tech. Mrs Blackpop bought me a welding cart as a late birthday present  |
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Jun 17, 2020 21:53:41 GMT
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Seing this makes me very tempted to replace my old faithfull Clarke which is the only machine i have ever used so I'm not sure what I'm missing out on.
Does it really make that much of a difference transformer vs. inverter?
I have an R-tech tig and its a brilliant bit of kit especially for arc, i have never had an arc machine tha strikes so easlilly. But not sure I'm able to justify a new mig when mine is still working.
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Jun 17, 2020 22:06:09 GMT
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Hard to say really, it's better than the SIP and like your ARC setting the RTech just seems to strike the weld easier and more consistantly. The 'crackle' is a lot better than the SIP but the overall weld is not massively better - but it is better.
So far - and I've only played with it a bit - I'd say its going to be far easier to use than the SIP with improved welding.
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samta22
Club Retro Rides Member
Stuck in once more...
Posts: 1,276 
Club RR Member Number: 32
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Jun 18, 2020 10:00:27 GMT
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Mrs Blackpop bought me a welding cart as a late birthday present That looks very similar to mine Mark, the only difference is that mine has a lip on the front of the top tray which I had to modify so the torch would clear it and adjust the pull handle so it sat at a lower angle, they do make moving it all around so much easier... which in my case is a bad thing as if I turn my back too long the mrs has run off with it! (yes she's had a play with the R-Tech now and discovered how much better it is and so insists on using it instead of her Snap On  ) |
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'37 Austin 7 '56 Austin A35 '58 Austin A35 '65 Triumph Herald 12/50 '69 MGB GT '74 MGB GT V8'73 TA22 Toyota Celica restoration'95 Mercedes SL320 '04 MGTF 135 'Cool Blue' (Mrs' Baby) '05 Land Rover Discovery 3 V8 '67 Abarth 595 (Mrs' runabout) '18 Disco V |
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Jun 18, 2020 10:31:34 GMT
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Seing this makes me very tempted to replace my old faithfull Clarke which is the only machine i have ever used so I'm not sure what I'm missing out on. Does it really make that much of a difference transformer vs. inverter? I have an R-tech tig and its a brilliant bit of kit especially for arc, i have never had an arc machine tha strikes so easlilly. But not sure I'm able to justify a new mig when mine is still working. Cynics answer, Transformers are expensive; electronics are cheap. The problem with small home transformer MIG welders is that they do not have the features and controllability of a large industrial welder for reasons of cost and size. Industrial welders had a Reactance control (amongst others) which is basically a variable inductance (and a huge lump of copper). This can be used to control the current rise during the short circuit part of the welding cycle. This has the perverse effect (to a non welders eyes) of a large welder being far more "delicate" on thin sheet work. The best thin sheet welder I ever used was a 400A lump which would weld 0.8 steel beautifully. Inverter welders ( hobby ones) effectively give you this controllability because the electronics can perform this function for you. They cannot make a good welder out of a cr*p one  |
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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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Jun 18, 2020 12:28:32 GMT
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Sam, Mine is just a Machine Mart cart, the lip folds down at the top so not an issue. Paul, I can weld - but I'm not a welder |
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Jun 18, 2020 13:28:14 GMT
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Don't put yourself down Mark, you do better than some "professionals" I've seen.
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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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Jun 18, 2020 20:04:21 GMT
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I had a third hand Clarke MIG & it welded ok, last year I bought the R-tech 180 after reading recommendations here & I find that it is so much easier for me as a less experienced person to produce good welds most of the time & using it it has a smoother feel/sound.
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The new generation of invertor based MIG welders have without any doubt made it far easier for the inexperienced / home / casual users to set up and use - especially on the thinner metals / steels and the difference between transformer / invertor based machines is transparent from the word go with even the most inexperienced / cack handed operator
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Last Edit: Jun 19, 2020 6:44:56 GMT by Deleted
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Jun 19, 2020 19:33:28 GMT
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Good info guys, as a hobbyist with a lack of ability it should certainly help me along. I might see r-tech at the next NEC event once we are aloud back out. lots of knowledgeable fellows around ere' Thanks Sorry for the hijack, back to you BPR.
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Jun 20, 2020 13:47:53 GMT
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No worries about the hijack, when you speak to RTech mention the Retro Rides connection and that you read about it on my thread - you might get some discount |
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Jun 21, 2020 19:12:34 GMT
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Same model that I plumped for. I am rubbish at welding but even I have managed to stick stuff together with it :-) Just dream of laying down welds like your test runs. Need a LOT more practice.
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Looks like a nice day had by all.
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Jul 12, 2020 19:07:33 GMT
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Went out to a breakfast meet this morning which was nice. Not many cars (about 14) as invite only and testing the food scenario in the golf club (which worked fine).  Got home and wondered what I could do on the car  Thought I'd have a go at the rear No plate. This is machined out of engraving plastic, silver face and black backing. I did not spray it originally but just brushed gloss 2K paint in the recessed part. It did not brush well and was a bit lumpy. Never been happy with it. So some careful masking up and a little bit of trying to smooth the paint down got it like this;  3 coats of satin black later - 10 mins between coats got it like this;  And the wonders of 2K paint, 2 hours later its back on the car;  Much better, but still not good enough. Fairly happy with it but I think I will machine another plate (we have a new engraving machine at work now) which should not leave as many machining marks so I should be able to get the painted part properly smooth. At least its satin black now, and looks 100% better than it did. |
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Just as an aside, have you tried engraving the digits into the reverse side of a clear acrylic sheet and then painting, it does give an interesting effect, its even better if you can etch into the reverse side with a laser cutter, sorry no pictures I'm still off work due to the Covid Crisis.
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Jul 13, 2020 12:18:08 GMT
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We don't have any clear at work, or suitable cutters for clear either. New engraver bed is just slightly too small to fit the plate on  I had a company set up to engrave an ally one for me - unfortunately they went bust because of covid last week  |
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bstardchild
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 14,965
Club RR Member Number: 71
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Jul 13, 2020 19:11:18 GMT
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We don't have any clear at work, or suitable cutters for clear either. New engraver bed is just slightly too small to fit the plate on I had a company set up to engrave an ally one for me - unfortunately they went bust because of covid last week Can’t you get B&S square plates any more? Would have thought there were still companies that do pressed steel plates |
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mk2cossie
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 3,058
Club RR Member Number: 77
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Jul 13, 2020 19:36:43 GMT
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We don't have any clear at work, or suitable cutters for clear either. New engraver bed is just slightly too small to fit the plate on I had a company set up to engrave an ally one for me - unfortunately they went bust because of covid last week Can’t you get B&S square plates any more? Would have thought there were still companies that do pressed steel plates Wheres the fun in that when he can make one just the right size for the number plate recess |
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later it was all set up to try some side by side comparison welding against my old SIP - which I have modified a bit for better welding. **there was an issue with the SIP that I found later**
)
