Welders Mig/Tig inverters ???

[sharky]

Looking to buy a welder..I know migs but seen a few Inverter Tigs (Bell Carroll brand ???) going cheap (around $350)...seems toooo cheap.
Any advice from our resident experts ?? Got upto $500 to spend.

[Pommy Chopper]

If you've got a budget of 500 i'd say don't waste your money!!
The cheap ones are exactly that, cheap chinky crap, that when (not if) they break you won't be able to get parts for.
You need to be spending at least a 1500 on an AC set and 2500 plus on an AC/DC set.

[chopaweeza]

I started out with an SIP 150 amp Mig. They still cost about $500 . I built 5 frames with that before it clapped out. But I had to modify it to do so and it was constantly breaking down. As a guideline I wouldn't get a Mig with anything less than 130 amps . The general rule the welding shops use is the amps equals the general maximum you can weld with one - ie. 130 amps is 0.130" or 3.4mm . The cheaper brands have some limitations that include the gas they use and the quality of certain parts (the torch liner and feed rollers in particular) but you can convert them to run on Argoshield and often replace the liner with a decent replacement. I'd recommend you check the auctions(not ebay) and the second hand stores for a decent quality used item. Don't forget to use either Coregas or BOC argon based shielding gas suitable to the general thickness of metal you are working with(I use BOC Argoshield Universal for frames for example in my Mig)as this makes alot of difference.

[Deano]

i am with pommy and chop. if that is the budget then you will be wasting your money.

dont forget all the filler rods, tungstens,automatic welding helmet, foot control, gas and bottle rental etc. it cost me another $500 once i brourght the 200a AC/DC tig to get all the gear to make it work (including a $150 foot controller) and then i had to learn how to use it.

my set up is cheap at $2500 to replace and $11 per month gas bottle rental.

the main difference so i am told between good and bad ac inverters is the features like pulse etc but also how clean the ac output is. and this will be the difference between doing a good weld and getting frustrated as you cant quite get it to do what you want well. i am no expert but thats my 2 cents

[sharky]

Pretty much confirms what I thought..I emailed the manufacturer and got a 2 word reply "parts warranty".
So I'll follow advice and see whats out there good s/hand but also see what I can get new for the money...won't be doing major work, just want to be able to put bracket on where needed, or tack things up for 'proffessionals' to weld up solid.
Seen some gas/gasless migs in Repco I think for around $400.

[chopaweeza]

Can't argue Deano or Pommy. You can get a decent MIG for $1000-1500 . Plus gas & rental and a decent welding mask. I use an Automatic welding helmet and swear by them. The machine I use now is a CIG 200 amp Mig that cost me $1200 (already had the $300 welding helmet) and the difference is phenomonal compared to what I used before. The higher that amps the longer the cycle time as well. Cycle time is the percentage of time in a minute the machine operates at full power per minute and depends on the thickness of the metals welded. For example, my old 150 amp SIP had a cycle rate of 40% on 3mm steel meaning that it worked at full power for 24 seconds out of the minute and that meant that long beads were out of the question . My 200 amp has a 90% cycle rate for 3mm steel which means that I can weld up almost anything in one bead making a cleaner and more consistant depth weld .

[Pommy Chopper]

quote:Originally posted by sharky

just want to be able to put bracket on where needed, or tack things up for 'proffessionals' to weld up solid.
Seen some gas/gasless migs in Repco I think for around $400.


Stick to a MIG Sharky but not the gas less one's, they are rubbish.
Won't go into the details now as it's as boring as piss.
Keep your money, just take any bits you want welding to people who can, that way you won't get any grief for contaminated or poor tack welds comprimising final weld quality!!!

Cheers'en:D

[sharky]

Found a couple that would suffice.
Repco do a gas/gasless 150amp SIP for $599. I think this is the better of the 2. This is basically the same as the one I had in the UK. (130 amp)
http://www.streetfighters.com.au/forum/upload/43603445435229.jpg

The other is from TradeTools direct

http://www.tradetools.com.au/ProdView.aspx?popup=1&Category=SXQ60D1&Product=TTD180MIG

This one seems a bit cheap...any thoughts ?

[Hillsy]

IMO Tradetools is the cheapest place to get stuff that is not crap. They've always been pretty helpful when I've gone there, too.

Not that I know much about MIG's.....I've only got a little 120A CIG gasless..[V]

[Benz]

Sharky, don't buy one of those , the wirefeed roller mount is made from plastic, and cannot put enough pressure on the rollers to feed the wire smoothly, and if you turn the pressure up, the rollers just misalign, and you are worse off.............trust me on this, they are crap.
I bought a next to new one off Ozkat, and truly wish I didn't, then my brother inlaw bought one, and rang me to ask how the fuck did I make mine work. I told him to check the feed rollers were square to each other, and he found exactly the same misalignment[bent plastic mount]problem with his brand new one.
The handle is crap [and the shield gets loose after just a few runs], the switch is hard to operate too.
I thought it was just me,when I couldn't get a decent weld with the gasless wire, changed over to argon/standard wire, and there was next to no improvement. It all comes down to the crap feedrollers mount/crap handle/crap liner. It did weld well enough to pass inspections on my bathroom reno, but wouldn't give me quality welds when I did the bike
In this case cheap is nasty......

[sharky]

I'm guessin you mean the trade tools one, not the SIP ?
Cheers for the info.

[Benz]

Mate, I mean the SIP 150, I have exactly that model, unfortunately....

[appo]

I can second that Benz!!! I too have expeirenced the CRAP-NESS of such
equipment......
wait until you can afford a decent one!!

[Issues]

I have had a 215 amp SIP for 10 years n had no problems with it, I would not recomend any mig under 200 amp to anyone

[appo]

you just get what you pay for these days, like Benz said the internals are
cheaply made and they fuck often!!
the ones made 10 years ago may be made out of better parts??? the ones these days
are all cheap plastic shit from Taiwan etc!
like that roller mount, I think they all get that problem now!!