gasless mig or arc

[kemal]

hey guys and gals dont know if this has been posted yet, but basically i want to buy a welder soon and was wondering what sort i dont have a big budget so either has to be a gasless mig or arc welder , just want it for mild fab work , body work , rust repairs and just general diy stuff and for around the house like building gates and maybe a work bench , just wondering what would be the best way to go ,brands and even pricing wise if you know.
cheers for any help

[LTD351T]

stick will do most of the general fab work, but for panel work your better off with mig, gasless works fine but they chew the wire much quicker than gassed, and generally the weld is messier.

the super cheap arc works well up to about 4/5mm plate, it just doesn't have the guts to work with the larger electrodes, and thick materials, but its cheap.

I'd say look at a semi decent 200 amp mig(might be too exxy), and just use gasless wire, you can then get gas later on if you wanted, having a bit more power than what you need will save from having to buy again later.

WIA and BOC, CIG, good brands, I have Uni mig, and not 100% happy with it.

IMO stay away from digital controls, the simple dials are more reliable.

A mate has a small mig, at the end of the day buying tiny disposable gas bottles or gasless wire, it just cant do much, and consumables are expensive, better to get stick in short term and save for decent entry level mig, around 800$.

[kemal]

how much is a semi decent 200 amp mig worth?

[LTD351T]

how much is a semi decent 200 amp mig worth?

Probably more than what you wanna spend if your after a good brand, i'd get a cheapy stick, and save up 800-1500$ odd for a mig, if you get a good brand even a 150amp will do better than a cheaper 200A, but you will pay more for the brands. If your not going to use it all the time 800$ should get something worthwhile.

I'm biased after using my mates cheap mig with gasless wire, didn't like it, my uni mig procraft 250 was 1400 but they are 1200 elsewhere, something from WIA I think the 150amp was 1450$, could be cheaper now, my prices are from about 4 years ago. A mate of mine got a CIG 180amp I think for 800$

[kemal]

cheers mate

[LTD351T]

http://www.welding.com.au/products-list ... egoryID=63

just watch the duty cycle when looking at the power ratings, they all have different ratings, some brands are conservative others generous.

[v840]

I love my unimig but hate the farken digital dial. Hasnt read true since I got it. Will eventually get round to swapping it to a analog one.

If this is your first welder I strongly recommend getting an arc welder. It is harder to use than a mig initially but when you do decide to upgrade to a mig your welds will be sooooo much nicer than if you went the other way round. A good arc welder can do pretty much all fabwork you'll need except panel work.

I learnt on a 30 yr old wia arc welder which I still use for welding thicker materials.

[Adam GQ]

200 amp = 15 amp plug

[micks troll]

I'm a bit biased over the cheap $500 sip units compare to a $17000 mig i use at work (Fronius):lol: dont go for the $500 specials and you should be right. Buy right the first time and have no regrets. Arc are much friendler outdoors though. Be greedy and get one of each

[dai-hard]

For all my onsite stuff at work i use a KEMPPI miniarc 180 it cost about $1800 but is the best sml welder i have used it can do alloy and stainless too.

http://www.kemppi.com/inet/kemppi/kit.n ... _br_EN.pdf

[zagan]

Go MIG, seeing your wanting to do body and rust repairs.

You could hit up the welding shops for second hand pricing, and also the trading post etc for migwelders as well.

you may want to price up a bottle + gas at the welding shop.

Then pick a gun that has the cheapest gas defusers/tips/nozzles/nozzle ground/holder (if needed)

You can still go gasless with a gas mig setup.

I don't think you'll be chewing up heaps of parts with little usebut always good to price up these things first then pick.

The stick welders you can do the same in regaurds to second hand stuff, you'd just need toprice up the rods etc.

You may get away with a real thin rod and real low amps but you might need to be moving quick as well, I havn't tried myself so unsure.

[toaddog]

Have just been thru this. Bought a moderately priced Mig 5 years ago and it has just crapped itself again. The wire feeder is the weak link.

Have just bought a 120 cigweld arc from supercheap on special for a 3rd off and that seems to be as easy as compared to the mig.

[roverrat]

tig

[V8Patrol]

I think you need 2 welders ........ eventually !



For starters get a 160 / 200 amp inverter welder. This can easily handle ya construction/fab work and they aint bad price wise either, Ebay units for around $350 mark.
A tig torch added to the inverter unit and you can do the thin materials aswell ( new torch sells for around $90 on Ebay )

Then when the dollars become more available & you have decided that you have enough use for a mig, then get a decent mig, expect to spend around the $1200 mark.


PM me for a 'trusted Ebay seller' that wont shaft you..... he does deal direct too ....

Kingy

[ausyota]

You can pick up the CIG weldskill 170 inverter stick welder for around the $400 mark.
Mig is the go though for panel work but you really need to look at a 200 amp + ($1000+) in a mig to get something decent.

[kemal]

http://www.unimig.com.au/arc140.html

just had a look at this went to a few shops this is $399 , few mig/gasless mig welders that do both for around 500 to 600 , few gasless cheapies weldmate toolex etc but they dont do thicker stuff, still looking ill keep looking till i find the right one

[kemal]

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Mag200-IGBT-Inve ... dZViewItem

also found this

[hulsty]

I recently bought a CIG transmig 200, 200amp mig that can run gas/gasless wire. On special it came to about $1250 with gas, 15kg wire and helmet. I fabbed up my rear bad no problem which is 6mm, right down to the thin floor of my car. I find it works great and havent needed to crank it right up to max yet either

[Org]

I have weldmaster 170c. cost around $900 - and its brilliant for what it is.

I've welded from .7mm to 12mm with it so far... My mate also just bought a lincoln 180c for $1100. He thinks it's better, but I don't notice much of a difference.

PS - once you go gas, you never go back!

[Wambat]

was looking in one of the phamphlets me get at work, and theres a nice cig weld, tig/stick in heavy duty case for 400, i think thats pretty good.

[kemal]

yer thats pretty good what catalogue?

[kemal]

havnt found any cigweld weldskill 170 inverters yet in newy and have been to alot of shops any body live around here that can point me in the right direction,

[ausyota]

United tools agents are selling the CIG Weldskill 170 inverter stick for $399 in a case with leads.
TIG torch is extra, around $80 I think
Paul.

[RUFF]

havnt found any cigweld weldskill 170 inverters yet in newy and have been to alot of shops any body live around here that can point me in the right direction,

Keep in mind you are really going to struggle to use a stick welder on rust repairs and body work.

Although. Generally most people that first learn to stick weld will pick up Mig welding real fast on their own. Where as someone who learnt to weld with a mig welder will struggle to get the hang of a stick welder even with experianced guidence.

[kemal]

as said earlier the inverter has a tig adaption function for panel rust work but that wont be for a while just wanna learn how to stick weld and doin mild fabbing for now thats why i think ill get a inverter

[luxembuger]

G'day, in my opinion a stick welder would be the go. Saw a good buy in an Australian industrial Supplies catalogue, a BOC or Cigweld inverter 170 amp stick/ tig for around $400. You probably wouldn't need more than 140 amps for what you want to do at the moment but for $100 more than the 140 amp machine my $ would go for the 170. Hope this helps you.
Cheers, Chris.

[V8Patrol]

I own 5 welders......

140amp perless, rarely used these days (owned since 1978 )

400amp AC/DC tig ( with plasma and arc aswell ), used once a week maybe

200amp inverter, used daily

200amp unimig used only on body work and is otherwise seldom used

320 SAF mig , used daily


The inverter welder is a smart 'first choice' and will do all the constructing work you'll ever want to do....
Get a mig later on when & if you can afford or warrant it.

[Mick.]

hey guys and gals dont know if this has been posted yet, but basically i want to buy a welder soon and was wondering what sort i dont have a big budget so either has to be a gasless mig or arc welder , just want it for mild fab work , body work , rust repairs and just general diy stuff and for around the house like building gates and maybe a work bench , just wondering what would be the best way to go ,brands and even pricing wise if you know.
cheers for any help

Heres another option you might be interested in mate. Do you have a Snap On rep come around your work shop or have access to one

They are the agent for Migomag welders. These are one of the best welders going around and is used by 90% of the Smash Repair industry in some way or another.

I bought a 215amp migomag off Snap On and just pay it off at $40 a week along with a Generator I bought off them and other little things as well.

A welder on it's own would probably be only $20 a week on there Finance system which is nothing like them car finance systems. This way you can still get a good Mig without having to fork out huge dollars in one go.

Cheers Mick.

[RO8M]

hey there.

Having just got back from a welding seminar in San Fran, I'm getting a kick out of these replies...
Nah, it's all good.

To simplify:
TiG (from Tungsten Inert Gas) (GTAW- Gas Tungsten Arc Welding) is very versatile, can be used for light gauge up to 12mm and above, but is very slow. Mostly use Argon as the inert gas. Can also be used without filler rods (fusing). Can be used in any position (overhead, vertical up etc)

MiG (Metal Inert Gas) (GMAW- Gas Metal Arc Welding) Can be messy due to weld spatter (for spray, pulse types) , newer technologies are making it a lot cleaner such as Lincoln's STT, etc. Technically always uses a gas (see below). Also a wide size range, but not as easy for positional welds (eg overhead, vert up) as GTAW.

Flux Core (FCAW) (What people here are calling gas-less). Better for outside work where might be windy etc. Can also be used with a shielding gas. Creates a lot of fumes, ensure good ventilation, especially with Stainless (Chromium6, or hexavalent chromium is released). Fairly tidy welds posible, very difficult on lighter gauge, less skill required than GMAW-STT (for example).

I hope this has been helpful.

Experts: Please correct me if I've contradicted your knowledge.

[r0ck_m0nkey]

The inverter welder is a smart 'first choice' and will do all the constructing work you'll ever want to do....
Get a mig later on when & if you can afford or warrant it.

I agree, once you've got an Inverter Welder, you'll grab it over just about anything more most jobs. Even if it is simply for the fact they are quick and easy to set up and only weighing a few kg, easy enough to drag around everywhere.