Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Looking at getting a welder to sit in the garage for the 'odd' jobs around the place. I dont belive that it will be used for building a buggy or anything else as serious as that, but when things start to crack or break it sure would be handy to be able to fix em. I have approximately 60 minutes welding experience with an oxy to date...

Repco have on sale a 130 amp Arc welder (max 140 amp) which welds up to 6mm thickness and includes accessories & electrodes with 12 month warranty for $100. Brand appears to be SIP??

Is this any good or should I be looking at something else?

I would try and get an inverter welder, i havent used one myself but most people rave over them, cleaner welds and easier to use i believe.

Most people I have spoken to about getting a welder (I'm looking at getting one as well) reckon to spend a bit more and get a MIG. Apparently much easier to use.

yeah for around 300-600 odd ya can get some decent migs more so maybe gasless

Anyone have a UniMig welder?

A cheap stick welder like the Repco one will do the job, it just takes a little longer to learn. I have one (not repco but similar) and have made my front bar and sliders along with numerous other bits and pieces. I wouldn't try and do panel repair with it though.



Cheers
Steve

I reckon if you are a noob to welding, you are far better off with a stick (arc) welder as you can see if the welds are shit..

With a MIG, your welds will "look" good, but wont have the penetration or strength in them..

With an arc, if it looks good.. it is usually a good weld i.e. strong

I had a stick but had trouble with it, so i got a mig gass/gasles best thing i ever did. bought it new from a welding shop that fixes welders ,set me up and showed me how to use it befor i took it home. BEST THING I EVER DID

As a person who's business is in welding technology and welding quality control i'd advise to not dodge cost too much.

In saying that i mean that a stick welder will be fine, but don't by a cheap one. Go for a CigWeld or something like that. You can pick up a small good quality arc welder for about $200. For the extra $100 on an elcheapo you'll be far better off.

Of course if you can justify the $500-600, get a small mig. But whatever you get make sure it's a reputable welding supply brand...Lincoln, CigWeld or similar.

By the way i don't seel any products or have any financial interest in recommending particular brands.

boc has an inverter arc for $300 looked pretty good.

uni-mig 240 is good and easy to run, anyone could weld with it

ditto to that. thats my weapon of choice!

rover1 wrote:uni-mig 240 is good and easy to run, anyone could weld with it

This is what i have been looking at getting.
Is there anything with it you dont like?

i myself have a cheapo $100 supercheap welder and i cant fault it ive droipped it ran over it (well against it and crushed the cover) and it still works (after some panel beating) this is 5+ years old and i even did some panel welding with it but yep time consuming and very easy to blow holes in it


around 12 months ago i aqquired a cigweld mig there smallest gassless mig aweseome welder id never look back to the arc easy to use anyone can weld

cost around 500 from bunnings and well worth it imo

im planing on the next upgrade shortly to a decent sized gas mig so i can get some more penetration into thicker steel

AussieGQ wrote:

rover1 wrote:uni-mig 240 is good and easy to run, anyone could weld with it

This is what i have been looking at getting.
Is there anything with it you dont like?

the new model has a better front panel, that is the only prob with mine, as there is only one screw holding it in. when you go over a bump it can move which means you need to take the side cover off and fit it. it happened first day and never again.

parts have been a problem but i beleive they have a new supplier and so far this is true. last year i waited 8mths for tips and had to use .9 on .8 wire which is marginal on high current settings.

I would buy another one.

i have a unimig portamig 200 and it works great digital display and its easy to use, i am part way into making some sliders for my truck with it

If you are gunna buy a arc welder, try and get at least 160amp, the 130's really struggle with 3.2 rods

Yeah I would say a 160amp Arc is a good tool to have around. Buy a Mig later on by all means but keep the arc too. Good points of Arc.

Can use outside in the wind
Cheap to buy
No gas needed
Can use stainless rods with good results

Against
Dirtier weld which must be cleaned/ chipped
Not suitable for 16g and below (unless an expert or high quality machine)
More practice needed than mig

All round a piece of kit Iwouldn`t get rid of. I have a Sip 210amp
Arc. They are Italian and reasonable quality. Try to get one with a fan as it will increase the duration of your welding before cutting out. It is a little bit of a myth that gas will give more penetration than gaslass mig.
Gasless mig is poorer on thin steel but fine on thicker. It is the upgraded machine you seek AND the gas that will give you better results.
North Sea oil platforms were built in Scotland using Gasless Mig, admittedly on big welding machines but it proves the point I think
Alex

InSanE wrote:i have a unimig portamig 200 and it works great digital display and its easy to use, i am part way into making some sliders for my truck with it

would this be usefull for most aplications or what?? also wha kind of price range are you looking at for one??

what are peoples thaughts on something like this!!

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/NEW-180-AMP-MIG- ... dZViewItem

Evan...

i have a uni mig 240 amp and its still single faze and i have used it every week end for a year or so and never had any trouble at all!! but its prolly a bit big for handy man stuff, but i can weld any thing from 1mm sheet to 12mm no probs

cost: welder $1400
small bottle rent $100 per year (not sure exactly)
bottle refill $45

160 amp- 200 amp is plenty

i payed about $1200 from memory for my mig it takes gas or gasless its just the portable version of the unimig 240, i looked it both but wanted something i could tkae to a mates house easily if needed, also you need a 15amp power plug in your shed to use it, and im just waiting for a mate to get me a gas bottle that has fallen off the back of a truck but it welds good with gasless wire for my needs.

AussieGQ wrote:Anyone have a UniMig welder?

yep

only isssue I've had is the diodes blowin on 3 occasions......

it now has oversized diodes fitted and hasnt missed a beat in the 4 years since they were fitted.

only other dramas I've had are......
a farked hand piece ( accidently driven over & broken )
trigger switch gets dirty real easy ( 5 min job to clean out the crud )
buggered range selector switch ( grinder spray and electrical points dont play well together )

Paid $800 for it new ( special deal as we did a group buy at the time, 6 machines in the one deal )


Am I happy with it ????????
yep , its done over 30 large reels of wire in its short life !

Kingy

V8Patrol wrote:

AussieGQ wrote:Anyone have a UniMig welder?

yep

only isssue I've had is the diodes blowin on 3 occasions......

it now has oversized diodes fitted and hasnt missed a beat in the 4 years since they were fitted.

only other dramas I've had are......
a farked hand piece ( accidently driven over & broken )
trigger switch gets dirty real easy ( 5 min job to clean out the crud )
buggered range selector switch ( grinder spray and electrical points dont play well together )

Paid $800 for it new ( special deal as we did a group buy at the time, 6 machines in the one deal )


Am I happy with it ????????
yep , its done over 30 large reels of wire in its short life !

Kingy

Thats what I like to hear. Thanks mate

I have used mine to weld 8kg of wire in one go several times. I build up high speed mixer blades using 316 s/s wire. this is on current setting 7(out of 8). that is like a 95% duty cycle at nearly max amps without a drama.

cheers bru