Opinions on cheap mig welders

[strictly_perv]

I'm thinking of getting a cheap Mig welder for little bits n bobs like exhausts and stuff. I've had experience at college with welders, that was a very expensive one mind.
I'm not planning on spending a lot really. Found this-

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/370656727258?s...1423.l2649

Does anyone think it will be any good? I know it's not going to be amazing but it's all I can afford really.

[darrenjlobb]

Being a farmer, ive been a die hard ARC (stick welder) fan from day 1, have used them for years, and thats just what I know...Recently aqquired a free cheapish mig (180amp numig), which has now converted me into the world of mig, yes, I still use the arc alot on the farm, because conditions are often far from ideal for cracking out the mig, but for car stuff / general workshop stuff, i f*cking adore the mig....

Now moving onto the point in hand....from what I can see so far...albeit not huge insight, but just what ive found...is if your getting a mig, dont even bother buying a cheap one...the one I have is "cheap" and its seriously made so crap / useless compared to proper rigs, Ive already had to make up my own wire feed rollers as there so crappy and useless stock, have had to change out the lance / torch for decent one, as well as repair the dodgy amp rotary switch like 5 times...its just cheaply made crap, which with arc, you can get away with being so simple (transformer ina box!) but with mig, there so particular, and theres nothing more annoying than an unreliable welder...as soon as i have spare funds, ill be investing in a DECENT mig, with alot more amps / a decent brand on the side of the box....

Thats my insight anyway!

[THE_Liam]

It's like any cheap tool mate, it won't last as long as a good one and the results you get won't be nearly as good...

I've had the same Clarke Turbo MIG for 7 years, used it quite a lot and it's still in good shape, never let me down or struggled with thick steel, and it was only £220

[swampy]

My old man has a Clarke one, have had it as long as I can remember, certainly since my first car twenty years ago and it's still going strong.

It's by no means the best but we have welded everything new sills and front panels in place to repairing holes in floors.

Works much better and gives better weld when on gas though!!!

[Rippthrough]

The bottom end of something relatively trouble free would be the clarke 160TM really, I wouldn't go for anything under that...

[RePT]

I probably shouldnt say this, but we took a clarke to the tip last weekend. I knew it was a bad idea.

[ginge191]

any ideas of what else is on offer?

[strictly_perv]

SO generally speaking it's a no to cheap migs?
Would it be best if I started off with an ARC?

Thanks for the advise people.

[darrenjlobb]

No dont start with an ARC

MIG welding is the easiest, anyone can operate a mig welder, just point and shoot really once you set your wire speed / amps, which is pretty simple...a cheap one will work, itl just likely drive you mental when the rollers are slipping, lance is pinching, and transformers on fire / inverter dies

[strictly_perv]

No dont start with an ARC

MIG welding is the easiest, anyone can operate a mig welder, just point and shoot really once you set your wire speed / amps, which is pretty simple...a cheap one will work, itl just likely drive you mental when the rollers are slipping, lance is pinching, and transformers on fire / inverter dies

I'm sure I won't be using it as much as you though Darren
Maybe I should just keep look out for second hand decent ones that are local

[dturbopeck]

Make sure u get one with gas, you get a much better and stronger weld

[darrenjlobb]

Id buy a second hand decent welder over new chinease anyday!

[JackLewis_Dturbo]

i bought a gas mig for £50 second hand... better than any cheap sh*t on ebay!

[cully]

MIG welding is the easiest, anyone can operate a mig welder, just point and shoot really once you set your wire speed / amps, which is pretty simple...a cheap one will work, itl just likely drive you mental when the rollers are slipping, lance is pinching, and transformers on fire / inverter dies

this man is talking sence!

BUT
if your not using it regular the wire will rust and get jammed in the liner/tips causing the rollers to slip knotting the feed wire always had this problem with mine
i got so fecked off with it!

also the gas bottles will always be empty due to leakage from the desposable bottles

i bought a turbo sealey from ebay for £20 it needed repairing ive converted it to gasless 0.9mm wire and now im happy dont have to mess with gas and it welds nearly everything but like Darren i do like my arc for heavey gauge stuff

if you do buy a mig get one with aleast a minimum of 100Amps

[THE_Liam]

SO generally speaking it's a no to cheap migs?
Would it be best if I started off with an ARC?

Thanks for the advise people.

To be fair, on cars the majority of the work you do is welding comparatively thin steel sheet panels, and MIG will always be more than enough for that.

[Stephen]

When I was younger I always asked my dad if he would teach me to weld! He said he would when I was 14, but I never did! Annoyed I didn't get in to it then!

Think il get him to teach me when I go home

[THE_Liam]

No lessons needed with MIG mate, just get one and some old panels and practise

[Stephen]

Haha yeah! He has a whole setup at his work though. Pretty sure he would have different types

He's a fleet engineer for a haulage company

But yeah Id just want him to show me the basics and give me things to practice on!

Won't be till next year anyways!

[darrenjlobb]

Welding is just something you get better at the more you do / more different things you weld....ive never been taught how to weld by anyone...just lots of practice on and around the farm / cars etc...

For car stuff you wouldnt want anything other than a MIG tbh, there just easy to use / good for thin stuff.

The one ive got atm is a 180amp, which for me isnt near enough, as im still finding myself needing to use the old trusty arc for the thick stuff to get proper penatration etc, but for car stuff, ive found ive not needed anything more than the 180, for anything like exhausts / body repairs etc anyways, only thing sometimes is welding cast like manifolds etc, normally still use the arc for that, as it works better!

---

Also worth noting, do not even bother messing around with them dissposable bottles, they last 30 seconds / cost a fortune to run!

[CJ_Derv]

Got some good advise myself out of this as definitly looking into one myself Cheers chaps

[Diggers]

try second hand.
i got a Murex Tradesmarc mig for £100 then a 8KG co2 bottle for £50 (fully regged and certified) and its £9 for a refil and lasts months

[stevieg]

what i would do is get a gas welder, one of these and one of these bottles of gas

[ginge191]

what i would do is get a gas welder, one of these and one of these bottles of gas

Any suggestions on a cheap'ish gas welder?

[stevieg]

don't bother with the ones designed for the disposable bottles as they will leak all the gas within a few days, go for a full sized bottle welder as you can turn off the gas and they will be built for doing proper welding
something along the lines of this would be a good investment http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/sealey-185-sup...43b480ca52 . don't be surprised that whatever one you go for will need new wire, tip and shield tip unless its new

[parrotveasey81]

imo you need a 150amp-180amp mig welder and like others have said get one that will use a full sized bottle
also get one that has a euro torch as they are soo much better plus use a argon/co2 gas mix and you will weld soo much better than just co2 on its own

for body work you want to use 0.6 mig wire as it dont take as many amps to melt so it is easyer to weld thin metal with
for thicker metal go for 0.8 mig wire

[stevieg]

argon/co2 is expensive compared to how much you can get a bottle of pub gas for, yes you get better penetration but i prefer straight co2

[Rippthrough]

Actually you get more penetration with CO2, but argon mix runs hotter so fills the toes of the weld out better with less contamination. Tbh, I can get argon mix at less than a fiver more than co2 so it's a no brainer really.

[THE_Liam]

Never tried Argon myself, is it worth a go Phil? My dads SD1 goes for its MOT next month so no doubt I'm gonna be cracking out the MIG...

[Rippthrough]

Gives a neater weld with less spatter, smoother arc too so you can use a wider range of wire speeds for the same power settings, worth a try.

[darrenjlobb]

I run mine with a mix, and seams to work well...