Opinions on cheap mig welders

[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!