recommend a starter MIG please

[islandgun]

Anyone knowledge of a good starter welder.. looking at Sealey mighty mig,, uses include trailers, perhaps car, general agric equipment. very limited experience with stick welder...cheers

[Medic1281]

Cebora are good. 

[Diver One]

I have a SIP turboweld Gas/gasless 140A I think

used to use it withnthe little disposable canisters then got a good deal on a mid sized bottle

doesnt get used that much But when it does it works well. The gasless option is good for outside when it is very windy as it saves the gas shield blowing away

[wyn]

How much do you have to spend ?

Maybe have a look at..

R-Tech

Jasic

GYS

[figgy]

For home hobby light use a machine mart one or similar will do.

R-tech have good service but you pay more for it.

Same type machine with different name and similar features can be had cheaper.

See when your local welding supply place stock.

You want alloy housing  for the spool feed not plastic, so check inside the cover.

You say car and agri use,for car you need one to go down to 20amps for thin panels and then for chassis and agricultural repairs need at least 160 amps. This will limit your machine choice to the better sets.

Be easier to buy a little mig set for car work and light steel then use stick on the chassis and agri stuff.

Decent to use Chinese welders have come down in price. Work well and if backed with UK supplied spares you can save money.

Edited June 6, 2019 by figgy

[McSpredder]

53 minutes ago, islandgun said:

Anyone knowledge of a good starter welder.. looking at Sealey mighty mig,, uses include trailers, perhaps car, general agric equipment. very limited experience with stick welder...cheers

Clarke MIG welders were popular in the past, but the makes mentioned by wyn are well regarded and seem to have taken a big share of the market in recent years.    Small MIG welders sold under the SIP brand name have had a lot of bad reviews.    MIG is very suitable for car bodywork, but MIG welders giving sufficient current for trailers and general agric equipment can be quite expensive, so it may be sensible to use stick welding for those jobs.

Lots of info on this site:   https://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/

 

[Stephen-H]

Coming from a working back ground in mechanics working next to a hire shop mig welders snap on / mac tools welders mostly come from the same factory don't pay for brand names there all made in the same factory 180amp is more than enough to weld cars & a lot more 

Edited June 7, 2019 by Stephen-H

[oldypigeonpopper]

hello, i had a Cebora but you can buy other brands and good quality like Sealy, / Sip, i used a pub C0 2 bottle with a inline heater, a gas/gasless might be ideal, R Tech make good welders but higher cost, whats you budget ?,  i only use a small arc welder now and Digital, welders have come a long way since my old oil cooled Bantam 

[Gordon R]

I used to have a large Decamig MIG welder years ago with a large bottle, but didn't use it much. I bought a cheapy Giant gasless MIG from LTS in Blackburn - less than £100. The gasless wire rolls are very cheap now - they used to be far more expensive - and I don't have to keep filling CO2 bottles. Had it a couple of years - works fine. Welded a neighbours exhaust back box - so it will do thin stuff.

http://www.localtoolsales.com/welding-equipment-plasma-cutters/mig-welders

Edited June 6, 2019 by Gordon R

[Wb123]

A second hand industrial unit rather than a new but low budget one, unless the cheap ones have come on a long way in the last few years. 

[islandgun]

Thanks for all the replies chaps. My budget is up to £300 and was thinking no gas.. I get the impression most are basically the same and made in China, so was thinking any stand out.. will take a look at all the suggestions.. cheers

[oldypigeonpopper]

hello, with £300 you should be able to get something decent,Sealey/ Sip/Clarke/ no gas is ok but not ideal for car body work, will do exhaust/ sub frames, the wire roller on some use plastic fittings and not ideal, welders made in ITALY  are much better made than china including spare parts, is £300 just the welder ?  you want a no gas but also do with gas if required, very simple to alter the welder but you will need some extra kit, the low amp welders 30/35 amp are good to use with gas on thin sheet right up to 160/180amp for 5/6/8 mm steel with gasless, wire,  fan/turbo cooled is best,  gasless seem more for the DIY and do not have a wide range of machines but do save having to consider the extra cost of gas, i do not have details of Sealey the mighty mig 150 has good reviews and on your budget, looking at a machine mart catalogue now i would consider the Clarke 130 EN or 160 EN the extra amps might help to weld those bigger jobs and thicker steel, what supplier do you have in the Western Isles, as buying online or ? has its problems as i found out sending 2 back with faults and getting money back, one company mentioned on here,  if your set on a Sealy mighty mig get the equivalent to the Clarkes mentioned. that with a decent welding mask, apron/gloves, should be a nice welding kit, one last thing, please be very very careful of your eyes and always keep some eye lotion handy, if you do get a flash (arc eye ) seek medical advice,  the only supplier i can see for Scotland and the Isles is MacGregor or machinemart in Dundee, MacGregor have a demonstration set up in Inverness branch so you can try out a MIG, although i could not see what hobby mig welders they sell, once you decide on a welder i found it best to change the wire liner in the gun to a teflon type.     good luck   

Edited June 7, 2019 by oldypigeonpopper

[Medic1281]

So what’s a ‘decent ‘ welding mask? I’ve a cheap instant mask that does the job, how much better do they get? 

[oldypigeonpopper]

6 minutes ago, Medic1281 said:

So what’s a ‘decent ‘ welding mask? I’ve a cheap instant mask that does the job, how much better do they get? 

hello, not the ones that come with cheap chinese welders

[udderlyoffroad]

9 hours ago, figgy said:

For home hobby light use a machine mart one or similar will do.

Don’t do it.  Unless those Clarke machines have really improved recently, they awful and really difficult for a beginner to lay a good bead with.

Either….A new inverter machine from R-Tech or GYS (£300-500) or a second-hand (single phase) industrial transformer machine.

The modern inverter machines are miles ahead of the old cheapo Clarkes and will weld on low power properly. Ideal for thin sheet (car body work). If needed, they can also throttle up to about 4mm-6mm, enough to do most ‘agricultural’ tasks, in multiple passes if necessary.  If that still isn’t enough, most of them can be used as a stick (arc) welder with the right lead.  Some can even do ‘scratch start’ TIG with the right torch but that’s for later.

As with beginning shooting – get yourself some proper instruction to avoid getting into bad habits, and make sure you’ve got decent PPE.  I’ve got the ESAB basic automatic mask (~£60) and it was a definite step up in terms of clarity from the chineseum.  Although, some will say that you should learn to weld with a manual, flip up, mask, as sooner or later your Gucci-auto-magic one will fail and you’ll need to weld something on a Sunday afternoon and all you’ve got is the one that came with the welder..

Once you have a welder you’ll wonder how you ever managed without one.

[oldypigeonpopper]

2 minutes ago, udderlyoffroad said:

Don’t do it.  Unless those Clarke machines have really improved recently, they awful and really difficult for a beginner to lay a good bead with.

Either….A new inverter machine from R-Tech or GYS (£300-500) or a second-hand (single phase) industrial transformer machine.

The modern inverter machines are miles ahead of the old cheapo Clarkes and will weld on low power properly. Ideal for thin sheet (car body work). If needed, they can also throttle up to about 4mm-6mm, enough to do most ‘agricultural’ tasks, in multiple passes if necessary.  If that still isn’t enough, most of them can be used as a stick (arc) welder with the right lead.  Some can even do ‘scratch start’ TIG with the right torch but that’s for later.

As with beginning shooting – get yourself some proper instruction to avoid getting into bad habits, and make sure you’ve got decent PPE.  I’ve got the ESAB basic automatic mask (~£60) and it was a definite step up in terms of clarity from the chineseum.  Although, some will say that you should learn to weld with a manual, flip up, mask, as sooner or later your Gucci-auto-magic one will fail and you’ll need to weld something on a Sunday afternoon and all you’ve got is the one that came with the welder..

Once you have a welder you’ll wonder how you ever managed without one.

hello, which mig welder can you buy from R Tech or GYS for £300 ? 

[Stephen-H]

If the budget will stretch to it get a auto darkening mask you wont look back once you've used one always keep them upright when not in use to avoid scratches on the front lense good luck with it 

[islandgun]

Thanks again.. My nearest stockist is in Stornoway and he has the Mighty Mig professional 150 amp no gas. The car welding is the chassis case has a crack. other will be box section trailer parts and general diy stuff. my late mates son has just finished a couple of years welding at college so we should be able to work something out. will certainly get the best mask i can [auto type] as i once had arc eye and that was deeply unpleasant..😩

cheers IG  

[udderlyoffroad]

1 hour ago, oldypigeonpopper said:

hello, which mig welder can you buy from R Tech or GYS for £300 ? 

I did say £300-500, so for instance This'un is the one my mate has...smooth as a baby's wotsit, even when letting in patches into old cars.  For £370, not worth messing with the DIY-transformer machines, IMO.  Comes with a decent EuroTorch too.  I know that's not exactly cheap, but that's still cheap 12gauge over and under territory….

 

 

[oldypigeonpopper]

1 minute ago, islandgun said:

Thanks again.. My nearest stockist is in Stornoway and he has the Mighty Mig professional 150 amp no gas. The car welding is the chassis case has a crack. other will be box section trailer parts and general diy stuff. my late mates son has just finished a couple of years welding at college so we should be able to work something out. will certainly get the best mask i can [auto type] as i once had arc eye and that was deeply unpleasant..😩

cheers IG  

hello, that sounds a good plan, cannot say much more from my previous post so good luck

[oldypigeonpopper]

7 minutes ago, udderlyoffroad said:

I did say £300-500, so for instance This'un is the one my mate has...smooth as a baby's wotsit, even when letting in patches into old cars.  For £370, not worth messing with the DIY-transformer machines, IMO.  Comes with a decent EuroTorch too.  I know that's not exactly cheap, but that's still cheap 12gauge over and under territory….

 

 

hello, thanks i very much agree on your assessment with these but more for professional welder than DIY welding

Edited June 7, 2019 by oldypigeonpopper

[Rewulf]

5 minutes ago, oldypigeonpopper said:

hello, thanks i very much agree on your assessment with these but more for professional welder than DIY welding

Ive got a great big SIP 180 gas mig, had it years , does the job. Its big and clumsy , weighs a ton.
I needed to do a job at home, and decided to get one of those Lidl gas less migs for the job , I think it was £90, small and light, you can pick it up with one finger.

When I say its a pleasure to use, big fat welds effortlessly, Ive not touched the SIP for months now !

[oldypigeonpopper]

9 minutes ago, Rewulf said:

Ive got a great big SIP 180 gas mig, had it years , does the job. Its big and clumsy , weighs a ton.
I needed to do a job at home, and decided to get one of those Lidl gas less migs for the job , I think it was £90, small and light, you can pick it up with one finger.

When I say its a pleasure to use, big fat welds effortlessly, Ive not touched the SIP for months now !

hello, thats interesting, what amps does the Lidl one go to, was that recent you purchased ?

Edited June 7, 2019 by oldypigeonpopper

[Rewulf]

49 minutes ago, oldypigeonpopper said:

hello, thats interesting, what amps does the Lidl one go to, was that recent you purchased ?

Lidls Parkside 90 amps max, fluxed wire, I was only welding thin sheet, but its a lot more powerful than I expected, I reckon 1/4 inch wouldnt be a problem, maybe more ?

Had it about 3 months now, I would highly recommend .
Just checked , it was 79.99 , 3 year warranty, I cant find any stock though..

[wyn]

4 hours ago, Medic1281 said:

So what’s a ‘decent ‘ welding mask? I’ve a cheap instant mask that does the job, how much better do they get? 

Optrel and Speedglass are very good up to £400.  add on an air feed and they are £1000