Recommend me a mig welder

[adidat]

Thanks for that hitch i have ordered one already should be here in the next few days. So hopefully it will be ok.

Could you hive me a basic outline about what, dc lift tig is?

Picked up the gas today 20l 5% argon co2 mix. bottle about £150 all in but i get 80 quid when i take the bottle back.

Adidat

 

[Wuffles]

I'm cheap. £20 co2 with no rental. You got a reg?


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[adidat]

Yeah. Thats for a large tank must weigh 40kgs bloomin heavy!

Adidat

 

[Hitch]

Are you familiar with the TIG process?

Basically, on a higher spec machine there is High Frequency circuitry to initiate a spark, when you pres the trigger a small HF spark jumps the gaps and starts the actual welding current arc. The trigger also controls the gas flow through a solenoid, as it would the MIG.

On Lift Tig, you have to touch the tungsten electrode on the workpiece to initiate the welding arc then lift away sligthly to get the required arc gap. Works okay, but can be a pain suddenly stopping the arc whilst maintaining post weld gas coverage/preventing holes in the end of the weld.
Gas wise, cant remember, i think some have a manual control, some have a solenoid which opens when the tungsten is initially touched.

Scratch start, you used to have to sort of rub the tungsten across the job to get it to start, a bit like one of them cheap old fasioned arc welders. Pretty much useless for anything delicate. Gas control is usually a manual valve on the torch. Havnt seen a scratch start machine for sometime now.

 

[adidat]

So after Hitches post about the tig welder being some what basic I decided I didn't have much use for one at the moment so managed to cancel the order and decided on the GYS smartmig 162 a fair bit cheaper and seemed to offer everything I needed, did a quick search on the bay and found one for £50 less and contacted the seller and he said he would throw in a roll of wire and a pair of gloves without me even asking so I was very pleased.

If you look at the weldequip page for this welder you need to buy the regulator to make it work with the large tanks, I asked the seller if it was included with the one he was selling he rang me back and told me he had spoke to the gys rep and I did not require it. Turns out I did the rep doesn't seem to know his own products!

The regulator arrived today so I got to play with it properly this evening, couldn't find any jubilee clips to attach the hose to the welder so kept the pressure down and a watchful eye on it so I didn't gas myself!



As you can see its a rather compact unit but very heavy! but so far I am very pleased, within minutes of getting it all working I was producing beads that I was happy with considering I haven't welded for about 4 years.



my first good weld sanded down with no clear joins or cracks. This was just on some clothes shop racking I found on the pavement, sanded the plate off first and no clamps or jigs hence the difference in levels.



In the word of George Foreman "I'm so proud of it, I put my name on it!) :lol: :lol:

any questions please fire away!

Adidat

 

[ciderman]

Clarke 150 t or te.
Cracking machine- I have 3!
good parts back-up on them.
thanks

 

[Castlewood]

Hi Adidat, for your price range and the sort of metal you are going to be welding I would highly recommend a invertor. BOC (British oxygen company) do a great little multi process machine, which has 3 functions - mig, arc and tig. It is supplied with a (decent) euro mig lance, arc tongs,, earth lead and argon gas regulator. It's 16 amp but can be run on a decent quality 13amp plug on a slightly lower power output. It has a tig function but does not come with a tig torch, but you can pick them up for £40 off the Internet. The make of this unit is Ryval which is a boc verified brand. It retails for about £400-£500 but if you go into a boc store and ask for there best price you can get it for just under £400. Hope this helps. Louis

 

[karlpolly10]

Hi don't know if you have got fixed up yet, you should try Rtec welding I bought a machine from them good company and good prices. Most of their machines are dual purpose. Regards karl

 

[Wuffles]

Three posts back (in April) he bought one.