Advice needed from fellow builders

[Davey]

Having just invested in a new mig welder (sealey siegen 180, £327.99 delivered) all I can say is get the best you can afford. My old machine (Cem 160) took 5kg reels and the feed motor was puny, it did a fair job but would frequently stutter and splutter because of inconsistent wire speed. The Siegen can take full size 15 kg reels and so has a much more robust feed motor. In comparison to the Cem it is just so much easier to produce consistently good welds. If you can afford it go for a machine that takes full size wire reels.

D.

[poshguy]

Cheers guys im looking to prob spend around £200-£250 as it is vat free aswell so i can look a little above my price range but like i say it is not required for a full chassis as i will be getting that pre built.

[baz-r]

all hoby rated migs have a fairly low rated duty cycle so upping the amp size is a good idea.
a bigger second hand semi pro unit will be a better buy.
anything to take a real gas bottle is a good idea and use mixed gas (5% co2)

[spud69]

Hi Poshguy,

I'm not to familiar with these machines but my general advice would be to choose a mig that takes 15kg rolls, has a good smooth motor feed, at least 150amps as this will stop it overheating and fitted with a Eurotorch and 4m lead (will find a 3m lead is too short reaching round chassis, plus eurotorch is much more robust and can be cheaply replaced if damaged - £40 for lead and torch).

Happy hunting....>AndyH

[poshguy]

Spud thanks for advice im taking everyones advice and trying to find the best 1 in the range for the money so will prob post again for peoples thoughts when i find 1 lol

[poshguy]

Spud struggling following your advice as all the clarke machine im looking at only say they take 5kg wire reels and they all just say professional torch which dont mean nothing to me lol,if any1 has opinions they will be appreciated

[baz-r]

i used to sell welders and do techinical support unless you are doing alot of welding 5kg is fine i have made a whole chassis inc all the bits to go with it on 1 spool of 5kg
your not going to find a hobby rated unit that will feed a 15kg spool well
and it will be rusty before you finish it

keep a look out on local gumtree and ebay etc and somthing usualy pops up if you wait its well worth it

i found a real old sip 195 for £30 cleaned it up and treated it to a new euro torch and cables all for £35
yes its nothing fancy but i have got good welds all for £65
idealy i would have liked to find somthing a little better quality but at the price i was going to give it a go and flog it on for more than i paid for it if didnt make the grade (sadly it works quiet well and holds a full size bottle)

if you realy realy want new try looking at somthing swp 170c or Parweld XTM161C would be the cheapest thing i would recommend

[robo]

Thats spot on, we have a small mig where our fitter works and because he hardly ever uses it the mig wire was always rusty. What he does now is take the wire out of the machine and wrap it in a bin bag when not in use.Problem solved.

Bob

[Talonmotorsport]

I have ten of those small silicone bags sat in in the bottom of the machine that comes with the wire, reels last for 3-4 months and does'nt go rusty in my less than warm workshop.

[poshguy]

well to be honest im not neccesarily after a new machine i was just going to take advantage of the machine mart vat free day and reagrds buying second hand i dont really know enough about welders to know whats good and not.