Welders

[brendan]

In my opinion the 175amp MIG welder is too small to weld 10mm plate. Looking at the specs it runs near 23volts which is still really cold regardless of whether you use 0.8 or 0.9 wire. We won't even mention the 25% duty cycle.
You need to be running at least 25 - 27 volts to get the penetration/fusion into the joint otherwise the weld will just fall off.
I wouldn't be Mig welding any more than 3mm with a 175amp MIG welder.

On another note GTAW is great for thin metal and small diameter pipe, otherwise it is not cost effective.

define small diameter

 

[Red Dog]

Kempseyken, yes I agree those four brands are reputable but i would think twice about Esab since they have changed their manufacturing point. (the reason they are yellow- it's the same colour of lemons). When we were selling them the Singaporian made units had nothing but trouble in workshop environments. The European units are still reliable.

Brendan, small diameter pipe would be anything under 5" (125mm).

 

[Peteyen86]

Instead of starting a new thread i'll add to this one.

Looking to start welding some stuff up. Have only used an old arc in the past. Now looking to buy a new mig.

Will be mainly doing 2mm to 3mm tube/shs, but will also go up to some 6-8mm occasionally (maybe for some sliders).

Was looking at the lincoln 180c and cigweld 175i. The cigweld having stick option sounds good for only 150 bucks more.

Has anyone got the cigweld 175i and what do you think of it? Same with the Lincoln 180c?

Gas rental is a little more then i wanted. Supagas is $16.50 a month, $107 refill for E bottle i think. BOC was also $16.50 but a fair bit more for the refills.

Probably use gasless mostly because of those prices, but unsure yet.

So is the cigweld the go?, any advice would be great.

Cheers Pete

 

[LLadnar]

I just bought a Lincoln 180c, the reason I chose it was they have all alloy internals, the cigweld welders I looked at had plastic gears and hinges. The Lincoln will last longer in my opinion.

 

[Peteyen86]

I just bought a Lincoln 180c, the reason I chose it was they have all alloy internals, the cigweld welders I looked at had plastic gears and hinges. The Lincoln will last longer in my opinion.

Turns out one of my mates has the lincoln 180c also. He loves it and didnt have bad thing to say. I have read a few bad things about the cigwelds also. Think ill go with the lincoln. Now to find the best price i can!

 

[LLadnar]

I know gasweld have them on sale at the moment for $895 I think? I seen gasweld had them on eBay too.

 

[Peteyen86]

Thanks. I just called a few places. Waiting to here back from 2 but the other 2 quoted 1200 bucks. I seen the one one ebay for 895, think that might be the go. Was hoping to buy local but $300 cheaper is too much.

Got a couple more places to call first.

Pete

 

[Peteyen86]

I know gasweld have them on sale at the moment for $895 I think? I seen gasweld had them on eBay too.

Local business has them on sale for $875, picking one up tomorrow for that price. Dont have to worry about postage now. If for some reason i need it fixed or replaced under warranty, Lincoln's are done at another local business which is great also.

Do you use gas? or gasless. Bit of a rip off the gas hire at 16.50 a month. Will hire a bottle for the first year when i have heaps to do and then go from there. How do you find welding with the gasless wire?

cheers Pete

 

[nismo4x4]

i too have the lincoln 180c $1000 but worth it. alloy internals a +

 

[gazza414]

This is what I use at home to do both stick and TIG.....0-300 amps--total control

 

[Peteyen86]

Bought the lincoln tonight. Couldnt be happier with the service i received. Got the 180C mig, lincoln auto helmet, 2 pairs of good welding gloves, trolley and 5kg spool of wire all for $1040. Not bad considering alot of the places quoted me 1200 for the mig alone.

The mig was on sale for $875, but he knocked another 50 or so bucks off.



Pete

 

[princey]

Gazza

This is what I use at home to do both stick and TIG.....0-300 amps--total control

Hi MATE What the brand of welder is that..??

 

[gazza414]

Its a Hitachi..they are in another league just like Panasonic welders....you wont find them at retail shops.

 

[RustyNav09]

okie dokie. im bashing myt old thread back up. i purchased a Cigweld 130amp inverter welder which was mma but also aloowed me to dc tig only. i havent had the chance to tig and have only used the mma/stick welding a stack of times and currently over stick welding.

I am now looking at MIG/MAG welders and can get a considerable amount of brands at discounted prices purely because of where i work and our contacts. So i have looked at Kemppi, Esab, BOC, Lincoln, Fronius, Miller, UniMig, etc, and am looking at a 200amp unit which must have single phase input.

What i am asking is what do people have and how are they working and if you were to change to another brand to what and why would you change? Also lets not worry about the $$$$ side of things as im purely after some information. I have been told Kemppi are having issues with motherboards/powerboards and also ESAB are considered the Ferrari of Welders.

Type away and let me know

Thanks

 

[qqc d22]

i have two unimigs love them ones an inverter ones 3 phase but if i wasnt orried about cash fronius all the way for me.that said id be happy with anything on that list except boc

 

[RustyNav09]

ok so im pretty darn impressed by the Lincoln 180c but still a bit funny on the duty cycle. Cigweld also have a pretty good rep and have looked at the 200 amp units. Kemppi are having flaw issues with main/mother boards and Esab Caddy havent really had any reviews at all apart from 1 guy who blew it up in 3 weeks which was probably user issues, also both units are darn pricey and may be a little out of my range.

So its come down to Lincoln and Cigweld, but i am still talking to a few welding guys and have told me to look at toher brands like UniMig and Fronius(pricey).

Also mentioned below is the gas bottle hire fee which i hadnt looked at yet and im not 100% keen on spending $200 a year for a gas bottle that may or may not get used. :S

anymore info from my fellow members would be great.

Thanks

 

[Farmer Joe]

I love my 180 amp Lincoln mig. I just use .9 ml gasless wire, it takes the 5kg rolls that work out a lot cheaper than the small rolls. I use it often but don't think I have ever had the amps wound right up. The beauty of it is you can wind it right back and weld tin plate.
It is gas compatable but like you stated its not worth $200 a year rent for the gas. I've had it for 4 or 5 years with no probs.
fj

 

[RustyNav09]

I love my 180 amp Lincoln mig. I just use .9 ml gasless wire, it takes the 5kg rolls that work out a lot cheaper than the small rolls. I use it often but don't think I have ever had the amps wound right up. The beauty of it is you can wind it right back and weld tin plate.
It is gas compatable but like you stated its not worth $200 a year rent for the gas. I've had it for 4 or 5 years with no probs.
fj

Hmmm the real thing that sucks with me is that i have a cousin who is a Boilermaker and is teacing me to weld and wont lend me a bottle. i guess he pays for it or maybe even the company he works for pays for it i dunno. Also our work got flooded in the floods lastyear in brisbane and we lost our welding setup including all our argon bottles and co2 bottles which would of come in handy if i purchased a mig. still waiting for the approvals fo rour new shed to go up in our new location so we can get a setup going again, which hopefully mean i can get gas a a really cheap rate or even free

Rusty

 

[Farmer Joe]

The gas is the cheap part. Its the bloody rent on the bottle that sux.
fj

 

[RustyNav09]

The gas is the cheap part. Its the bloody rent on the bottle that sux.
fj

ahah agreed. would purchasing a argon bottle and having them fill it be cheaper?

rusty