MiG welder suggestions please

Thanks for all the comments guys. Very helpful and some interesting thoughts.

Great shout on the headshields, need the reading glasses magnification lenses. What a difference they make.

R-tech was a surprise, don't know why other than that I had a digital inverter arc welder at one point. It worked well initially but then the settings failed. You'd turn it up full for some heavier stuff then down for lighter and while it was showing like 40 you'd be blowing holes through everything and look round to see it sitting at 120 or whatever. So that kinda put me off them. Great portability but unreliable settings.
Maybe things have improved though.

The old Oxford, I had a similar oil filled one, sure it wasn't an Oxford but the same type. Pull up and turn for 1, 2 & 3. Battery charger too if I remember. Absolute beast of a thing to move about, fine in the workshop but a pig to take anywhere. I used to get it into the back of the defender with the engine hoist
.
As for regretting getting rid of the gas, yup, miss it already but arthritis made it almost hopeless trying to hold rod and torch so choice was made for me. Was always the type I was best at, neat and tidy. Just loved watching that pool. However, onwards and upwards (hopefully) time to try taming a mig.

I bought a 160 amp inverter mig off e-bay for under £200 and its been an absolute revelation. My old AC mig and stick welders both went striaght on e-bay and netted £50. I used gas with the old welder but the bottle fitting was different so I ran some gasless wire. Fantastic! The DC plus the inverter high frequency killed the spatter and best of all I could work outside in the breeze. The computer is measuring arc inductance (reluctance?) and adjusting on the fly to keep a steady arc, takes a load of effort away. Pic is bulkhead flush repair, 2mm, gasless working on a breezy day.

Brown said:

I'll be looking for a MIG machine one day. I have had them in the past, but sadly lost contact with them due to relationships breaking up. Not that my partners would have had much use for them, but somehow as I was re-establishing households after the break ups I found myself without a welder. The second one boasted turbo fan cooling so was more useful as I could keep going for longer without the thermal cut out switching it off. So make sure it has internal fans if you've got a lot of long beads to lay down. Ref. duty cycle comments above.

Gasless I'm not sure about. I dunno if I'd want to go completely gasless. I've seen gasless work quite well out doors in field settings with a cold wind blowing, but I think it would be good to have the option of gas as well, so maybe a machine that does both would be best @gstuart

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hiya

big apologises, I meant to reply sooner, bless u for the great advice and does make sense having a mig that can do both, to be honest and just shows how green I am didn’t realise u could get a mig that can do both

have been looking at this one

https://www.gas-uk.co.uk/mig-150-turbo.html

of course will have to do a lot more research, as in what thickness of metal a particular welder can cope with etc etc , inc what ones will work of a standard 240 Vac supply

also other welders like TIG and how there different from others , ie metal types etc

ie, going to design a slide out dog ramp, now have a sliding floor and would be perfect to make a simple frame attached to it, using some box section metal and flat metal for the cross struts, corners etc, plus making it tailor made

thks again

Just found this ,

https://beginnerweldingguide.com/mig-vs-tig-welding/

The 13A limit is a bit flexible as it depends on the welder setting, but inverter migs seem to be able to run 160A on a 13A socket, you may get a 180 or 200 on a 13A. You could wire in a 16A socket on a fused spur just for the welder. 16A should get you 200A. The welder will have a duty cycle too. The inverter migs weld using DC and you reverse polarity for gas vs gas-less, this makes a huge difference to the spatter. Gas will give cleaner better welds but if like me you have to work outside then gas-less is a lot better and the latest flux wire seems to be very good, a lot better than the stuff I bought 10 years ago. Most inverter migs will do stick welding, read the specs. They should come with the extra lead.

rob1miles said:

The 13A limit is a bit flexible as it depends on the welder setting, but inverter migs seem to be able to run 160A on a 13A socket, you may get a 180 or 200 on a 13A. You could wire in a 16A socket on a fused spur just for the welder. 16A should get you 200A. The welder will have a duty cycle too. The inverter migs weld using DC and you reverse polarity for gas vs gas-less, this makes a huge difference to the spatter. Gas will give cleaner better welds but if like me you have to work outside then gas-less is a lot better and the latest flux wire seems to be very good, a lot better than the stuff I bought 10 years ago. Most inverter migs will do stick welding, read the specs. They should come with the extra lead.

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many thks,

daft question if I may please can the cooker circuit be used , as all the wiring is there just no cooker fitted, think it’s 32 amp

also see welding masks have moved on, see some auto dim

really appreciate the advice

Yes, If I was doing lot of high amperage welding I'd run a spur from the distribution box with 6 or 10 sq. mm cable. A cooker spur would be good. You can even get 32A sockets https://www.screwfix.com/p/abb-32a-...VhLTtCh3RMgb4EAQYAiABEgIp4PD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds as well as the more familiar 16A ones. If using a 16A then change the MCB at the box down to a 16A to match, if it is currently a higher rating.Assuming you've got box with MCBs, which most people have these days.

rob1miles said:

The 13A limit is a bit flexible as it depends on the welder setting, but inverter migs seem to be able to run 160A on a 13A socket, you may get a 180 or 200 on a 13A. You could wire in a 16A socket on a fused spur just for the welder. 16A should get you 200A. The welder will have a duty cycle too. The inverter migs weld using DC and you reverse polarity for gas vs gas-less, this makes a huge difference to the spatter. Gas will give cleaner better welds but if like me you have to work outside then gas-less is a lot better and the latest flux wire seems to be very good, a lot better than the stuff I bought 10 years ago. Most inverter migs will do stick welding, read the specs. They should come with the extra lead.

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Pretty much my experience too. The gasless ones seem to come into their own for outdoor work in bad weather. Yes, I know, I've tried to make shelters too, and had friends standing holding blowtorches on the workpiece to get it going, but a gasless wire does half the work for you.

gstuart said:

hiya

big apologises, I meant to reply sooner, bless u for the great advice and does make sense having a mig that can do both, to be honest and just shows how green I am didn’t realise u could get a mig that can do both

have been looking at this one

https://www.gas-uk.co.uk/mig-150-turbo.html

of course will have to do a lot more research, as in what thickness of metal a particular welder can cope with etc etc , inc what ones will work of a standard 240 Vac supply

also other welders like TIG and how there different from others , ie metal types etc

ie, going to design a slide out dog ramp, now have a sliding floor and would be perfect to make a simple frame attached to it, using some box section metal and flat metal for the cross struts, corners etc, plus making it tailor made

thks again

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No problem. Good to hear from you.

I've not tried TIG myself yet so can't comment from firsthand experience. I've tried MMA, MIG and oxy acetylene. My partner Xylia used to be a professional TIG welder a one point when she lived in the USA. Next time I need an MMA machine I'll be looking for one that can do TIG as well so we can both play with it.

Brown said:

Yes, If I was doing lot of high amperage welding I'd run a spur from the distribution box with 6 or 10 sq. mm cable. A cooker spur would be good. You can even get 32A sockets https://www.screwfix.com/p/abb-32a-...VhLTtCh3RMgb4EAQYAiABEgIp4PD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds as well as the more familiar 16A ones. If using a 16A then change the MCB at the box down to a 16A to match, if it is currently a higher rating.Assuming you've got box with MCBs, which most people have these days.

Pretty much my experience too. The gasless ones seem to come into their own for outdoor work in bad weather. Yes, I know, I've tried to make shelters too, and had friends standing holding blowtorches on the workpiece to get it going, but a gasless wire does half the work for you.

No problem. Good to hear from you.

I've not tried TIG myself yet so can't comment from firsthand experience. I've tried MMA, MIG and oxy acetylene. My partner Xylia used to be a professional TIG welder a one point when she lived in the USA. Next time I need an MMA machine I'll be looking for one that can do TIG as well so we can both play with it.

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hiya

many thks and as always most appreciated

handy as my fuse box is by my front door, would something like this be ok to for example fit under the fuse box , would I also need an adaptor or can u get a welder which has this plug type plse , thks

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Interloc...rand=Unbranded&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851

think the last time I used oxy acetylene was at tech college some 30 x years ago, was fun using one for lead flashing , blinked for a second and then one hole in the lead, lol

just remembered , used oxy acetylene when I was working on some boiler for brass soldering and also used it to heat up some very large copper fittings for soldering , they were a sod to get the solder to run, also found a roofers felt gas gun was brilliant heating fittings as the flame was big enough to surround the fittings

also really like the cutting feature on the oxy acetylene torch , once seen some of the water cutting CNC tables, really impressive how it cuts through thick steel like butter

sounds fun ref the TIG , plse don’t forget some piccies whenever u get the welder , yeh i know, need to get out more , just find it very interesting

sorry, rambling again , lol

thks again

gstuart said:

hiya

many thks and as always most appreciated

handy as my fuse box is by my front door, would something like this be ok to for example fit under the fuse box , would I also need an adaptor or can u get a welder which has this plug type plse , thks

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Interlocked-switched-socket-Single-phase-3pin-16A-32A-240v-Blue-Wall-mounted-44/113729489250?_trkparms=aid=1110006&algo=HOMESPLICE.SIM&ao=1&asc=20131003132420&meid=72b1d94397f74745a765ad2ab4f73ad7&pid=100005&rk=2&rkt=12&mehot=pf&sd=333602143659&itm=113729489250&pmt=1&noa=0&pg=2047675&algv=SimplAMLv5PairwiseWebWithBBEV1Filter&brand=Unbranded&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851

think the last time I used oxy acetylene was at tech college some 30 x years ago, was fun using one for lead flashing , blinked for a second and then one hole in the lead, lol

just remembered , used oxy acetylene when I was working on some boiler for brass soldering and also used it to heat up some very large copper fittings for soldering , they were a sod to get the solder to run, also found a roofers felt gas gun was brilliant heating fittings as the flame was big enough to surround the fittings

also really like the cutting feature on the oxy acetylene torch , once seen some of the water cutting CNC tables, really impressive how it cuts through thick steel like butter

sounds fun ref the TIG , plse don’t forget some piccies whenever u get the welder , yeh i know, need to get out more , just find it very interesting

sorry, rambling again , lol

thks again

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Yes, that looks like a handy device - stops you pulling the plug out when the power is on too. Those 16a and 32a plugs are just like any other - you just take them apart and screw the wires into the relevant terminals, so you can put any wire you like in them, though I think the cord grip would have difficulty keeping hold of bell wire. Of course I'm not an electrician, so can't 'officially' do this sort of thing, But stuff like that has a habit of happening in my vicinity when no one is looking. You might also want a heavy duty extension lead. you can get flex with conductors up to 4mm sq from suppliers like TLC Direct, so a length of that with one of those round industrial plugs and sockets on the ends will save creating a fire hazard with a domestic extension reel.

Yup, it needs a fair old bit of power to get good soldered joints on big copper and brass fittings. The copper conducts the heat away faster than my little blowtorch can put it in. Not like the little 15mm ones where the solder goes right round in a flash all by itself. Ah the joys of plumbing.

Most of my spare time and money goes on my little piece of land in my other thread at the moment, but sooner or later I'll get a pension lump sum when I retire and then I'll get loads of tools and build an enormous shed to put them in. .

Brown said:

Yes, that looks like a handy device - stops you pulling the plug out when the power is on too. Those 16a and 32a plugs are just like any other - you just take them apart and screw the wires into the relevant terminals, so you can put any wire you like in them, though I think the cord grip would have difficulty keeping hold of bell wire. Of course I'm not an electrician, so can't 'officially' do this sort of thing, But stuff like that has a habit of happening in my vicinity when no one is looking. You might also want a heavy duty extension lead. you can get flex with conductors up to 4mm sq from suppliers like TLC Direct, so a length of that with one of those round industrial plugs and sockets on the ends will save creating a fire hazard with a domestic extension reel.

Yup, it needs a fair old bit of power to get good soldered joints on big copper and brass fittings. The copper conducts the heat away faster than my little blowtorch can put it in. Not like the little 15mm ones where the solder goes right round in a flash all by itself. Ah the joys of plumbing.

Most of my spare time and money goes on my little piece of land in my other thread at the moment, but sooner or later I'll get a pension lump sum when I retire and then I'll get loads of tools and build an enormous shed to put them in. .

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that’s brilliant , many thks

sorry asking , so can I just then remove the 13 amp plug that comes with the welder and replace it with the large 3 pin blue plug instead please

Have my part P but not sure if it covers me for this , alas am in a housing association house , so have yearly inspections, think I’ll have to pay them to install it

can at least fix it on the wall , did fit a charging point outside the house for my CTEK charger to make life easier , they checked it and signed it off for me at no charge as they done it on there yearly check

fitted the charger in the hallway , drilled through the wall with a waterproof box with the 12s socket , made up a 5m lead so when I park on my drive is easy to plug the lead in to keep my batteries charged, fitted heatshrink and conduit over the cable to ensure it was properly protected

am currently messing around with a magnetic 12s connector, so should make life easier than messing around trying to plug a 12s socket in

ah yes ref copper , was also worse when they changed to lead free solder, made it a lot harder to get the solder to run , on none potable water I still occasionally used lead solder on some of the bigger stuff

would be totally jealous seeing that ref the workshop, lol, a nice car lift as well, sounds heaven on earth to have that

thks so much once again

First I had was a little Clarke 105EN with GAS. Perfectly adequate little machine for 1..3mm steel and up to 6mm for very short welds.
Decided to try TIG and preferred that so bought an R-Tech 160Amp AC/DC machine. Single phase @16A max so OK on a spur on my board.

gstuart said:

that’s brilliant , many thks

sorry asking , so can I just then remove the 13 amp plug that comes with the welder and replace it with the large 3 pin blue plug instead please

Have my part P but not sure if it covers me for this , alas am in a housing association house , so have yearly inspections, think I’ll have to pay them to install it

can at least fix it on the wall , did fit a charging point outside the house for my CTEK charger to make life easier , they checked it and signed it off for me at no charge as they done it on there yearly check

fitted the charger in the hallway , drilled through the wall with a waterproof box with the 12s socket , made up a 5m lead so when I park on my drive is easy to plug the lead in to keep my batteries charged, fitted heatshrink and conduit over the cable to ensure it was properly protected

am currently messing around with a magnetic 12s connector, so should make life easier than messing around trying to plug a 12s socket in

ah yes ref copper , was also worse when they changed to lead free solder, made it a lot harder to get the solder to run , on none potable water I still occasionally used lead solder on some of the bigger stuff

would be totally jealous seeing that ref the workshop, lol, a nice car lift as well, sounds heaven on earth to have that

thks so much once again

View attachment 215637 View attachment 215638

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Well, I've got a JCB and a 6 ton dumper truck to play with, so I'd need a very big lift indeed to get them airborne! Yes, there's no reason why you couldn't take the 13a plug off, or cut it off if it's moulded on, and put one of those round ones on instead. Last time I bought some, they'd even got L, N and E on the terminals so you can't easily go wrong.

I'm only renting my house in Leicester, so am limited in how much I can do by way of alterations. However, no one seems to notice when additional sockets appear and look like they've been there forever. Provided you use all the correct components it's going to be difficult for anyone to complain. What they're really worried about is people wiring in cookers with bell wire, installing electric fires in bathrooms, that sort of thing.

Just to be a miserable git, if @gstuart you are buying new, you may void the warranty if you cut off the supplied plug.

Brown said:

Well, I've got a JCB and a 6 ton dumper truck to play with, so I'd need a very big lift indeed to get them airborne! Yes, there's no reason why you couldn't take the 13a plug off, or cut it off if it's moulded on, and put one of those round ones on instead. Last time I bought some, they'd even got L, N and E on the terminals so you can't easily go wrong.

I'm only renting my house in Leicester, so am limited in how much I can do by way of alterations. However, no one seems to notice when additional sockets appear and look like they've been there forever. Provided you use all the correct components it's going to be difficult for anyone to complain. What they're really worried about is people wiring in cookers with bell wire, installing electric fires in bathrooms, that sort of thing.

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many thks and indeed see where ur coming from

alas seen too many wiring horrors over the years when I done heating systems, saw bell wire connected to an immersion heater , boiler that been installed had the flue vented into the conservatory , 240v sockets in bathrooms , the list goes on

Sound great having big boys toys, lol

frog hopper said:

Just to be a miserable git, if @gstuart you are buying new, you may void the warranty if you cut off the supplied plug.

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not at all and good point, so assume the best thing would be to get an adaptor

but must admit have in the past cut plugs off many new things , ie like just the wire through a worktop so just a small hole

frog hopper said:

Just to be a miserable git, if @gstuart you are buying new, you may void the warranty if you cut off the supplied plug.

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But if it comes with 13A plug should run off of 13A, but right about cutting plugs off, a problem when people bring things from UK to France, I normally check something works before cutting plugs off and with TV sat boxes often buy a 4 way adapter and put French plug on that so if anything goes wrong it can be sent back

Ian M in France said:

But if it comes with 13A plug should run off of 13A, but right about cutting plugs off, a problem when people bring things from UK to France, I normally check something works before cutting plugs off and with TV sat boxes often buy a 4 way adapter and put French plug on that so if anything goes wrong it can be sent back

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Ditto.

MiG welders are a terrific tool for DIY types or those who work on small, light gauge steel projects. They do not require a cooling gun and the latter means you can weld much more quickly. That's because it takes time to heat up, cool down, and change tips with guns...so manual models offer a lot of speed even if they're just as well suited for tough jobs. If you have larger projects that require welding steel that requires an arc length of 20" or more then it's best to go with electric versions--and there are many considerations from the list besides just cost when choosing them from among their many competitors.

gstuart said:

Many thks for sound advice , was generally looking around £250 ,

Forgot , Used oxy acetylene at tech colleague on lead flashings , bronze welding etc, but that was about it , never forget about being warned ref welding and galvanised materials and how dangerous is can be

this was the link I have started to read

https://www.mig-welding.co.uk/buying.htm#:~:text=Buying a MIG Welder The main difference between,welding that can equate to possibility of use.

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Thanks for sharing the link and advice. I am also looking forward to a cheap and lightweight welder that’ll do basic stick welding. I am checking different websites. Do anyone use DEKOPRO MMA Welder? I found great reviews against it.

I have a Sealey Supermig 150, it works on household sockets and works well on car and Land Rover thickness steel.
I did have to replace the welding torch recently, but that was after 22 years of hobby use, other than that it has been 100% reliable.