Buying My First Mig Welder, What To Look For?

[megamannz123]

G'day all,

I think i'm going to buy myself a gasless mig for christmas, I haven't owned one before and to be honest haven't used one much either, but have experience with oxyacetylene.

What can you recommend to look for? amps, adjustment, options and features to look for?

It will be for automotive stuff, exhausts, crossmembers, body panels etc...

would something like this be suitable?

 

http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/online-store/products/Weldskill-135-MIG-Welder.aspx?pid=346523#Cross

 

Has anyone bought one in the past that they can recommend?

 

Cheers

[indelible]

i recommend getting a gas one , you will have much better results

not sure about nz but in aus you can buy gas bottles from speedgas and no rental fees , just cheap refills

 

you need to work out how thick the the thickest material you intend on welding will be and then get one with more then enough amps

 

i have a 160amp mig and it struggles with full penetration on anything over 3mm or so

but if you can v groove and weld both sides 5-6mm is doable

 

don't need experience either just get some scrap to mess around with untill you work it out

[megamannz123]

Cheers,

I'm in Aus too, but havent heard of Speedgas. How much does a bottle cost? refill? I though you had to rent them and for the amount I weld that would be silly.

I recon a cross member would be about the thickest I would be working on.

[indelible]

speedgas sell them through gasweld stores too if you are near one

 

i got a d size bottle for $390 initial purchase cost and refills are $90(expensive at first but then only need to pay again when you run out of gas

instead of yearly rental or however they do it)

 

do as much research as you can on what others have bought/ had problems with

i have a toolex mig from gasweld and it didn't work well untill i modified the feed mechanism and trigger in the torch/gun

so look for solid brackets on feed wheels and decent torch/gun that doesn't feel cheap

 

something like this look ok for the price and will be more then enough power http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Unimig-Mig-Welder-180-amps-KMM180-/291035974034?pt=AU_Welding&hash=item43c3188992&_uhb=1

[frknstn]

boc sell disposable bottles. turns out way cheaper than paying rent on bottles.

definatly would go gas if you will end up doing small panels and shit.

wouldnt go through supercheap for a welder go to a dedicated welding supplier or a tool shop. will get a hell of alot better deal.

unimig have a brand new range called razor in conjunction jasic welders coming out in the next few weeks. did alot of testing on the range last week to find any faults with them before they go into sale and they have a little 190 i beleive thats going to be around $300.

[frknstn]

one i was talking about is the new replacement for tha unimig 180. which is the model i have goes great for what i needed it for

[megamannz123]

What do the BOC bottles cost to buy? Can't find a price online?

Cheers for all the tips so far

[frosty]

Trade Tools 180 mig ... excellent with gas https://www.tradetools.com/products/MIG180GG takes 06 wire as well for panel work

[frknstn]

not sure i get my gas for free at work so havnt looked to deep into it

[corollaart]

Better off spending a little more and going gas trust me you,ll be thankfull in the long run.

 

Gas less mig is barely a step up from a stick welder.

 

Theres a lot of cheap sh#t out there,beware!

 

Lincoln 180 don't look back.

[frknstn]

Lincoln. Kempi. Cigweld. Jasic. Unimig and miller are the way to go. There I'd alotnof Chinese copies of Jasic welders out there. Box sell most of them.

[snot35]

Definitely get gas. I've got a Cigweld which I've done body work panels with.

 

Another consideration I had was spares. Basic Cigweld spares are on the shelf at Bunnings, anything more can be ordered there, so it's a bit more convenient.

 

Also get one that can go down to smaller tips for body work, it makes heat control easier. I got mine second hand for about the same as a new Chinese welder. It's heavy, solid and still going strong.

[springersrolla]

lincoln powermig 180c, can't fault it. welds magic gas/gasless

[Redwarf]

I have a WIA 175, and it's the best thing since canned piss.

 

I'll turn it on in 40 years and weld something with it. If you think you're going to do that with a Supercheap welder, you have another thing coming.

[19914afc]

I've got a magmate that they sell at BOC been really good so far had it for nearly 2 years or so, done everything from panel work to welding diff mounts onto my hilux diff all done with gas though which I also think is worth it depending on how much you will use it though otherwise if you don't plan on using it often I might suggest going with the disposable gas bottles.