Which welder should I buy

[grumpy]

Is always a question asked on most boards. The question almost always comes from would be welders who have never welded before.

The answer will depend on what you wish to achieve as a welder. Do you want to weld car panels or the sides of a battleship? Many seek to purchase a mig straight up, but baulk at the cost of cylinder rental and cost of gas. They then listen to some expert who tells "Get a gasless Mig"

Sorry people ,there isn't such a creature ! A true MIG - Metal Inert Gas- MIG- or correctly GMAW has solid wire and a gas cover.

The pretender ,referred to as a gasless mig, has a hollow tube wire filled with flux similiar to electrode covering, naturally no gas and will not, I emphasise -NOT- sucessfully weld car panel. It will not sucessfuly fill gaps, or weld to good out of position. And if its appearance of a Mig weld you seek well just forget it.Walk into a panel beaters shop or sheetmetal works,will you see one there,NO!

Don't get me wrong FCAW , the Flux Core Arc welder, the true description for this machine used for the correct application works very well.This heavy depositing of weld material in a short time works great in heavy industry. As for the home DIY market it has been a fraud.

If you want MIG quality, you will have to bear the cost, get a MIG. However if your a handyman and looking for a reliable nearly maintenance free,cheap to run welder, a stick machine is for you.No they will not do car panels.-oxy or mig!

Brand names from the industry ,WIA, Lincoln, Kemppi and similar will allow you to buy from a manufacturer who is proud enough of their product to offer warranty and spares. Buy cheap from ebay and the like ,you will probably deserve what happens to you.

Grumpy

[dobre]

Hi to all, if people on this board have recently purchased a new welder of any description, why not do a post on your machine. A brief report ( be it good or bad) is a good way for others to take into account if they in the market of getting a new machine or second hand one. Things like price, performance and application can be of great interest to others.
Recommendation is a good way to decide whether that machine would suit your needs for a price you can afford or are willing to pay.

Dobre

[rvk355]

Hey guys, 1st post, im currently looking to buy a MIG (GMAW).

im looking at the CIG 250 with remote wire feed, i will be using it for all sorts of work from, panel work, light to meduim duty fabrication work, is this welder to big or will it be fine for what i want, i dont mind paying the extra $$$$ for a bigger welder then i need.

Regards RVK 355

[grumpy]

Welcome to the board

I believe the 250 is a touch on the large side for panel welding. Portable is the catchword word these days. One the suitcase 160 -180 amp sized migs will be more than ample and save your a pile of dollars as well. Check out the wire drive units on whatever you buy . I have seen a few new models that come with plastic nylon units and am not impressed.
Sorry for the late reply.
I had got out of the habit of checking back after months of writing to myself.

Grumpy

[dobre]

Hi all,
The problem we have these days is too much choice and it creats difficulty in deciding which one to buy. This also applies to welding machines. Consider these factors budget, application, and frequency. If you are a diy-er a cheaper machine and not always the cheapest you can get will usually do the job. In most cases the humble stick (arc) welder is enough to cover most of thoses jobs around the house or small projects that you would like to do.

They are cheap to buy and do not require expensive gas to operate and they are great to learn to weld with for an beginner. I would then say the next machine would be the mig (metal inert gas) and with a bit more money outlay you can have a good welder for around 2k and run off a 15 amp power supply in your home shed. These machines are great to weld with providing your material is fairly clean and it wont take too long to run a fair bead.

So keep in mind what you plan to do and how often you will use it and the cost of running it. Spending good money for something that you may use once or twice is not good economics. Some food for thought and happy welding.

Dobre