Z1OwnersClub GB

I'm looking to buy a MIG welder and wondered if anyone knew a good one. I will buy one that runs gas and will have to be 240v single phase, so a good DIY semi pro one if you know of one or live close to York and want to sell me one. Crofty

A good source is Machine Mart,

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/pages/stores

And they have a good range of Migs,usually in stock so you can see them physically

I bought the clarke 105en gasless,it has a fan to help cooling,i found it great until i sold it some years ago

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/searc ... ory/page/1

Machine mart do a reasonable range but the most important thing is to buy the highest amp welder you can afford, It also depends what type of things you plan on welding but I always think over kill in everything. The reports that say a 100 amp welder will weld 5 mm steel are just not true so bare that in mind. Although no gas welders are ok(especially outside)but the gas ones are superior, especially when used with proper gas. A 180 amp machine should serve you well for most jobs.

If you have 3-phase, get something older and industrial, e.g. Fronius, Lorch, Dahlex,... oh and don't mind, if the thing is 30 or 40 years old, those beasts were built to last.

If you get a new MIG set, check the feed, twin-rollers should be the minimum you go for, proper industrial sets have 4 of them. Make sure you can set feed and amp individually. Oh and get a big bottle, as it will initially nearly cost the same, but refilling always costs the same money, but you have to do it more often on a smaller bottle.

I would consider around 160Amps to be the least to go for, but it is cheaper to get a small inverter to stick-weld for the tough stuff. 160Amps is also about the end of what you can run on 2-phase. (There's some that will claim higher numbers, but that's mainly irrelevant, because you will mostly work around the 100Amp mark anyway - when doing sheets. But it makes a differences, whether the welder constantly overheats or just takes it easy... the so-called duty-cycle.)

Hope this helps a bit and cheers,
Greg

My day to day welder weighs 45KG so it can be moved in and out of my van fairly easily. Bought from BOC it is a rebadged South African made jobbie. I had a Rand ( Ingersoll Rand) before this one and it was very good. I remember not who made this one but it is from SA again. It has settings for spot, delay, and continuous. Adjustable wire speed and power setting as well as gasless but I have never used that.



It is most important to have a Euro torch as these are easily replaced and available anywhere.



A decent regulator is also required.



As Gez said, with a good gas flow it is quite easy to weld outside. Here is a weld I did outdoors and with a slight bit of rust under the job I was welding. It was not possible to completely remove the rust and the oxidisation as the job was heated caused gas bubbles.
You obviously know what you are doing when welding but all that has been said before applies. The highest continuous rating you can get for your budget will be best. Good luck.

kempy is the best for tig and mig welder with out spending top money

Thanks for all the suggestions, I ended up going to machine mart and bought a Clarkes Turbo135, its a single phase and runs a gas bottle. I have already added some frame bracing and welded up a GPZ550 Harris pipe that had a few holes. Crofty