PDA

View Full Version : Portable Mig Welders



Snap-on
11th Mar 2007, 12:38 PM
G'day all,
I'm currently looking at purchasing a good quality Portable Mig eg. Cigweld, Lincoln etc - something around the 170A max range. Just wondering what kind of portable Mig welders people have out there and your views and feedback on them would be much appreciated.

Cheers

Edd
11th Mar 2007, 01:02 PM
We've got a Lincoln Electric SP170T (http://www.mylincolnelectric.com/Catalog/equipmentdatasheet.asp?p=21657)
I think they go for around $1300. We were lucky enough to have a friend working at Lincoln, who gave us a deal at tradeprice (About $900).
It's a pretty good unit. The only problem being the trigger on the torch which is sensitive and easily pressed, meaning you may find yourself cutting lots of excess wire off if you're not careful with it.
It's also rebranded in blue, as Liquid Arc HandyMIG 170i (http://www.liquidarc.com.au/pdfs/MIG-Mach-Equip.pdf). It's exactly the same machine. We haven't had any real problems with ours and Lincoln are a quality brand.

Grahame Collins
11th Mar 2007, 02:14 PM
Good thinking to go for a known brand. when you say portable, do you want light weight?That means inverters. If so then be aware the good quality inverter migs are pricy but worth the bucks.

It depends again on what you want do have the machine working on.

I liked the idea of a machine i could sling over the shoulder and which could weld steel,stainless,fluxcore and aluminium with a change of consumables of course.

Sans gas cylinder and regulator the whole shooting match including gun and cable weighs in at 10kgs.


Its a Kemppi MiniarcMig adaptive 180 and has surprising punch for a machine of such small dimensions.
Now the downside .It is $1800 if your paying GST.

Grahame

tweaker
21st Mar 2007, 10:45 PM
i currently have a lincoln sp170 mig and have used it for kids go karts to building tandem trailers. i started off with a bottle and normal wire, but you can bet that you will always run out of gas on the weekend when the gas joints are shut, i have since changed to gasless wire and have had good results.
if the lincoln died tomorrow, I would be straight out for anew one:2tsup: :2tsup:

simso
22nd Mar 2007, 09:27 AM
I have these two, Cigweld 130 ($500) and transmig 230($1600), the little one is fine for jobs up to say 3mm in thickness and is gas and gasless, only down side with the smaller units is they tend to burn the wire feed motors out, just such a small little motor trying to turn a spool of wire. The 230 unit works fantastic but is bigger bulkier and must have gas
Steve

impalabazz
28th Mar 2007, 09:15 PM
G'day Snap-on,

I've got a CIGweld Brumby 180 that I bought in '98. They are discontinued now, but it's a good unit and spare parts are still available. Haven't had any trouble with it so far.....touch wood.:rolleyes:

The CIGweld 130 mentioned elsewhere on this thread is a smaller unit than the above. One of the things I don't like about the 130 is it has limited Amp control, 4 positions only.....unless they changed them.

The Transmig series (200, 225, 250 etc.) replaced the Brumby series and they are good units and good value for money with lots more features than the Brumby. Keep your eyes peeled in the Tool catalogues because the Transmigs pop up on special from time to time. SIP is another good brand made in Italy I think ?. Lincoln is excellent if you have the spare Cash.

But they are hardly portable units unless you're built like "Arny". You can transport them but forget about carrying them up flights of stairs and such like.

If you want truly portable then you'll have to look at the Inverter type Migs Tigs or Stick welders.

Whatever Mig you choose make sure it takes the large spools (15Kg) of Mig wire. They are cheaper to buy than the 5Kg. spools. Some 5Kg spools cost more than a 15Kg. spool. I wouldn't consider gasless, haven't had much luck with that wire.

Just my thoughts on the subject.

Cheers.........Barry.

yogie
10th Apr 2007, 10:43 PM
I have the migmag 200C, has a copper coil, and its a great, the only draw back is it dosent like the idea of .9 wire, need to have it fully juiced up for and you need to really pour it in. I know the difference .9 and .8 is not real big but I've used .9 for years and just out of habbit I bought a heap of .9 wire... And the other down side is it will run a 5kg roll only, but this thing has to the best "handymig" I've ever used, but its not a handy mig, it does some HD work, and I'm not a fraid to work it to its limit, the thermstat feature hasnt kickied in yet. great machine 10/10 :2tsup:

Schtoo
11th Apr 2007, 01:28 AM
Grahame, more info on that Kemppi doohickey please?

Got a friend here who is looking for something he can put in the truck to make truck body repairs in the field. Needs to do steel and ally in MIG or Gasless, and maybe would be easier to swallow if it could play TIG and arc with a little juggling.

I was thinking something along the lines of a small inverter box with a spoo drive or spool gun as separate thing so that it could be switched around at will, but that thing sounds like it might be all that already.

Also trying to keep the price fairly low, and a that it will function on the garbage power sytem he will be forced to use. Since most places he will go to do not have 'proper' power (ie:200V single phase), and he will be stuck with 100V single phase, and prolly off the long end of a cord, I thought that an inverter might be more happy without decent input power.

Thanks, I hope... ;)

Grahame Collins
11th Apr 2007, 09:12 AM
Hi Schtoo
There are two models one at 150 amps which I would not consider for aluminium and it would not get into spray arc mode needed for ali.
The 180 amp jobbie is the one I purchased. It sports a digital display and can be set in two modes.One being suitable for those who have no experience in setting adjustments.

Just set the metal type and thickness and the machine will give the adjustment settings for the job requirements.The other mode is manual.

Because its so portable it weighs only a few kgs. The downside of that is the wire spool is only 5kgs and correspondingly more expensive than buying it as 15kgs.. If you want me to, I can email Kemppi and find out how well the unit runs off a long lead.

I would not not want to offer advice on how suitable the machine would run on 110 volts supply (Japan?). The prices here have touched $2000 Au, so I guess it going to be a costly exercise. The Americans run 110 volts as domestic power, maybe its available in that format from there.

The unit is strictly a MIG only unit and would not run a stick or tig.

I have included some pics but its early morning and is overcast, my camera does not like flouro light, so thats where the flare comes from.

Does this help you?

Grahame

You are

Schtoo
12th Apr 2007, 12:27 AM
Hmm, interesting.

The guy who is looking for something portable would probably be happy enough with just mig, but I don't think it would hurt any to have the other two as an option if possible.

Mainly it would be to weld up body frame repairs on site, which means mild steel for 90% of the work, gasless at that. It's just that there is occasional ally bodywork repair for him (truck body, pretty isn't that important) so it's really gotta have the capacity to do ally too.

And because it's on site, the power problem.

FWIW, at the workshop he has, he does not want for any cutting/welding gear for his business. Got the lot and can use them in widely ranging capacitites from pretty good to cocky %^$$. One of the other guys is an artiste, so it doesn't matter that he isn't perfect at it.

On the upside, the simple mode would probably suit him fine.

The other options I looked at were Lincoln with transformers in them, which look very good, except the on the power front.

Case in point, I have a copper cored arc welder that can allegedly run on the 100V system here. From the welder to the supply transformer was no more than 30-40M and it would not work properly on 100V. Wired in a 2 pahse/200V line, and problem solved.

He doesn't have that option on site, hence the dilemma.

I kinda figured an inverter box for the juice, and a selection of plug in doohickeys to get all processes done without breaking the bank too hard. Tig would be a luxury, arc might be very handy and mig is essential.

No rush mind you, I am not sure what he does right now, but I know he is looking for something to suit what he needs, and the only things that kinda look suitable are little more than toys.

(Even my SIP thing I have back in Oz would suit better I am sure. Cheap, not exactly the greatest but I could make that thing sing. :) )