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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2017
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    pottsville nsw
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    Default newbie, tafe, what welder?

    Hi all just joined up, I'm from nrth nsw oz, is this an ozzie site?

    been a concreter & bobcat driver for 22yrs now & have always wanted to learn to weld as a kid, and with a dad that welds like bird it never happened.
    so last Thursday night was my first night at tafe for a 16 week basic welding coarse, pretty pumped to.

    so my question which has probably been done on this site 10 fold is What welder?
    If this question has recently been ask and got some great advice just flick us the link so I don't waste your time.

    so looking to make my first trailer, also work on my bobcat when things crack or snap, also family and I are gonna travel oz april next year, so things will break on the way, so need a portable welder that can run off jenny.

    budget is up too $750
    looking for a mig & stick combo if possible, want to run it from home also, so just have normal power
    renegade from trade tools seem to have a good rep, but I personally wouldn't know.

    any link would be awesome, also heard 60% duty and up is the go (?)
    want the mig to hold min 5kg rolls,

    also what the go with inverter welders? ac & dc?
    I will learn this at tafe but would like to be a step ahead, as I'm crap at theory (that's y I'm a concreter) my tafe teacher will help me with wat to buy but love a second opinion.
    any other help with heads up be great too.

    cheers all appreciate it


    P.S I don't want to buy cheap

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Canberra
    Posts
    1,322

    Default

    You're not going to get a decent combo machine for $750.

    On that budget, I'd be going for a decent stick machine. For around the $250 mark you can get a machine like this:
    NEW! Inverter Stick Welder MMA 130 Amp DC Portable Compact Welding Machine

    Has a 10A plug, so you can plug it in anywhere (any welder bigger than this will have a 15A plug that won't fit in a normal power point). Stick is more challenging to learn than MIG, but much more versatile.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Mackay North Qld
    Posts
    6,446

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Metal Burn View Post
    Hi all just joined up, I'm from nrth nsw oz, is this an ozzie site?

    been a concreter & bobcat driver for 22yrs now & have always wanted to learn to weld as a kid, and with a dad that welds like bird it never happened.
    so last Thursday night was my first night at tafe for a 16 week basic welding coarse, pretty pumped to.

    so my question which has probably been done on this site 10 fold is What welder?
    If this question has recently been ask and got some great advice just flick us the link so I don't waste your time.

    so looking to make my first trailer, also work on my bobcat when things crack or snap, also family and I are gonna travel oz april next year, so things will break on the way, so need a portable welder that can run off jenny.

    budget is up too $750
    looking for a mig & stick combo if possible, want to run it from home also, so just have normal power
    renegade from trade tools seem to have a good rep, but I personally wouldn't know.

    any link would be awesome, also heard 60% duty and up is the go (?)
    want the mig to hold min 5kg rolls,

    also what the go with inverter welders? ac & dc?
    I will learn this at tafe but would like to be a step ahead, as I'm crap at theory (that's y I'm a concreter) my tafe teacher will help me with wat to buy but love a second opinion.
    any other help with heads up be great too.

    cheers all appreciate it


    P.S I don't want to buy cheap
    Hi Metal Burn & welcome to our Forum.

    Yes we are 100% Aussie but welcome overseas members

    I would be looking at machine with a maximum amps setting north of 170 amps that can be be rum from a 15 amp outlet.

    A $750 budget is a bit of an ask if you considering a good qulaity multi process machine that requires gas and a regulator on top of the machine base price.


    The portable genny output needs to suit the welding machine. I reckon somewhere around 9Kva ,but talk to the experts on that.

    The renegade is far too cheap for what it should be. A 35% duty cycle and at that price point I would expect the welder to powered by a cheap and nasty not so high quality inverter chip.
    Basically all of the tool shop welders come from China.

    Think of warranty -who can repair it if the warranty is needed-and how fast it can be turned around. Some OS parts take a while to get here.

    You might consider paying a visit to Token tools or just phoning them up.

    Many here are happy with their Token Tools machines.The vendor is Aussie, has a bricks and mortar shop,has been around 10 or 12 years and is a electrician turned electrical engineer type who designs his own machines and has them made in China to his specs and quality level. He has a very good reputation here.


    Here is the link

    https://www.tokentools.com.au

    Grahame

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jul 2017
    Location
    pottsville nsw
    Posts
    15

    Default

    cheers for the welcome mate.
    so, wat about other brands too, everything seems to be from china these days, wat about cigweld, lincoln, unimig, how are they all for quality and warrantee.
    if I did get a cheap model and just went stick how much would I expect to pay for a mig?

    Quote Originally Posted by RustyArc View Post
    You're not going to get a decent combo machine for $750.

    On that budget, I'd be going for a decent stick machine. For around the $250 mark you can get a machine like this:
    NEW! Inverter Stick Welder MMA 130 Amp DC Portable Compact Welding Machine

    Has a 10A plug, so you can plug it in anywhere (any welder bigger than this will have a 15A plug that won't fit in a normal power point). Stick is more challenging to learn than MIG, but much more versatile.
    Quote Originally Posted by Grahame Collins View Post
    Hi Metal Burn & welcome to our Forum.

    Yes we are 100% Aussie but welcome overseas members

    I would be looking at machine with a maximum amps setting north of 170 amps that can be be rum from a 15 amp outlet.

    A $750 budget is a bit of an ask if you considering a good qulaity multi process machine that requires gas and a regulator on top of the machine base price.


    The portable genny output needs to suit the welding machine. I reckon somewhere around 9Kva ,but talk to the experts on that.

    The renegade is far too cheap for what it should be. A 35% duty cycle and at that price point I would expect the welder to powered by a cheap and nasty not so high quality inverter chip.
    Basically all of the tool shop welders come from China.

    Think of warranty -who can repair it if the warranty is needed-and how fast it can be turned around. Some OS parts take a while to get here.

    You might consider paying a visit to Token tools or just phoning them up.

    Many here are happy with their Token Tools machines.The vendor is Aussie, has a bricks and mortar shop,has been around 10 or 12 years and is a electrician turned electrical engineer type who designs his own machines and has them made in China to his specs and quality level. He has a very good reputation here.


    Here is the link

    https://www.tokentools.com.au

    Grahame

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2017
    Location
    pottsville nsw
    Posts
    15

    Default

    thanks for the welcome and advice.

    what about other brands like cigweld, licoln, boc, unimig, everything seems to be from china these days.
    do many on this site use any of these? what problems have u all run into? or which ones keep going n going?

    what if I lifted the budget? https://www.ewelders.com.au/cigweld-...hoCSU0QAvD_BwE what do you think of this?

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Location
    Oz
    Age
    73
    Posts
    459

    Default

    I'd start off with something cheap like an AC machine, you can do pretty well with an AC welder. Once you've picked up a little experience and your requirements become a bit more more concrete you can move on from there. I have a CIG 170 DC, it does everything I want, and it's CIG, that's enough for me. It has a 15 amp plug though so a smaller machine with a10 amp plug may suit your workshop better. You won't get much better advice than Grahams though, he's the guru!

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
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    Mackay North Qld
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    Default

    I have used the model in 2012 and found it a pretty good unit,but it was short term I was teaching a person to weld . They purchased it before they learned to weld.

    We used it to make a cart for the machine. Did not use he tig part however.- had no argon.

    Grahame

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
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    Oz
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    Default

    I'd start off with something cheap like an AC machine, you can do pretty well with an AC welder. Once you've picked up a little experience and your requirements become a bit more more concrete you can move on from there. I have a CIG 170 DC, it does everything I want, and it's CIG, that's enough for me. It has a 15 amp plug though so a smaller machine with a10 amp plug may suit your workshop better. You won't get much better advice than Grahams though, he's the guru!

  9. #9
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    Jul 2017
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    pottsville nsw
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    Quote Originally Posted by sacc51 View Post
    I'd start off with something cheap like an AC machine, you can do pretty well with an AC welder. Once you've picked up a little experience and your requirements become a bit more more concrete you can move on from there. I have a CIG 170 DC, it does everything I want, and it's CIG, that's enough for me. It has a 15 amp plug though so a smaller machine with a10 amp plug may suit your workshop better. You won't get much better advice than Grahams though, he's the guru!
    yer sweet sounds good, so if I go 10 amp machine wats the highest power I can go?
    when you say cheap do you mean around the $350 mark?
    what dose AC mean?
    what is the difference from ac & dc?

    cheers again

  10. #10
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    pottsville nsw
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    Default

    anyone know this brand? stats seem good and the duty time real good.
    might be a bit big for what I want but just seeing if anyone knows or has this brand?

    https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/cobd...ess/1071895500

  11. #11
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    Jun 2010
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    Canberra
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    Quote Originally Posted by Metal Burn View Post
    if I go 10 amp machine wats the highest power I can go?
    That BOC 130A welder I linked to is the biggest unit you'll get with a 10A plug. I think Cigweld do a similar-sized machine that might be a bit cheaper ($230 it seems). At that price I wouldn't bother looking at no-name units (unless it has a stellar first-hand review behind it).

    You won't find an AC machine that will deliver that kind of power with a 10A plug, as they're much less efficient than these units.

    As for AC versus DC, with basic stick units, AC welders are the older style that use a large transformer to deliver the current for welding, and have a distinctive hum or buzz when they're welding. Almost all the new welders on the market (aside from Bunnings cheapies) are inverter-based DC units. They're typically easier to weld with than AC units.

  12. #12
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    Canberra
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    Quote Originally Posted by Metal Burn View Post
    anyone know this brand? stats seem good and the duty time real good.
    might be a bit big for what I want but just seeing if anyone knows or has this brand?

    https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/cobd...ess/1071895500
    I've seen them at Field Days, but have never met anyone who owns one - I don't think their price point isn't compelling enough to beat the better-known brands on the market.

  13. #13
    BobL is offline Member: Blue and white apron brigade
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    AC means the current goes back and forth 50 times a second, DC means the current goes one way only.

    Each has its pluses and minuses on various metals and situations.
    In general DC is easier.
    AC comes into its own in welding things like Al as it helps keep the surface clean.

  14. #14
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    This should make a good intro welder, at $108 it's as cheap as. Ozito have been around for years and offer good warranties. If it blows up in six months time, big deal, $108 isn't going to break you. At the very least it will serve as a good strike teacher, if memory serves, that being the most frustrating thing to learn. Compared to DC machines ACs are heavy so if portability is near the top of your list probably not the right machine. AC sticks are simple tech and pretty well bullet proof, you could possibly pick up a bigger machine for the same or less as they're not popular anymore.

    I bought a DC stick a few years back to replace my 30+ year old SIP 170 which I sold for $30. Nothing wrong with the SIP it worked as well as it did when I first bought it. On the power stakes, although they were both rated at 170 amps, the old SIP seemed to have more amps on tap. Usability: the DC is much, much quieter, it's other pluses over an AC machine aren't as well defined but they are there: in general a nicer machine to use, easy to use amp control, they don't stick as much as an AC when striking, they are incredibly small and lightweight and generally just a smoother, nicer machine to use. And of course some come with torch and gauge for TIG.

    i don't think you could do better than an AC stick for a first welder.

    https://www.bunnings.com.au/ozito-14...elder_p6291451

  15. #15
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    Perth
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    Quote Originally Posted by Metal Burn View Post
    anyone know this brand? stats seem good and the duty time real good.
    might be a bit big for what I want but just seeing if anyone knows or has this brand?

    https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/cobd...ess/1071895500
    I've got a plasma cutter from them, it's not too bad for a budget unit (though I'm a little fussy, and would prefer it if it had a pilot arc, instead of the little HF starter spark that sounds like an oven starter), and when I read up on them they sounded like an alright mob.
    Main thing to really look out for is warranty, theirs is 2 years from what I can see, and also that unit requires a 15amp power point.
    Their website; Magnum Welders - Mig Welders

    Personally I prefer inverter welders over the old transformer types, might not be as bulletproof but at least they don't make the lights flicker

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