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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Berowra Waters
    Posts
    149

    Default Best 3 phase mig?

    Hello everyone, looking at buying a 3 phase mig for steel fabrication ,probably around 250 amps. looking for users advice on 1. The absolute best machine money can buy.2. The best value for money machine.
    3. Machines to stay away from.
    Thanks in advance, Peter.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Ningi Qld Australia
    Posts
    64

    Default

    Unfortunately that is like saying what is the best car you can buy? There are lots of requirements that you have to narrow down and consider. Would a small cheap Hyundai do you or would you want a Merc AMG and if you got the Merc could you afford to repair it should something go wrong out of warranty? Or would you need a bigger SUV for your requirements or even a truck.

    That was the Auto analogy but as for welders: Are you going to use it commercially 5-7 days a week 8-16 hours a day or hobby welding once in a blue moon, weld something and then let it sit for a year. What is your budget? do you want a basic MIG or one with all the bells and whistles, programmable, pulse etc. What duty cycle do you require, as they go from 10% to 100%, would you like a brand name or a cheap E-Bay special. What amperage do you require? as the really big ones don't do too well on really thin light metal as they will output way too much for light steel even at low settings and the inverse is true as well, the smaller output ones don't have the duty cycle or amps to do heavy structural steel. Also new vs second hand. Can you also afford to get it fixed when it goes out of warranty? Then there is single or multi process units, built in wire feeder or external feeder. Single roller feeder or quad roller or spool gun. When you say for "fabrication" are you talking about building small box trailers or big trailers for semi's or large factory I universal beams.

    Lastly if you do get a new one, is there a local company that will provide parts and service should it require it. In other words you don't want a situation where you need to send a faulty unit to the other side of the country to get a problem rectified or find out that the supplier only keeps spares for one or two years only, especially if it is an expensive unit. Which brings us back to the economics of it, so unless money is no object and you won a huge lottery it is hard to justify a $15K unit when you will only need a unit that cost under $1K for occasional use, and while it might be nice to have a top line welder can you justify it's cost. Remembering that there are additional costs for related equipment, safety gear, grinders, drills and a whole stack of other important and related gear that will eat into your budget.

    This should give you an idea on what you need to consider just to narrow down the field as MIG welders go from a couple of hundred dollars all the way to over fifteen thousand dollars. I am not trying to be smart but you need to provide a bit more info on what you need to do with one so members can put some recommendations forward.

    Cheers.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Murray Bridge S Aust.
    Age
    71
    Posts
    5,942

    Default

    As Ed mentioned, without really knowing what you want to do with it, makes it very difficult.
    I'd look at the Miller, WIA, Lincoln and CIG range. If you're going to be fabricating anything large or long, I'd get the remote wire feeder, it's a PITA, if you're doing bench work, unless you can set it up on a overhead gantry type of system.
    We have a CIG 255 that has the option of remote wire feeder or direct on the machine. Get the longest possible torch cable, from memory they're about 4+metres long depending on the brand.
    Try to buy from your local welding supply shop, that way you're not waiting on parts, nozzles tips and insulators, keep a supply of them on hand, most places aren't open on Saturdays or Sundays.
    HTH
    Kryn
    To grow old is mandatory, growing up is optional.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
    Location
    South of Adelaide
    Posts
    1,225

    Default

    Best money can buy would be Fronius, Esab, Miller or lincon electric would be top of the range. Not sure what the best value for money machine would be. If your doing full time fab work the previous brands would be the best, but if it's just weekend/hobby stuff, probably not the best value.

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