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  1. #1
    smidsy is offline 21 with 19 years experience
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    Default Bossweld Welders

    Hi Guys,
    I'm buying a welder on Monday, and unless anyone has anything bad to say about it I think this is the welder I'm buying.
    https://www.bunnings.com.au/bossweld...elder_p6380041

    $250 is my max budget and I'm stretching to that - I'm on a pension.
    This one for the price gives me 180 amps, and as money allows in the future I can get the reg and tig hose ($240) from bunnings, but it will only be hobby use as I've got limited functionality due to health issues.
    This machine is 15amp, I'll run it via an adapter lead until I move in January and then I'll pay a sparkie to wire a 15amp plug.

    I like the look of this machine, the fact that it's got a decent manual (I don't really need a manual but I've found that the quality of the manual reflects the quality of the gear) and the brand has a good presence on the web - the machine is brought in by Dynaweld and it looks like it's got good back up. Plus it has a two year warranty as opposed to the one year on the Michigan gear that total tools sells.

    Thoughts and opinions please??

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2019
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    Newcastle, AU
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    I got started on a Bossweld MIG 180 unit and found it to be perfectly adequate for the couple of years I spent learning on it before ditching MIG for TIG.

    What drew you to stick over MIG?

  3. #3
    smidsy is offline 21 with 19 years experience
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    Quote Originally Posted by J.C. View Post
    I got started on a Bossweld MIG 180 unit and found it to be perfectly adequate for the couple of years I spent learning on it before ditching MIG for TIG.

    What drew you to stick over MIG?
    Mainly cost, back in Perth about 15 years ago I inherited from my father a gasless mig which at time cost about $700 - and it was crap, the quality of the welds was rubbish compared to arc.
    Gasless migs use the same diameter wire but the wire has to be hollow for the flux so it's actually much less wire - if I went mig I'd want gas, but I have health issues including limited functionality in my left hand so I'd have trouble changing the wire on a mig and the cost of the gas would kill me.
    That welder or a like one will do me fine.

  4. #4
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    Sep 2010
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    You seem to have a fairly good grasp of what you do and don't want in a welder. I'd say go for it and grab the Bossweld, it will be streets ahead of the Michigan machines and won't break the budget.

  5. #5
    smidsy is offline 21 with 19 years experience
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    Thanks for the replies Karl and JC, looks like tomorrow is new toy day.
    First job will be to make a grate for a 3 truck brake drum fire drum I'm making.

  6. #6
    Join Date
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    I also like the look of the Bossweld machines - nice industrial design aesthetics - I know many will disagree with me, but it's important to me that a machine looks the part - hence why I struggle a bit with the appearance of the Tokentools machines - and the Michigan machines don't look too hot either, but it's a house brand where minimal expense and maximum margin seems to be the strategy.

    Interestingly, Bossweld do a 180A combo machine with a 10A plug, which is an interesting bit of design - they achieve this by having a ridiculously low duty cycle at max amps, i.e. 7% at 180A for MIG. That translates to 42 seconds total weld time in 10 minutes

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2018
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    NSW
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    ...the low duty cycle figure is how they can tweak the iEFF rating (effective current draw) to allow them to put an underspec plug on it.
    Not sure if the duty cycle is actually higher than that, or if the machine is throttled with a different thermistor/heat detection circuit to set this duty cycle, but it really comes down to the 'no free lunch' idea of welding- you need available power to make welding power.

    happy shopping.

  8. #8
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    Aug 2009
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    Sydney, NSW, Australia
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    Default

    All good mate, Good luck with your purchase

  9. #9
    smidsy is offline 21 with 19 years experience
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    Quote Originally Posted by RustyArc View Post
    I also like the look of the Bossweld machines - nice industrial design aesthetics - I know many will disagree with me, but it's important to me that a machine looks the part - hence why I struggle a bit with the appearance of the Tokentools machines - and the Michigan machines don't look too hot either, but it's a house brand where minimal expense and maximum margin seems to be the strategy.

    Interestingly, Bossweld do a 180A combo machine with a 10A plug, which is an interesting bit of design - they achieve this by having a ridiculously low duty cycle at max amps, i.e. 7% at 180A for MIG. That translates to 42 seconds total weld time in 10 minutes
    The thing that impressed me about the bossweld is (a) the warranty is two years as opposed to the one year on the Michigan, but also, if you google Michigan you get no hits except the shops that sell them.
    Google Bossweld and you get the dynaweld website with a nice list of parts and accessories - the fact that an importer is willing to put their name to it, to me speaks to the quality.
    The bossweld also has a better manual, not that I expect to need it, but my experience is that the quality of the manual usually reflects the quality of the gear.

  10. #10
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    Aug 2009
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    Hey Fonix, bunnings is a big distributer they have to have a readable owners manual can u imagine what they would cop from customers if they had one of these general chinglish manuals.. i really hope this welder works for you

    Just mentioning this at $250 for the machine and another $250 for the tig torch and argon regulator that is $500 quiet expensive for a dc tog welder with no bells and whistles

    A lot of the cheaper dc tigs under $500 have hot start, switch between mma and tig, some have digital read outs and u generally get more amps

    Im not trying to deter you from the bossweld but there are other machines quiet the world of difference for an extra $100 to your budget, for under $500 your max allowable limit there are some really nice machines that have dc high frequency start which is superb to scratch start.. scratch start tog is quiet easy but hogh frequency start is a world of difference and sets a cheap machine above the rest

    Bosweld on ebay looks like a good HF DC TIG

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Apr 2019
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    Sydney
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    Hi Fellas,

    Great thread, I just thought I'd chip in. Many years ago my Dad had SIP brand little machine that ran gasless wire, man that thing welded bad and I didn't bother much with gasless (I'm a die-hard TIG man myself), but a few years after using my Dad's machine I worked at a welding supplies shop and they sold a gassless wire called Blue Demon I think and man that stuff was unreal (provided you reversed the polarity of the machine) and that changed my view of gasless wire (don't breathe the fumes though!).

    Regarding the Bossweld machines, sorry I don't know a thing except I've seen them at Bunnings and thought if you bought one from them and it had a problem then at least you know you'll get a replacement machine or your money back
    I personally would probably buy a second hand machine with better options instead, but having said that you can't take them back

  12. #12
    smidsy is offline 21 with 19 years experience
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    I had a brief play with it tonight with some rusty 12mm rebar and it seems pretty good - I only had it set on about 100amps and got pretty good penetration with a 2.6mm rod.

    It's small (read tiny) but the leads (electrode, earth and power) are very beefy, it's got a spring type electrode holder (a plus for me as I've got limited left hand functionality after a table saw accident) which is assembled with screws not rivets so it can be pulled apart if need be, and it came well packed- the leads in an inner box and the welder in air filled packing.
    Plus, I have a bunnings trade card my brother gave me so I got 5% off - all I up I payed $272 for the welder, a non electric helmet, a 2kg box of 2.6mm rods and a chipping hammer.

    I'll have a serious play with it tomorrow.

  13. #13
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    Default

    Great stuff Fonix
    Have fun with the new toy mate

  14. #14
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    Fonix sounds like your having fun when u get stuck into tig look around at different torches they vary a bit i loved the feel of my wp26 tig torch but it was quiet heavy on the wrist i whip around the little v17 torch but its a very budget torch and feels kind of like holding a pvc pipe, im looking to get a v9 size torch just so its super light i can tig in any position witjout the cable pulling down

    Also look into gas shrouds some are long some are short

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Jun 2020
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    Default Bossweld 126

    Hi Guys,

    I'm new to this forum and I'm hoping that you can help me.

    I recently bought a second hand Bossweld Mig126. It had a damaged bridge rectifier which the previous owner removed prior to me seeing it installed. I've just bought a new bridge rectifier and want to install it but I can't find any photos or relevant schematics online so I can install it properly.

    If anyone has a photo of there's that they would share with me that would be great! The rectifier is the same on the 126 and 186.

    Cheers
    Johnny

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