mig welder advise

Becks Bear · Jul 10, 2009

believe it or not my landy needs a bit of welding done on her :lol: :lol: to be honest only a few bits on the chassis

before i spend money which i dont have would a 130amp gasless mig welder cover everything i would need to weld on the landy

or should i get a 150amp

if i buy i need to make sure a 130 would be ok.

bevhelee · Jul 10, 2009

whats the difference in price

Becks Bear · Jul 10, 2009

bevhelee said:
whats the difference in price

thats fast

second hand 130 about 130 pounds
new 150 about 275 pounds

bevhelee · Jul 10, 2009

thats a big difference. the 130 should do everything you need.

bevhelee · Jul 10, 2009

have just reread your original post and noticed the word gasless, please ignore what i said as i don't have experience of gasless migs.LEE

Dent · Jul 10, 2009

Don't waste money on a gasless mig, a 130 with gas is much better, if you plan on using it for bumpers , sliders etc go for the 150 as the 130 will be cutting out all the time. If it's just a couple of plates might be better to get them cut ready , then hire one for the day .

Shifty1962 · Jul 10, 2009

Becks Bear said:
believe it or not my landy needs a bit of welding done on her :lol: :lol: to be honest only a few bits on the chassis

before i spend money which i dont have would a 130amp gasless mig welder cover everything i would need to weld on the landy or should i get a 150amp

if i buy i need to make sure a 130 would be ok.

Buy the biggest and best welder you can afford.
The more experienced you become at welding the more things you'll find to weld and it wont be long before you reach the limitations of the machine.
A second hand professional welder will be better value than a new hobby welder.
If you have no option but to go for a lower end machine then simply fitting additional cooling fans will extend the welding cycle time.
Practice on any old junk you can find and it wont be long before you're making good, strong, professional looking welds. Practice makes perfect.
Just remember that as with soldering, cleanliness is next to Godliness when welding. Make sure that the area to be welded is cleaned with a grinder. Try to weld under cover as the wind can affect the gas and cause all kinds of problems. Dont even think of trying to weld onto rust because it dont work. Cut back to solid steel everytime.
Do a search on the interweb for welding techniques and enjoy.
Once you have one you'll wonder how you got by with out it.

andyb66 · Jul 10, 2009

Buying second hand can get you a better MIG then buying new. Your local welding supplier will more than likely have a few in stock.

I have a 150A MIG and it has been brilliant for all that I have needed from cars to LRs so far. A lot of people will tell you that you need as much duty cycle as you can afford. TBH it doesn't make a lot of different. Most MIGs will have a 20% duty on full power, which is supposed to mean you can weld continuiously for 2 minutes out of every 10. Ask yourself what can you weld on an LR that will take that long?

Avoid Gasless like the plague. OK you will need to be inside of have some kind of shelter to stop the breeze when using gas (CO2) but then the final weld is much better.

If this is your first time welding then practise on steel of the same thickness that you intend to repair first so that you can get the settings right.

Finally MIG welding is very much like making love to a beautiful women.....it's all about, preparation, practise and penetration

Beast o Bodmin · Jul 10, 2009

i use gassless cos it is easy and cheap.yes its not as good but none of my welds have failed yet.

Becks Bear · Jul 11, 2009

many thanks for thw advise all duely noted

ole story u get what u pay for

will not buy the 130 gasless will wait until i see a better machine:doh::doh:

robint · Jul 11, 2009

keep yours eyes peeled on ebay i picked up a 150 amp sip mig with full bottle of co2 and regulator for £80 was expecting it to be crap but it works and weld like new !!

Becks Bear · Jul 11, 2009

robint said:
keep yours eyes peeled on ebay i picked up a 150 amp sip mig with full bottle of co2 and regulator for £80 was expecting it to be crap but it works and weld like new !!

robint

yes i am doing that at the minute

just trying to get motivated to go and start work on the landy

tombardier · Jul 11, 2009

I would like a dual purpose mig. It's always windy where I am, and I was finding a lot of porosity in my mig welding. I prefer arc welding at the moment, and the extra smoke from the flux coating is probably the same as you'll get with a gasless MIG. If I was going to do anything to the chassis, I'd probably prefer my arc welder anyways, and it's more fun

mig welder advise

Becks Bear

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bevhelee

Well-Known Member

Becks Bear

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bevhelee

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bevhelee

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Dent

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Shifty1962

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andyb66

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Beast o Bodmin

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Becks Bear

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robint

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Becks Bear

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tombardier

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