MIG WELDERS

[stylussprinter]

Has anyone any knowledge of a machine named '' PRO E MAX '' 180amp 230v mig gas welder , with euro torch , wire , regulator .
I haven't heard of it but fancy changing my Arc for this Mig . Sounds incredibly cheap at £189 from a company in Kilkerdy , Nr Edinborough.

[CMA]

Personally I'd avoid, if it's cheap then its normally crap. Never heard of the brand and if it needs repairs or replacing then it is a long and expensive distance to send it back.

I have the Clarke 151Turbo and that can do up to 6mm according to the stats and you can use the little gas bottles if you don't do much welding like me.
http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/produ ... mig-welder
Comes with most bits too, just wait for a VAT free sale offer, dont pay full whack.

Have a dig about on here: http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/buying.htm might have some details on the welder you're looking at, if not you could ask for feedback and see what they say.

[stylussprinter]

Thanks Rob , had a good browse through . The reason I was after a 180a single phase , is that going low , say 30a , is better on a big machine than a smaller one so I'm told These days my welding is 16 guage so damn tricky using my 190 turbo arc . The arc is great for the sort of work I used to do on my equipment which was not less than 2mm's and often 13mm's
A good second hand professional mig would do me well rather than a new smaller one.

[hearbear]

Personally I'd avoid, if it's cheap then its normally crap. Never heard of the brand and if it needs repairs or replacing then it is a long and expensive distance to send it back.

Depends on how far you stay from there for once some where that isn't a million miles from me I assume Rob meant Kirkaldy nr Edinburgh

[stylussprinter]

Personally I'd avoid, if it's cheap then its normally crap. Never heard of the brand and if it needs repairs or replacing then it is a long and expensive distance to send it back.

Depends on how far you stay from there for once some where that isn't a million miles from me I assume Rob meant Kirkaldy nr Edinburgh

So what are you saying George ---- that the company's EMAX machines are ok I've enquired about the origins and they replied they are the UK agents/forthtools-uk

[hearbear]

Sorry Rob don,t know about their stuff I was just commenting it was close to me for a change any time I look for anything it is usually down nearer you

Cheers George

[stylussprinter]

Having read loads regarding gas mig's plus spoken to pro mig welders via various forums , I've come to the conclusion that on my budget , new is a waste of money so with that in mind I've been looking for a limited list of pro welders secondhand -- OXFORD , MILLER , CEO , LINCOLN , MUREX .
Bid on ebay for plenty but lost them at prices I couldn't believe for secondhand machines Looks like my idea of SH prices are a bit outdated Currently after a MUREX 186C but we'll just have to see what others will pay
Really fancy this one

[Craig-Chap]

You should be ok with a Clarke one from machine mart- as suggested wait for a VAT thing. My 160 will weld 1mm quite nicely even with me at the controls- 16 gauge means nothing to me so I'm not sure what that is in real money! Search for weldequip- the guy who runs it is an active member on the MIG welding forum and professes to only stock stuff he would be happy to use. He stocks Clarke welders amongst many others.

I also tried to find a decent second hand welder- I gave up in the end as the prices were bonkers!

[stylussprinter]

You should be ok with a Clarke one from machine mart- as suggested wait for a VAT thing. My 160 will weld 1mm quite nicely even with me at the controls- 16 gauge means nothing to me so I'm not sure what that is in real money! Search for weldequip- the guy who runs it is an active member on the MIG welding forum and professes to only stock stuff he would be happy to use. He stocks Clarke welders amongst many others.

I also tried to find a decent second hand welder- I gave up in the end as the prices were bonkers!

16 is 1.6mm's thick Craig , I'm not likely to be welding 1mm as don't have any tintop projects , just tube chassis and suspension . Chassis on Stylus's are 1.4mm and the CDS tube I use for suspension is 1.6mm for the front / 2.5mm on the rear lower links ---- no one's ever asked me to make top rear links , there's nothing to go wrong with them .

The reason I'm looking for higher spec than 160 amp mig is that pro migs normally have better quality winding , torch , wire feed & power graduation adjustments which makes a nice weld on thin stuff easier to acheive. On top of that if I bought new there's still a gas bottle to buy or rent --- the one I'm bidding on has an industrial bottle with it , new euro torch etc so happy to pay what would be the ' new price on a Sealey 180amp ' for this Murex plus bottle etc

[Craig-Chap]

Fair enough- a pro mig would be nice! Check you can get the bottle filled though- I read that most places won't fill your bottle at all, some require an inspection certificate etc. Part of the rental cost is inspection/maintainance of the bottle, and obviously putting 200 bar in a dodgy bottle is bloody dangerous! I looked into doing the same as someone offered me a bottle on the cheap. Not being obstructive- just want to make sure you don't end up paying for a bottle that is no use!

[stylussprinter]

Fair enough- a pro mig would be nice! Check you can get the bottle filled though- I read that most places won't fill your bottle at all, some require an inspection certificate etc. Part of the rental cost is inspection/maintainance of the bottle, and obviously putting 200 bar in a dodgy bottle is bloody dangerous! I looked into doing the same as someone offered me a bottle on the cheap. Not being obstructive- just want to make sure you don't end up paying for a bottle that is no use!

H'mmm ------------- food for a lot of thought

[stylussprinter]

Got the MUREX 186C Tradesman Challenger today --- the guy brought gas with him and demo'd it for me , obviously a pro , didn't even bother cutting the 8 inches of wire poking out the torch , just pushed on it to bend it shorter and away he went
It's a very nice piece of kit -- new euro torch with binzel plus new earth lead/clamp and half reel of 0.8mm steel wire , so now need to source gas for the 50 litre bottle or find a local farmer to supply me --- otherwise , it's sell the bottle and rent a 20 litre bottle with supply , we'll see

[Craig-Chap]

Sounds good Rob! I found an argon mix (BOC argoshield light) much nicer to weld with than CO2, try both if you can and see what you prefer. Let us know how you get on

[stylussprinter]

Sounds good Rob! I found an argon mix (BOC argoshield light) much nicer to weld with than CO2, try both if you can and see what you prefer. Let us know how you get on

Yep -- did lots of reading on pro welders forums before buying the Murex and noted their advice re - Argoshield Light being the best mix for under 4mm stuff . My 50lt bottle has to go back to BOC as it's illegal to sell them so I've been told . Contacted BOC and have got myself a really nice deal on their '' Y '' sized bottle at less than half the annual rental and just £24 for the gas plus a £1.92 charge for '' don't know what ''
They gave me the same deal as a hobbyist group called 'Volkzone' , so probably a club deal of some sort for all their restoration members . Holds 4800 gas litres , so will do me for ages