welder for around farm etc

MFdaveIreland

alright guys, just starting off with welding . what do some of you guys have making bits and pieces. my ignorance had me thinking that MIG was only suited to thinner stuff and arc stick welders suited for heavier plate. I think im wrong . looking recommendations for something handy but capable and surprise surprise nothing excessively expensive

SuperTortoise

MIG is the easiest to weld with and can weld anything from sheet metal up to inch thick steel, more expensive than stick though when you factor in gas.

st1979

Mig best suited to indoors due to gas been blown away. Plus metal needs to be cleaned off better than stick welder.
Plus as long as you got rods and power you can work away all weekend. With mig if you run out of gas Saturday evening that's that unless you use flux core wire. Cause you will only swap your bottle of gas when empty. But mig is way nicer to use. Depending on budget get a 3 in 1 machine that can do stick mig and tig. I never used the tig function on mine but have often ran out of gas and just switched over to stick welding to finish. But your looking at over 600 euro for something like a thermal arc 151i or 181i compared to a 250 euro stick welder. If you could justify it go for it. Then a rent free bottle will cost 100 deposit plus 80 per fill. So 180 first day on top.

blue5000

OP how much do want to spend? I have 2 arc welders, one is about 30 years old, 250amp but is heavy to move around. Bought an inverter welder a couple of years back, it's lighter but I still struggle to weld light sheet metal without burning it.

What do you want to weld, just gates/L iron etc? I'd suggest an inverter to start with and get lessons as well, bad habits form quickly.

MFdaveIreland

thanks for replies so far.
Blue5000. Im looking something that can be used for repairs and fabrication, I don't have a 16/32a plug socket but could possibly get one fitted. 3ph is out of the question.
I have looked about , the inverter welders, around 200 amp, maybe 170/180a. what would they be fit to realistically weld thickness wise and what are the best rods for them. planning on getting lessons at some point

st1979

I got a thermal arc 185 amp inverter stick welder and have welded 4 mm rods with it on 9 inch H iron will do all you want around the farm and lovely and light to move. Even use it to burn holes through steel if gas cutter is not about

larthehar

MFdaveIreland wrote: »

thanks for replies so far.
Blue5000. Im looking something that can be used for repairs and fabrication, I don't have a 16/32a plug socket but could possibly get one fitted. 3ph is out of the question.
I have looked about , the inverter welders, around 200 amp, maybe 170/180a. what would they be fit to realistically weld thickness wise and what are the best rods for them. planning on getting lessons at some point

We have a 200amp inverter.. spends most ot it.s time between 80-120amp for 3.2mm rods.. keep an eye out on the duty cycle, mine was 100% @ 100amps and 30% at 200amps.. never cut out on me yet..

st1979

Do not use a 13 amp plug if you can help it. It will shorten your lifespan of the welder. I got 16amp plugs and find them fine

MFdaveIreland

hi guys thanks again, maybe il look at the thermalarc one then. silly question how do you burn holes in the metal with the welder? thanks

The part time boy

I got a lidi welder about 8 or 9 years ago and it's still going . Dont do a whole pile with it repairs mostly and small projects. No making gates or anything .

Cost me 70 euro I think

st1979

MFdaveIreland wrote:

hi guys thanks again, maybe il look at the thermalarc one then. silly question how do you burn holes in the metal with the welder? thanks

Turn it up get steel molten by welding around same point. Easily done when you don't want to do if your welding thin stuff. But can be handy if you want to burn an ignorant hole quick

st1979

Jasic is another make that is not to dear and has 5 year warranty. Ept in carlow do thermal arc and repair them. I know 4 with a thermal arc 211i and one has a 181i and no complaints.
If just for repairs get just a stick but if you got ambitions to make a few things the mig is a pleasure. I wish I got one years ago. Cause stuff I would have had to replace I was able to fix like exhaust pipe on tractor that was paper thin. And have made a good few things now.

MFdaveIreland

https://www.chronos.ltd.uk/acatalog/info_6011000.html views on this,
http://jeffersontools.com/welding/category/arc_welders/123/497 or this?
or any other suggestions. ideally looking something able to weld thick enough plate for a bit of fabrication for making bits and pieces to stand up to a bit of abuse

mayota

I picked up a 140 amp parweld inverter from WholesaleWeldingSupplies for €125, so far so good.

maidhc

I got this last year. Grand machine for Mig and Stick. They are good value I think compared to a lot of brands.

http://www.r-techwelding.co.uk/mig-welder-r-tech-pro-mig250-1/

lakill Farm

mayota wrote: »

I picked up a 140 amp parweld inverter from WholesaleWeldingSupplies for €125, so far so good.

I bought mine the other day, waiting for it to arrive.

I have a 180amp arc welder but its heavy and I only have 50m of wire with 16a ends so limits distance outside where inverter will operate on standard lead im told.

maidhc

lakill Farm wrote: »

where inverter will operate on standard lead im told.

I had an ESAB inverter that lasted 16 months. I was told it did because I was just using it on normal leads....

gctest50

Who needs leads

lakill Farm

maidhc wrote: »

I had an ESAB inverter that lasted 16 months. I was told it did because I was just using it on normal leads....

Have a few small welding jobs that's over 50m from nearest welding point

Leads expensive to buy and a waste as one off repairs and lad asked twice a week for last 12 months to do them with mobile welder :rolleyes:. in fairness if it was urgent he would be down in 2 minutes

but the old postbox is sitting in his shed a year and it would look nicer outside on the pole

SuperTortoise

Rtech are a good machine and they have a good reputation, but something like a parweld or thermalarc or a SIP 160-180Amp machine would be plenty around any farm, if you are going down the MIG route you have to factor in the price of gas as well so another E200 or thereabouts on top.

Duty cycle is usually a fair indicator of quality, have a look at Metron based in Dublin, or Rtech in the UK, google them and have a look at the selection on their sites.

Most importantly, if using a stick welder buy decent quality rods! The euro or two in the price difference is worth it.

^^Some inverters can be run off of a generator which would solve the long extension lead problem, you do need to check if your machine is suitable and if the generator is putting out enough power to run a welder first though.

Fronius do a battery powered welder! Make sure you're sitting down before you check the price of them though!

Wessel3

Looking arc stick welder for making bits and pieces. What size would you recommend for making a trailer or something like it? Something portable yet powerful.

MFdaveIreland

SuperTortoise wrote: »

Rtech are a good machine and they have a good reputation, but something like a parweld or thermalarc or a SIP 160-180Amp machine would be plenty around any farm, if you are going down the MIG route you have to factor in the price of gas as well so another E200 or thereabouts on top.

Duty cycle is usually a fair indicator of quality, have a look at Metron based in Dublin, or Rtech in the UK, google them and have a look at the selection on their sites.

Most importantly, if using a stick welder buy decent quality rods! The euro or two in the price difference is worth it.

^^Some inverters can be run off of a generator which would solve the long extension lead problem, you do need to check if your machine is suitable and if the generator is putting out enough power to run a welder first though.

Fronius do a battery powered welder! Make sure you're sitting down before you check the price of them though!

I think Oxford seem to be very popular but not mobile for moving about. Also very expensive

SuperTortoise

MFdaveIreland wrote: »

I think Oxford seem to be very popular but not mobile for moving about. Also very expensive

Old and very famous brand, as bulletproof as welders get, any i have seen are as old as the hills and are transformer based so heavy!
I'm not even sure if they are still on the go nowadays, or maybe they have been rebranded?

SuperTortoise

Wessel3 wrote: »

Looking arc stick welder for making bits and pieces. What size would you recommend for making a trailer or something like it? Something portable yet powerful.

If you want portable then get an inverter based welder, if you're welding a trailer then get a decent brand of welder, 160Amp-180Amp would be grand. You would be burning a 4mm rod at those kind of amps which is plenty to be getting on with.
I listed one or two reasonable brands above.

MFdaveIreland

SuperTortoise wrote: »

MFdaveIreland wrote: »

I think Oxford seem to be very popular but not mobile for moving about. Also very expensive

Old and very famous brand, as bulletproof as welders get, any i have seen are as old as the hills and are transformer based so heavy!
I'm not even sure if they are still on the go nowadays, or maybe they have been rebranded?

Still on the go and very expensive ! Oxford pickhill only British welders I think now. Mostly Chinese etc

hopeso

I got one of these a couple of years ago. Very happy with it! http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/THERMAL-ARC-175-SE-STICK-MMA-ARC-LIFT-TIG-WELDER-240V-INVERTER-/171988857087?epid=1862946231&hash=item280b55b0ff:m:ml37Yhegc9k65_k07ydH62w

st1979

hopeso wrote:

I got one of these a couple of years ago. Very happy with it!

Same as mine. Fan went once but was my fault it got rained on. Fan is actually same as in a pc. Ept fixed it and were fairly reasonable

MFdaveIreland

so the thermal arc are good then? im learning as we go here. ive seen a few people with oxford oil cooled yokes, very heavy, more suited to being parked in a workshop. what is the duty cycle on the thermal arc, I think I read it it weld at full amps for 2 mins then need to rest for 8 mins,

SuperTortoise

MFdaveIreland wrote: »

so the thermal arc are good then? im learning as we go here. ive seen a few people with oxford oil cooled yokes, very heavy, more suited to being parked in a workshop. what is the duty cycle on the thermal arc, I think I read it it weld at full amps for 2 mins then need to rest for 8 mins,

Yep, 20% duty cycle so 2 minutes of welding out of every 10, but that is at max amps, it's probably a 160amp stick welder which would just about burn a 4mm rod but there arent many applications around the farm that would call for that.
More realistic would be 120amps usage often enough and the duty cycle is probably somewhere around the 40-60% at those amps although it does'nt list it in the ad.

Thermal arc are a decent brand.

hopeso

MFdaveIreland wrote: »

so the thermal arc are good then? im learning as we go here. ive seen a few people with oxford oil cooled yokes, very heavy, more suited to being parked in a workshop. what is the duty cycle on the thermal arc, I think I read it it weld at full amps for 2 mins then need to rest for 8 mins,

There'll be no problem with the weight of the Thermal Arc anyway...It even comes with a shoulder strap included, to allow you you hang it on your shoulder if you're working on a ladder or something..... Mine hasn't needed to rest in all the time I've had it, but it's not burning rod after rod on fabrication work or anything. Just patching and repairing around the farm, with some light fabrication at times...

talkie2

can you weld 1.5 mm thick panels with inverter stick welders,