Mig Welders

neville48, Nov 23, 7:33pm
the 100 amp migs at supercheap for 439 bux, has anyone got anything to tell about them. Am looking for a cheap home mig 80-100 amp for minor car repairsbut they are like rockinghorse pooz to find so may have to succumb to a sca one, cheers for any info.
taipan4, Nov 23, 7:41pm
you pays your money & yous get wot you pay for,.with these you will be able to weld up bake bean tins.for a while anyway,.I recently sold a
Cigweld 180Amp on t/me for $1150.00 & had it about ten years with no probs
cuda.340, Nov 23, 7:52pm
what Taipan sed. you buy a cheap mig, you got a cheap mig. mines a 235 & it goes great.
drew2009, Nov 24, 9:22am
yeah those supercheap migs are actually expensive for the pieces of crap they are.
Way better off with a second hand cigweld or lincoln or weldwell mig.
It may cost more but sooo much nicer to use 100x better.
thejazzpianoma, Nov 24, 10:16am
+1
My secondhand mig is great. Go for more amps as the small ones often don't have the adjustment you need down low for panel work. I really only do car repairs too and regularly use the whole range my 180 Amp welder can produce.
74nova, Nov 24, 3:19pm
I've got a Ryobi 135E, had it for about 9 years now and it works great.
thejazzpianoma, Nov 24, 3:23pm
Interestingly Ryobi welders are not necessarily the cheap rubbish that some of their other gear is, the reason being as far as I am aware your Ryobi is actually a Decastar 135E made in Italy by Deca.

My welder is a non-Ryobi branded Deca and is actually quite a nice machine.
74nova, Nov 24, 3:55pm
Yes it is a Decastar but didn't know about the italian thing. The only thing I don't like about it is the trigger's to small and your finger gets sore if your using it alot.
bigmacca, Nov 24, 4:13pm
ive also got a 135e/decastar.never had a problem and its done a heap of work.i just use good quality fluxcore wire.welds everything from panel steel up to 10mm.cant remember what i paid for it but its paid for itself many times over.
shane191, Nov 24, 4:49pm
what size wire do you use bigmacca. I have also a 135e/decaster and im running .9mm wire which i feel is to big.
bigmacca, Nov 24, 5:50pm
i tried 9mm and just had trouble getting it to work so just use 8mm now.the 8mm seems to form a nice weld with minimal splatter.think its cigweld wire.something like that anyway.
neville48, Nov 24, 8:30pm
Sorry to sound [and be] cheap but any comments on this one please.Listing #: 426706027, cheers.
toppo1, Nov 24, 8:39pm
Find out how easy it is to get consumables for it. Tips , shrouds, liners etc. $250 doesn't buy much in the way of decent welders in my opinion.

Also that welder appears to be gassless only, spend a bit more and get a gas one and run it on argosheild or co2 for steel work.
sr2, Nov 24, 8:43pm
I bought a 2nd hand 165 amp Ryobi Mig for $300 4 years ago and had the Ryobi service Centre in Mt Wellington fit a new liner and give it a service (cost $80). I use it with a large C02 cylinder that??
drew2009, Nov 25, 7:40am
That welder will be no good for car panel work and repairs as it is gasless (1.2mm is the thinnest you can go with gasless wire and dam ud better be good!).

I agree with the others Ryobi do an ok MIG for home use.If you can find a mate with a bunnings trade account you should be able to pick one up new cheapish.

I'd hate to say it but you really need to budget more $$$,
a MIG is a tool where you very much get what you pay for, and even the cheap ones are expensive enough that its not worth buying cheap and throwing away when it breaks.

I have a 200amp cigweld that i paid $1900-$2000 for new with extended warranty and have had it for the past 10 years, it has never crapped out or over heated or needed repairs, i've only ever had to buy new tips.
Over the years it has welded everything from car panel to 10mm structural section, at one point it was used for pipe work contracting and it kept up fine all day (8 hour days, hot as hell).
Where as if you buy something cheap, you'll be lucky for it to last a year or two and will be constantly buying new liners, rollers, shrouds, tips, triggers, guns as the wire feed systems in them are poorly manufactured (keep in mind there are alot of precision parts in a MIG).
drew2009, Nov 25, 7:46am
0.8 would be a good GP wire for that, 0.9 would be ok right at the top of its power range.
phalanax, Nov 25, 9:12am
If you wanna do panel welds .rust repairs go tig.migs can blow a hole bigger than the one your trying to fix.lol
drew2009, Nov 25, 9:59am
TIG is far to sensitive to contamination for doing rust repairs, especially considering most car panels are painted both sides. It can be done but requires a shitload of cleaning and mucking around and in some areas it simply cant be done.
If contaminated you will get horrible porosity and weak as repairs that are impossible to fix, migging over the top will just make it worse.
If you are worried about burning holes, oxy acetylene bronze welding is the way to go for car body repairs. I used to fill small dents with it and smooth with a sanding disc no probs, worked great for restoring classics.