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General => General Discussion => Topic started by: bagpuss on May 09, 2020, 06:10:02 PM
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Hi guys im looking for a small home Mig welder I'm leaning towards a Boss 108 Mig from bunnings
https://dynaweld.com.au/product/mst-185-mig-stick-tig-inverter-welder/
they had it for $499 but I cant see it on the web site anymore they seam to have removed it from the web site so I think they may be dropping it from there range I can usually use one at a friends workshop but a lot of planing go's into doing this so I'm thinking of getting one for home to save the hassle
Do any of you have any recommendations of a small mig welder that runs off a 10 amp plug I like the idea of gas rather than gas less I know you have to get the gas bottle so any info on this as well would be great
Thanks Mike
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I have a WIA very happy with it. Do your home work there is a big difference between cheap and good eg plastic fittings on wire drive rollers. You can buy the gas bottle then just pay for gas.
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You may be better off going second hand from somewhere like Gumtree, choosing a decent brand, and in reasonable condition.
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bagpuss.
I bought a cheap mig welder many years ago, i think the brand name is Media Mig, and it hasnt missed a beat yet.
Not sure of the brand you are looking at,but the point is if you are only using it in a handy man scenario then there is nothing wrong with the cheaper ones.
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....I know you have to get the gas bottle so any info on this as well would be great
Mike, any tool specialist will have the bottles, and also do exchange.
Total Tools (Brooklyn and Hoppers) and United Tools on Old Geelong Road have them.
:cheers:
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Mike, any tool specialist will have the bottles, and also do exchange.
Total Tools (Brooklyn and Hoppers) and United Tools on Old Geelong Road have them.
:cheers:
BOC gas have them as well. Mine is a D size cylinder. its the smallest argon cylinder you can rent.
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BOC gas have them as well. Mine is a D size cylinder. its the smallest argon cylinder you can rent.
Best to buy them outright Mark. Works like swap-and-go LPG. No on-going rental charges....
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I have been using a smaller “Bossweld” gasless welder for a couple of years and it has been great. Nothing wrong with the brand from my experience.
Steve
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
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This is of interest for me as well, as the Boss has been making noises about wanting one as well....
I keep getting drawn to something like this kit:
https://www.totaltools.com.au/150389-unimig-viper-mig-120-promo-kit-pk11001 (https://www.totaltools.com.au/150389-unimig-viper-mig-120-promo-kit-pk11001) for ~$400
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Best to buy them outright Mark. Works like swap-and-go LPG. No on-going rental charges....
yeah mate, i think we do something like that.The set up we have now is cheaper than the rent used to be. :cup:
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Just having a quick look now, this was the other one I'd seen:
https://www.gettoolsdirect.com.au/bossweld-evo-141-mma-tig-welder-bundle-600141bundle.html (https://www.gettoolsdirect.com.au/bossweld-evo-141-mma-tig-welder-bundle-600141bundle.html)
TIG rather than MIG, but there are some deals around at the moment.
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I have the 135A Cigweld weldskill, got it from masters when they were around, can't remember the exact price, but it was a fair bit cheaper than it is being sold for at the moment, Supercheap seem to have it on a pretty reasonable sale every now and then though. Had an issue once, but that was fixed under warranty, the duty cycle is also pretty low, but I think most at the entry level ones will be similar.
With Gas, you can get the bottles from Bunnings, it's a $100 deposit for the bottle last I saw, but you get that back whenever you return the bottle.
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Another vote for second hand welder. Especially if you want to start looking at band name units.
I picked up an awesome Unimig unit off gumtree for about half retail price, it the biggest single phase unit they make and in perfect condition. It even came with a full big roll of wire. ;)
The guy selling it had just upgraded to the latest model.
And another vote for the Bunnings gas bottles. It’s the best deal out there for home use.
You hire the bottle with a $200 deposit, instead of purchasing it like all of the other mobs make you do.
It was only $90 for each exchange when i did the last one, but might have gone up recently.
If you decide you didn’t need the gas any more, just return the empty bottle and get your deposit back. You are really only paying for what you use and not stuck with a useless bottle at the end of the day.
The only downside is Bunnings only do the smaller bottles, but 1 small bottle on my mig built my whole camper and complicated suspension setup.
I currently have 2 Bunnings welding gas bottles at home.
1 bottle of mig gas and a bottle of argon for my tig.
I’ve only done a handful of welds with the tig, but it’s not costing me anything to have it turned off and sitting on my welding trolley, ready whenever I need it.
If when this Argon bottle is finished and I don’t need to do any more tig welding I’ll just take the empty bottle back and it’s only cost me $90 for the gas.
Edit;
Just checked the prices for the Bunnings bottle and see they now also do the larger E size mig gas for $160 per exchange.
I recon when my current D size mig gas is empty I’ll swap it for the bigger one. The little one is fine for my Tig gas, I rarely use that one compared to the mig and stick.
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I hadn't noticed the bottles at Bunnings, Pete. I'll keep an eye out next time I'm there.
....just checked online pricing....
Bunnings and Total Tools are line-ball on prices for the D size. Both want $99 for refills. Difference is in deposit v purchase for the bottle itself.
Doesn't really matter, unless you get out of mig all together.
It's $300 deposit at Bunnings on the E bottles, and $159 for gas and refills. Total Tools want $475 for a full bottle, then $159 for refills. Not much in it.
Might look at an E myself, and keep the D as backup for the next time I forget to turn the gas off.... ::) ::)
:cheers:
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So my ears have pricked up with this thread, and I'll also watch with interest. But my question is, is Mig much easier to weld with than a stick? I don't weld a lot and when I do it's just random little jobs in the shed. I've only ever used a little Cigweld stick welder that came from BigW 25 years ago. But ever since the little migs have become available I've often thought about it, but never really looked into it?
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Another vote for second hand welder. Especially if you want to start looking at band name units.
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Reckon I'd agree with that ^....
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So my ears have pricked up with this thread, and I'll also watch with interest. But my question is, is Mig much easier to weld with than a stick? I don't weld a lot and when I do it's just random little jobs in the shed. I've only ever used a little Cigweld stick welder that came from BigW 25 years ago. But ever since the little migs have become available I've often thought about it, but never really looked into it?
A mig welder will be better suited to you if your doing thinner gauge material.Lot more settings on a mig to weld those smaller jobs.Stick welder for the thicker material jobs.
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So my ears have pricked up with this thread, and I'll also watch with interest. But my question is, is Mig much easier to weld with than a stick? I don't weld a lot and when I do it's just random little jobs in the shed. I've only ever used a little Cigweld stick welder that came from BigW 25 years ago. But ever since the little migs have become available I've often thought about it, but never really looked into it?
If you can stick, you can MIG. It is dead easy, and almost anyone can get a reasonable looking weld from a MIG, particularly using gas. No dragging to arc, just on/off switch. No chipping slag and getting slag inclusion.
I would highly recommend one, especially for smaller/thinner materials. I can do both, as well as oxy-welding, and the MIG is definitely easier, especially out the farm in the shed where it is set-up. Field work still gets a stick
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So my ears have pricked up with this thread, and I'll also watch with interest. But my question is, is Mig much easier to weld with than a stick? I don't weld a lot and when I do it's just random little jobs in the shed. I've only ever used a little Cigweld stick welder that came from BigW 25 years ago. But ever since the little migs have become available I've often thought about it, but never really looked into it?
I spent about 10 years on stick welders and only used wire feed units for really big stuff (think 100mm thick stick steel plate, double V butt welds), so my opinion is a little biased. ;)
I have all 3 options on my welding trolley in the shed.
If I want it stuck and I need to know it’s stuck, I grab the stick every time.
If I want it to look pretty I grab the mig.
If it’s shiny or really thin I grab the tig.
Yes, you can sometimes have battles with slag inclusion with the stick. But once you get your eye in and learn to see what’s happening in the weld pool that should become less of an issue. But even when it does happen, it’s pretty easy to chip it out, give a little hit with the grinder or wire brush and reweld the slagged bit.
I use a lot of low hydrogen rods. They are a bit of a bitch to get started if you don’t know how, but they give a much nicer finish, especially with vertical welds.
Stick would have been my choice to do your pipe sculptures.
Actually, I go stick for anything galvanized, it’s just heaps cleaner.
Migs are much easier to use, but also much easier to stuff up.
You can lay down a beautiful looking mig weld that has absolutely no penetration or just below the surface is full of porosity and that beautiful looking weld is destined for failure.
You can use a stick welder anywhere, but conditions need to be just right to use a mig outside of the shed.
If you do give a mig welder a go, it’s worth going with a proper setup with gas. I’m not a fan of flux cored wire, unless you up in the bigger diameters.
And just on the tig.
Mine is a fancy high frequency pulse tig, with all sorts of cool knobs and dials, that never get touched. ;)
Any half decent inverter DC tig would do 95% of the work I do with a tig in my shed. I expect most people would be the same.
It’s nice to have all of those extra options and settings for the 5% of jobs, but I could get by without them if I had to.
All of your brand name units (cig, boc, essab, unimig, wia, etc) should serve any home handyman just fine.
Cheaper no name stick welders can also be fine, there’s not a hell of a lot to them. But as others mentioned cheaper migs and tigs will be using poor quality components on key parts, like the drive gears on the wire feed.
And finally, I’m old school and always prefer analog controls on things like welders.
Digital dials and touch pads look cool and all, but I’ll take flicking a switch or turning a dial every day.
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Good write-up Pete... :cup:
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Thanks Pete,
I knew you had a background in gluing steel together, so your advice is valuable :cup:
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I spent about 10 years on stick welders and only used wire feed units for really big stuff (think 100mm thick stick steel plate, double V butt welds), so my opinion is a little biased. ;)
I have all 3 options on my welding trolley in the shed.
If I want it stuck and I need to know it’s stuck, I grab the stick every time.
If I want it to look pretty I grab the mig.
If it’s shiny or really thin I grab the tig.
Yes, you can sometimes have battles with slag inclusion with the stick. But once you get your eye in and learn to see what’s happening in the weld pool that should become less of an issue. But even when it does happen, it’s pretty easy to chip it out, give a little hit with the grinder or wire brush and reweld the slagged bit.
I use a lot of low hydrogen rods. They are a bit of a bitch to get started if you don’t know how, but they give a much nicer finish, especially with vertical welds.
Stick would have been my choice to do your pipe sculptures.
Actually, I go stick for anything galvanized, it’s just heaps cleaner.
Migs are much easier to use, but also much easier to stuff up.
You can lay down a beautiful looking mig weld that has absolutely no penetration or just below the surface is full of porosity and that beautiful looking weld is destined for failure.
You can use a stick welder anywhere, but conditions need to be just right to use a mig outside of the shed.
If you do give a mig welder a go, it’s worth going with a proper setup with gas. I’m not a fan of flux cored wire, unless you up in the bigger diameters.
And just on the tig.
Mine is a fancy high frequency pulse tig, with all sorts of cool knobs and dials, that never get touched. ;)
Any half decent inverter DC tig would do 95% of the work I do with a tig in my shed. I expect most people would be the same.
It’s nice to have all of those extra options and settings for the 5% of jobs, but I could get by without them if I had to.
All of your brand name units (cig, boc, essab, unimig, wia, etc) should serve any home handyman just fine.
Cheaper no name stick welders can also be fine, there’s not a hell of a lot to them. But as others mentioned cheaper migs and tigs will be using poor quality components on key parts, like the drive gears on the wire feed.
And finally, I’m old school and always prefer analog controls on things like welders.
Digital dials and touch pads look cool and all, but I’ll take flicking a switch or turning a dial every day.
Was going to comment as a fabricator with 35 years experience but Pete took all the words straight out of my mouth. Good advice all round. :cup:
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Well guys thanks for all of your reply's I really appreciate you taking the time to reply I've bit the bullet and bought a Bossweld from bunnings @ $499 is not that much dearer than a second hand unit of Guntree but comes with a 2 year warranty so lets hope it works out to be ok
I went with this due to price, Warranty and features, I'm gong to get a bottle from total tools tomorrow I'm looking at a size C this will help with storage as my shed is a massive 3 X 1.5m :-[
First job is to make a new work bench that will house all my larger tools as I keep having to move one to use the other It will need to house a small pillar drill my compressor, bench grinder, tool box and the mig its self with its gas bottle so should be a interesting first project think Tardis oh and also be a work bench Wish me luck :laugh:
If it the bench comes out ok I'll put up some pictures
I think i will go with Black for the colour :laugh:
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I think i will go with Black for the colour :laugh:
Something in common with Henry Ford there Mike......"any colour you like, as long as it's black".... ;D
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Something in common with Henry Ford there Mike......"any colour you like, as long as it's black".... ;D
:laugh: Never thought of it like that
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Also, never underestimate the importance of good clean power. Keep extension leads out of the equation and get a 15a plug in your man cave if at all possible. Current is everything with these small units. Also pay attention to the chart on the inside of the wire feed door - it means stuff. Having a pos or neg feed handpiece makes a difference to whatever your setup is going to be for a particular job.
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I was similar, were going to buy 2nd hand but when I looked for a while, there were no good buys, so new was the best option.
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I have a CIG Weld 150, it does a pretty good job at sticking bits of metal together.
The only issue I had was the polarity was reversed when I got it, which threw me for a bit.
I only run gas, but cylinder rental is a bit of a pain each 3 months. I really should buy one.
Its a 15A job, but there is a 135 that I think runs off 10A available. If you don't have a 15A plug in the shed, then it is worth getting one fitted. Wiring in a new power point and circuit breaker can be a bit of $$, but if you have a surplus of double 10A outlets, then getting one swapped to a 15A might be an option?
The duty cycle isn't huge, but I haven't overheated it as of yet.
https://www.cigweld.com.au/product/weldskill-150-mig-portable-welding-machine/
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I'm gong to get a bottle from total tools tomorrow I'm looking at a size C this will help with storage as my shed is a massive 3 X 1.5m :-[
I only just bought a MIG last weekend and got the bottle from Bunnos… made me feel slightly better that I could return if required and get my 200 back if I wanted (assuming I have the receipt as they said its necessary). Gas was same price as Total Tools.
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The other reason I went with bunnings, is I often do a fair bit of tinkering at night, so that's when I am likely to run out, as they are open later it means I could more likely swap when it suited.
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I would love any wall socket in my shed but its only a 3m x 1.5m tin shed so its probably the worlds smallest work shop/man cave
I've set it up with 3 filing cabinets at one end and a cupboard and filing cabinet at the other with some wood across them to make a shelf the photos are taken with an Iphone using panoramic to show the complete inside, My work bench slash storage works but I have to move every thing around when I want to use something I'm hoping to store all my larger tools in and on the new bench this will make using them easier and safer
Re the bottle gas ive gone with a size C argon 5/2 mix for a mig from total tools This will be enough I hope and the size will help with space
Here are some photos showing the shed Its messy but it will give you a idea of what i'm working with the photo with the bikes gives you idea how small im talking, I'm in the middle of restoring a mini one of the photos show me rebuilding the rear subframe
Lighting is 12v led strips run from a old deep cycle battery that is charged via a solar panel on the roof
When i need 240 power I run a 10amp extension lead in to the shed via the pipe shown in the photo this keeps it safer when it rains
If anyone knows a better way to set it up please feel free to chip in
Mike
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if you find you're not getting a strong consistent arc, power supply could be a problem with a long lead. I've made up a couple of 25m leads using 2.5mm wires.
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The other reason I went with bunnings, is I often do a fair bit of tinkering at night, so that's when I am likely to run out, as they are open later it means I could more likely swap when it suited.
my thoughts as well, public holidays etc
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bagpuss.
I bought a cheap mig welder many years ago, i think the brand name is Media Mig, and it hasnt missed a beat yet.
Not sure of the brand you are looking at,but the point is if you are only using it in a handy man scenario then there is nothing wrong with the cheaper ones.
Agree , i have a Bossweld 185with a plug for a spool gun( i run this Mig Gassless ) and a have a Bossweld 186s that can be run with a Tig attachment , its a Digital Unit. ( run it with Mig Mix Gas ) cos i cant be bothered swaping reels ! . Both from Bunnings , 2 years no probs , cheers.
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So I went with the Bossweld MST185 as it looked to have all that I will need and more, It will do Mig Stick and Tig just need to buy the tig torch as a upgrade part I've been using the mig set up with gas I'm really liking this machine as i can get a ok weld from it
Ive started making my new work bench that will house all my larger tools including the welder so its earning its keep already
Here are some photos of how its coming along
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The bench
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If that's your first attempt at welding, you're pretty good there mate.
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If that's your first attempt at welding, you're pretty good there mate.
Thanks Troopy :cheers:
Its not my first go I'm a spray painter and also a Pom :angel: When I did my trade training we had to do both panel beating and spray painting so I did some welding then and also through my time in the trade I'm interested in giving Tig a go so maybe at tax time ill look at a tig torch and have a go
Mike
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I'm not a welder, nor really had much to do with them tradewise, but I did have a job a few years back repairing stick, MIG TIG and plasma gear. So as part of the job you had to test everything. Spent lots of hours playing with MIG and TIG, and lots of fun. TIG is like the Zen of welding. Very therapeutic, especially if you're welding thinnish sheets together and not needing filler rod. I have done quite a bit of stick welding though, in projects around the shed.
I think the main thing though is to be in a comfortable position, and good vision. If you're trying to weld awkward angles and wear glasses, it can be a real PITA.
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Those welds look great - I can only dream of getting quality welds like that with my stick welder. I particularly admire those welds along the open tube - I just manage to blow holes in them and then spend ages filling and grinding. Well done.
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Those welds look great - I can only dream of getting quality welds like that with my stick welder. I particularly admire those welds along the open tube - I just manage to blow holes in them and then spend ages filling and grinding. Well done.
Thanks I think its mainly due to the mig more than me I'm not good with stick but like using mig
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I'm not a welder, nor really had much to do with them tradewise, but I did have a job a few years back repairing stick, MIG TIG and plasma gear. So as part of the job you had to test everything. Spent lots of hours playing with MIG and TIG, and lots of fun. TIG is like the Zen of welding. Very therapeutic, especially if you're welding thinnish sheets together and not needing filler rod. I have done quite a bit of stick welding though, in projects around the shed.
I think the main thing though is to be in a comfortable position, and good vision. If you're trying to weld awkward angles and wear glasses, it can be a real PITA.
I hear you about the glasses and angle thing Like you said it looks to be an enjoyable way to weld and some of the welds you see are more Art than fabrication