re-badged rtech welder ???

[Jim Davey]

And there you see the reason why they can swap failed machines at will, offer freebies and sell "shop soiled machines" at such 'reasonable' prices.

Look at the eyes, the eyes, not around the eyes...you're under!

Lorch might well be the masters of speed, R-Tech are the masters of spin. Fair play though, it's selling them a LOT of kit because the service and back up is superb, but it should be, you chaps are probably paying triple for it.

 

[Jim Davey]

definatly gas is the best but just sometimes when its windy it could help me out as stick welding a transit is a no no ...lol , I do have a place where I can weld inside but only have a 5 kva generator on my diesel stick welder , are these inverters generator friendly at lower power ?

Strictly speaking no, but you'd probably be ok if you kept to 1.5mm rods as the load from the inverter won't affect the genny too badly. Really 6-8 is recommended for most small stick inverters.
But the key word there is probably, and a lot depends on the generator. Not all 5 kva machines are created equal if you catch my drift?

 

[macandmoss]

Strictly speaking no, but you'd probably be ok if you kept to 1.5mm rods as the load from the inverter won't affect the genny too badly. Really 6-8 is recommended for most small stick inverters.
But the key word there is probably, and a lot depends on the generator. Not all 5 kva machines are created equal if you catch my drift?

my generator welder is an old yanmar diesel but no name on the welding unit , good old machine but blooming heavy...lol

 

[Kent]

cheers skotl , always appreciate your advice and was going to buy off retch ,just saw that offer and made me think especially as any welder will have an easy life with me , you made me think about a cut-50 and may get one eventually ,not that I would use it much buy hey we all like our toys..lol , was only looking at the 180 machine on retch as saw doobleboosts review of it , need to get my finger out and run my 32 amp supply into the garage

What did we do before plasma cutters? Plenty that's what

 

[macandmoss]

What did we do before plasma cutters? Plenty that's what

lol , your right and never had one , just go up my mates and watch him use his , odd shapes take seconds or popping some holes through thicker metal and then drilled rather than drilling with smaller bits and gradually increasing bit sizes , the time it saves him is amazing and as for him time is money

 

[macandmoss]

contacted the company who sell on the 250 machine on amazon , got an instant response which was encouraging and he said comes with 2 year warranty , might be talking rubbish but makes you think ...haha

 

[Wightsparks]

Call me a bit suspicious but looking at the case sizes, that Amazon welder looks like the Rtech 180 with a 250 sticker; the Rtech 250 is in a much bigger case.

Weight listed as 15.6kg
R-tech 250 listed as 17kg
But the 180 is listed as 14kg so not really conclusive.

 

[Swift&Bold]

I have a R-tech 180.
I looked at a lot of machines but plumped for it purely for the 0% finance and the peace of mind with the on-site replacement service they offer. Their after service is superb and that is what you are paying for. Mine developed a fault within a month which was sorted out immediately without any fuss, quibbles or additional incurred expenses at all and I was given the use of another welder whilst it was in for repair, all door-to-door, all I had to do was pack it, if I had bought the exact same un-badged model elsewhere I'll bet it would've been a different story, however to recoup my money on the difference that would have to happen many more times.
Is it worth the whopping difference in price? Only you can decide that, the 0% and no aggro was worth it to me.
Seriously consider the BestMig from Noz-alls, it's cheaper and offers more extras, with a similar warranty (though not on-site) and now offers 0%, the reason I decided against was that it is a 160A and at the time there was no 0% offered, in reality 160A would be fine for me personally.

 

[Fazerruss]

Just my opinion and not intended to cause offence to anyone but I'm not keen on paying 2 or 3 times the going rate for a machine for a warranty. Obviously that business model works for rtec but you are paying good money for a machine that is guaranteed only for as long as you keep paying. I prefer to save my pennies up and buy a well built machine that doesn't need a service plan to keep working after 2 years.
No doubt the service high but it appears that the failure rate is also.
I prefer workshop machines that aren't designed to be disposable.

@Jim Davey you have a pm from me

 

[Swift&Bold]

....you could also say that all the faults are sorted within the warranty period with no fuss and for free and at the end of it you have a equally reliable machine, if the more expensive machine fails and is quibbled, you have an expensive problem....it's horses for courses.

 

[Burdekin]

There certainly is room in the market for a new Rtech to come along now with Rtech's inflated prices.

 

[monkeh]

Since the £ dropped in value against the dollar their prices went up 10-20%

 

[Member 66061]

I paid just over £150 less for my R-tech welder at the end of 2015.
The choice i had was between a Parweld or an R-tech and the Parweld didnt do MMA.The R-tech came with everything i needed to weld straight away.
At the prices R-tech are now, id have probably went for the Parweld instead. Im limited to a 13amp supply.
What other 160 amp AC Tig welders are available for £900?

 

[Wightsparks]

So with the Amazon one what's the VAT situation? Supplied and shipped by Amazon that should theoretically be inc VAT. Chances of a VAT receipt??

 

[skotl]

So with the Amazon one what's the VAT situation? Supplied and shipped by Amazon that should theoretically be inc VAT. Chances of a VAT receipt??

Amazon's prices are quoted including VAT and you can download a VAT receipt from the order page, post-delivery.
I buy a fair bit of odds and ends for the office via Amazon and my finance folks have no issues with the receipts I get.

 

[Brummie]

I had a look at that Amazon welder last week but as it was going to be my first welder I was put off by the lack of reviews.

 

[dobbslc]

There certainly is room in the market for a new Rtech to come along now with Rtech's inflated prices.

True, I was going to buy an Rtech mig in January but the price hikes put me off. I held on but there's been no change.
I've now bought a GYS machine and I'm very happy with it, local welding suppliers so if there's a problem it should be easy to get it sorted .
The price hike because of brexit doesn't really wash as the RTech welders are Chinese made not from Europe!

 

[Swift&Bold]

Genuine question: What is the thinking behind buying a machine that you cannot use on full power because you're limited to a 13A outlet? i.e why buy a 250A when you won't be able to use it at 250A?

 

[zx9]

Genuine question: What is the thinking behind buying a machine that you cannot use on full power because you're limited to a 13A outlet? i.e why buy a 250A when you won't be able to use it at 250A?

I would assume that they are looking for better duty cycles, you would expect a 250A machine running at 200A to run for longer than a 200A machine running flat out.

 

[macandmoss]

Genuine question: What is the thinking behind buying a machine that you cannot use on full power because you're limited to a 13A outlet? i.e why buy a 250A when you won't be able to use it at 250A?

I,m getting 32amp put in my garage soon and have outlet and wire already ,just waiting for my mate who is a sparky to fit the new consumer unit as mine is the old fuse wire type ..lol , so can be used now at lower amps but when upgraded can run on full power if ever needed