thermal arc 175 se is a damb good plant for the money. mines had some serious use and abuse and its still fit. and another one i use at work has had even more it's burnt a lot of rods , been run on some nasty genorators and supplys. it;s passed all the bounce tests so far, it's batterd and bent and held together with tek screws gaffa tape and cabelties, it's been drowned a few times and is also half full of mud......... still works
- Thread starter BrokenBiker
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zzr1200
Working at 650 ft on open steel work.
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I'd go more along the lines of "Chop off both their hands, then give them a sealed box of bandages and tell them to sort themselves out".
mtt.tr
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if look out for a really good quality second hand stick. No body wants them so they are cheap. Even a transformer jobby.
Have an old Olympic machine pretty much an Oxford just no oil that things just goes on and on. Full duty cycle at 140amps I've never had it hot. Or like my tig was £150 amazing machine brilliant bit of kit. But far better value and quality than others mentioned.
For your use, why burn loads of money, if your second hand machine snuffs it after a year say cost £80 to buy then another £100 to fix you are still better off. And it doesn't matter if it is out of action for a week or more.
And Oxford will out live all the other machines. Even having a new coil wound is still cheaper than a modern inverter
Just my thoughts
Cheers
Have an old Olympic machine pretty much an Oxford just no oil that things just goes on and on. Full duty cycle at 140amps I've never had it hot. Or like my tig was £150 amazing machine brilliant bit of kit. But far better value and quality than others mentioned.
For your use, why burn loads of money, if your second hand machine snuffs it after a year say cost £80 to buy then another £100 to fix you are still better off. And it doesn't matter if it is out of action for a week or more.
And Oxford will out live all the other machines. Even having a new coil wound is still cheaper than a modern inverter
Just my thoughts
Cheers
BrokenBiker
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are they oil filled oxfords? i would like one of those but i do have to cart it about a fair bit, for instance my first job with what ever i buy is going to be replacing wooden fence posts with 4" box, 10mm plate welded on bottom of both, bolt to wall and floor, weld gate hinges and catch plate onto box section, then weld braces onto gate (its a cheap flimsy one) and then make an odd sized gate to block off the other side of the house so not only would i need to be able to get it there, but would have to drag it around their garden too and then get it home again which is one of the main reasons im looking at inverters
mtt.tr
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Heavy but sack truck. Will work on a Genny aswell
BrokenBiker
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i have had a bit of a brainwave...it may not work as well as having a portable welder (in as much as an inverter) but depending on lead length i should be able to put one in my shed and leave it there...i could fab up the gate posts and small gate in my garden and then just instal them at the property they are going in.
Hugh, i will PM you for some more details...
does anyone know how much these oxfords weigh? and will they fit in a megane?
Hugh, i will PM you for some more details...
does anyone know how much these oxfords weigh? and will they fit in a megane?
cumbriasteve
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Yes they will fit in a normal hatchback and they are heavy, not too heavy for the car but bad back heavy if not careful.
I had one and made a 'sack truck' as mentioned, had some dumpy inflatable wheels on it and could wheel it about anywhere, even through mud no bother at all.
I had one and made a 'sack truck' as mentioned, had some dumpy inflatable wheels on it and could wheel it about anywhere, even through mud no bother at all.
BrokenBiker
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my only concern with the weight is lugging it in and out of the car on my own...
i have also just realised that if i do have to take it away from home to use then im going to be limited to a 13 amp plug (i dont think customers will be too happy with me putting in a bigger supply for my welder), i assume the only issue there will be limited current range on 13 amp supply as per other welders?
i have also just realised that if i do have to take it away from home to use then im going to be limited to a 13 amp plug (i dont think customers will be too happy with me putting in a bigger supply for my welder), i assume the only issue there will be limited current range on 13 amp supply as per other welders?
mtt.tr
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That are heavy but liftable. I would say sack Barrow with wheels on handle lean it back wheel it in.
daleyd
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My 140 amp Oxford is "barely" lift able by 1 person, once on the ground as you say it's ok as you can wheel it around, but my god getting it out of the car on your own you could easily do yourself a mischief.
If your even considering moving it or doing site work I'd throw the towel in and invest in an inverter - the money you might save buying an Oxford (I love them by the way but they are more suited to workshop use) you could lose in 1 day off work with a bad back. Plus you have nice smooth arc, arc force, anti stick, the option to add a tig torch etc.
BrokenBiker
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will wait for hugh to reply to me and see what can be done...i have wanted an oil filled welder for a while as they are probably the most reliable machines ever built and will run pretty much every rod i will ever want.
i like to consider myself to be quite strong so if its liftable then i should cope with it enough to get it in the car and home again.
my second 'job' is a gate for the inlaws neighbour once they have had their garage and extension built so i could leave it there for the job.
i suppose i could make a trolley for it, big wheels, tall (removable) handle to give a bit of leverage to move it about
i like to consider myself to be quite strong so if its liftable then i should cope with it enough to get it in the car and home again.
my second 'job' is a gate for the inlaws neighbour once they have had their garage and extension built so i could leave it there for the job.
i suppose i could make a trolley for it, big wheels, tall (removable) handle to give a bit of leverage to move it about
cumbriasteve
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'i like to consider myself to be quite strong so if its liftable then i should cope with it enough to get it in the car and home again'
I am a big sod and used to throwing car engines, massive outboards and the likes around in my youth but the oil cooled was a serious lift that I still remember with dislike, it's ok ish to lift to a height but to get it over into the back of a car if there is any sort of lip or bumper in the way means a risk of several vertebrae going in all directions, plus the thin round bar handles were not the most comfortable to grip...easily solved though of course...by adding more weight
Get one by all means for the future workshop, they are a great machine and the next one that pop's up locally I will buy for old times sake but shove it well out of the equation if you are wanting to move it around.
I am a big sod and used to throwing car engines, massive outboards and the likes around in my youth but the oil cooled was a serious lift that I still remember with dislike, it's ok ish to lift to a height but to get it over into the back of a car if there is any sort of lip or bumper in the way means a risk of several vertebrae going in all directions, plus the thin round bar handles were not the most comfortable to grip...easily solved though of course...by adding more weight
Get one by all means for the future workshop, they are a great machine and the next one that pop's up locally I will buy for old times sake but shove it well out of the equation if you are wanting to move it around.
BrokenBiker
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well, depending on the details i get from hugh, i am quite prepared to buy an oil filled, im sure i can get help if needed to get it out of the car and into my garden and once its in place i can make lifting aids if i need to
BrokenBiker
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i do the same with a 65kg cement mixer into the back of the megane and its a B*stard to get in due to its shape. have to get it onto the lip of the boot on its side, then push it half in, twist it over and get the handles in, then climb in the back and drag it further in so the boot will shut over the top handle...getting it out is harder though
daleyd
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Keep telling yourself that when your laid up for 2 weeks with crippling back pain.
Oxfords are great machines (I have one) but just don't seem the right choice for what brokenbiker wants to do.
Inverters can be had for not much more than an Oxford (secondhand, even new they're "relatively" inexpensive) - I'd do it the other way round - buy a machine that can earn you the money and then invest in an Oxford with the proceeds.
Bill Edwards
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A bad back can be with you for life. Prescription charges alone could wipe out the money saved over an inverter in under a year (£16.40 every 4 weeks, £213 per year!). Never mind time off for doctor appointments, days off for MRI scans and so on. And not even considering the misery it can cause.
I love oil cooled welders, they're a joy to use and just keep working. But they're for having in the workshop and can be a purchase for life, get an inverter for mobile work. Plus you've already realised that you can't power it anyway. Unlikely on 2.5mm rods, but you can even blow fuses with an inverter. I weld with a 180a oil cooled at work and at 120 amps it's tripped the 32a breaker enough times when warm - forget trying it off 13a and that isn't thinking about using extension leads which is inevitable. For mobile work I'd sooner use an old buzzbox if the duty cycle will do.
And btw, the 180a welder could be lifted by one person - but to do so that person would be an idiot, unless they're in the lineup for worlds strongest man. It's a dead lift, not something to lean in and tip to your advantage. Unless you want to carry something to sit it on at the same height as the car so it's only moving across - but that's getting silly, and still with risk of injury.
I love oil cooled welders, they're a joy to use and just keep working. But they're for having in the workshop and can be a purchase for life, get an inverter for mobile work. Plus you've already realised that you can't power it anyway. Unlikely on 2.5mm rods, but you can even blow fuses with an inverter. I weld with a 180a oil cooled at work and at 120 amps it's tripped the 32a breaker enough times when warm - forget trying it off 13a and that isn't thinking about using extension leads which is inevitable. For mobile work I'd sooner use an old buzzbox if the duty cycle will do.
And btw, the 180a welder could be lifted by one person - but to do so that person would be an idiot, unless they're in the lineup for worlds strongest man. It's a dead lift, not something to lean in and tip to your advantage. Unless you want to carry something to sit it on at the same height as the car so it's only moving across - but that's getting silly, and still with risk of injury.
BrokenBiker
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mine is electric, but comes in a petrol version but instead of taking the bits off that arent needed for the elctric version they left them on just to make it heavier and harder to lift...
cumbriasteve
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I can remember the packaging mine came in and my mate commenting on the weight it stated on the side, BUT there are 2 weights coming to mind for some daft reason, 40kg and 80kg, I doubt it was 40 because that would have been an easy lift so if I am right it was 80kg
