Ton up with my R-Tech 250-1 mig,

[Gareth0123]

how often do you have the covers off to blow it out?

to my shame I've done it only the once and that was 3 years ago...…. and to make it worse the welder is located down wind of the two fans I have running constantly when I am in the workshop to blow the fumes away and they are also running when I am grinding to clean away mill scale and I vee prep most of my welds with a P36 sanding disc.

 

[Gareth0123]

15kg reel №150 of 0.8mmØ mild steel A18 wire has been installed this this lunchtime (Good Friday) and I am quitting for today so I am ready and refreshed to go at it all again tomorrow morning

 

[baldy]

blimey, going well !

 

[Gareth0123]

Reel №160 of 0.8mmØ mild steel X 15kg A18 wire has been installed this afternoon. If you include the 0.6mm, 1.0mm A18 MS wire, the brazing wire and stainless wire this welder has also pushed then it has now easily gone over the 2½ tons or 2500kg mark

 

[Gareth0123]

My R-Tech 250 mig welder turned 5 years old today.
It currently has reel №173 on it which will be changed to reel №174 before the week is out, making a total of 2600kg of 0.8 A18 wire this set has pushed and laid down for an average consumption of 34.6 reels per year or one reel every 10.5 days.

 

[Arc Tourist]

A great endorsement for the R-Tech 250 for sure.

 

[Shox Dr]

My R-Tech 250 mig welder turned 5 years old today.
It currently has reel №173 on it which will be changed to reel №174 before the week is out, making a total of 2600kg of 0.8 A18 wire this set has pushed and laid down for an average consumption of 34.6 reels per year or one reel every 10.5 days.

How is the set itself holding up. Knobs/buttons/cover etc

 

[Munkul]

My R-Tech 250 mig welder turned 5 years old today.
It currently has reel №173 on it which will be changed to reel №174 before the week is out, making a total of 2600kg of 0.8 A18 wire this set has pushed and laid down for an average consumption of 34.6 reels per year or one reel every 10.5 days.

It's a pretty cool thing to say, that you've ran 2.5 tons of welding wire in 5 years

Do you have any more stats? How many tips? Liners? Guns?

 

[Gareth0123]

I took this photo when I finished today.

As you can see my R-tech 250-1 mig set needs just a bit of a clean. The blue cover on the Voltage switch came adrift and was lost some time ago, as was the blue switch cover for the MMA amps. They were both lost when hauling the set on and off site to or from the various farms and workshops I either work directly for or contract to.

The two holes on the right side of the set's front panel were for an Aldi CO₂ extinguisher that was used 15 months or so ago when I ignited a roll of duct tape with a splatter spark.

I have five SB250/MB25 euro torches I can use on this set set, each rigged for a different filler wire, including one each for stainless steel and brazing wire, one for 1.0 , one for 0.6 wire and one with a 5 metre long umbilical currently rigged for 08 wire but with a spare 1.0 x 5mtr liner available on the shelf. Only one of these torches was used exclusively for 0.8mm A18 wire and this particular torch was used on this machine for 3½ years and is now the one rigged for 0.6 wire (same blue liner but different tip).

There was a rather specific reason this, my main production welding torch was changed out and replaced with a type MB36 torch and the explanation of why I changed torches can be found Here

These days, at an average of 220 amps with a 15/85 argon mix and using Paraweld MB36 shrouds I get around 2 month's lifespan per shroud, but I do clean the shroud of splatter 3 or 4 times per day and I do use Paraweld tip dip wax every 15-20 minutes of welding time. Using M8x 0.8 tips (cheapest I can find on the net) I average one tip per week. I consume two MB36 to M8 tip adaptors and ceramics per year. I replace the liners 4 times each year and I tend to do them the weeks of the equinoxes and solstices so that I remember to do them before they really need doing thus reducing my unnecessary downtime. However, I save these liners for one of the workshops I contract in to, where the boss is so tight he's got a very high pitch squeak. He thinks he's getting a bargain using second hand liners in his 400amp welding set, but I charge him the same as new ones, so he is basically subsidising my liners for me.

 

[Shox Dr]

Amazing to think its been hauled about as well. (Obviously very good knowledge of your business as well )

 

[Munkul]

I can't believe that someone buys secondhand liners off you

 

[arther dailey]

So is there anyone on here who knows,or should I say can calculte, how many miles(not kilometers thankyou) that would equate too ? wire used I am taking about..

 

[Climber]

So is there anyone on here who knows,or should I say can calculte, how many miles(not kilometers thankyou) that would equate too ? wire used I am taking about..

I'd make it about 380 miles. Based on figures I have found on this site.

 

[arther dailey]

thats a lotta lotta welding ! thanks Climber

 

[Gareth0123]

This weekend I pulled 33½ hours over 3 days in a cattle shed in South Norfolk welding up posts, gates, barriers and feeder rails for what should be a very labour and time efficient custom cattle housing system.

On Saturday I was on farm for 13½ hours finishing at 23.30 hours (late start due to the road outside our house being blocked by an incident for over 2 hours).
I laid down 18kg of 0.8mm wire over those 3 days and my R-Tech 250-1 mig welder did not miss a single beat. By my reckoning I laid down 10kg of wire on the Saturday and that is the most welding I've done in a single day for about 20 years (15kg reel №177 is currently fitted).

I also did not change either the shroud or tip (M8 x 0.8mm) on my MB36 torch, although I did clean splatter from the inside of the shroud almost every time I stopped to move to the next bay.

 

[arther dailey]

love the work ethic , but dont over do it !

 

[Gareth0123]

love the work ethic , but dont over do it !

I am an Agricultural Engineer by trade who's worked around the world and learnt from the very off that if the job needs doing you stay with it till it's done.

Started out as an Ag-mech apprentice for an IH dealership in June 1979 finishing with an O/U B.Eng and the position of a development engineer for Claas and Caterpillar.

These days along with my own products, I make all the other stuff no-one else wants to make.

 

[Gareth0123]

Unscheduled day off from my workshop today, so I'm going contracting this afternoon
Reel №177 ran out yesterday and when I went to the cupboard to get a replacement this morning I found that I forgotten to order any wire a month or so back ...……… 4 reels will be here tomorrow

 

[henry Kadzielski]

Unscheduled day off from my workshop today, so I'm going contracting this afternoon
Reel №177 ran out yesterday and when I went to the cupboard to get a replacement this morning I found that I forgotten to order any wire a month or so back ...……… 4 reels will be here tomorrow

I have about 6 rolls of.8mm, you could come over and collect

 

[Gareth0123]

I have about 6 rolls of.8mm, you could come over and collect

I've a cousin currently working in Gove, I'll let him know.