Worth upgrading to inverter MIG?

[Burdekin]

I wondered the same and thought about selling my Portamig and get the Rtech 180. A car welder up here has one and really rates it and the amount of work it's done.

 

[JOEPRO]

OK so it took most of today to clear my garage out where this car lives. It needs finished and out but has been sitting a couple of years now and became a shelf! All removed now.

This welder came with a new trolley. New but had been in a damp shed and has pink overspray on it! But she also had a second polythene wrapped cart missing the hardware and wheels.

So I did a swaparoo dismantling it and rebuilding with the new metal. (I have OCD OK?)



It is quite Handy having the storage space below. I had another welding trolley with leathers and discs etc. But now that's not needed as that stuff fits below the welder now.



A familiar foe



It took longer than expected to tidy the garage etc and it was late evening by the time I got to start using the welder.

What I did notice was it is definitely very smooth. I normally only run a series of tacks on bodywork. (These coupe cills are thicker too) But I found it welded really nice and low spatter so I laid some short beads.



It'll be later in the week/ Saturday before I can use it more. I am welding right next to my neighbours house so would rather wait and grind etc on Saturday at middle of day.

 

[Turbo]

OK so it took most of today to clear my garage out where this car lives. It needs finished and out but has been sitting a couple of years now and became a shelf! All removed now.

This welder came with a new trolley. New but had been in a damp shed and has pink overspray on it! But she also had a second polythene wrapped cart missing the hardware and wheels.

So I did a swaparoo dismantling it and rebuilding with the new metal. (I have OCD OK?)

View attachment 397024View attachment 397025

It is quite Handy having the storage space below. I had another welding trolley with leathers and discs etc. But now that's not needed as that stuff fits below the welder now.

View attachment 397026

A familiar foe

View attachment 397028

It took longer than expected to tidy the garage etc and it was late evening by the time I got to start using the welder.

What I did notice was it is definitely very smooth. I normally only run a series of tacks on bodywork. (These coupe cills are thicker too) But I found it welded really nice and low spatter so I laid some short beads.

View attachment 397027

It'll be later in the week/ Saturday before I can use it more. I am welding right next to my neighbours house so would rather wait and grind etc on Saturday at middle of day.

Please put a strap around the welder because the day will come when a lead gets caught on something & the welder gets pulled off the trolley, lands on the floor, never to work again. You will then say oh bother, I wish I'd put a strap on that welder.

 

[arther dailey]

I never understand why a welder of any sort is put on a top shelf of any trolley , its like turning a bus upside down and expecting it to stay there whilst pulling on the chassis with a rope

 

[JOEPRO]

Please put a strap around the welder because the day will come when a lead gets caught on something & the welder gets pulled off the trolley, lands on the floor, never to work again. You will then say oh bother, I wish I'd put a strap on that welder.

I never understand why a welder of any sort is put on a top shelf of any trolley , its like turning a bus upside down and expecting it to stay there whilst pulling on the chassis with a rope

Really? A strap around it isn't needed. It's about a 30kg unit with rubber feet. And a heavy gas cylinder weighing down the cart.

I don't pull on the cables I wheel it close to where I'm working and be careful.

Also - the reason why its on the top shelf? It's quite simple - it doesn't fit on the other shelves!

 

[JOEPRO]

I just rang Mcintyres who are NI Hobbygas agents to check refill prices on this new cylinder I have.

It's £111+vat for a refill. And £159+VAT deposit on the bottle.

So that bottle would have ran me £324 Inc vat on its own

I know my other smaller bottle about half the size does me a couple of years. So this larger bottle is about a 4 year supply for me so maybe I'll not bother refilling the other bottle.

 

[Onthespotwelding]

I have the rtech 250. It’s a very good welder for the price I paid

 

[Turbo]

Really? A strap around it isn't needed. It's about a 30kg unit with rubber feet. And a heavy gas cylinder weighing down the cart.

I don't pull on the cables I wheel it close to where I'm working and be careful.

I thought my £400 IFL inverter was safe enough on my workbench & I was careful with the leads. Then one day the earth lead got tangled round my rigger boot, I walked away from the bench & the welder fell 1m onto a concrete floor, never to work again!
What came out of my mouth that day would make a sailor blush, never mind a nun!

Ever since that I always make sure a welder is tied to something solid if its on a raised surface.

In your case you could fit a small ratchet strap longways on the welder so that you can still open the door to change the wire reel.

 

[Smallfry]

I thought my £400 IFL inverter was safe enough on my workbench & I was careful with the leads. Then one day the earth lead got tangled round my rigger boot, I walked away from the bench & the welder fell 1m onto a concrete floor, never to work again!
What came out of my mouth that day would make a sailor blush, never mind a nun!

Ever since that I always make sure a welder is tied to something solid if its on a raised surface.

In your case you could fit a small ratchet strap longways on the welder so that you can still open the door to change the wire reel.

I agree. No matter how careful you are, things like this still happen. However, I can't condone profanity. Shameful

 

[Burdekin]

I just rang Mcintyres who are NI Hobbygas agents to check refill prices on this new cylinder I have.

It's £111+vat for a refill. And £159+VAT deposit on the bottle.

So that bottle would have ran me £324 Inc vat on its own

I know my other smaller bottle about half the size does me a couple of years. So this larger bottle is about a 4 year supply for me so maybe I'll not bother refilling the other bottle.

I just got a exchange 10l Argon / 5% CO2 from Adams gas and is £42.

 

[JOEPRO]

I just got a exchange 10l Argon / 5% CO2 from Adams gas and is £42.

That's a great price! Similar to my 10L argon bottle from a local autoparts store.

I don't think we have Adams gas in NI. (In any case I got this new hobbyweld bottle very cheap so cant complain)

McIntyres are also charging alot more than the prices on the hobbyweld website. For example a 20L bottle like mine is stated as £110 deposit. When I asked Mcintyres this they said "that's the old prices". I think it's just their special marked up price.

 

[AVI_8]

I just rang Mcintyres who are NI Hobbygas agents to check refill prices on this new cylinder I have.

It's £111+vat for a refill. And £159+VAT deposit on the bottle.

So that bottle would have ran me £324 Inc vat on its own

I know my other smaller bottle about half the size does me a couple of years. So this larger bottle is about a 4 year supply for me so maybe I'll not bother refilling the other bottle.

Yes I got the same bottle as you, it’s an expensive initial outlay for sure, you definitely got a good deal! I checked gas suppliers in my local area and there wasn’t much difference in price, the amount of welding I do doesn’t warrant bottle rental even though it’s cheaper to refill.

 

[Jan-DIY]

Just my 2 Cents.
1. Things will fall spontaneously. G forces are sometimes spherical here. So I got my MiG near ground level. The Tig is fully mechanical integrated an there is no way of ripping it from the wall.
2. Inverter vs transformer is a new world. But I can only speak on industrial stuff. Old ones are sometimes bit dirty. The new benchmark machines are completely different because they are so incredible fast in data processing than you can’t fail them.
Don’t know about CN stuff.

 

[JOEPRO]

I asked "is it worth upgrading to an inverter MIG" and as I went and bought one the same day and having since used it I can answer my own question.

YES!

I just got a 20 min go on it there adding a cill patch panel to my C124. It welds smooth as butter. Especially for stop start bodywork welding.

My SIP Inverter MIG is a great welder no question. But it creates alot of spatter. And this is especially noticable when laying on the garage floor welding a car cill.

The inverter MIG is very smooth with little to zero spatter. Its almost like a TIG arc its so smooth.

Highly recommended to upgrade if anyone is on the fence and see themselves welding long term. Even for my MB restorations it is worth it. And good tools always hold their value.

I will probably create a project thread on the C124 restoration.

 

[Turbo]

If you got the deposit receipt from the seller for the Hobbyweld bottle you can get the deposit back, though you'll either have to become a drag queen or get a lady to go in for you!

Without the receipt I think you get nothing!

 

[JOEPRO]

If you got the deposit receipt from the seller for the Hobbyweld bottle you can get the deposit back, though you'll either have to become a drag queen or get a lady to go in for you!

Without the receipt I think you get nothing!

She got the bottle from her sons as a Christmas gift. It was aparantly wrapped and under the Christmas tree and all!

She offered to go try and get a receipt as she knows where it was bought but I wasn't bothered and said to leave it.

I'll just keep the bottle it is a great size cylinder for me and will serve me well for many years before it needs a refill.

As for the welder warranty I was at her house collecting the stuff and have her full details. I'll email R Tech and see if the warranty was ever registered and if they are able to transfer to me. She bought it a couple of years back but as per my photos it was still brand new stored inside her house without even having a plug fitted.