Mig welders!

[wagoon 2,429]

Supercheap have weldskill 135 mig welders for $299 until 6/9/15.

[deankxf 20,284]

what wire are you using in the cheapie welder now?

when i changed to weldskill gasless wire the result was amazing.  (as apposed to the garbage it came with)

i haven't tried mine with gas, as most my welding is done outdoors in the wind anyway.

 

not sure if you have a total tools near you, most joints have half size rolls for same price.. including bunnings.

(one mob said to buy a 5kg roll and wind it off onto the small spool with cordless drill for a cheaper way to buy it.. but if it gets too old and exposed to elements it wont be as good either.

 

http://www.totaltools.com.au/cigweld-weldskill-gasless-mig-wire-0-8mm-0-9kg-wg0/i1037623/#.Vd5qypfVTIU

[SLO247 1,713]

Using the Cigweld stuff, have all along.

 

I'll grab a uniweld next time I go past.

 

I can get argoshield light in an E bottle for about $90 a year including one refill. I'll try the new one gasless first otherwise that's what I'll do.

[Campo 869]

[wagoon 2,429]

(one mob said to buy a 5kg roll and wind it off onto the small spool with cordless drill for a cheaper way to buy it.. but if it gets too old and exposed to elements it wont be as good either.

 

http://www.totaltools.com.au/cigweld-weldskill-gasless-mig-wire-0-8mm-0-9kg-wg0/i1037623/#.Vd5qypfVTIU

Please never roll your own wire on to a spool. You are asking for feed problems as any slight misalignment on the spool will cause the wire feeder to stutter as they really arent that powerful. You need the easiest path for the wire to travel otherwise the wire will come out the tip in spits and farts and will cause lots of pain. The small reel of wire that came with my unimig tangled a bit, I could have tried to fix it but the pain it causes is just not worth it. That is one of the major reason to buy good wire because they are precision layer wound.

[Ando81 2,949]

I bought this for about $475 and it came with a gas regulator, a roll of gas wire, a roll of gas less wire and a few spare tips. It has a 15 amp plug which was fine but the best thing I like about it is the euro connector on the torch. If the torch ever gives you trouble, it's just a matter of screwing it off the front of the machine and getting it fixed. As the pic shows, the torch isn't on it but it does come with the welder. I've welded 2-10mm mild steel with it very well. I love it for the price.

[wagoon 2,429]

Yeah bossweld migs are alright. Know a couple of people with them and have no complaints. Specs are pretty much the same as the unimig and the only reason I went the unimig is cause it was slightly cheaper

[slydog 7,873]

So I made some guard covers and fitted new tie down points and a tool box for the winch to hide in on Will's trailer using his little CIG inverter unit. Then Sunday needed to weld a bracket for the ute. Can say my 275BOC shits all overt the little inverter unit.Welds the thin stuff alot easier and has so much more control over the smaller jobbie.

 

In welders it is a case of size doe's matter IMO. 

[SLO247 1,713]

Finally had a chance to grab the unimig on sale this morning. $459. Also came with a reg for argon which I didn't expect.

 

Works much nicer than the Ozito one and seems much nicer quality. Also weighs just over 30kg. I'm very happy especially for that price.

[wagoon 2,429]

Nice buy. Yeah the unimig is a great portable welder, I have chucked it in the back of my wagon quite a few time and gone to peoples places to do some welding. 

[hendrixhc 10,920]

Hows the Unimig holding up Dan?

 

Im going to upgrade my Nuweld mig this yeah and am looking at options.

 

Can you do stainless and ally with it as well?

[SLO247 1,713]

I got the unimig 180 from Adelaide tools. No idea if it does stainless or alloy, should be in the specs.

 

I've used it a fair bit on panel repairs and it works nicely even for me as an amateur. Pretty cheap for what it is I think. Using it with argoshield light and Cigweld wire. The wire it came with worked well, even gasless it works well. After my contact with BOC expires I'll just continue gasless, only using it for all the panel work on the ute but to be honest I think i could get along fine without.

 

I noticed on a mighty car mods video they are using the same one in their workshop.

[wagoon 2,429]

The unimig should have no drama welding stainless as I have found it has plenty of extra wire speed for the amps on regular mig wire (stainless needs more wire speed for the same voltage setting compared to the normal mig)

 

If you want to use ally wire you will need the spool gun. You will need to run a smaller diameter ally wire as ally wire requires much faster travel speed as well as a higher voltage input compared to normal mig wire(smaller diameter ally wire means you cant weld the same thickness of material as you can with welding mild steel) To weld ally you will also require different sheilding gas as well.

If you have the above sorted yes the unimig will weld both stainless and ally

[hendrixhc 10,920]

In watching the videos tonight i think welding anything but mild steel for now is a bit ambitious!

 

In saying that though it would be good to get a machine that can do all.

 

It seems there is a fair bit to know with mig welding. I always thought it was point and shoot!

[SLO247 1,713]

All I can do is thin stuff, all I've ever done. Not bad at it though now.

 

Exhaust pipe I can do but it looks shit. I have no idea where to start with the settings haha. Which sucks as I have to weld the ute exhaust back together.

 

Put me on thick plate and I'd be even more lost.

[2redrovers 21,400]

When I was hunting for a good welder a couple of years ago, I decided on the unimig 180 from machinery house. I got cheeky and waited until it was on sale, then joined their mates rates club and used a $50 voucher to get it under 400.<br /><br />It's been a great machine and never given any issues. Have welded everything from paper thin panels, right up to I think it was 8mm plate. I'm naughty and run the 15amp on a 10socket but I measured the draw on the highest setting and was only pulling 9.5 amps. Never tripped a breaker and I usually have it running through a shut off device anyway. Not suggesting anyone do what I do.<br /><br />If all you have is 10amp supply, you can get proper adapter off fleabay for around 100 bucks. Still only supplies 10 amps but has built in overload protection and shut offs, designed for caravans to plug in etc.<br /><br />Sent from my E6653 using Tapatalk<br /><br />

[hendrixhc 10,920]

At 10 Amp supply is only a 15 Amp supply with the wrong face plate on the power point isnt it?

 

I had a 10a power point and checked the conductor size which was round 2mm. General rule of thumb is 1mm per 10a. I checked and it had a 16A breaker on the line so i just changed the face plate to 15A. Never had any issues with welding, the hoist or the compressor running on it.

[gerg 10,871]

Correct but a 15A socket will always be a single and no junctions between it and the sub board.

[hendrixhc 10,920]

My 15A is about 1 meter from the sub so no junctions i hope!

[Crustydog 46]

I was welding up a re-enforcing plate under the battery tray on the xe when my cigweld weldskill 135 decided to stop feeding wire. on settings 1 and 2 there is only a click from the welder when the trigger is pulled. it still welds fine on settings 3 and 4. has anyone heard of this problem before. its out of warranty so will nearly cost more to fix than its worth. what would be a good 10 amp plug replacement welder (gas/gasless) cheers

[Ando81 2,949]

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/291120357705 my dad and I bought one of these for light stuff and it's a great unit. I've welded up truck tailgate hinges in 10mm mild steel with it and they have held up fine for the last 3 years . We use it with gas and it has a lot of grunt for a small unit. The handpiece has a euro connector on it so it can be replaced easily if it gets damaged. A lot of cheaper small welders have a fixed handpiece and you almost have to destroy the welder to replace it.

[2redrovers 21,400]

I tossed up between a boss weld and my unimig 180, both similar units with transformer power rather than inverters. Only issue I've had is wearing out the relay but that can be replaced for about five bucks. It's now an older model but I saw it for sale in total tools, under 500 from memory.

Bunnings is now selling boss weld units too. I'd be tempted by the mig/tig unit.

[Valvebouncer 2,389]

I was welding up a re-enforcing plate under the battery tray on the xe when my cigweld weldskill 135 decided to stop feeding wire. on settings 1 and 2 there is only a click from the welder when the trigger is pulled. it still welds fine on settings 3 and 4. has anyone heard of this problem before. its out of warranty so will nearly cost more to fix than its worth. what would be a good 10 amp plug replacement welder (gas/gasless) cheers

That sounds like you have a contact problem in the amp switch, is pull it apart to check and clean it. It's not like you have anything to lose!

[2redrovers 21,400]

Yeah if it's out of warranty then rip it open and give it a good clean. Blow it all down with the compressor and get the dust out. I do this regularly as you'd be amazed how much gets sucked through it with the fan. Mine has developed a sticky relay again. This time it's out of warranty so I've cut a trapdoor so I can smack it with a screwdriver when it gets stuck

[deankxf 20,284]

14 hours ago, 2redrovers said:

Yeah if it's out of warranty then rip it open and give it a good clean. Blow it all down with the compressor and get the dust out. I do this regularly as you'd be amazed how much gets sucked through it with the fan. Mine has developed a sticky relay again. This time it's out of warranty so I've cut a trapdoor so I can smack it with a screwdriver when it gets stuck

is this where the mig wire is live constantly...if so, my found on hard rubbish one has this issue(initially thrown out due to wire feed motor not working i think...CRC fixed it)

i have a SIP one which is My "good" welder, but it's handpiece fucked up (weld wire welded itself to the inside coiled wire .. i had to bodge it) to fix it, its a bolted in pain in the ass for a third its value repair.. (think i paid $300 for it, and haven't tried it on gas but it's pretty good on gasless if the work is clean and there's no wind)