A new welder, perhaps.

[tomparryharry]

Hello Folks,

 

I've been observing some welders, which appear to be new to market. They appear to be a 7-in-1 function model; MiG, TiG, MMA, plasma, etc. Additionally, it also sees a extremely cheap price; somewhere about £100.

 

A scam? Or the real deal?

 

Opinions & views from the collective, as usual.

 

Many thanks ,

Ian. 

[didcot]

I guess it's down to how thick or even how thin the material is you want weld. I have a SIP MIG welder that does a reasonable job up to about 8mm ish. Useless for car panels though. 

I also had separate Arc Welder that would do platework on the steam roller I once had with a 2mm rod. But I can't see how one machine could cover all the bases. The power requirement is miles apart. TIG torches are generally water cooled on descent sets as well. TIG welding is an art that I could never  get to grips with.

[tigerburnie]

As someone who earned a living as a welder a couple of times, I'd err on the side of you get what you pay for, oh and don't forget the added cost of the gasses you will need for each.

[jjb1970]

A lot depends on what you want it for.

 

If you want it for heavy and/or commercial use then youget what you pay for and heavy duty welders designed and built for serious use aren't cheap. 

 

However, as with other tools, if you want it for light DIY use then cheap tools can do the job just fine. They won't take the abuse and heavy use that they'd be subjected to in something like a ship yard, power plant or traction depot but how many people have a use case anywhere near approaching that at home?

[tomparryharry]

Thanks for the heads-up, folks. 

 

I used to use stick (MMA). and sometimes brazing, but Mig,  I've never got the hang of it yet.  I see the cored gasless sets on offer, hence the question. All of my working  time was with AC units, but it seems inverter sets are the way forward. 

[tigerburnie]

Tig is really on it's own with Aluminium or Stainless work, Mig will cover pretty much everything else as long as you are not looking to weld thick metals and need a lot of strength. I don't have a workshop for metal these days, if I did I would get a decent MMA set and a decent Mig set(decent as in a dedicated unit for as much as you want to spend).

[Bernard Lamb]

That seems to be ridiculously cheap. What it can do and how long it will last I can't imagine.

When I started there was a large chunk of copper that would have cost more than that in a machine.

I can also remember having to "sign in" when first going on a course at The Welding Institute.

They gave you a welding set and a large block of 25mm plate and asked you to write your normal signature on it with a welding rod.

Looking at a basic set from Lincoln Electric which is what I knew as  adecent set,, it would be at least a grand these days.

Bernard