JeffR Posted May 3, 2020 Share Posted May 3, 2020 (edited) Well, I'm sort of back, ill health took me out for somewhat longer than expected (Myocardial Infarction is natures way of telling you to slow down!) . Then disaster struck last October. Some little person of doubtful parentage torched the garage I was working in. The week after I moved all my welding and fabrication kit into the workshop. No the insurance didn't cover it (on a 28 day probation period....) so lost the lot. Should have seen what was left of the Alfa twinspark that was on the ramp for a clutch - engine clock melted! Anyway I now need a new mig. Been looking at this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Kemppi-MinarcMIG-Evo-200-200amp-Portable-MIG-Welder-Package-with-3m-Torch/132098208323?epid=19026966915&hash=item1ec1aab243:g:~X4AAOSwPedajvSq Anyone got any views/recomendations Edited May 3, 2020 by JeffR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted May 3, 2020 Share Posted May 3, 2020 Good to have you back, Sorry to read some little tyke destroyed your working space & all your gear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve b Posted May 3, 2020 Share Posted May 3, 2020 Kemppi are very good machines , although my use has been 500a 3ph MIG . The Industrial stuff seems tough as hardened nails , heavy site use included . My experiences of what you're looking at was , going in order , ESAB 200a very nice unit when they first started appearing on the market - mother board went , SIFBronze 180a ( I think) arc deteriorated with extended use suggesting the claimed duty cycle was hopeful and last year a new ESAB 200a demonstrator which was as good as the big 3phase plant . It looks a nicely spec'd and designed unit , my only comment would be no eurotorch fitting , different length torches are very handy and if you venture into exotic materials separate torches are a must . Good to see you here Jeff , and good to hear you are still in the workshop/garage . cheers Steve b Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymorris Posted May 3, 2020 Share Posted May 3, 2020 Hi Jeff, ive got the 180amp version, got it about 8 years ago, brilliant bit of kit with plenty of power. run kemppi welders in my workshop making steel framed buildings, absolutely love em Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianmayco68 Posted May 3, 2020 Share Posted May 3, 2020 As above I've used there 3 phase machines in a work environment , worked them 12hrs a day and they never missed a beat . When I was looking for a unit a few years ago for welding at home I brought one of these Tec-Arc ones https://technicalarc.co.uk/product/prof-mig-universal/ been a good set I've welded chassis and lots of other projects and it's been fine , not used everyday and hasn't broke once . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffR Posted May 3, 2020 Author Share Posted May 3, 2020 2 hours ago, steve b said: Kemppi are very good machines , although my use has been 500a 3ph MIG . The Industrial stuff seems tough as hardened nails , heavy site use included . My experiences of what you're looking at was , going in order , ESAB 200a very nice unit when they first started appearing on the market - mother board went , SIFBronze 180a ( I think) arc deteriorated with extended use suggesting the claimed duty cycle was hopeful and last year a new ESAB 200a demonstrator which was as good as the big 3phase plant . It looks a nicely spec'd and designed unit , my only comment would be no eurotorch fitting , different length torches are very handy and if you venture into exotic materials separate torches are a must . Good to see you here Jeff , and good to hear you are still in the workshop/garage . cheers Steve b They do eurotorch conversion kit for it, an extra £100 .... which would allow me to run my spool gun (only bit of welding kit that survived the fire - was in the boot of the car), but as mainly welding thin stuff and very occasionally ally , kinda liked the portability of the kemppi. Seriously hope plod gets to the little scores before I do... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted May 3, 2020 Share Posted May 3, 2020 No comment on the MIG, but work has a couple of little invertor sling-over-your-shoulder sized Kempii TIGs. Good enough for nuclear work with keeping calibration etc . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B reg 90 Posted May 3, 2020 Share Posted May 3, 2020 I've got exactly that welder. Its been faultless for two years. To be fair its not had industrial level work. But appears to be quality kit. Its supposed to need a 16 amp fuse to use the full 200 amps. I have it wired to a 16 amp 240 plug, but then have a home made 16 amp to 13 amp plug adaptor so I can plug in at a 3 pin plug. Logic was that I would install a 16 amp plug in the garage. But never blown the 13 amp fuse, so not bothered. You dial in the material and thickness on the screen - it sets ampage and wire feed automatically. You can override the wire feed if you want. You find that you increase the thickness above or below the actual thickness to account for how the joint is set up/how much of a heat sink it is/how you ground the weld prep. But you can set up a simple T joint, dial in the material thickness and weld. Easy peasy. I'd buy the same again. Adrian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
secondjeremy Posted May 4, 2020 Share Posted May 4, 2020 Maybe worth having a look at the MigWelding forum? https://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/forums/kemppi.54/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hybrid_From_Hell Posted May 5, 2020 Share Posted May 5, 2020 R Tech . I bought my new AC DC Tig after pro welder friends recommended them . The warranty they give is a winner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bishbosh Posted May 6, 2020 Share Posted May 6, 2020 Jeff is back! Yay! Sorry to hear you were poorly but maybe that illness stopped you killing yourself with a Nige style self inflicted injury?? Ready for the next instalment of your adventures.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffR Posted May 10, 2020 Author Share Posted May 10, 2020 R Tech looks nice..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderzander Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 Great to see you posting again Jeff - take heed of the message to slow down. 😊 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffR Posted May 11, 2020 Author Share Posted May 11, 2020 20 hours ago, Anderzander said: Great to see you posting again Jeff - take heed of the message to slow down. 😊 I'll slow down the day they fit me for a pine overcoat! Was back a t work a week after my MI last year (my real job as a biologist) though I have effectively given up field work, plodging around in ponds and river is a young mans job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discomikey Posted May 24, 2020 Share Posted May 24, 2020 Sorry to hear about your bad run of luck! Glad to hear you're getting back at it. If you're after inverter MIG welders I can recommend: Kemppi in general (but with euro torch) R tech 250, Esab Rebel Thermal Arc My general rule of thumb is don't touch anything that doesn't come with a euro torch as standard. It looks like you have a decent budget from the link so you should get a lot of MIG for your money. If you wanted older proven transformer technology, I can't recommend Oxford enough. Cheers, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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