Ruuman Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 I've decided I'm going to spend some money on a decent inverter welder, it will mainly used for stick welding but ability to TIG would be nice as I'd like to have a play with that. It must be able to do at least 140amps and run from a regular household socket. My budget is around the 400 mark, could stretch to 500 if really good. At the moment the one I like the look of is the Lincoln electric Invertec 150S http://www.lincolnelectric.com/Catalog/equipmentdatasheet.aspx?p=112615 But the inverter fusion models seem good too. Any thoughts or recommends? Cheers Ruu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inaine Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 i run migatronic, have done for years and have the cost of a new puma invested in there kit i have a delta 160 surplus to requirements http://www.migatronic.com/media/leafletsuk/52173037.pdf and a PI 200 http://www.migatronic.com/default.aspx?m=2&i=171 quality machine with pulse, digital read out etc. there all about the same TBH,but spec, duty cycle, costs and back up all play a part Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longlandy Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 Ive had two £4000+ lincoln inverters fail weeks after the waranty was out so im allergic to them,but I would recommend the cebora bi welder inverter. Beware of re badged chinese junk ,thermodyne are prone to re badging as well as others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruuman Posted May 18, 2011 Author Share Posted May 18, 2011 I like the look of the migatronics, not seen them before. Longlandy, I've read a few people saying Lincoln's fail after warranty period is up. Just assumed it was the usual internet rummer mill. What equipment of theirs I have used has been great. I may knock that off the list. What does surprise me looking into all this is how many UK manufactures there are, quite nice really, we actually make something useful!! Don't worry I won't be buying any Chinese copies, I'm sure many of them are fine, but this will be purchased to last a very long time, so I want reliability and parts backup. The cerbora is just out of my price bracket Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fozsug Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Speak to Gary at Mig Tig Arc 02392295612, or have alook at their web site http://www.migtigarc.co.uk/index.html Ive got a Fusion 180ma use mainly for Stainless Tig, excelent bit of kit . http://www.migtigarc.co.uk/Inverter_Arc_Welder/Inverter_Fusion_130MA_180MA_15/inverter_fusion_130ma_180ma_15.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandyManLuke Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 The Lorch inverters are very nice. Have you asked on www.Mig-welding.co.uk? Luke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kobold Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Kemppi has a very nice inverter, 220V, and this site I've had quite good experience with. As a Tig- machine it's a possibility but I'm not quite good tig-welder, and this is scratch-tig only. It also can't weld aluminium because it is a direct current inverter only but very compact and light to take it with you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kobold Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 The Kemppi 150A 220 inverter is within your range, has the possibility of scratch-TIG but can't weld aluminium. small, lightweight and easy to use! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inaine Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 The Kemppi 150A 220 inverter is within your range, has the possibility of scratch-TIG but can't weld aluminium. small, lightweight and easy to use! why would you want a scrtch start Tig set....it's 2011 man! HF all the way, along with digital read out and a decent duty cycle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forkrentfitter Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 i too would recomend speaking to gary at migtigarc,very helpful and knowledgeable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kobold Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 @ Inaine: It's a basic rodwelder, but it has the possibility of scratch TIG, the're no knobs to fiddle with, just on / off, amps and rod / TIG switch. gas is hand adjusted. If Ruuman would like to experiment with TIG, the torch, gastank and PRV have to be bought separate. It's mainly for pushing rods, but it does that very well up to 3,25 mm and 8mm steel. This inverter takes max. 16A, delivers 150A, it plugs in a socket, and all trade has it's price, this man's budget is limited and I try to suggest a solution. Kemppi has a great reputation, I use those inverters for 20 years with full satisfaction. They weld like a dream, and if mine ever breaks down, I'll buy myself a new one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruuman Posted May 19, 2011 Author Share Posted May 19, 2011 Thanks for the opinions guys, after more research I realise setting my budget to 600-700ish, gets me a much more featured machine. Also after a long hard think maybe I should spec up a TIG machine. The main thing I'd want to try and TIG is aluminium so a basic model won't be much use. Also I imagine a good inverter TIG should be just as good at MMA welding as a dedicated MMA inverter. The http://www.weldequip.com/inverter-fusion-tig.htm IFL 200PHF seems very well featured But I'll give Gary a ring next week for his opinions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kobold Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 I can't make up if the Tig set you mention is AC-DC or DC only, in that case it's impossible to weld aluminium with it. The price is nice though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kobold Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 I can't make up if the Tig set you mention is AC-DC or DC only, in that case it's impossible to weld aluminium with it. The price is nice though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kobold Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 I can't make up if the Tig set you mention is AC-DC or DC only, in that case it's impossible to weld aluminium with it. The price is nice though Edit: something went wrong here, it has been posted 3 times Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruuman Posted May 20, 2011 Author Share Posted May 20, 2011 After more reading, the IFL 200 is only DC I have a feeling my budget won't reach AC, oh well, TIGing stainless will have to do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kobold Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 I haven't seen a decent AC/DC TIG-inverter under 3000,- yet so that's also out of my reach.. (and I wouldn't trust Chinese import, that stuff is meant to be sold, not to be used) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inaine Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 @ Inaine: It's a basic rodwelder, but it has the possibility of scratch TIG, the're no knobs to fiddle with, just on / off, amps and rod / TIG switch. gas is hand adjusted. If Ruuman would like to experiment with TIG, the torch, gastank and PRV have to be bought separate. It's mainly for pushing rods, but it does that very well up to 3,25 mm and 8mm steel. This inverter takes max. 16A, delivers 150A, it plugs in a socket, and all trade has it's price, this man's budget is limited and I try to suggest a solution. Kemppi has a great reputation, I use those inverters for 20 years with full satisfaction. They weld like a dream, and if mine ever breaks down, I'll buy myself a new one! fair enough, i was only really quoting my delta tbh. I'll stick it up for sale and see if theres any takers. As for ACDC Tig sets they are $$$$ we got a 200 amp PI 200 watercooled migatronic here RRP £4700+VAT nothing wrong with a chinese set IMO for every now and again if you buy it from a local source that will guarentee / warrenty it for 12 months Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longlandy Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 If you want to do alloy why not get a good s/h transformer set ,I have 2 both 40+yrs old and will out live me. If you want a inverter give r tech a try, good rep and they have repaired a cebora and a lincoln of mine that the factory agents said were dead and done so they know their stuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitmole Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 Will second Longlandy's rec for r-tech, have had one of their ac/dc 201 sets for 2 years and it has been excellent, was welding a set of 2stroke cases last night and wondered how I had got along without having the ability to tig ali! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRecklessEngineer Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 Another vote for R-Tech. R-Tech welding They import from china but back up with proper (and yes, I mean proper) after sales service. I have to say the service I received from them was excellent, and they did me a deal as I got all the consumables at the same time. The machine itself is excellent too - I can't really fault anything with it. It feels solid and well made, the torch is perhaps a little cheap, but definitely solid enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forkrentfitter Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 just been down this route myself,i ended up buying an mta 201,which isn,t inverter based but old fashioned transformer type,why you ask,well they are built in york by technical arc,mine is 200 amp ac/dc,so will do all we require of it,the reason i didn,t go inverter is long term ownership,4 years down the line there are no circuit boards to go wrong,just a transformer and diodes/thyristors,they even include a circuit diagram in the manual,down side,it is huge and weighs 70 kg so not exactly portable.i have an oxford 200 amp mig made by the same people and i,me well pleased with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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