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Which Mig Welder To Buy?


Scotty_Rah

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That would work Razed. It all depends on the sheds wiring, I always use my 10amp to 15amp adapter on my closest power point to my shed fuse box aprox 1m. I have welded alot and never popped a breaker. But it all depends on how your shed has been wired and its age. Better to be safe than sorry could be a good investment.

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  • 1 month later...

It's been a while since I had some electrical work done but as they have to do stuff at the fuse box I would estimate at least 300 to 400 Gav. Probably more these days.

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Hey Gav, that will depend on a number of things but the closer to the board you put the power point, the cheaper it will be.

If your shed was nearby the main board I would be tempted to just put a 15a dedicated power point on the board and run a 15a extension lead to the shed each time you need it.

Drop me a pm if you want some more info / ideas.

 

Cheers

Mick

 

Maybe try SparkyLady, i've seen rheir trucks about Sydney, their slogan is:

No bum crack, no BS and no BO.

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Hi

 

I would agree around $300 to $400, and the closer to box the easier.

Having a standalone garage likes yours will add significantly to cost if you wanted the 15A point in the garage.

 

If you need any further advice send me a PM.

 

Cheers

 

PB

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  • 10 months later...

Thought I would revive this thread to give beginners a heads up if they are interested in buying a Mig, I purchased a Lincoln 180c from Adelaide tools for $1099 shipped free to Sydney and they provide you with bonus gloves, work jacket and Electric mask all Lincoln branded.. Value of the extras is about $200 so if you're starting off like I am it's a great deal.

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Thought I would revive this thread to give beginners a heads up if they are interested in buying a Mig, I purchased a Lincoln 180c from Adelaide tools for $1099 shipped free to Sydney and they provide you with bonus gloves, work jacket and Electric mask all Lincoln branded.. Value of the extras is about $200 so if you're starting off like I am it's a great deal.

Great decision. Are you going to purchase or rent your gas bottle ?

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Hi guys

I use Supagas for my gas suppliers and they are great. They have a pay monthly agreement and it works great for your weekend welder. I pay aprox $10 per month for a D size bottle (+ filling) Argon for tig. I might weld for 2 months and thats all I need so I return it for a total of $20 rent.

Companies like Airliquid or BOC require a contract for 6 or 12 months and it was more than double supagas price.

 

I priced up purchasing a bottle and could not find the logic of spending $400 on a bottle then paying to fill it up aswell. If I rent a bottle 40 times I am doing ALOT of welding.

Edited by blu260z
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.

Companies like Airliquid or BOC require a contract for 6 or 12 months and it was more than double supagas price.

 

That's not strictly true.

I have an account with BOC & they invoice on a 3 monthly basis when I have bottles in my position (which is all the time) - I've never signed a contract.

They can also invoice you on a 1,2 or 3 monthly basis if that is perferable.

BOC can also be negotiated with on gas & rental price - you just have to ask. It helps if you get a price from a competitor like Supagas/Lindi/Airliquid

For me, BOC are the same price as the 'local' Supagas agent, however the BOC agent is closer & always has the gas I require in stock...

 

For anyone looking at renting or buying a gas welding bottle, do your due diligence & research to find the best solution for your circumstances.

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Just wanted to ad to this that I have also gone the Lincoln 180c. I couldn't find the 15-10amp lead but they did have a junction box version that I grabbed instead. Haven't tested it yet as I was waiting for my gas bottle to come in and I have never welded before so trying to sort one of my boiler maker mates to come teach me. I am going to price up a dedicated 15 amp power point as well because my fuse box is in my garage so the point would only be a few meters from it on the same wall.

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Hi,

 

The adaptors are a cheap and effective solution - However they will not allow you actually draw 15a (3600w), they are limited to 10a (2400w) by the RCBO that is inbuilt in the adaptor.

This shouldn't be a drama unless you are running at high settings with long duty cycles.

 

Cheers

 

PB

Edited by PB260Z
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That's not strictly true.

I have an account with BOC & they invoice on a 3 monthly basis when I have bottles in my position (which is all the time) - I've never signed a contract.

They can also invoice you on a 1,2 or 3 monthly basis if that is perferable.

BOC can also be negotiated with on gas & rental price - you just have to ask. It helps if you get a price from a competitor like Supagas/Lindi/Airliquid

For me, BOC are the same price as the 'local' Supagas agent, however the BOC agent is closer & always has the gas I require in stock...

 

For anyone looking at renting or buying a gas welding bottle, do your due diligence & research to find the best solution for your circumstances.

Sorry lurch that is correct, other companies like BOC do offer shorter rental agreements. I found Airliquid weren't all that interested in my say 4 times a year rental. That could be because they jave alot of the government contracts to supply gas.

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Correct mate stainless and aluminum use argon gas and mild steel uses Argosheild.

Best thing I can recomend is rent a bottle on a monthly agreement. Start off with mild steel as the gas is cheaper and try to do all your welding within a month or until the bottle runs out.

How much welding are you planning on doing in hours ?

 

In terms of amount a D size gas bottle holds 1700ltrs and welding mild steel at 10ltrs per min will give you a bit more than 2.5 hrs of constant welding.

If you can get a bottle to suit your amount of welding it will save time and money.

 

Hope this helps

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Did some research this morning..

 

Cheapest Argon deals I could find were either $339 for the D bottle and gas or BOC $0.50/day hire + $123 for the D size gas refill. I think rental may be a better option if I plan to use all the gas within 6 months..
Price for E size also might be worth while at $136 for double the gas..

 

Also waiting to hear from Supagas with prices.

Leaning towards Argon because I have some alloy piping I want to join and I'll be creating some oil container and battery boxes in the future.

Edited by Dionysus
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It sounds to me that perhaps you should look a TIG welding. Specially if you plan to do alloy welding  as well as steel.

Lots of videos on you tube but you will need a ac/dc machine as ac is required for aluminium or at least preferred.   

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Dionysus I would still recommend starting with mild steel. It can be difficult to learn especially if its a first time and for something like aluminum its another aspect. Think of it as skipping step 1 straight into step 2 ☺

 

Most steel sales companies will have an offcuts bin and are sometimes more than happy for you to take some bits. Try finding aluminium or stainless suppliers that will let you practice weld on their scrap. Its all scrap $$$ to them!!

 

For components like battery tray, catch cans and fuel tanks are all "normally" TIG welded up as you have more control and its a neater looking weld.

 

As bonkers said AC current is used for aluminum, DC is used for stainless and mild steel but an AC/DC tig is an expensive peice of equipment.

 

 

 

Chris

Edited by blu260z
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Most steel sales companies will have an offcuts bin and are sometimes more than happy for you to take some bits.

Hi

 

Shire Steel Supplies in Kirrawee have exactly that and it usually a great assortment of shapes and thicknesses.

They do charge for it, but the charge is bugger all.

 

http://www.shiresteel.com.au

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Thanks for the info guys.

 

I agree and ended up getting gas for mild steel to begin with. I have done some mig welding so I'm not a total novice but still plenty of room for improvement.

 

Also aluminium would of needed a spool gun so it can wait..

 

I'll definitely hut up some places for scrap metal, kirrawee isn't far from me thanks Pb..

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Hi

 

Also, if you want to practice welding panels, drop past your local panel beaters, most of them have a pile of bent scrap panels in pile in the back lane. The metal in modern cars is pretty thin but if you can weld that you will right.

 

Cheers

 

PB

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Come on Mike , be adventurous and spend a little more money and get two machines. One for tig and one for mig. Yes that means you will be spending up around the 2k mark . But they will last for years . My mig is ticking over 22 years this year and I am waiting for the boss to free up some coin to get a   RAZOR DIGITAL PULSE AC/DC 200

                                                                                                       AC/DC Inverter TIG/ARC Welder

Something that can punch out around 180amp in a mig will cover most projects that you can do a home. As a Safety and risk bloke I know you don't need to be told you need a 15amp outlet and don't break into the wall oven circuit and install and outlet.  

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