Ferm mig 150??

On or around 14 Jul 2003 20:46:52 GMT, Derry Argue enlightened us thusly:

well, I have a Clarke 150A turbo (i.e. fan cooled), which is OK, except for the pissy little gas bottles. OK for steel up to about 1/4".

Just got a PT10 size bottle of Coogar 5, which is argon/CO2 mix (mostly), and this has the odd effect of making the welder seem more powerful - have to use a lower setting or more wire feed for the same metal thickness. This is not a problem :-)

The PT10 bottle has a nominal contents of a bit more than 2 cu.m. as compared to a nominal 950cc for the silly disposable ones at about 10 quid a piece. It costs summat like 5 quid a month rental, though. You don't need to be doing much welding to make that worthwhile. Does need a proper regulator mind, as the commercial bottles are 200 bar, and that cost about

30 quid.

much cleaner welds though, and the ability to turn up the gas when it's breezy.

Austin Shackles wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Thanks, Austin.

I am currently swayed towards the SIP 150 Migmate which is available from KAZKO for £186 incl. VAT & delivery.

More expensive than the Ferm but at least I'd know what I was getting! I wonder how many SIP's are in use?

Thanks for the info about the gas. Going to Inverness today so will make some enquiries.

Derry

Ordered the Sip Migmate 150 plus big bottle converter today. I got a phone call this morning with a nice juicey order so took that as an omen. The bills are just going to have to wait. This is such a thing as priorities. I'm sure BT will understand.

Derry

snipped-for-privacy@dev.nul (QrizB) wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@news.virgin.net:

I had no problems with KAZKO and would recommend them.I phoned for advice about mig welding and they were very helpful.

The SIP Migmate 150 is probably worth what you pay for it. I have never mig welded before (though I have brazed and stick welded) and initially had problems with the wire feed. That seems to be par for the course. But once you get over it's little eccentricities it is a good enough machine.

Derry

Just to follow up on this, in the end I ordered my Migmate 130 from toolsonline

/ and I collected it from CityLink this morning. I'm currently scouring the neighbourhood looking for bits of scrap steel to practice with!

As an interesting aside, the welder and some consumables were shipped direct from SIP, rather than going via toolsonline. The welder came in its own box, but all the odds and ends were packed, securely, in a "Performance Power"-branded box. This might imply something about where B&Q source their tools ...