Wanted: MIG Welder

On the hunt for a good yet economically priced MIG welder.
Probably doesn’t have to be much more than a max 150A but needs to go down to about 25/30A for very thin steel.
A gas or gassless version would be good but just has fine.

Alternatively, does anyone have any experience with the Hitbox units / any eBay/amazon specials worth buying? Or better to hold out / find a good Clarke or something similar?

Any help appreciated

I haven’t got a mig for sale but done a lot of welding and bought welders. Forget gasless mig welders they are not very good.

I used to buy high end machines secondhand but the most recent one I bought was a new RTech for similar cost, which is quite a popular option these days. The quality isn’t the same but it’s more disposable and easier to replace. My older high end one was too expensive to fix.

Clarke are generally cheap end, any machine mart couple hundred pound type things will usually need modding to overcome issues like plastic wire feed parts and the like that wear out too fast and cause problems.

Get yourself some hobby gas and an rtech you will probably be sorted for lowest cost and performance. If you’re doing anything pro look at a Lincoln/murex/etc. but they’re £££

What you welding? If it’s mainly thin sheet you could get into TIG

Thank you, you’ve confirmed a lot of what I’ve read / in the process of reading about the gas vs no gas debate, as well as wire feed wear.
I guess I’m at a point where I’d like to learn and got a relatively good project to learn on.
Perhaps(definitely), as always, being impatient/impulsive as I have a rare quiet Sunday where all I want to do now is practice welding.
Should probably focus on the more immediate necessity of the prep work.

@dbr - 1mm ish steel / stainless steel car bodywork. I believe due to portability that MIG is probably the one? Also doesn’t have to be that pretty, probably more spot welds than nice flowing seams.

If you want to borrow my Tig, you're welcome to although you'd need to come and collect it from Sussex I'm afraid.
Tig machine, CK torch with fresh tungsten, argon bottle, plenty of stainless filler rods. Don't need it back any time soon.
Steeper learning curve than mig though.

Really appreciated mate.
Am I stupid buying something like this for £120, even if it’s just to learn / realise I’m useless, before buying something better:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/155868136896?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=ZWMTT9G8SEa&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=oCPQnAcNTgC&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

MIG has a much easier learning curve, also better if the fit of your parts isn’t prefect and you need to just squirt a bit of filler in to join them. TIG is more portable really, most TIG sets are the size of a big toaster, but that’s by-the-by, sounds like MIG will be more suited to your use case.

I get my argon from London Gases, don’t bother trying to get a BOC account, it’s a racket unless you’re using industrial amounts of gas. Forget flux wire or gas-less, waste of time and will make you hate welding. Auto darkening helmets can be had cheap on eBay, I’ve been using the same £25 helmet for 3+ years and it’s been flawless, as was the one it replaced. My workshop colleague has a fancy Miller one and has had lots of problems. You’ll shrink the index finger and thumb of your left glove at some point (from heat while holding parts together) so don’t spend load on fancy gloves, they’re a consumable. Wear a dark top, arc light can be reflected off your chest behind your helmet - you won’t know you have arc eye until you wake up in the middle of the night in a bad way. Bit dramatic, and not really a problem unless you’re sitting at a station welding all day. You can get mini reels (2.5kg maybe?) of stainless wire so you don’t have to drop loads of cash in one go. RTech are supposed to be good. I have a Jasic DC TIG which I like a lot.

End of brain fart.

That’s probably scratch-start TIG (you have to touch the electrode on the work piece to start the arc) so not good long term but ok to dabble and learn. The MIG probably works fine.

I’d be tempted to get an RTech for the support and advice. Check for second hand ones, also sold prices on eBay, might be worth hanging around for if they come up semi regularly.

It's to be expected but London gases is way way way way wayyy more expensive than industrial suppliers. I can't remember what it was exactly but London gases Vs air products was like 16 times more expensive for argon. I have used air products for years and they're a bit annoying sometimes and you do pay more for bottle rental etc but you save on the product in the long run several times over. However London gases are convenient, so I understand using them for that, but if you're getting through any volume of gas I would rly recommend getting it elsewhere. Also i had to chase London gases alot to get a bottle deposit back.

Rant over

However I love rtech, honestly best customer support I've ever experienced, they're great.

Only used BOC so I'm interested in Air Products - done the maths though, looks about the same price to me

20lt @ 300 bar Argon Ultra from London Gases - £148 delivered
Air Products (Beal Gases) 30lt @ 230 bar is £157 delivered, more if I don't use it in a year

Depending on project I use a cylinder a year, frame building or something would use loads more of course, volume may well make it cheaper but LG don't charge for next day delivery so IDK.

Weirdly their 50lt is less than the 20lt, so year, I guess way cheaper, but the rent would add up. £440 for three years' rental - so yeah, same price again - £146 per annum

Many thanks for your comments.
I think being patient and keeping an eye out for some eBay deals seems like the best plan.
I have to (read: want to, ie, could pay someone else to do it) refurbish this bulkhead and get it installed on the car all ready for a 15th March MOT date 😂
So far I have the bulkhead and today is prep day 2.
When/if I’ll get to welding repair panels in the car park / on the kitchen table day, will keep you posted…
🫠

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Mig is generally used for car work. You can get more done with fewer hands and it’s a bit more forgiving. I restored a vespa px body shell with tig and it was a bit of a ball ache. Tig needs to be super clean and old bodywork tends to have impurities and grot you can’t see. I think mig is a little more easy to work around with that aspect. Also it’s just easier to do in general.

If you get no luck id be happy for you to come to my work and use mine if thats any help (i work alone in a big workshop, near heathrow t2/t3)

Its a lincoln electric powertec 191c. Think it goes 30A to 180A

Happy for anyone else to use it/happy to weld bits for people if they got no skill. I got keys so possible access anytime really

Can also sort cutting discs, sanding discs, welding gloves, overshoes etc

AND if anyone ever flies out of heathrow i can sort free parking

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I had a 30lt 300 bar integra cylinder and it cost 70 quid to refill, plus a yearly fee which I don't remember off the top of my head. Ill have a look for the invoice, it wasn't crazy. Delivery was around 30 i think

Thank you to all the responses here - @Jakub96 I wish I lived close enough for that to be feasible, I’m starting to realise that the least of my worries is probably the actual welder and equipment, and finding a space to do the welding is more of a pain in the arse.

I’m actually going to sell my entire MIG setup:
Clark 110, gas, regulator, safety gear and sundries. Ping me a DM if you’re interested.