R-tech mig/tig/MMA welder

[cra1gy1989]

Hi. Just thought I'd see if anyone can give me an insight to these welders.

I have done a fair amount of MIG and stick welding over the last few years, but I've never bought myself a welder.

Can anyone tell me if these multi/all in one welders are any good?
I want to do some aluminium welding, sheet metal, up to box section, flat bar, anything really. Just for general use.

Any expertise would be much appreciated!

r-techwelding.co.uk/Mig_Welder/240V_Mig_Welders/MIG_TIG_ARC_Welder

[cra1gy1989]

Yeah I can sort out the electrical feed to the garage. Not a problem. On the description it says it comes with MIG and tig torch? I have the bottles at work and setting up an earth should be simple enough. So overall you would say its a decent set? I've had a cheap MIG welder before and it was absolute ste... jerky wire, not enough heat.

More like spit welding.
So I want to make the right choice this time. Get some quality kit!

[cra1gy1989]

I had a SIP migmate. Only for a couple of months. Bought it second hand off eBay then binned it. All the wire feed mechanism fell apart and was badly worn. Could of just been unlucky. It was gasless aswell so using fluxed wire which I didn't get on very well with.

I do quite a bit of stick welding at work, and as its part of the bundle I'm sure it will have its uses. Can I ask where you bought your gas from? And how much it cost?

[cra1gy1989]

Oh ok thanks mate. The help has been Much appreciated!

[EddyP]

I've got an r-tech AC/DC TIG and its a good bit of kit, they also do a cracking warranty, 2 years where they pick it up, fix it and deliver back to you. They're based in Gloucester and have a great reputation.

I say go for it
Another one to consider is a Thermal Dynamics Fabricator, nice bits of kit too but will be more expensive, obviously the main down side to the all in one machines is that it's only a DC TIG, so no Ally welding.

[hidetheelephants]

cra1gy1989 said:

I had a SIP migmate. Only for a couple of months. Bought it second hand off eBay then binned it. All the wire feed mechanism fell apart and was badly worn. Could of just been unlucky. It was gasless aswell so using fluxed wire which I didn't get on very well with.

The cheaper SIP products are ste even when new; if anything was worn I imagine they would be completely unusable. There are numerous threads over on the Migwelding forum about upgrading them so they're just mediocre rather than ste, but it's a lot of bother TBH.