Which MIG Welder?
When it comes to picking the right MIG welder for the job, you can often find yourself wondering which R-Tech MIG welder would be suitable.
Here at R-Tech, we do our best to display the capabilities of each machine on our website, you will notice the small icons next to each machine on the website. But what does this mean?, why does it say the MIG 180 is capable of up to 6mm but then go on to say you can do up to 15mm with the same machine?.
When customers call in asking what machine would be best suited to them, we ask the following questions -
- What is the maximum thickness you would be welding?
- What power supply do you have available there?
In most circumstances, we can pretty much suggest the best suited machine in those two questions. We may go on to ask what materials you would be welding and if there was a possibility in the future of welding thicker material.
- This is maximum weld with 1 pass, if you do multiple passes you can weld up to..
This would be the total thickness in which the machine can penetrate on a single pass. However, all machines are capable of welding much thicker material when you stack the welds next to one another, in some cases this is more than double the single pass thickness.
- This will weld ALL steels including stainless steel
This one is nice and easy. All of our MIG welders are capable of welding all steels such as mild steel and stainless steel
- You can weld aluminum with the optional spool on gun, you will need PURE argon gas.
A couple of our MIG welders will weld aluminum with the optional spool gun. a change of gas is required but certainly possible!.
- Optional spool gun makes MIG welding aluminium easy, wire reel is held on torch.
The machine which are spool gun compatible are the MIG 180, PROMIG 250 and MTS 255HF. A small socket is located on all three of these machines.
With all of that explained, lets briefly go through our MIG welders and some of their features and uses.
MIG 180
By far our most popular MIG welder and for very good reason, The MIG 180 is perfectly suited for both the hobbyist and busy workshop environments.
This machine will weld thin material with ease making it suited for car body panels and sills. With a maximum welding capacity of 6mm on a single pass, this machine is not shy when it comes to welding box section and framework.
This machine can be powered by a standard domestic socket (13 amps single phase) making it nice and portable. Maximum amperage on 13 amps is a very generous 140amps, which suites many customers perfectly. To achieve the full 180amps, we suggest a 16amp single phase supply.
Like a large majority of our machines, this machine does double up as a stick welder. Being generator friendly, this makes the machine ideal for the types of welding jobs around the Farm, buckets, gate posts etc.
As far as MIG welders come, this machine is lightweight and compact. Accommodating a 0.8mm or 0.6mm 5kg spool of wire, you should have no issue finding space for this in the back of you van to take on site.
ProMIG 250
This machine is the 180's bigger sibling, and carries much of the same properties in which the MIG 180 does however, it has that extra oomph when it comes to amperage.
Make no mistake, this 32amp single phase machine, is found more in the industrial setting but again suites the hobbyist who welds that thicker material on a more of a frequent basis. This machine holds the much larger 15kg spools of wire making changing the wire a less frequent task, maximising weld time.
As well as having a maximum weld thickness of 9mm, this machine will also weld thin plate material such as car body work and delicate structures making it a versatile machine.
3 in 1 MTS 255HF
You want a MIG welder but your also interested in TIG welding too?, this machine gives you the best of both worlds.
In terms of MIG welding capabilities, this machine is on par with the ProMIG 250 but comes with a few extra features. Being our only digital MIG welder, this machine has a synergic function meaning that where you set the amps, the wire speed should automatically set itself to suit for a smoother weld.
The digital display also allows you to select the wire type and thickness you have inside the machine and therefore makes for an easy set up. In terms of welding capabilities, expect the same performance as the ProMIG 250.
For the TIG welding side of this machine, you get a built in DC welder fitted with a selectable high frequency and lift start option for the torch. 2T and 4T options are also available along with footpedal control.
As all of our machines, the MTS is also equipped with a stick welding capability, making it a compact 3 in 1 welder. This machine requires a 32amp input and takes 5kg spools up to 1.2mm in diameter.
CMIG 315 Compact
Where as the other MIG welders work on inverter technology, the CMIG 315 operates on transformer technology. In this day in age, transformers on new machines are few and far between however are still regarded to be extremely reliable. The only draw back of using a machine using transformers is their size and weight making them less portable.
This machine is more suited towards industrial welding. With a high duty cycle, an operator should be able to efficiently go about their daily duties without much delay on the welding. Unlike the other machines which are only fitted with a two roller system, this machine is fitted with a four roller feed to further increase its reliability under heavy load.
The controls on this machine are of the classic step through type and with 21 settings on the amperage control, this enables a fine control over the welding power. The industrial chassis also accommodates a full size bottle to reduce how much space the machine takes up on the shop floor. Fitted with four wheels, despite its size, makes the machine easy to move around the workshop.
This machine takes the larger 15kg spools and requires a 32amp 3 phase supply.
MIG 450 Industrial Welder
As the name suggests, this MIG welder is suited to the industrial setting. The machine can come in an air cooled or water cooled package to further increase the life of the consumables and duty cycle.
The removable wire holder, 4 roller feed, is attached to the machine using an interconnecting cable. The interconnecting cable comes standard at a 5m length, but is also available in a 10m length to make it much easier to those areas where a full sized machine may struggle to fit. With a 4m torch fitted and the 10m interconnecting cable, you could weld up to 14 meters away from the machine without issue.
The machine, including the wire feed and watercooler, fits perfectly on a trolley which can also accommodate a full size gas cylinder.
New to MIG welding? Read MIG Welding Tips & Tricks