modern arc welder recommendations

Just bought direct from Rtech the Pro 175 and a mask , seemed the best option all round, as you say,(jeff as i call him) has had enough money from me over the years .Thank you all for the advice, i have been beavering away in the background as the suggestions came in , ultimatly the warranty,upgradability ,price, speed of delivery won through in my decision process. Any more information for me would have been information overload so i bit the bullet .

 

Will you just be doing stick?

 

Yes, i have ordered the correct sticks as advised by the welding chap , ive watched a few youtube videos ( i know, now suddenly i am an expert) so i am gonna practice on the old bits of exhaust then go for it .

 

Same for me, I stopped buy stuff from UK due to import duties

 

Basically your SIP old welder will do stainless, if you use mostly argon gas with it.
The one I eventually sold on here was just such an old Chinese welder. I did a lot of stainless with it.

However as an old git , I decided lumping around a 40kg welder (with wire in it) was a bit much so I bought a Chinese inverter welder as it only weighs 14kG with a reel of wire in it.

I have the 160A version of one of these- used with stainless wire for stainless welding for boat fittings and exhaust repairs,
and steel wire for doing the front of my bus , with ArgoShield Lite for both stainless and mild steel.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/273522627239

It has fewer twiddly controls - basically for MIG you set a welding "power" and tweak the voltage for wire diameter then it sets current and wire speed by measuring the welding arc for you. (synergic control)

Down side is it doesnt have a Euro torch connector - I will be buying a conversion kit soon.

And I also fitted a plastic shield behind the control PCB, as if you get a flailing bit of wire off the wire reel, it could easily hit the back of the control PCB and connect welding voltage to it suddenly.

 

You do know your wasting your time using Argoshield lite on stainless ?

 

Why ? It is even vaguely recommended by BOC.


Tell my roofrack clamps, exhaust, air hoses, yacht boom gooseneck..


From https://www.boconline.co.uk/shop/en/uk/argoshield-light-cylinder


"
Can also be used for MIG welding standard-grade stainless steel in less critical application"

 

I have a little light at the end if the tunnel, although i have ordered a new welder and mask , they might sit gathering dust for a short time .
Apparently Tiny (who is actually tiny) and visits my mates bike MOT garage , has"all" the welding gear to do anything , haven't we all got a mate like that until it comes to doing something .
So hopefully through a friend i may have access to a person that can weld anything cause he has the gear and skill to do so.
I will keep you posted but
dont hold your breath , ive heard ducks fart before .

 

Afraid almost all of that went over my head but thanks for the effort to assist me .

 

If he can do Tig, might be neater for stainless.

 

In fear of boring you all heres a couple of pics of the job at hand .needs some fettling for the pipe dimensions to match

 

How's that t5 gearbox coming along @Sproggy4830

Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk

 

Well

Thanks for asking but i am literaly within hours of finishing as can be seen by the photo. whats stopping me ?
Well the van is in the narrow underpass and its been a bugger for access to work , but its in , ive started the engine and the gears select and i think all is ok , i now have the problem of the bmw parked infront of it without the catalytic converter fitted , but good news on that front, the converter is as i speak being workd on and i await a phone call to go pick it up,
In order to get the gearbox repaired , i had quite a journey but with the help of the gearbox man i think its ok , i took my box to him and he stated the gears are completely knackerd due to lack of oil, i havnt had any oil leaks so we are both stumped on that , however we parted both thinking each of us were looking for a new gearbox, but after about 5 weeks i contacted him to see if he had any news re a gearbox, to discover he thought i was looking and he was about to contact me . ??? anyway he tracked down a gearbox very near to me from a t6 (mine is a t5) but he said the insides are identical with the exception of one area for an auto start switch , the casing are different with mounting holes etc in different places, but so long as i look for a casting of W3 the gears inside are the same, all abit above me . any way the gearbox of the T6 was relatively new with a reported 5000 miles as the old owner changed it to a six speed box and gave old box to garage in payment for the work (along with a turbo) so £600 for a 5000 mile box , £400 to rebuild it , and four days later i had the box,
As i say i am now just waiting to get the BMW exhaust back from Thornes Fabrications in Wakefield (stated about £30 to weld ) then the bmw can move and the van can be tried out . My mates mate(tiny mentioned above) is on holiday in Wales for a week
Sods law, the new welder has just been delivered , hey ho , well at least a new shiney toy to play with at some point.