Thinking about getting a gas/gasless mig welder for panel work and thin metal jobs. Bunnings have the ones below 3 year warranty, fan, 120amp looks okay, has anyone had any experience with them or is there a better option?

Thanks...........

http://www.bunnings.com.au/products_product_120amp-ozito-mwr135-gasgasless-mi...

I'm also looking to buy a gas/gasless MIG. Trade Tools Direct have a 180 amp unit that looks reasonable (Better than what I've seen at Bunnings anyway) for about $440. They are not open until Wednesday however.

How many times has this subject been raised?

Quite a few but people like to get different opinions on different things at differnt times, besides keeps the chit chat going. On the subject of the post
If you arent going to be using it a lot and only on smaller tasks the little cheap units are OK its all fairly obvious you get what you pay for. make sure you can get consumables for the gun though, enjoy
Cheers

it's not too hard a topic but there are a few things to consider. We sell a range of welders and consumables in our shop and I have lots of car enthusiasts coming in as they know we are in to cars, vw's in particular.

Personally, I would stick to known brands like Weldmaster, CIG, BOC, WIA etc. Some of the cheap chinese Migs are okay but you'll run into problems when you try and buy drive rollers for the different types and sizes of wire and also they tend to use a non generic torch and often you can't get spares for them, particularly the diffusers.

In terms of size I think a 150amp is quite adequate for general car type work and you still have enough grunt to run ally wire as well. Also you need to consider whether you are going to use gas or gasless wire and this will depend on your budget, how often you are going to use it and also what type of finish you want to achieve.

My top 6 tips would be:

1. buy a single process MIG rather than a three in one MIG TIG Plasma
2. Spend the extra $100-$200 and buy a known brand
3. Best to get a Binzel torch or a Binzel copy as spares a easily available and preferably one with a Euro connection
4. go with Gas welding but don't get conned into the small throw away cylinders - open a BOC account ($150 pa rental plus gas approx $130 for an E size)
5. get some spare tips and nozzles when you buy the MIG as they will generally do you a good deal
6. ensure you have a drive roller than does 0.8 & 0.9 wire and also if you choose gasless wire then make sure the machine has the correct roller and if not buy it there and then
7. go and talk to a welding supply shop (might not be too many at LH Is though)

We also have a tool repair service and we do not accept any Ozito tools for repair. You can not get ANY parts for them at all. Todays Migs are mainly inverter driven and the electronics are easily damaged so you just need to be able to get parts for them.

Sorry didn't know this subject had been raised before as i
haven't been here very long. Thanks lou0060 great advice.

http://www2.blackwoods.com.au/infoBANKProduct.aspx?SG=2000165&S=4084692&a...

small but accomodating, find elsewhere blackwoods is extortion, they wanted 8k locally for the tig i bought for 4k shipped!

theres currently one on ebay, might be worth a look

I have a cheap gasless mig, I only paid 130 bucks for it on ebay... 120 amp i think, redline is the brand. I only bought it for odd jobs here and there. I tacked to gether heaps of stuff for the drag car build with it but i needed a friend to come around with a real welder with the skills to fully weld everything. It was good to learn on but after using my mates welder, wow! what a difference... just makes me want to upgrade. gasless seems to throw off all sorts of splatter and burns the crap out of you. gas is much neater.

Lincoln electric is another great brand too. My old mans LE mig rebuilt 3 or 4 cars without trouble before it was toasted in a bush fire. Insurance bought another just like it.

buy a secondhand mig off a welding supplies shop that will give you a warranty. i recently bought a 375 wia fabricator off a mob for 550.00 inc the g, was 4500.00 new all good! most fabrication shops are trading there welders in for better ones cause young blokes dont know how to set them up! cig 220 is a good 15amp mig plenty of them around never give probs good enough for most light jobs.