Arc welder advice please

[andytats]

Has anyone gone one of those if so are they any good. I want to get a new one because my baby one only works for about 5mins before it overheats.
Rhyas 250 Amp Turbo Arc Welder Dual Voltage 230V & 400V Stick MMA Welding
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.vi ... 1340242175

[gregster]

what do want an arc welder for Andy??? You are far better off with Mig for automotive stuff.
TBH you get what you pay for, I have a couple of cheap arc welders, a chingchong one, a clarke turbo 250 and the only good thing I can say about them is they are light and easy to move around. Duty cycle is rubbish, especially on heavier stuff.
I have an old Oxford arc welder, which is the nuts though...weighs half a tonne though,
but in honesty I use my big old murex mig for most stuff these days.
You might do better investing in a decent 200 amp mig, that will do everything you need and more.
If budget is an issue, but a good secondhand one (Murex esab miller etc) for the same dosh as a new cr4p one....they are so much better machines mate.

[fudge]

u would save your money.
if you want an arc welder, get an ac transformer one. my 140A one will run 120a all day long with no worrys.
but i agree with greg.. it would be easer to have a more powerfull mig welder.

2.5mm welding rods will easly burn through 2mm steel if your not very very carfull

but a good second hand mig welder will still cost more than a cheep one, unless you are lucky.
my cheep 200A mig was £130 but it was spares and repairs..

and stick welding is alot harder than mig welding.

[yaki]

+1 for the above, good quality s/h MIG welder all the way. My 1st MIG was a Murex, bought it S/H 20yrs ago and was superb then some thieving scroat broke in to my garage and took it. Had a few cheapo welders since but they were no where near as good as the Murex set. Now have an old Camarc industrial MIG, dates back to the 90's but is a really solid piece of kit, love it