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What do you think of this welder ?

5K views 27 replies 15 participants last post by  Nanook12 
#1 · (Edited)
#2 · (Edited)
The price scares me. I don't see how it would be possible to manufacture it and ship it here and still make a profit. I have a cheap $120 ? wirefeed that I think came from a box store a long time ago and it's just barely OK for the few times I pull it out and dust it off. I find it hard to believe that one which includes the ability to TIG is more than a toy. Would love to get some feedback from someone who's actually used one. I could be way off base in my thinking.

Then there is this: https://www.homedepot.com/p/AMICO-P...T-110-Volt-230-Volt-Welding-MTS-205/305349325

I'm going to stick with it being some kind of scam.
If you did actually get the one on Ebay and it was the one in the photo, a Amico MTS-205 it looks to be a really nice machine. I'm thinking the $600 price tag is more reasonable for it's capabilities.

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#6 · (Edited)
I wasn't asking about the price; these go for about $500. I want to know what you think about THE WELDER. The online reviews I read were overwhelmingly good, but I like to hear what this group thinks.
 
#8 ·
#11 ·
I have two wire-feed gas metal arc welders (GMAW) welders (Hobart) and can tell you from experience that you'll be opening and closing the wire feed mechanism (drive roller) a lot; especially if you're a new welder like me. Take a close look at the wire feed drive mechanism in the photograph. It appears to be made of sheet metal. Better wire-feed welders will have castings (my welders have cast steel parts).

The 27 lb. weight of this machine tells me that it incorporates rectifiers. If it had a transformer then it would weigh 55 lbs. or more.

Aluminum wire cannot be reliably pushed through a 13-foot long torch assembly. The soft aluminum wire will bend and bird-nest at the drive roller.
A spool gun is required for aluminum wire-feed welding. This spool gun places the aluminum wire roll at the same location as the torch hand set. I don't see a spool gun in the photographs nor is there a gas regulator which is needed for GMAW.
 
#18 ·
I changed it yesterday afternoon at about 2:30PM once we discovered it had become a scam listing. The one that's there now is for a "real" listing.
 
#16 ·
Note: This post was originally part of a discussion of different inexpensive welders in this thread: https://www.snowblowerforum.com/for...ntenance-forum/153845-worn-out-auger-fix.html

For some reason (no notice given) someone removed it from the original context to a separate thread here.
Blame me. The thread was "Worn out auger fix" and there were two or three suggestions of what members had at home but it wasn't really nor should it be a discussion of welders. When it came to my attention I only say your post as the first post alone at the top of page four so I split it to discuss the welder without hijacking the thread. Going back and going through the thread I can see I might have pulled a couple more posts but I felt there was a difference between someone telling another member
who mentions he doesn't have a welder what they use compared to discussing the pros and cons of a specific machine.

Like others I assumed you were interested in the welder for yourself and didn't pay enough attention to the wording, how you asked what people thought about it's features.
I love the versatility of this one I'd just be concerned about parts should I need them. My little guy has been ok and it just keeps going but I figured for the price I knew what I was getting.

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#20 ·
In the original thread, the inexpensive (sub $100) HF unit and the MIG-130 were mentioned. I am looking for something with a bit longer duty cycle, and the additional features of the MTS-205 intrigued me.
 
#23 ·
Spend the Money on a Lincoln or Miller. You'll have No Regrets, Easy Parts Availability, and an Easy Resale if you need to. Good Used Welders can be found on CL and Facebook Marketplace..
 
#26 ·
i tend to agree you can find deals on welders sometimes. you can find a name brand for $500-$800 you might have to look for a while.

who knows how the welder actually runs and how it will hold up. the name brand guys have been doing it for years and years.
 
#25 ·
For mig then I've read that the harbor freight ones are okay if you buy a Miller capacitor and install it. That is from reading on WeldingWeb forum. Though I ponied up the cash for a Miller 211 dual voltage welder back in the mid 2000's. It was something around 1,100 or 1,200 and mine is the old school non inverter one that is HEAVY (70 pounds maybe) for a portable one. My buddy has the newer version that is probably 30 pounds lighter. Nice thing is it is dual voltage and welds decently on 110v which is handy as we get moved every few years usually and I never know what will be available in the garage.


That welder.. well you can't tig aluminum as you need AC output, though you can mig aluminum on DC with straight argon but you better use a spool gun (roughly $200 for a miller).



If you just want to stick weld then search craigslist, I picked up an AC miller with moveable shunt (I think as it has the crank on top for infinite adjustment) for $20. Had a cheap dryer power cord and cables but no ground or stinger or the quick connects. I think I have around $70 after finding quality parts via ebay and amazon, not bad even though it's from around 1986 iirc. A DC welder would be even handier but good luck finding one so cheap. For rods, well BigR was clearancing a bunch of Forney stuff so I ended up with about #100 of various rods for around $150.


Better off buying quality and if you can't afford that then buy used quality stuff.
 
#28 ·
The little Miller Diversion 180 is a good TIG setup. You can get things done with it and it is small and light. I’m mostly welding 4130 tubing with mine, It will also do aluminum. It is a 110/220 inverter setup. They do show up used on occasion but go fast...
 
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