Mig Welding VS ARC Welding: Which One Is TO Choose?

Mig welding vs Arc welding, which is the best for you? In this article we will discuss about Mig welding vs Arc welding. So, read our article and select yourself which product you need.

Semi-automatic welding machine with MMA MIG MAG welding!

This review is written for people who are faced with the problem of choosing a reliable high-quality welding machine for household needs with a small margin for professional growth!

I really missed this review when I made a choice. Now it is there and can help you when choosing a welding semi automatic (if you still believe the reviews from strangers, of course 🙂

There was a need to buy a welding machine (car repairs, crafts in the garage, the upcoming construction of a house, shed, and so on…) And all these tasks should be performed by one welding machine!

Preface:

If you can not interest in how I came to such a life, read the paragraph below with the words “ABOUT AURORA PRO OVERMAN 200”.

And so, I decided to cheat my car.

A friend lent a Resanta with manual arc welding (MMA) and three 3mm electrodes. — “Na-says, learn to cook”!

In theory, I understood what “arc”, “welding bath”, “seam” and so on … but in practice “0”.

I practiced on a piece of metal, played with the settings and go ahead! I liked that everything is quite simple, turned on and cook, the device itself is light with a shoulder strap, there are no difficulties in operation.

But!.. there are also disadvantages:

These are sparks and there are a lot of them! If you cook in the car salon, you can burn everything that does not fall!

Electrode-holder-poop (the electrode constantly climbs out with a little effort.

Slag on the weld! Constantly tap with a hammer, clean with a grinder, file, sandpaper, whatever is at hand and the more convenient.

And there are narrow places where neither a hammer nor a balgark can fit — and this is a problem since the slag makes the seam not strong, porous and ugly! (in short, it does not satisfy aesthetics).

It is necessary to catch an Arc, if you make a large spark, it burns, if you quickly bring the electrode to the surface to be welded — then it sticks tightly!

To ignite the arc, you periodically had to “torment” the electrode, knock, clean the end of the electrode, because the slag on the electrode does not allow a spark to form.

Here is a brief summary of what a novice welder has to face, without a mentor and with very low-cost equipment for welding!

The agony of choice: I had not finished the welding work, and the thought of my welding machine did not give me rest.

I read articles about what welders are in principle. What type is intended for what, how can they arrange and what are the advantages and disadvantages of each?

I also watched dozens of hours of videos of welders and not so much, who praise or scold welding machines. By the way, one of the first videos was made by Aurora, where they compare the Overman Pro 160 with four other semi-automatic welding machines.

Overman of course wins the test. I liked this device, but the commercial background of the video made me doubt the veracity of the test, which is why I had to spend a week checking and studying the question.

In the process of studying the question, I determined that a semi-automatic welding machine with the MMA (manual arc welding) function can best suite for my tasks. And if there is also a TIG function (welding in an argon medium with a tungsten electrode) , then this is generally the limit of my dreams!

And now a new parameter of necessity can display — the current strength is not less than 200 amps! Why? Yes, because the welding machine is necessary for all occasions, and the bodywork can weld with a small current.

The heating cartel welds, and the gazebo can concocte and the construction of the house can use in full! 200 amps minimum and to the point!

More powerful – more expensive and mostly at 380 volts (three-phase ) and not every network/wiring 220 volts will withstand 36-42 amps of welding machine consumption!

For example, sockets and wiring in apartments and houses are MAINLY designed for 16 amps! As a result, the following devices reached the final (after three qualifying rounds) :

1) Welding machine Svarog REAL MIG 200 (N24002) BLACK-A favorite (because of the color and rich configuration-take and cook! good reviews about the quality of welding and assembly — an acceptable price.

2) Svarog REAL MIG 200 (N24002) – the orange brother of the first, with a more meager configuration but a lot of good reviews. The price is acceptable.

3) Welding Machine MIG/MAG/TIG/MMA 303 Czech-Ukrainian applicant which is more reliable. To deliver in a gray way through Belgorod.

A versatile harvester with outstanding features! There are a couple of video reviews from guys from Ukraine that I really want to believe…, but the comments and written reviews are not comforting.

They often break down. I can incline to believe that in terms of weight, kilowatts and circuitry, it does not differ much from 200-ampere counterparts, there are also all kinds of MIG MAg MMA TIG welds and a bunch of settings with screens.

4) The welding machine TSS PRO MIG/MMA-200 is a distant relative of the Tesla MIG/MAG/TIG/MMA 303, very similar in parameters, color, shape … makes the Moscow region from Chinese components. One or two reviews. I really liked the characteristics, settings and price.

5) The welding machine Svarog MIG 250 (J46) is pleasant in terms of capabilities ( 250 amps, MIG MAG MMA welding) and in terms of brand, service, warranty, but heavy (24 kg), and very little information about it.

I didn’t find any reviews or videos. There is about the previous svarog 250 amps, but this is not it! Therefore, this device remained a mystery to me!

6) Welding machine Svarog PRO MIG 200 (N229) everything is great, the manufacturer is reliable (Jasic factory is a reliable Chinese supplier of welding machines), the warranty is 5 years, positive reviews.

But this welding machine price is high. I didn’t fully understand why? For synergy, for the small screen with the voltage and amperage? In general, I think at his expense, although the price is repulsive — because I am not a professional and I did not plan to earn them yet .

7) Aurora OVER MAN 200 — after reading the reviews and characteristics, he was eliminated in one of the qualifying rounds because he does not know how to cook with an Electrode (MMA), i.e.

It is necessary to carry a balloon with carbon dioxide of 50 atmospheres everywhere. No TIG welding and I’m going to cook in argon every day (joke), well, in general.

We are excellent students! in general, I dismissed it for various factors, mainly because it is not universal.And so the choice fell on Svarog REAL MIG 200 (N24002) BLACK !

I BOUGHT THE SVAROG AND BOUGHT THE AURORA:

I went to the website of SVAROG to order the necessary device. And they don’t sell, only through dealers.

Here are the ones on! And then I see that Svarog has an update of the ruler, and the device I selected has acquired another setting, INDUCTION (i.e., the depth of the weld, the rigidity of the arc) that’s it, and all this for almost the same money!

I started to call faster, now they say I’ll buy it and everything will be super! But it was not there, these devices were only presented, and since the company is from St. Peters burg, the devices are still on the way and will be in Moscow only at the end of the week.

This information was reluctantly squeezed out by an employee of the Svorog after requests and interrogations on my part, because I really needed it and she did not want to voluntarily communicate!

Not satisfied with the answers of a tired employee, I called the cultural capital. And there is a completely different approach, polite Alexander told me everything, explained and promised that he would call me back when he found out where to buy my svarog REAL MIG 200 (N24002N) with the coveted induction torsion bar.

I have already made up my mind that I will receive the device no earlier than the end of the week when the manager of the Moscow company calls me back and informs me that there is one device in stock in Podolsk.

I can’t believe my ears. Please check, because they haven’t even been brought to Moscow yet?

But the information confirmes. And Yuri, that was the name of this specialist, offers me two options, either he moves the device, and tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, the device is in Moscow.

Or I can go to Podolsk myself (where, by the way, there is a welding room, with carbon dioxide, argon mixture, hood, mask, in short, everything necessary for welding), and try the device in action before buying.

THAT WAS THE KEY MOMENT …

Because it was this trip that determined WHAT I eventually bought!

The company can calle VITAL GAS.

I arrived in Podolsk at 15.00 and immediately went to the manager. After some negotiations, we went to the welding room, taking with us the new REAL MIG 200 (N24002N)!

We connected everything we needed, put on chameleon masks, gaiters (welding gloves), aprons, and started welding.

I had the foresight to grab a piece of car fender,in order to evaluate the quality of welding on car metal. In the process of communication, it turned out that Artem dreams of becoming a welder, and has some practical skills, which he showed me.

We cooked thin metal of 0.8-1 mm in a mixture of argon and carbon dioxide 80/20 wire 0.8 mm, changing the settings of voltage, current, induction, changed the gas to carbon dioxide and a mixture, try to cook differently and I Artem, but the result was satisfactory, no more.

Welding hissed, splashes rained down, metal periodically burned through. Next to it was an abrasive machine on which we cleaned the parts.

We also tried to cook on the paint — the result is not a stable arc, bad broth and the stench of burning paint.

As a result, I admitted to Artem that despite my lack of experience in welding, I was disappointed, because what I saw did not meet my expectations.

I understood that most likely it was me and not the device because so many specialists in welding can not be mistaken about this device! The manager suggested testing other welding machines.

We chose the welding machine Fox Weld SAGGIO MIG 200, with synergistic management.

They brought it, connected the same hoses, the same cylinder with the mixture, inserted the same 0.8 mm wire.

To say that he cooks differently, to say nothing! Buzzes like a bumblebee, not loud but nice and smooth.

The seam turns out to be beautiful, the weld is good, on the reverse side it bulges out but a little bit, it depends on the settings.

At first, on the synergistic control, the metal of the car burned a little, but after manual settings, it began to cook as it should, gently, clearly, with a minimum number of sparks and a pleasant buzz!

I really liked the device! Straight here is very, especially in contrast to the hard Svarog REAL MIG 200 (N24002N).

Holy shit, I didn’t count on this! And you also need to buy a mask, a bottle of carbon dioxide, gloves, scabs, magnets, wire and other small things… No… Is there anything else?”

Manager Artem Began to talk about the Spanish devices that are well disassembled, but now they are not available and in general, they are not cheap… To which I suggested, as an experiment, cooking a REAL MIG 200 of the previous generation with three torsion bars (without induction).

This device was not found, as well as Resanta was not found due to frequent breakdowns and returns, and Aurora welding machines, for personal reasons, the head of the company.

But there was a Welding machine Svarog REAL MIG 160 (N24001) of the previous generation, not restyling. We decided to test it!

And again surprise! Metal, sleeves, wire, gas, welders, settings are all the same as on the new Svarog REAL MIG 200 (N24002N) and cook well.

The sound is pleasant, smooth, the seam is not bad, the penetration is the right depth, there are few sparks.

The conclusion I made is this — the newer, the worse! That Cardozo changed in the circuitry to that new devices can boil worse. And even the wonderful” Twister ” of Induction does not save the novelty!

To take the device on emotions, without analyzing and understanding the availability of the service in Russia, reviews, no, not my option! Emotions are a bad adviser.

And all the buttons make like on toy Chinese phones/tablets. I like twirlers, tumblers more, it causes more confidence.

And Svarog REAL MIG 160 (N24001) for my tasks is too small in power! I want to build a house… so… I thanked Artyom and his colleagues for their suggestions and for the time and delay they had spent .) He can apologize to not buying anything and went home thoughtfully.

At home again at the computer. What haven’t I tried yet? AURORA! the reviews are more good, the device is liked, with the service and the guarantee of the order.

But there is no MMA and TIG welding… And then I remember the words of my father and other men who have seen… If a tape recorder has a built-in coffee maker and a hairdryer — this is a bad tape recorder.

I secretly understood that the more functions the more complex the device is — and this is expensive and reduces durability.

And if I so much need MMA welding, then I will buy separately, the same svarog or Aurora small and I will climb on the roofs with it.

With these thoughts, I began to search for a place to cook aurora, because I can personally convince of the importance of practical, not theoretical, choice! And no one can change my mind now!

As a result, I did not find where you can cook Arora About Overman 200 in Moscow, or maybe I was looking for it badly, but I liked one site SVARYCH.

The managers are super guys, responsive, competent, they themselves held welding in their hands, i.e. not theorists like me.

Yes, in addition, when buying a welding machine, they give a discount of -17% of the cost of the device, if you take gifts. And -12% if the discount is in cash!

For two days I tormented them with questions and questions. It turned out that almost all the devices for the test they have in stock and you can even try to cook right in the store, although there is no special room.

In the end, we agreed that they would hold the questions I had interest in, and I would come one of these days!I left Moscow at 5.36 in the morning, I couldn’t sleep, and the first snow fell in general, I drove slowly. By 10.00 I was in the store.

We met by Sergey and Dmitry-sellers. They pulled out all the devices that I asked for, gave me a mask, leggings, connected carbon dioxide and go ahead.

We cooked on the porch of the store, and visitors stepped over us)by the way, we finished the experiments by 15.00 !

Cooked with Svarg PRO MIG 200 (N220) – hard cooks. we tried to adjust it for a long time, changing the sleeves, the polarity, the gas pressure, the amperage with the wire feed speed and the voltage, the blanks, but the thin metal burns almost always and cooks hard, the crack spits.

Fox Weld SAGGIO MIG 200-it took a long time to set up, but we achieved what we wanted. In-Service was only carbon dioxide. In a mixture of argon and carbon dioxide in Podolsk, I cooked more pleasantly, but in Ivanovo, I did not disappoint, although I did not make such an impression.

I wanted to cook with a Grovers MIG 200 welding machine, on the recommendation of the guys from Svarych, the guys praised this model, but there was only a Grovers MIG 200 S with a price tag for me not lifting.

And the on-tax model Grovers MIG 200 P – without synergy was not cheaper.

PRO AURORA PRO OVERMAN 200

Therefore, we started welding with Arora Pro Overman 200 — a pleasant device, soft intelligent metal welding, intelligent settings with twists, a pleasant course ( and the current from 30 amps and the voltage from 14 volts and induction, if you want metal 0.5 mm will weld, and you want 10 mm so hot that the metal is yellow!

One minus, according to the guys-managers, very much does not like dust and overheating. If it is not regularly purged from metal dust and shavings that settle in the case when working with metal, then welcome to the service for replacing electronics!

This device is intelligent! It cooks gently, but also requires gentle, gentle handling. That’s fine with me. I have a compressor.

A couple of times a month to blow into the case through the vent is not difficult for me. And when leaving, cover with celofan . And the two-wire feed positions will not strain.

Everything was smooth, the wire did not push during welding, but also did not burn. It was fed evenly, clearly as evidenced by the smooth sound of welding and a nice neat seam!

This can confirm by Uncle Vova-a welder with 20 years of experience, who watched this action. He said that he adjusts the welding by sound…) So I made my choice!

It cooks gently, almost the same as the Over man 200, but the settings are more complicated and not intuitive, plus you have to wait until they persist for 3-4 seconds and only then cook, and this is after each adjustment of the current values, voltage!

It is not very convenient and starts to annoy almost immediately. The price is more expensive. Also, the buttons can mold in the panel itself-which resembles a toy Chinese tablet of the son.

Over time, the buttons can burst, bend inside, get lost, in short, I do not like this performance, it does not cause confidence.

Although the device itself has all types of welds on board and MIG and TIG and MMA, as we already know, the coffee maker is separate and the tape recorder is separate, and we will be happy!

If you have read this far, then you are a thinking person and as meticulous as I am! For this, I give you about 40 hours of my life and an invaluable experience that I have endured this week trying to choose something worthwhile for myself and now for YOU! Use the cool products of civilization for good! Good luck!