The MigMaster DC Welder Tested by Dan Lepinski and Stuart Caruk What do you do when you need a welder and utility power is nowhere around? What if you do have commercial power and want an affordable portable welder? The MigMaster may be the solution in both cases. So just how does one evaluate welding equipment? Use it! This Things that Work is based on a MigMaster that has been in use for more than a year in the welding shop of Stuart Caruk in Vancouver, Washington. What is "MIG" welding? Until recently, arc welding meant either being connected to commercial power, lugging around a massive generator, or taking the metal to a welding shop Ä all unsatisfactory if not impossible solutions. Not long ago, portable battery operated MIG welders sprang on the scene. They were large and expensive. Until now. What is "MIG"? It stands for "Metal Inert Gas". A gas such as carbon dioxide or argon is injected right at the welding tip. This displaces oxygen and lets the welding process work better. The gas also cools the welding tip thus providing 100% duty cycle operation. Operation without the gas limits operation to a 10% duty cycle. How does a MIG welder work? A fine wire is fed to the tip of the welder from a spool located inside the welder. The wire passes through the tip and strikes an arc with the metal being welded. The wire is fed from the spool by using a variable speed motor. In the MigMaster, the electric drill provides the motor and variable speed. The battery powered, electric arc creates the heat that welds the metals together. The inert gas is not always needed. Some wire contains a special material called "flux" that performs essentially the same task as the inert gas. However, there is a tradeoff. The wire/flux combination is more expensive than just plain welding wire but is more convenient since a container of inert gas is not needed. The MigMaster The Migmaster came packaged with two eight foot long cables for connection to the batteries and an eight foot plastic hose for the inert gas. Since the MigMaster requires 24 Volts, a short connecting cable for joining two 12 Volt batteries in series was also provided. All cables were constructed of #4 AWG copper wire and included crimped on copper lugs for connection to the batteries. Four extra MIG tips completed the accessories. The Manual The instruction manual should be called the warning manual. Throughout its 21 pages, no less than 47 warning paragraphs in bold capital letters jump out at the reader. At times, I had trouble differentiating between real instructions, warning instructions, and precautionary warnings. Welding is dangerous. The warnings clearly point this out. While a professional welder with MIG experience should have little difficulty understanding the MigMaster manual, a beginner might find the extensive warnings a bit overwhelming. Performance We connected the MigMaster to two very tired 12 Volt "marine" lead-acid batteries. Even so, the weld quality was exceptional. In later tests, with another MigMaster, a healthy 100 Ampere-hour, nickel-cadmium battery pack was utilized with a resulting improvement in current output and weld quality. The MigMaster welds as well as large units costing thousands of dollars. In a side-by-side comparison with a 400 pound 220 volt $3,500 Miller welder, no differences could be noted in weld quality or strength. MigMaster will weld regular steel, stainless steel, and aluminum. While the manufacturer specifies current consumption at up to 200 Amperes, the actual current used depends greatly on the type of welding done. Using a 500 Ampere, 50 milliVolt current shunt in series with the batteries, the current varied from 90 to 230 Amperes as we welded. Reliability At first glance, the MigMaster appeared to be constructed of fragile plastic. A visual examination of the internal parts was not reassuring either. However, after more than a year of use, the MigMaster has yet to give any trouble. In fact, the test unit was accidentally dropped from a height of 20 feet and survived the fall intact. So much for fragile appearances. The only source of trouble has been an occasional welding of the wire to the welding tip. This is an operator error, not a MigMaster design flaw, and is a problem encountered by even the most experienced welder using any MIG type welder. Repair should be a breeze. Almost all replaceable parts are name brand items readily available from most welding supply stores. Even an anonymous test call to Omniverse Research (the MigMaster manufacturer) netted a quote for less than $2.00 to replace the gears inside the unit. Hints from a Pro Stuart turns out some of the finest welding I've ever seen. In addition to his MigMaster (which he's owned and used for over a year), he also owns several other MIG type welders, so I asked him for his comments. He had two very good suggestions. First, get longer battery leads. Stuart recommended 50 foot leads of #4 welding cable. Why? Unless you have the batteries completely enclosed, the 8 foot cables supplied with the MigMaster are not enough to keep sparks completely clear of the batteries. Batteries can give off explosive hydrogen gas. Keeping sparks away from the batteries simply makes sense. Second; get extra tips for your welder, especially if you're just learning how to use it. At about sixty cents each, it's cheap insurance against an unplanned trip into town. Buy at least a dozen. I'd suggest two dozen. A Personal Note If you've never used a MIG welder, find someone who already knows how. Stuart produces welds that are glass smooth. I don't. In just 15 minutes of instruction, Stuart had me welding with the MigMaster. Not perfectly, but a lot better than I'd ever have done on my own. I learned much about different types of welding wire, techniques, and welding gas. Stuart pointed out errors in the use of MIG welders that often lead to poor welds which in turn are often blamed on the welding equipment. Good advice from a pro is priceless. Conclusions The MigMaster is a very portable, cost effective welding system. From a year of hard use, it has a proven track record of reliability. It can do almost anything the big guys can do, yet is a simple handful. Although two hands are needed to operate the MigMaster, it is completely self contained and can go places the large MIG welders can't. At $249 for the basic unit, or $599 for a toolbox model complete with batteries and the electric drill for wire feeding (toolbox model available through On Line Marketing, Inc.), the MigMaster is an exceptional value. Access Author: Dan Lepinski 5905 NE 111th St.,Vancouver, WA 98686 Manufacturer: Omniverse Research, Inc. POB 33243 Los Gatos, CA 95031 ù 408-354-6611 Distributor (Western U.S.): On Line Marketing, Inc., 515 72nd St., Everett, WA 98203 ù 800-743-1403