Tech

Bargain or Bollocks: Sealey MIGHTYMIG90

Do you really need gas to weld?

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Right then, we’ll preface this buy stating that we are not, nor ever have been professional welders. We’ve spent a bit of time on the sparkly spanner, but that’s it. That said, we can weld, so we’ve not gone at this completely blind. In fact, the Sealey Mightymig90 positions itself as the perfect solution for the home mechanic, so on that basis, we’re the perfect people to test it out.

This isn’t a welder to be used when restoring a rusty Rover P6 from the wheel nuts up. This is a welder for small to medium fixes. It’ll get your MOT patches done, it’ll fix your garage racking, or you can use it to make weird tools from half a 13mm spanner, a broken socket and a hammer. You know, that kind of thing.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”4907″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”img_link_large” css_animation=”appear”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]First things first, what is gas-less MIG welding? Well, it’s a lie is what it is. There is no such thing as gas-less welding. Hell, MIG stands for ‘metal inert gas’. If you want a decent weld with deep penetration (snigger) you need gas. In the case of a full-on gas MIG welder, you’ll have the welder and a big old bottle of gas to go with it. The gas is fed down the same line as the wire – which ultimately ends with the handheld trigger – and then it’s pushed out over the weld as it happens. You need this. With out it, you’ll just get sparks and mess. No metal will be stuck to other metal.

So no you’re wondering what the hell a gas-less MIG welder is, right? Well, it is gas-less in the sense that there is no big bottle of gas required (this is good for the home mechanic, as it means the unit takes up less space). The gas actually comes from the welding wire, which is unique to this kind of welder. It’s a flux core wire, in which the core material reacts with the weld/heat, and generates gas. It’s not as efficient as a full-on gas welder, but it works. Rather well in the case of the Mightymig90.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”4968″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”img_link_large” css_animation=”appear”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Sealey Mightymig90 comes in at a reasonable £203.94 including the dreaded VAT. That’s not bad, and when it arrives, you get a real sense of value from the build of the thing. This isn’t a flimsy, tinny unit like some we’ve had in the past. It’s small, but solid and has a bit of weight to it. Sealey has used quality clobber within its construction and it shows.

In the box, you get full instructions, a roll of flux-cored wire and also a welding mask. It’s just a cheap plastic item, but it works and the fact Sealey goes to the trouble of including it shows they care about your retinas. How nice.

The unit has a 2m main welding lead, a 2m plug lead and also a 2m negative lead with clamp. As such, you’ve got a decent amount of range. All the leads are made from heavy-duty stuff, too. You get the impression this sucker was built to last.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”4969″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”img_link_large” css_animation=”appear”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Setting the Mightymig90 up in readiness for welding is an absolute doddle. The wire roll simply lots onto a pin and is then secured by a chunky washer and wingnut, then you turn it on and the rollers pick up and feed the wire without fuss. That’s it, you’re off.

The Mightymig90 is, as the name would suggest, a 90 amp unit, so it’s got some grunt. However, it’s not a one-trick pony. There is a dial on the front of the main unit to change the wire speed, you can ramp things up to the full 90 for really thick metal by flinging the unit to the ‘high’ setting, and if you do go at it a bit too hard, there is an illuminated thermal warning alert.

Sealey says the Mightymig90 can weld metal up to 4.75mm thick. We hit it with some 3mm scrap we had laying around to see how it did.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”4971″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”img_link_large” css_animation=”appear”][vc_single_image image=”4963″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”img_link_large” css_animation=”appear”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]During welding, the Mightymig90 is a doddle to use. Our only criticism is that we prefer to weld with two hands, using one to steady the welding tip as we go. As such, holding the mask with one hand wasn’t ideal. But that’s on us. Had Sealey not provided the mask, we wouldn’t have been welding at all.

Also, there’s a lot of splashing. This is always going to be the case with a flux core or gas-less welding, and the Mightymig90 is no different. You need to be vary aware of your surroundings, as splash will go everywhere. It’s not as clean as gas welding.

It also takes a bit of time to get decent penetration (fnar), but once you steady yourself and get used to the pace, the results are pretty good. When you first pull back from the metal, it won’t look great. There’s a lot of smoke, soot and as we said earlier, splash. This is not a welder for finite, confined jobs.

That said, when the weld was cleaned up and ground back, we were pleasantly surprised. We simply butt-welded two pieces together. Furthermore, we only welded on one side. Despite this, when we gave it a good few clouts with the hammer, it didn’t budge. Impressive. And that’s even with some small bits we failed to penetrate (rofl).

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”4912″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”img_link_large” css_animation=”appear”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]So what’s the verdict? Well, we think it’s a bargain. It does the job and it does it well. As a solution for the home mechanic, it’s perfect. More than that, we’d recommend it for anyone looking to learn how to weld. The unit is tough and well-built, but it’s also unintimidating. You just plug it in and away you go.

Okay, so it’s not the cleanest form of welding, but flux core/gas-less never is. However, unlike others we have tried, the Sealey Mightymig90 does indeed appear to be mighty. The welds were solid, they were easy to lay down and the whole process was stress free. Perfect.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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