UNIMIG Viper 182 Welder Review

[@BroomysGarage]

I’m thinking the 180a Viper AC/DC tig should be the next purchase. 10A plug as well, and 180A should be more than enough for any automotive work. What do you think ? Viper 180 Vs Razor 200?

[@thomaspoynter9031]

Razor 200 is a Welder to grow into (speaking as a novice). It's capabilities are amazing for its price according to many professionals in the industry. A TAFE welding lecturer said it is capable of doing anything their shop Kempi welders can do which cost over 3x more. The T2 torch comes fitted with proprietary sort of consumables. However (very late 2021) they have just released a new style head which can be fitted and adopts the T2 to accept standard industry consumables and their new pyrex glass/ceramic cup kits. I am going to investigate at the welding store next time I'm in. Makes inside corners a fair bit easier for me. Keeping a flexi-head, HF arc start button and amp control on the t2 with industry standard consumables optional is a big step in the right direction from Unimig. Post sale win (hopefully)! Foot pedal was a big game changer for me when it arrived as a bonus package purchase deal. Often see these package deals so might be worth snagging one if and then. I haven't used the 180, I chose the razor for the extra duty cycle and greater overall performance, smaller machine size, longer warranty etc. I did have a dodgy regulator with ball float type provided in the box. Unfortunately vaporised 2 D size tanks before I could confidently point the finger. Unimig tested the machine and replaced the regulator but the tech guy suggested the double analogue gague regulators would be a wise purchase. This 2x lost gas bottles and buying an extra reg is a bit annoying and extra cost I didn't expect. However I'm happy with the machine and know I am the weakest point in the chain not the machine. I recommend it or any unimig product that fits your requirement and budget apart from a ball float regulator.

[@BroomysGarage]

Yeah, there is a full ‘starter’ kit available now with pedal and trolley for $1950 for the 200. Has a 15A plug, but can get by with that. I’ve never used over about 130A on my current machine anyway.

[@thomaspoynter9031]

Ohh it runs fine on 10A circuit. Never grind down a pin on a plug. Just buy a short 15A lead and 10A male plug from Bunnings and "get a sparky" to do a chop, strip, and screw swap. Then you have a 10a plug to go on a wall on a 15A lead and plug for any 15A machine. Property circuit breakers will work their magic if power is greater than the 10A in property and 10A plug aren't up to the task. I set a mental limit for power consumption but my diy use will never likely see it. Till my sparky mate hooks up a 15A circuit for me. I just bought the t2 conversion kit. And thanks to your video I was convinced to buy a 182 gas setup for MIG. Hopefully have a chance to test it all out soon.

[@BroomysGarage]

Yeah my old welder is 15A so already have a converted lead anyway. Just went and picked up the 200A starter kit so will give it a thrash in the new year 👍🏻

[@thomaspoynter9031]

Unimig ultimate welding guide for machine settings to get you started. I have found that a little extra gas flow is required to cool the Tungsten down from red hot.

[@GetUpFalcon]

Back in 2021 the in laws wanted to know what I wanted for Christmas. Based on this review I ended up going halves with them in this starter kit (minus the trolley). 18 months later I finally got around to organising a bottle of Argoshield light and tomorrow I’m gonna give it a crack! First ever welds here we come. Thanks Broomy.

[@jasonmark4941]

I bought a CIG Transmig 200 many years ago and it was plagued with the same wire feed issues from new. It caused me so much frustration that I began to think I just couldn’t weld properly anymore. It’s now been retired to the scrap heap and replaced with the latest unimig razor 220.

[@W0O0G]

I bought a unimig 185 a few months ago and just cracked open the box late last night, so good to see a good review and good comments! A bit of a relief.

[@willjohnson5466]

Heaps better than the viper 185 and cig 185, I'm a professional welder and I keep one of these in my tool box for welding stainless steel pipelines, mostly 100 and 150nb pipe, all sch40, I run it of a honda 7kva generator and she's about 4 yrs old now and still going strong.

[@heathwalker7981]

Good review thanks

[@brentsmith5647]

Brilliant video thank u 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@billmacfarlane4083]

Same as you, my fancy CIGWeld 185 beat me into thinking I was a crap welder. 3 years I put up with it. First job with my Unimig - 1000% improvement! I'm still not a great welder but now I can produce welds that are solid and not bird poo, hole filled messes that I was producing with the old machine. I got the 185 with the digital gauges for wire speed and amps. The Unimig machine has let me get on with building stuff, welding is no longer a thing I try to avoid.

[@charlesgalea69]

Thanks for the video today.

[@YOUBOGAN]

Nice review mate, I bought the UNIMIG Viper 185 about a year ago and felt exactly the same as you... Why didn't I buy this years ago! I've done some thin panel work with the .6 wire and needed almost no bog, and I am definitely no expert. Have also welded plenty of brackets and other odd jobs with thicker steel, trailer repairs etc, all good, very happy with the unit.

[@BroomysGarage]

Yeah I got the 0.6 in there now doing some panel work for the first time ever and I love it too 👍🏻

[@Doc_in_the_carpet_truck]

Nice the dogs getting in on the action!!! 👍🍻

[@BroomysGarage]

I tolerate their presence 😂

[@TURBOTRISTO]

nice I bought all cigweld stuff, for the simple reason that I like the blue haha

[@BroomysGarage]

Yeah I was going to either buy one of the new cigweld inverters or this but everyone said they had great experience with the unimig so went that way. I’m sure both do a great job.

[@wobblysauce]

Tech has changed quite a lot... like every other industry.

[@Baydotheopalhunter]

Their a fantastic welder! I bought the 182, 4 weeks ago works like a champion! Cheers

[@brizwinston2303]

I've been in the same welder for nearly 20 years. A gasless ryobi for DIY projects and as you say it gets the job done but weld quality could be improved greatly with an upgrade...I just need to justify I will use it more ... Keep up the good videos 👌

[@wobblysauce]

It all depends on how much you do, but if you get a better item, you will have less reluctance to do it and probably find more things to weld.

[@pellcorp]

I feel a bit silly as I bought this welder only a few days ago for $629, figured I got a good deal, but that starter kit if you buy the individual items is an amazing deal for 799 the helmet is normally $110, the 27 piece consumables is like $34, the trolley is $119, the gloves are $11 and the wire is $25. I already had all the accessories but probably could have sold those extra things on gumtree for a tidy profit! I also upgraded from a weldskill 135, at least I off loaded that for $200. Good video, subbed!

[@daveboxwell3151]

Where did you get it for $629 if you don't mind?

[@BroomysGarage]

Yeah I was going to just go for the welder for the run of the mill $699 price because thought I could just use my old helmet and make my own trolley, but this helmet is so great I’m glad I ended up with the starter kit. Solid trade up 👌🏻

[@pellcorp]

@@daveboxwell3151 I got a 10% discount from a retailer I have a previous relationship with, so I don't think it is available generally.

[@pellcorp]

I finally had a chance to try my new welder, all I can say is omfg so awesome! My welds are not always pretty but at least now I can focus on improving my technique without fighting the welder, I love having the flexibility to really dial in a setting. I had a scare to begin with wire feed was not working so well turns out I had the roller in backwards so 1mm on the wire side, after fixing that stupidity, was set for a very pleasant morning of welding. I was enjoying the sound of frying bacon even though I don't eat meat 😏

[@mattt83]

Got a unimig razor tig 320 I use every day at work it's been good so far on stainless and alloy.

[@danielspencer1973]

Nice review Broomy, when I get mine I'll take my old turd to work and crush it with the biggest excavator I have on the day!

[@darrencox1296]

And yet I’ve just bought a new Cigweld Ultra 185 autoset here in NZ and it’s absolutely bloody brilliant . Has awesome reviews too. Guess it comes down to the money you spend as well as the fact its newer technology also( not a 10 year old welder)

[@TorqHub]

Good run down there mate. Just goes to show that the right tool for the job makes all of the difference! Everlast PowertTIG 210EXT is what takes care of all the TIG jobs on our projects, and she gets a fair workout, that's for sure! Haha.

[@thedadoffab]

Luv them tru view helmets by unimig ( RWX600 MODEL) Best ever purchase Ive done Looking at getting one of those machines for myself. (Mainly for onsite work) Keep practicing and you’ll get really good with your machine Good luck

[@bruceyblowback8748]

Awesome.

[@Low760]

I have the First version viper 182. Great unit. Even can do scratch start Tig if you're keen ;)

[@5lcalais1]

Looking at getting a welder myself, something I've wanted to learn for yrs, just never had the $ to buy one or even have anything to work on to need one lol Currently up to needing an exhaust and having to plumb my wastegate back in and make an airbox (no one makes an off the shelf 3" for a vn unfortunately and I don't feel like spending 1800 getting a custom one done) good time to learn I guess (it'll probably cost the same but I'll have learned a new skill). Also have plans to do a full tilt build on my next project so this one looks like a goer tbh 🤔 good price and looks like it'll be good for a beginner 👌 Kinda hoping they do a mig/tig instead of the mig/stick cause I'll never use the stick and I wanna learn not just welding but fabricating also.

[@BroomysGarage]

They do a mig/tig/stick 3 in 1 machine. However, they are only a DC machine, so you can only weld steel/stainless, no aluminium. I know someone with one and they have the same praise for it that I do of my machine.

[@5lcalais1]

@@BroomysGarage oh ok thanks 👍 so just dc current, much difference to ac/dc? Tbh I don't really know the difference

[@5lcalais1]

@@BroomysGarage ah yeah wanna be able to do aluminum as well , bugger was kinda hoping to not have to get 2 different machines, don't really need the tig just yet ,only a beginner and they reckon migs the best/easiest to learn plus on cars you'd use mig more than the tig anyway, oh well! Thanks again 👍

[@BroomysGarage]

Yeah, ac is for aluminium and dc is for steel. So if you want to weld both steel and aluminium you will need an ac/dc tig welder

[@BroomysGarage]

A good mig is definitely easier as it’s point and shoot. Tig required you foot, left and and right hand all to work together.

[@asash4435]

Got the Viper 185 and it's brilliant! Can't wait to see which TIG you get Broomy. I was thinking of grabbing the Viper 180 10A AC/DC Tig so I can use it at home 👍

[@BroomysGarage]

Yeah I’d probably go for the same one.

[@GarageItYourself]

Cigweld are pure shite and no surprise that Bunnings sell them 😉 I've used a much larger UniMig and it welded very nicely. Good review mate 👍

[@BroomysGarage]

Bunnings only sell bossweld these days.

[@GarageItYourself]

@@BroomysGarage well there ya go. Must admit it's been a while since I looked at the welding aisle as there's nowt there I want or need.

[@Jase013]

in the market for the same welder. Noticed the Sydney Tools starter package does not include the trolley? Was your trolley included or did you buy that separately?

[@BroomysGarage]

The kit I got was a limited time promotion.

[@Jase013]

@@BroomysGarage Cheers.

[@ozjado]

Had the original unimig viper 182 for few years now great unit, my only gripe if I had one would be that there isn't a break as such on the spool so if your transporting it in the ute or something with a spool of wire in the machine it can unwind inside and make a headfuck of a mess ha

[@craigdavies69]

Great starter kit, the Binzel guns/tips are the best imo especially paired with supashield 52 or coregas 5-2.

[@302esky]

Same one i bought last month ... What size bottle of argon is that ? thank you

[@BroomysGarage]

That’s an E size argoshield. I use a G size for argon with the tig as the gas lenses use a lot more gas, takes longer to weld, so chews through diy much quicker.

[@302esky]

@@BroomysGarage thank you.. All the sizes confuse me on what bottle to buy .. Now it's rent from BOC or buy outright lol an other scam lol

[@MrDingodog65]

Hi, did you get the trolley & all we see in the starter kit for $799??

[@BroomysGarage]

It was a promotion at that time. I assume also that because this was filmed a while ago, that prices for everything in the world have gone up too.

[@n12sumfin]

Been looking into a tig and alot of the recommendations are for either the sws or the unitig 180, the only thing leading on the sws is choice of consumables and ability to switch out guns and pedal more easily

[@BroomysGarage]

My main priority when buying something of the nature of this purchase is if something goes wrong, what happens. Unimig have major retailers all over the country. Places like Sydney tools also have an entire shelf of the consumables. So that’s why I went this way. Nothing worse than buying a big bulky item from an online only type of place and then having to try to organise to get it back to them if something goes wrong.

[@charlieeeeee87]

Unimig now have interchangeable heads with the T2 torch if you want to run normal consumables part number for 17 size is U42001 & the part number for the 26 size is U42002

[@Jazman342]

Thanks for the great informative review. Nice to hear the quality is good. As a beginner I was looking at the 120 package (currently $345 @ Sydney Tools) but was advised it may not be heavy enough for my primary use (caravan chassis repair) so seriously thinking about this package and going gas rather than flux core. Done a little stick welding years ago and tried mig at TAFE trades course but did not complete course. Would probably use the stick option for heavier stuff down the track.

[@jackclulow5802]

What welder did you have Before?

[@jamesbaylis9438]

I've always wanted to try and get into this for my own projects, but never been able to find the best way to start. What equipment to buy, Gas vs Gasless, machine setup and after watching this. I think I'll need to do some Click & Collect shortly. Will definitely be watching for some more videos about this. Thanks Broomey 👍👍

[@good_man4083]

Disappointed you have skip how to setup how to connect gas to the machine 🙄🙄

[@Jeepvanboat]

Mate have to doibt you.after your barra video.😂 Why do you clowns all think the taxi is even in the same world as the jdm kings..2jz being the king i6 then there is you 🤣👍