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I have an old, trusty Mig welder that has given me good service. It is the same model as Ron Champion used in his book, a SIP Migmate Super Dual-Purpose. It is a 110Amp/ 110Volt unit. I’ve had it for over 20 years. The only real problem that I have is that the parts and consumables are not available here in the USA. The cables are hard mounted to the welder so it takes a lot of abuse. I have had to repair the torch (gun) cable a few times, each time getting shorter and shorter. And it wasn’t but 6 ft long to start with.

I decided to upgrade using a generic Euro-torch conversion kit. This way I had all the pieces necessary. Generally these kits are sold on eBay, Amazon and other places from companies in the UK or Australia. However many of the kits originate from China. I chose to purchase a kit directly from the exporter in China since I have had generally good luck doing business there. For about 120 bucks, I got a 3 meter (10 ft) torch, a chassis mount receptacle, a bunch of nozzles and tips plus DHL delivery. Other mig torches can also be purchased in 4 and 5 meter lengths too if I ever have the need.

I have viewed a youtube where one person bashed the connector/socket or the Chinese vendor because it didn’t fit together. I had no such issue. The parts fit together just fine. The installation went fairly straight forward for a universal kit. I had to make a few adjustments to the receptacle for my specific welder model. Basically I cut off ~3/8” of threaded post on the input side and then the inner wire feed tube. I could have just added a 3/8” box to the chassis but chose to do the cleaner install. Your welder may require a different technique. I had to drill 3 holes for sheet metal screws to mount the plastic socket surround. And I had to make an adapter for the trigger wiring. One shortcoming is that this torch has only one position for welding. You cannot purge gas without feeding wire. But my model welder doesn’t have that capability anyway.

While I was at it, I picked up a better ground clamp and a pin/socket for that too. I’m now ready for the next 20 years of service.

With a little ingenuity and effort, the euro torch upgrades can be made to virtually any mig welder.

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Chuck.

“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

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My old Century (Mac Tools) 90 amp uses a tweeco gun. I had to buy a trigger once when I was careless with it but thats about it.