Paton StandardMIG VS Bester 200-S (2025)

Hi there, Looking to pickup my first Mig,

I’ve read quite a few post and the rtech’s have caught my eye but also some comments have been off putting.

So currently looking at the Paton StandardMIG 200 and the Lincoln Bester 200-S

The Paton is around £610 where’s I can get the Bester for sub £500

What would you go for and why. Cost is a big driver for me but I’d spend the money if ifs deemed worth it.

Use will be predominantly for car repair (body & chassis) but also for odd jobs around the place like fixing gates. In the back of my mind I’m thinking I should also look at 250amp machines.. but not sure I can stretch to that and if that will compromise me when it comes to body repair.

Any advice welcome.

Learning said:

5 year warranty on the Paton, that would be my choice.
The Paton has a far higher duty cycle too, and goes from 10 to 200 amp,
the Bester goes from 30 to 200 amp, the lower amps (10 Amp) of the Paton will
help using smaller wire and will be much better on body panels, and the Paton
can still go up to 200 amps with a much higher duty cycle than the Bester.
I have not used either welder but have a 250 amp Paton that is a good welder.

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Thanks for the reply, I’ve seen on Panton’s website that the 250 also drops to 10amps, have you any experience on using yours on thin bodywork?

I’ll be using it on a Landrover body & chassis so not “that” thin.

Are those inverter type MIG welders?

Inverter type machines are highly recommended really.

JOEPRO said:

Are those inverter type MIG welders?

Inverter type machines are highly recommended really.

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Yeah they are, I’ve got no issue running in a power supply for a transformer type welder but from the resech I’ve done the inverter types seem to generally have better duty cycle and lower supply requirements, the trade off seems to be longevity and cost.

Learning said:

If your using shielding gas, use C5 for best results, not C25, though am sure people also use C25 it would not be my choice.

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That’s interesting I’d mostly seen C25 recomended, I’ll have more of a look into it.

Being able to run low current doesn't mean it will still weld. Running 10 amp through 0.8 mm wire makes it glow, not melt. There will be a minimum current that causes fusing with the parent metal. A lot of trial and error, but it's no guarantee.

Just tried running 12.1 volt and 1.5 m/min WFS, 0.8mm wire and hobbyweld 5 gas. Averaged 10 amp.

That's me with the buyers remorse. I wouldn't buy another one based on my experiences.

I'm not God's gift to Mig welding but I've owned a Clarke 151te, still own a Portamig and did my City and Guilds Level 2 on a Miller 383. Maybe I've got a duff one as other people are happy with them?

Richiew said:

That's me with the buyers remorse. I wouldn't buy another one based on my experiences.

I'm not God's gift to Mig welding but I've owned a Clarke 151te, still own a Portamig and did my City and Guilds Level 2 on a Miller 383. Maybe I've got a duff one as other people are happy with them?

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Ahh that’s interesting to know, as I said I’ve also been looking at the Rtech stuff and there’s a lot more info and reviews around about them, one thing that put me off a little with the Paton was the lack of reviews.

Have you spoken to the Uk distributer about the issues?

Don't get me wrong. It still welds. Just the spatter is terrible. It died very early into the purchase as well, went back for repair. Warranty service was fine but still the same issue. I presume they tested it to their satisfaction. Is it a feature, is it a fault, who knows? Could be me I suppose but I've never had the trouble with other welders I've owned or used.

Get a demo of any potential purchase if you can. I'm pretty sure the forum sponsors have a demo area. Other suppliers may too.

Richiew said:

Don't get me wrong. It still welds. Just the spatter is terrible. It died very early into the purchase as well, went back for repair. Warranty service was fine but still the same issue. I presume they tested it to their satisfaction. Is it a feature, is it a fault, who knows? Could be me I suppose but I've never had the trouble with other welders I've owned or used.

Get a demo of any potential purchase if you can. I'm pretty sure the forum sponsors have a demo area. Other suppliers may too.

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Fortunately I’m just down the road from the distributor but I’ve zero welding skill.. so I couldn’t tell what’s good or bad if i was to try it..

Was yours the 160, 200 or 250?

250

Richiew said:

250

Stuff you have made today

Nice welds, better than mine today, think my helmet is dying. Difficult when you can't see what you're welding. Every time I can't see I think I should stop and sort some better lighting out. I rarely do, just carry on and hope!

www.mig-welding.co.uk

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Thanks for the info, that’s a shame as it ticks lots of boxes but your experience doesn’t sound great.

Hmm can see this won’t be an easy decision to make

And yet my Portamig has none of these functions and still does better.

I experimented with inductance. No improvement.

Not sure how any of those other settings mentioned would control spatter.

I know @northwest likes his Bester.

Richiew said:

I know @northwest likes his Bester.

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I really do rate it, very versatile and easy to use, I have had a couple three rolls of wire through it now and I am only just thinking about changing the torch tip (if that even means anything?). No, if it went missing I would get the same machine again, no doubt at all.

I have had a long hard think about the one machine is better than another thing that comes up once in a while and this is what I think:

You are going to have to be a very experienced welder with lots of time on different machines to tell the difference between most of the mainstream offerings, most good welders I know immediately change their technique to overcome the shortcomings of one machine over another and they mostly do this subconsciously, they don't know they are doing it. So when you ask them what they find different about one machine in preference over another they are oftentimes struggling to explain the difference as their skill and experience has enabled them to just deal with whatever shortcomings there may have been. This is just my opinion and not based on any scientific study.

L

Barwell1992 said:

Thanks for the reply, I’ve seen on Panton’s website that the 250 also drops to 10amps, have you any experience on using yours on thin bodywork?

I’ll be using it on a Landrover body & chassis so not “that” thin.

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Land Rover bulkhead repair panels are thinner than the ham in a British Rail sandwich ... last one I welded in was 0.7mm they got a nice profile , but it was thin.