The PARWELD XTE201C MIG Welder: Why It's a Must-Have for Welders

The Parweld XTE 201C Review

Welding is an essential part of many industries, from automotive to construction. As a result, having the right welding equipment is crucial to ensuring that your welds are done to the highest standards. One of our best selling transformer MIGs is the  PARWELD XTE201C. Its proved a really popular welder for car body welders and light fabrication.

This powerful machine offers a variety of features and benefits that make it an ideal choice for welders who want to produce high-quality results. Let's take a closer look at what makes this welder stand out from the competition at this price range.

The first thing that you will notice compared to competitors machines is the quality of the case. They have used 2mm steel for the case of the machine and this compares against competitors who tend to use 1.5mm.

This makes the welder more rigid and stable especially when a large gas bottle is placed onto it.

This isn't a light unit, you can certainly feel the weight of the transformer when lifting it.

On the front of the welder is a large carry handle that feels sturdy, and the plastics that hold it to the panel are a quality grade, again providing strength.
Below are the controls; an 8-setting voltage switch is much better than competitors' machines offering finer control between settings.

Some welders with six voltage settings have a more significant jump between the settings. This can mean it's difficult when welding thin steels such as car body panels.
You could be welding on setting 2 and find its just not quite enough, only to be too fierce when you select setting 3. The more setting a welder has, the better.
The wire feed knob feels sturdy and offers progressive adjustment. It may be small for my liking meaning it's hard to adjust with thick gauntlets on.
There is also an overheating light signalling the transformer has overheated.

DRIVE TRAIN 

One of the most overlooked parts people neglect when buying a MIG welder is the drive train and drive rollers.

Most economy MIG welders use plastic drive roller assemblies and low quality plastic drive motors much like what you would find powering a car washer bottle.

The feed is really important, the more consistent and smooth the the wire feed the better the explosions (arc) you will feel when welding.

It also means it lasts longer and gives less trouble.

The Parweld XTE Range of MIG welders are fitted with a professional quality wire feed assembly and motor for this reason.

In the picture above you can also see the terminals so that you can change polarity of the torch which is essentual if you want to weld with gas-less MIG wires.

LETS LOOK INSIDE

One thing you will notice upon taking off the cover is the size of the transformer and the industrial quality fan helping to keep everything cool.

Transformer design is robust with heavy windings and the choke transformer placed on top of the main transformer to save space. 

 This enables the length of the case to be shortened for improved manoeuvrability and a more central weight for gravity.

You can see the large bimetallic thermal trip in the picture above and this is what brings the overheat light on, on the front of the machine. 

Above this is the smoothing capacitor that helps smooth the rectified DC welding current for better less spatter welding.

An easy-to-repair PCB is above this with a single-track layout; this means should it fail, it's straightforward to repair, not that that's a worry with Parwelds ' year return to base warranty, but its nice to know. Too many manufacturers use microelectronics in their PCB design, which can prove troublesome should you need to repair it.
It also means it's more prone to tracking and shorting should metallic dust congregate on it.
The more standard PCB on this welder means its less likely for failure even if the inside of the machine gets incredibly dusty, a great plus point.

SO WHATS IT LIKE TO WELD WITH?

Its actually very good, giving smooth arc characteristics even on the thinnest materials with low spatter. The wire feed ensures smooth feeding even if you have you welding torch slightly curled up.

The stop start was smooth so its great for the pulsed welding technique required when welding car body panels, all in all a good experience.

As you can see above with this 1.0mm Butt weld the burn ring is kept to a minimum and is consistent across the weld bead.

All in all the Parweld XTE 201C MIG welder is great for a home hobby welder who wants a little bit of quality for a great price and with long warranty.

Its also ideal for a garage, workshop or small bodyshop with Its excellent arc and robust design giving  professional repeatable welds on vehicle steels and thin plate.