welders

[novawez]

what kind of mig welders has everyone got dont know whether to get a gas no gas or no gas or just gas any advice would be apreiciated

[Mike]

Get a gas equipped one, unless you only plan on doing some very light fabircation.

Failing that go down to your local HSS Hire and you can hire one for as little as ?70 a week :thumb:

[Adam]

Get a gas.
With as high ampage as you can afford.
Also look at the lowest amps it can do(useful for thin sheet)

[mikey14sr]

Clarke pro 90, bought as a no gas/gas model but allways use co2 with it. Perfect output level for body work (goes down to about 28A)and anything else upto 3mm thick, if you'll regurlary be welding thicker than 3mm go up to a model with 150A output, but make sure it can get down to 30A for 1mm body work.

Being able to work without gas is handy for the occasional outdoors job when it's windy, but the results are no-where near as good as with gas.

[Adam]

Thats the same one i have/\
Cracking welder, only cost me ?30 too lmao

[mikey14sr]

I bought mine brand new this time last year, ?120! But it was money very well spent in my opinion. If I ever have to do more than an odd patch or 1 sill, I'll end up getting the adapter kit and open an account with an industrial bottle supplier, as the disposables only last about 1 meter of weld each.

[matthew172]

ive got a clarke 160T i use it with Co2, its a great welder but would be better if i used it with argon

[Nobby]

im going to get 1 soon hopefully im goingg for a 150 amp i hope will just be wleding patches arches sills etc lol, how expensive is the gas??

[Adam]

Quite expensive for disposable bottles if you use it regularly.

[mikey14sr]

Disposables around ?9 each for co2 or co2/argon mix.

Industrial bottles for regular use will mean an adapter kit (?30), and an account with a BOC or Energas supplier (?40-?75/year). But a half-size bottle should last a good 6 months and will only cost about ?15 (+ other charges) to refill. Get argosheild light (BOC) or coogar 5 (Energas) for best results.

[Martin]

mike i may need to borow your welder soon?

[novawez]

cheers for the replies ive just seen a mig 30 to 130 amp clark will this be any good for novas and is it true that you can use pub bottles cheers wez

[mikey14sr]

Sounds like a good set, you can use pub bottles but you need to have the right adapters for the thread. and it's also tecnicaly illegal as pub co2 cylinders are property of the supplying brewery and being found in possession of one could be deemed as handling stolen goods.

[novawez]

ive got to meet a nice landlord then

[dan16v]

i got a snap on 130amp, deffo get one with gas! gassless mig is horrid! makes the bead look like you have used an arc welder, and you get loads of pourosity due to no gas sheild
also never leave the wire spool in the garage/ on the welder if the place its stored in is damp/cold as you get a small layer of rust on the wire spool which also leads to impurities in the bead and then lines the wire feed harness etc. i keep myne in the airing cuboard!

[dan16v]

Also, if you intend to use the welder for any length of time make sure you get one with a fan, i think clarke call this range the 'turbo' range! as other wise the thing will be cutting out on high temp every 5 mins!

[novawez]

cheers dan

[ade]

I recently bought a clarke110E (gas) welder.

Had the same discussion about which welder to buy and after chatting to the bloke in my local machine mart the above model was recommended. Was also the best one based on all the reviews I'd read.

The next one up was they clarke 135te (turbo) - has a built in turbo fan which means you can use it for longer periods before it overheats.

What you have to remember is the additional kit you will need to go with it.

I bought a spare roll of wire, gloves, a proper flip up visor (the kit one is ****e), a pair of jogglers (for forming lips in metal), 3 argon replacement cylinders, some anti spatter spray, a set of 3 welding C clamps, and recently some mini clamps called intergrips. All in all spent about ?300.

If you havent welded before get yourself some books as well just to give you an idea of what to do but the main thing is practice makes perfect (or better).

I havent even used it yet... although that will change next weekend...

[dan16v]

if you can afford it, get an auto tint visor! they are well worth it when welding things like cars as alot of it is stop start, not long runs.
Ade looks like you got a good set up, 110amp should be ample for working on cars tbh!, but imo its well worth getting a set with a built in fan!
also would not bother with the anti spatter spray, spatter comes off easy with a nice sharp chisel by hand!

[novawez]

i managed to get hold of a reacterlite mask for 20 quid off a mate ive welded with mig before but only on a 3 phase esab at work but there a coplete different ball game i think

[ade]

you can also get advice from here (several png'ers are on this site as well) -

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/index.php

[coombsey]

i get my mask gloves and splatter release from work, ive got a clarke 150te gass a jcb gassless and a clarke gasless out ofthem three i prefer my gassless jcb one its small compact and easy to use

[meritlover]

it is of my opinion NOT to get a gasless mig. unless you like to weld gates in fields or tracktor trailers. it leaves a horrible messy splattery weld. it is only use outside if it is windy because the wind normally blows away the gas.
i used to use argosheild it was a mix of Ar/CO2 now i use ferromax4 and hire the bottles from my brothers cousins shop.
thank you for your time