welder advice.....

R

richarduk

Guest
I've done a lot of reading on welders, some of the reviews just managed to confuse me even more. The one they recomended in Pratical Classics @ £250 (can't remeber the name) was infact closer to £400. So that one was out, shame as it looked good.

I've come down to these two.

Both Clarke welders. One a 110E and the other 130EN. I'm thinking the 130EN as it comes as gassless and with the kit to convert to gass, as i'll be welding outside I think i'll be using gassless. 110E can't be converted gassless. (so the manual says)

Clark 110E on Machine Mart
Clark 130EN on Weld Equip

I need to know just a few things.

1) Should I stay away from Clark welders or are they up to the job.
2) If my local welder suppiers can't order these in (they should) are these two sites i've found to be trusted, has anyone used them?
3) Any other recomended welders around the 230 - 250 mark?
4) Any other trusted suppiers?

Ta. :)

I want a welder that will on the main get light use with speradic hard work for a few days at a time and will last a left time................. (not asking for much ;0 )
 
I bought a gasless one from ebay for £90.00 brand new.

I only wanted it for the couple of patches (now 38) that I had to weld in and thought a cheapy would do.

Its been perfect, never missed a beat but I am only on my third reel of wire, so haven't used it extensively.

Make sure you get one that goes down to 25A though as you will need this low ampage to weld car panels.

Best of luck with it

Richard
 
I've used plenty of clark welders and they've always been fine, my mate has the 130EN and I've used it, worked well,no problems. I've got a 100EN which I've had for probably 18 years and it's still in regular use.

In terms of where to buy from, I have no advice, effectively they're covered by the manufacturer warranty so I'd just find the cheapest supplier.
 
Hi, my only advice would be to get a welder that has a 'euro' fitting
on the umbilical rather than a 'hard' wired umbilical. The torch end
gets most abuse / problems and is often more economical to change
this than repair / service. Although they can be more expensive they
are better built because they are usually a professional machine with
a wider welding range. They will also have a higher residual value.

Hope this is of help, Colin.
 
My Clarke 120e lasted for years, then I sold it to a friend who promply ran it over with his Land Rover, beat it back in to shape and carried on using it. Last time I saw it, you could barely make out what it was supposed to be, yet it was still soldiering on.
The SIP Topmig Turbo 150 I replaced it with produces nicer welds when it's working, but has a far less reliable wire feed.
 
quattro said:
Make sure you get one that goes down to 25A though as you will need this low ampage to weld car panels.Richard
Click to expand...

When you mean panels, do you mean wings and doors? Or the pannels that make up the body? Just that i've just had a look and most only go down to 30A and the ones that do go down to 25A start at over £600 :shock:
 
One last question, how do you guys rate the auto tint wealding helmits? I have a full helmit already but I have to use a bright light to help me see before the arc starts.

Thinking of this one. siflite-helmet
 
I bought a Clarke Pro 90 mig back in 1990 ,Still works but I wish I'd paid a bit more for a bit more power

Also got an auto welding helmet off a German email address for about £26- seems to work
 
I've got a Clarke 150TE, it gets a lot of abuse and has stood up well.

In my experience, gasless welders aren't worth buying if you're welding thin steel (i.e. bodywork), as the wire seems to take too much heat to melt, meaning it's easy to blow through. Not to mention the increased spatter.

I have used mine outdoors from time to time, but it can't be in windy conditions - and works better if you do what you can to restrict airflow around the tip.

I've heard SIP wire feeds are very poor, although in my experience the Clarke ones are bearable for the price. :)

The auto darkening helmet can be very useful - certainly better than a standard one. I've only got a cheapy one, so no idea how 'good' it is for my sight.
 
I have a SIP 130 Turbo 8) & it's been great for probably 20 years now. More than powerful enough.

Just a point re the welding masks - a friend suggested changing my standard lens to one that's normal 'black' for 80% of its height, but a bit more translucent at the bottom. Just tilt your head up & look through the bottom to get your placing, then straighten your head & you've full protection. Simple stuff that works!
 
I was looking to get a welder with a Euro torch but they're ridiculously expensive in comparison (around £500), and the torches are around £70 to replace, whereas you can replace all the parts in the hobby torches (certainly the clark ones) for a few quid. So unless you really want a pro-class welder I wouldn't worry too much. Having said that they are better, but I'm just not convinced they're worth the expense unless you're using it every day.

I bought an auto darkening mask off ebay for about £50 and it's excellent, variable darkness etc. Works a treat. I also bought a load of spare lens covers at the same time just in case I couldn't get them later when I needed them ! Best bit it's got "Flames" stickers on it and looks really trendy ! :LOL:
 
richarduk said:
quattro said:
Make sure you get one that goes down to 25A though as you will need this low ampage to weld car panels.Richard
Click to expand...

When you mean panels, do you mean wings and doors? Or the pannels that make up the body? Just that i've just had a look and most only go down to 30A and the ones that do go down to 25A start at over £600 :shock:
Click to expand...

200498870732 ebay - can't work out how to do links with this tab browsing nonsense :?

30A will do it but it will be more prone to blowing holes in the panel - unless your welding is better than mine :shock:

Richard
 
quattro said:
richarduk said:
quattro said:
Make sure you get one that goes down to 25A though as you will need this low ampage to weld car panels.Richard
Click to expand...

When you mean panels, do you mean wings and doors? Or the pannels that make up the body? Just that i've just had a look and most only go down to 30A and the ones that do go down to 25A start at over £600 :shock:
Click to expand...

200498870732 ebay - can't work out how to do links with this tab browsing nonsense :?

30A will do it but it will be more prone to blowing holes in the panel - unless your welding is better than mine :shock:

Richard
Click to expand...

Nice catch, and a bit of googling found the en version that is almost the same price but can be converted to and from gass / gassless. Clark Mig 90EN with a kit.

I think I need a low voltage as I've always struggled with my usual 'cheap' rubbish and blowing throw the metal. There is trade welding shop just up the road, I'll pop in there tomorrow and see what deals he can do me. If not I'll order of the net.
 
Many thanks to everyone, when I posted this question I thought I was going to end up buying the wrong kit and wasting money, I'm now confident I'll get the right kit for me. :)
 
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