Welder recommendations

[blaze_the_6]

Hi, I am on the hunt for a mig welder in the £200-300 price range. I want a portable unit that will be used mainly for car repairs, and I also would like it to weld up to 5mm thich steel.

I have been looking at a few Clarke models such as the MIG130EN Turbo.

Is this a good welder for a complete beginner. Thanks guys

[Janne L]

I would really recommend that you get yourself a used professional model rather than a cheap new one, everything about them is usually better :-) if possible aim for a 3 phase one, it easier to weld well with them, especially if you are going to learn to weld on this machine :-)
I'm running a 400A beast I got cheap a few years ago, and it produces great welds, far from portable though :-P

[jamiek_uk2000]

I would really recommend that you get yourself a used professional model rather than a cheap new one, everything about them is usually better :-) if possible aim for a 3 phase one, it easier to weld well with them, especially if you are going to learn to weld on this machine :-)
I'm running a 400A beast I got cheap a few years ago, and it produces great welds, far from portable though :-P

If you buy a three phase one, your going to need a 3 phase supply at wherever you are going to use it. If it's not an industrial/commercial unit, then you won't have three phase.

[blaze_the_6]

I would really recommend that you get yourself a used professional model rather than a cheap new one, everything about them is usually better :-) if possible aim for a 3 phase one, it easier to weld well with them, especially if you are going to learn to weld on this machine :-)
I'm running a 400A beast I got cheap a few years ago, and it produces great welds, far from portable though :-P

Thanks for the reply, but as Jamie stated, I dont have a 3 phase power unfortunately and portability is key as I would also end up using it for work.

Could you recommend any decent brands of welder. Thanks

[Janne L]

Kemppi and Esab are good, other than that I don't know :-)
Just make sure it can use shield gas and not only flux-core wire.

I guess 3 phase is more common here. I have it at home, could install a socket and go crazy :-P

[blaze_the_6]

Kemppi and Esab are good, other than that I don't know :-)
Just make sure it can use shield gas and not only flux-core wire.

I guess 3 phase is more common here. I have it at home, could install a socket and go crazy :-P

Thanks for the info bud, 3 phase is normally for comercial use only up here.

Will start with a small welder for diy purposes and see how I do. Thanks again

[karl1989]

Cebora good welders

[madwelshman]

I'll second Cebora and Murex (my current mig welder is a 160 amp Murex) as well.
Personally, I'd get at least 150 amp set and definitely not a gasless model. Yes, it does mean you have to get (and carry) a bottle of gas, but from my own personal experience, I find I achieve a better and more consistant weld with a gassed mig compared to a gasless.

---

SIP migs don't seem too bad either. I've used a few over the years (friends and at work).

[fatlapit]

ive got a clarke en 151 gas/gasless its spot on plenty of adjustability good enough for what u need bud

[Mole man]

My dad owns his own welding supplies company I'll have a word with him and see what he can do for you if you like?

[Grant]

ive got a clarke en 151 gas/gasless its spot on plenty of adjustability good enough for what u need bud

+1

I've got the 160 Turbo and its a massive improvement on the 90 I had before. More than capable of what I use it for, and great value too.

[blaze_the_6]

Guys, thanks for all the helpful responses. I ended up getting a new Clarke 135 turbo gas/gasless on the cheap.

Mole man, I will keep you in mind for the future as I will definetly want something better when I get my own work shop with 3 phase.

Grant, I almost bought a 90 but ended up with the 135. Reason being, The mains trip switches really dont like welders and cut out if the welder is much bigger than 140 amps.

THanks for all the advice though guys, will look in to Ceboro/Murex next time

[madwelshman]

Look out, no stopping you now!! lol

[vincent1]

I like clarke mig welders ive had two in the past parts are cheap also i find from machine mart i got too admit i seem to weld better with argon mix gas i used to get from boc.

[Poodle]

Another vote here for used professional over diy/hobbyist, they're just better. They're also easier and cheaper to get spares for, stuff like clarke tends to be the equivalent of apple - parts that other companies standardised years ago are still manufacturer-specific, money money money...

[silverzx]

I'm looking to order a MIG welder some point this week.

I just want a single phase thing that will weld exhausts and turbos to plates.

ATM I'm considering:

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/380404012819 - DRAPER MW132A 43946 - 230V GASLESS MIG WELDER 130Amp **NEW BOXED** £170




www.ebay.co.uk/itm/181443232449 - SUPERMIG130 SEALEY MINI MIG WELDER 130AMP 230V BRAND NEW SEALEY TOOL! £175



and lastly

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111072679662 - Sealey MIGHTYMIG100 Professional No-Gas Mig Welder 100Amp+WELDING HELMET £125



http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sealey-MIGHTYMIG...mig+welder - Sealey MIGHTYMIG150 230V 150A Professional MIG Welder £182



Thoughts?

[darrenjlobb]

Trouble with cheap welders is well, there cheap...

You never get a euro torch lance, so when its f*cked, its f*cked, the tips are always some stupid thread / cant use normal ones...The duty cycle is always shite, so 2 minutes into a raping bead and the thing catchs fire...the wire feed roller tensioners are always plastic shite / bends out the way and has useless power... the leads / ground clamp are made of tin..there just so cheap, and make for some rough welding / endless frustration from my experience...

If you cant afford new, id look for used Lincoln / Esab / Miller / Kempi etc before settling for new Chinese shite...worth EVERY penny imo.

[silverzx]

Trouble with cheap welders is well, there cheap...

You never get a euro torch lance, so when its f*cked, its f*cked, the tips are always some stupid thread / cant use normal ones...The duty cycle is always shite, so 2 minutes into a raping bead and the thing catchs fire...the wire feed roller tensioners are always plastic shite / bends out the way and has useless power... the leads / ground clamp are made of tin..there just so cheap, and make for some rough welding / endless frustration from my experience...

If you cant afford new, id look for used Lincoln / Esab / Miller / Kempi etc before settling for new Chinese shite...worth EVERY penny imo.

That's the thing, I can afford new, I just linked them all!

£200 budget.

Must be single phase.

Hook a brother up.

[Grant]

I think Ruan was more referring to a new or used Lincoln etc.


For your budget, and what you're going to be using it for (I assume DIY and hobby (i.e. not welding a chassis back together every other day of the week)) then the 150A Sealey will be fine

Obviously a used professional model would be good, but remember they also tend to be bigger, a lot more powerful (likely to use 3P in some circumstances) and pricey.

[blaze_the_6]

£200 is not a good budget for a new welder.

[silverzx]

I think Ruan was more referring to a new or used  Lincoln etc.


For your budget, and what you're going to be using it for (I assume DIY and hobby (i.e. not welding a chassis back together every other day of the week)) then the 150A Sealey will be fine

Obviously a used professional model would be good, but remember they also tend to be bigger, a lot more powerful (likely to use 3P in some circumstances) and pricey.

Yeah, it's for hobby use. Turbo plates, odd exhaust, maybe make a squat rack and bench press.

[Ruan]

I'd sooner save for another 2 years and spend a bit more than buy a £200 hobby mig welder... They're just crap and you'll have to spend it again when inevitably it all falls to bits and nothing works anymore!

Get yourself a second hand professional job, you'll thank me when you're laying down beauty beads, not dropping pigeon shit all over the place.

OR - just get yourself an old Oxford oil filled arc welder for naff all off ebay... They're absolute monsters and will lay raping beads, which will do you for any thick stuff, a cheapy crap hobby welder will be crap on thin stuff also, so you may as well not bother, but at least the Oxford will be monstrous on the heftier stuff - it'll tack what you need to take it somewhere else and use a MIG if you must...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/OXFORD-TYPE-EL...259aae034a

It may look like a piece of shit, but trust me, you can leave that bastard shorted out until the day you die and it'll STILL be pumping a few hundred amps into whatever you've got across the terminals and the transformer will barely be warm to the touch.

[nominous]

3 phase. spares or repair. No leads or torch (meh).
All the good ones are around 150quid.


For hobbist the "cheap chinese crap" seems to work enough. So you have to wait for it to cool down a little Duty cycle. Fine.
Find a model in your budget and go research.
Folks said all the chinese tigs are shit but then I've read of pros reviewing them and finding them not terribly bad.


I've got a Snap On MIG - read Cebora. Cos I got a deal from a mate.
But I've played with a chinese tig and whilst tig is a whole new ball game, it was doing a fair job of it for the money.
Both thin sheet and thick stuff it was coping well. Just flying through disposable argon bottles

[silverzx]

I'd sooner save for another 2 years and spend a bit more than buy a £200 hobby mig welder... They're just crap and you'll have to spend it again when inevitably it all falls to bits and nothing works anymore!

Get yourself a second hand professional job, you'll thank me when you're laying down beauty beads, not dropping pigeon shit all over the place.

OR - just get yourself an old Oxford oil filled arc welder for naff all off ebay... They're absolute monsters and will lay raping beads, which will do you for any thick stuff, a cheapy crap hobby welder will be crap on thin stuff also, so you may as well not bother, but at least the Oxford will be monstrous on the heftier stuff - it'll tack what you need to take it somewhere else and use a MIG if you must...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/OXFORD-TYPE-EL...259aae034a

It may look like a piece of shit, but trust me, you can leave that bastard shorted out until the day you die and it'll STILL be pumping a few hundred amps into whatever you've got across the terminals and the transformer will barely be warm to the touch.

Seriously Rupert. WTF is that. Scrap?

I'm going to use it for like 2 minutes every now and then..

I don't think arc is the best thing to start with..? :/

[Grant]

Arc would be easier to start with than MIG. MIG is easier on thin metals (i.e 2mm and below, such as body panels), and has less spatter than ARC.

Ruan is just a brand whore :p . Granted, the items he is listing are the models favoured by the trade, but for what you need, I wouldn't lost sleep over it.

[Ruan]

I'm not a brand whore! Show me a GOOD cheap welder with Euro-Torch connector on the front with a DECENT transformer up the ass of it and I'll happily have it, I've tried all the supposedly good hobby welders, but they just break all the time, the wire feeds are shit and made of cheap plastic that you can't replace... You struggle to replace the torch and lead when inevitably you accidentally screw the feed tube etc...

You'll spend £200 now and if it gets any real use it'll be another £200 in a few years time and all your welds will be shit!

An arc welder is just vastly more simple than a MIG - you don't need gas, you don't need wire, motors, feeders, tips... Arc you shove in a stick, strike her up and off you go, only consumable is sticks and wire brushes tbh!

[Grant]

I paid £199 delivered for this. Not something that would be used in a fabrication shop, before you point that out, but none-the-less, good for the price. Welds just fine (even for somebody like me ) and has a good enough duty cycle for somebody using it for hobby functions.

[darrenjlobb]

Meh I wouldn't recommend an arc welder to someone who has never welded before, and whos primary purpose is cars...exhausts...bodywork..the last thing you want is an arc welder for that sort of stuff trust me....

Second hand decent mig is the way to go if your on a budget / looking to start in welding..anyone can learn it, you can weld anything on a car with it, and as long as you keep it in the dry / look after it, it wont give you any serious grief.

[darrenjlobb]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cebora-180-Aut...27f2c06c31

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lincoln-Electr...4d29606ed5

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/snap-on-mig-we...339a0c3b09

Lacking eurotorch but still a good welder:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MIG-WELDER-CEB...23469939eb

[Rippthrough]

I'd agree with Darren, I'd take a MIG for car work over arc any day, and I can lay a decent arc bead. I'm not so keen on those cebora's though, my brother has one and it's forever needing replacement wire feeders, it's had 3 already.