Welder advice

[David_17]

I was going to borrow a welder from a mate, but thinking i'll probably need one in the future too, so going to buy one.

People who know what you're talking about - What are your thoughts on this http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/products.jsp?id=30030&ts=24128#

[AshG]

the current doesn't go low enough or high enough. you need something that can go from 35amps up to 150amps minimum.

[David_17]

Doh. What about this one. Is gassless any good?

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/mig151en-turbo-no-gas-mig-welder/path/dual-purpose-and-inno-gasin-mig-welders

[Tatey]

I have the Clarke 151EN, its a good little welder, I use it with gas, which requires buying a proper regulator and finding a gas supplier, the regulators cost about £44.

Don't go for gasless as its much harder than gas welding and you end up with slag which you have to get rid of.

I managed to get my welder for £95, and then a regulator, gas bottle, co2, new tips, shrouds, swan neck, 5kg of wire for £200 all in, including the welder.

[David_17]

from ebay?

[Tatey]

The consumables (tips, shroud, wire) as well as the swan neck, new gas valve and the regulator I got from weldequip on the mig welding forum:

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/shop/

He's a very friendly guy and if you're not sure what you need then give him a shout and he will know what you need, he really knows his stuff.

If you are thinking of buying a brand new welder then get it from him as he is highly recommended.

I managed to get my welder (used) from a bloke on ad trader. It had a few problems like a sticking gas valve and a broken swan neck, (cost £30 to get new parts), but i guess that's what comes with buying something which you don't already know the ins and outs of, however I'm glad I bought it.

I bought myself an autodarkening helmet for £40 from ebay, its a Parweld helmet and comes highly recommended, I've always used on from the beginning and it makes your life a lot easier, as you know you're going to be welding in the right place. I leant it to HandyAndy just as he was about to finish his chassis, he really wished he bought one to start with :D.

Don't get me wrong, the costs do add up, however once you are setup, the welder keeps its value. I am still on the same reel of wire, the same tip, same shroud and my second pub sized bottle of CO2, i've done quite a lot of welding with it and it certainly beats my £40 arc welder from aldi :D.

[Enoch]

I broke with tradition on my build and went arc. I bought a cheapo inverter welder off the bay of e that goes from nothing up to 200 amps:eek: I did most of the chassis at about 85, the rear uprights and roll bar at about 130 and the 1mm side panels at about 55. The machine does Tig as well as arc, it comes with everything apart from a gas bottle for tig and cost 140 quid delivered. It strikes at high frequency and gives a really nice quality weld, get it right and the slag virtually falls off so chipping after welding is not needed. Might be worth thinking about. I know most people here like mig, I have never tried it so can't give a comparison.
Enoch.

[twinturbo]

I never botherd with a big bottel. I just use Machine Mart Clarke Extra Fill, I don't know what they do to them, I think there is a secret pipe from the gas plant as they last much much longer than the regular bottles and only cost a quid or so more.

TT

[twinturbo]

I have a clarke, It was given to me by the insurance company to replace my SIP. I have never been particularly happy with it, mainly a poor wirefeed after being laid up.

TT

[gingea1pom]

I am no welding expert, got my NVQ level 2 in 2003 paid for by the Army,

My Clarky 150TE has lasted me well, it requires a bit of TLC now and again.

I really want to learn how to TIG just imagine how much I could over engineer things then.

Cheers Ginge

[David_17]

Just been looking at the 151TE, seems decent value for money... i think :o

[DStanley1809]

I bought one of these (http://www.sealey.co.uk/PLPageBuilder.asp?gotonode=ViewProduct&method=mViewProduct&productid=13046) from eBay (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190386409255&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT).

Sealey list a price of over £500, cheapest I could find it locally was a little over £300 on a special promotion. £198 delivered from eBay seemed a bit of a bragain!

[MightyMouth]

The consumables (tips, shroud, wire) as well as the swan neck, new gas valve and the regulator I got from weldequip on the mig welding forum:

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/shop/

He's a very friendly guy and if you're not sure what you need then give him a shout and he will know what you need, he really knows his stuff.

If you are thinking of buying a brand new welder then get it from him as he is highly recommended.

.

++ for this, I bought my stuff from weldequip. Very helpful and friendly.

Just looked back through my emails, I got the Clarke MIG160TM with a 5kg spool of mild wire for £309 delivered.

[CaptainCrash1971]

Question for Dstanley, what's the welder like, any good?
Looking for a 1st welder for a novice and this looked like a good deal.
Alan

[DStanley1809]

I don't know yet, I haven't used it. I still need to get some gas. I'm buying the bits I need as and when a part time students wage allows lol.

Next on my list is the gas. I should be able to let you know in a couple of weeks if you're still looking.

[onedayTM]

Hi david, I would try your as soon as possible, because I bought Siegen 180 amp last week and did not work at all. Nothing happened when trigger on, no wire feed rollers turning. They are not made by Sealey, its a new product just launched by them as a cheaper range. They do not have many good reports by people who have bought them on welding forums. I got my money back, it may be that I got a complete pig, I dont know but I would try it asap and give it a really good workout.
tony.

[David_17]

I'm swaying towards the SIEGEN S0816 too. Just makes me wonder why the ebay price is so different to anywhere else?? :confused:

[Bonzo]

I'm swaying towards the SIEGEN S0816 too. Just makes me wonder why the ebay price is so different to anywhere else?? :confused:

I guess some of those ebay sets will be re-badged Chinese imports ;)

Some of these imports can be a bit of a lottery .... Personally I took a gamble on a Chinese AC/DC 200 amp TIG welder .... To date, it does everything it says on the tin, other folk have not been so lucky :)

[David_17]

I think it's a gamble worth taking.

The seller has 99.9% +'ve feedback and has sold 26650 items. :D

[DStanley1809]

Hmm, that doesn't sound good :(

I tried to find reviews of them online before I bought it but couldn't find much. In the end I was swayed by the sellers feedback. He's sold alot of items and has a very high rating.

I know a guy at work whose dad welds, I'll see if he might be able to hook it up to his gas and see how well it works.

Hopefully it does work as I think it's a bit late for me to try and get my money back :(

It doesn't look like a rebadged Chinese knock-off unit. It seems to have a proper box and instructions but I suppose anything can be replicated with the right printer.

[onedayTM]

Hi david, its tony again, if you have just bought it you should have 12months warranty on it unless it was bought from a private seller. Most of these units will be sold thro welding suppliers so you should get some back up. The one I bought was thro a welding supplier I used to deal with when I was working. It came with 12 warranty, but if it doesn't do what it was sold for then you should get your money back?
If you type in siegen or sealey into google you should get thro to a welding forum where people has put their comments on.
tony

[DStanley1809]

I thought most places only offer money back within a certain time frame, beyond that exchange only.

I bought it over a month ago now.

I suppose if I bought it in a proper shop I might stand a better chance of getting my money back if it doesn't work but through eBay I think it might be a bit more difficult.