Newbie question!

Hi, I'm still deciding which welder to buy but am def going to buy a 150 amp Clarke hobby one. I still haven't decided gas/gasless but I have a question....

The Clarke gassless ones say wire 0.6 (for gas) and 0.9 (for gassless) but can you use 0.8 wire in these machines?

I'm thinking of buying a Clarke 151EN or 151TE.

Cheers, Rick

Hello Ricky P,

0.8 wire will definately work in the 151TE...it has worked fine in mine.

These are reasonable size machines and fine for car bodywork and ok for hobby stuff.

What sort of stuff will you be welding ?

Using gas will probably give better results than gasless...but then you will find the small disposable bottles only last about 10 minutes, so if you intend to do a lot you may need to think about sourcing a refillable bottle.

you will find the small disposable bottles only last about 10 minutes, so if you intend to do a lot you may need to think about sourcing a refillable bottle.

Click to expand...

If that's the case forget the 151TE (or any other model that runs on disposables) & go for the 160TM...it's ready set-up to run from refillables + has a cylinder carrier on the rear
weldequip

Will the 151TE (and other disposable gas bottle models) run on re fillables if you get a regulator adaptor ?

You can use big bottles on 151TE with adapter, got this for mine.



and a normal regulator to fit the bottle.

Hi,

Thanks for your replies guys, I'll be using the welder on my drive mainly or in the back yard as I don't have a garage at the moment I will be using it initially to practice welding (I can already weld but would like to be able to produce better welds!) then I will be using it on cars and mabye to weld up a frame for a buggy or similar.

My thinking behind getting the 151EN over the 151TE is the EN is a fair bit cheaper and I would be getting a refillable bottle anyway so don't need the reg for the small bottles and I suppose the fact it can do gassless would be a bonus although I don't think I would use it much......

Am I right in thinking I'm best off buying a 150 amp one, I've been scouring ebay and seen a few 100 amp ones that are tempting because of the price, do I need a more powerful one for what I will be using it for??

Cheers, Rick

Edit to add- I had already considered the 160TM but ruled it out because it would be a pain getting it in and out the house over the door frame? Would the 160TM be alot better quality than the 151TE?

i had a 90 amp Clarke and killed it doing small bits here and there get a 150amp if you can

You might have a problem with wind if you are going to be welding outside. The shielding gas may be blown away.

How much wind are we talking? I have read about this on the site, if you can barely feel it am I likely to have problems??

Cheers, Rick

Another question.....

The 151EN and 151TE are both 150 amp and fan cooled but vary on the duty cycle and ability to weld thickness of mild steel? Why is this? I know they won't weld what they claim but I'm interested in the difference in performance?

Cheers, Rick

I would not be too sure about how much wind as i have not an awful lot of experince with a mig! Ther general rule here seems to be thjat disposable bottles are crap as they go done in few minutes and refilables are better because the regulator can be screwed up to compensate for a breeze. Had you considered gassless wire? But perhaps some of the more experinced members can help you better!