Hi guys, I need some advice on which welder to buy.
I've wanted to learn to weld for years, my birthday came up a couple of weeks ago and my parents (being lovely and generous) gave me some money to buy something, as usual it's a new tool.
As I say, i've wanted to learn for years and I finally have a good reason the buy one and the space to use it. The Things i've got in mind are a weathervane for the chicken coop that i've nearly finished building and a trailer for my bike that'll handle hauling a load of timber home from wickes (incidentally that's how I knackered the wheels on the little one i've got). I'd also like to have a go at putting together a trike frame, and there's times when it'd come in handy for bits and bobs.
I don't want to buy second hand, while generally I don't mind fixing things or getting the mutimeter and soldering iron out, it's a little different when learning something from scratch on an unfamiliar type of equipment. With woodworking gear the function of a machine and diagnosis of a fault is fairly straightforward; Big motor turns sharp round thing very fast, most adjustment mechanisms are mechanical, and I know what to expect when the machine is or isn't working properly.
Originally the budget was about £250 to cover a welder and all the extra kit, excluding gas. So I had thought to buy the Wolf 140 however that didn't really fill me with confidence as a first buy.
So after a little indecision and a talk with my dad I came around to the idea of buying something a little more expensive that I could be confident that I wouldn't have to fight the machine while learning a completely new skill.
Dad showed me the Clarke 196, it'll do 180 amps but it's a bit high at the bottom for anything on the thin side, but below that and for the same price on the machinemart page is the 151EN, which looks good for the money, obviously it adds another hundred to the budget but at least I know I won't be constantly fixing it or replacing it in the near future.
Then Dad phones up, says "wait! dont be in a rush to buy a welder it might be worth spending an extra hundred to get something better". So now i'm looking at something in the ~£350 range, which brings me to the 160TM and the Smartmig 162, It seems like a lot of extra money for a small amount of improvement to me.
That said i'm more interested in the smartmig, it's only got four voltage options and the wirefeed, so i'm wondering what is so special about it? It's had a lot of good reviews here from the looks of things.
Is there anything else in that price range that i've missed? Is it worth spending another hundred on top of the 151EN?
I've wanted to learn to weld for years, my birthday came up a couple of weeks ago and my parents (being lovely and generous) gave me some money to buy something, as usual it's a new tool.
As I say, i've wanted to learn for years and I finally have a good reason the buy one and the space to use it. The Things i've got in mind are a weathervane for the chicken coop that i've nearly finished building and a trailer for my bike that'll handle hauling a load of timber home from wickes (incidentally that's how I knackered the wheels on the little one i've got). I'd also like to have a go at putting together a trike frame, and there's times when it'd come in handy for bits and bobs.
I don't want to buy second hand, while generally I don't mind fixing things or getting the mutimeter and soldering iron out, it's a little different when learning something from scratch on an unfamiliar type of equipment. With woodworking gear the function of a machine and diagnosis of a fault is fairly straightforward; Big motor turns sharp round thing very fast, most adjustment mechanisms are mechanical, and I know what to expect when the machine is or isn't working properly.
Originally the budget was about £250 to cover a welder and all the extra kit, excluding gas. So I had thought to buy the Wolf 140 however that didn't really fill me with confidence as a first buy.
So after a little indecision and a talk with my dad I came around to the idea of buying something a little more expensive that I could be confident that I wouldn't have to fight the machine while learning a completely new skill.
Dad showed me the Clarke 196, it'll do 180 amps but it's a bit high at the bottom for anything on the thin side, but below that and for the same price on the machinemart page is the 151EN, which looks good for the money, obviously it adds another hundred to the budget but at least I know I won't be constantly fixing it or replacing it in the near future.
Then Dad phones up, says "wait! dont be in a rush to buy a welder it might be worth spending an extra hundred to get something better". So now i'm looking at something in the ~£350 range, which brings me to the 160TM and the Smartmig 162, It seems like a lot of extra money for a small amount of improvement to me.
That said i'm more interested in the smartmig, it's only got four voltage options and the wirefeed, so i'm wondering what is so special about it? It's had a lot of good reviews here from the looks of things.
Is there anything else in that price range that i've missed? Is it worth spending another hundred on top of the 151EN?