90en

[cliddell]

Hi Folks,

I'm thinking about buying a Clarke 90EN to get started with home welding (I'm just reaching the end of a MIG course at my local college) - with the gas conversion, and probably the gubbins for connecting to full size bottles.

For the time being I'll be using it for 0.8 - 2mm non-structural steel and, I'm hoping, some ally work as well (between 2mm and 5mm in ally). I'm also opting for the EN because I may have to do some work outside, so it would be nice to have the option of fluxed wire, if conditions dictate.

If I find myself using it regularly, then I'll consider investing in a second, larger Clarke machine (just for thicker material) or something like a Portamig (for everything).


Now, here the question: will the 90EN work at all for aluminium? I know it has some nice, low power settings, but can I replace the wire feed liner with the ally friendly ones (plastic or teflon, IIRC?)? Is the wire feed mech going to be good enough?

The aluminium work won't be body work thin material, nor structural (only fairly small, light/medium duty brackets and such), and can be tidied-up afterwards.

Before I start getting suggestions to use TIG for ally, I'm hoping to start to learn TIG next year, but I'm not likely to be able afford, or justify a TIG unit, so it's MIG or nothing. For ally work that needs more finesse, if I can tack it with the MIG, and then take it to the college, I could do it "properly" with the TIG - assuming I actually get the hang of TIG!

Or am I being too focussed on the low power setting (down to 24a) of the 90? Would the 30a lower setting or some of the slightly larger Clarke MIGs work just as well for my requirements, and give me more flexibility in higher range?

Or am I wanting just too much from a hobby MIG?

Thoughts invited - but please be gentle....

Thanks!

Chris

 

[weldequip]

Or am I wanting just too much from a hobby MIG?

You got it! The 90EN is way under powered for any kind of ally work... you want to be looking at 130/150 amps minimum & even then they won't touch 5mm ally; you would be looking at a much larger machine for that.
Your best bet, as you said, would be to take the ally components into college & do them properly with the TIG; low-end MIG sets really are not the best set up for ally, although some of the lads on here have produced some acceptable results.
weldequip

 

[cliddell]

Hmm, from my reading on here, I thought I was looking at lower voltage settings (but higher wire feed) for ally vs steel. Is that not the case?

Thing is, even for tacking the ally jobs to keep them stable to cart them to the college, I'd still need a MIG machine that can reliably use aluminium wire - would the hobby level Clarke machines be up to that?

And if I went for a higher rated Clarke, say a 151EN or a 160EN, would the 30a lower power setting still be usable for 0.8-1mm steel panels?

Thanks again,

Chris

 

[irondarren]

One of the things i found when welding ally is you need a dam good wire feed unit, because the ally is so soft it tends to buckle and end up in a birds nest. The smoother the wire feed the better. Ally still needs plenty of power to weld, i would say only 10-15% less than mild steel. for 3mm mild steel you are looking at around 140amps, for 3mm ally its about 120amps. for 5mm ally its about 150amps. I will be brutally honest one of the small clarke models just isn't going to cut the mustard. If you are going to do any volume of Mig welding the small clarke machines take the 5kg rolls, which are around £12, trouble is for £20 you can get the larger industrial rolls.
It really does depend on how much use, what you are doing with a welder that determines what you buy, and of course how future proof you want to make it. If you are likely to use it for bigger things in the future, earn a few quid from people doing the odd paid favour welding something up, i would go for a bigger machine, otherwise you will spend a couple of hundred quid and realise after a few months its just to small. The portamig is a good unit nice wire drive, goes down to 20amps in the 181,211 versions, but it comes at a premium (about twice the price of a clarke 150amp), i think the portamig would handle ally no problem, and do a nice job on it (would have to speak to weldequip about that)

 

[malcolm]

One concern about using a Clarke EN welder for aluminium is it would need a new wire feed roller. The EN ones are serrated for gasless wire which is no good for aluminium (ends up with a serrated pattern in the wire).

Though you might want a new roller anyway as the hobby ones all come in 0.6 and 0.8, and for aluminium you'd be better with 1.0mm wire. They are cheap enough I'm sure.

My rule of thumb for 2mm aluminium is the same power setting as steel but twice the wire speed if the wire size is the same, but with 1.0mm wire you'd reduce the wire speed a bit.

The alu welding pages on here were done with a Clarke. It's possible. I'm sure it gets easier with more expensive machines.

Don't worry about the difference between 25 and 30 amp min current - you won't notice any difference at all. Have a play with the calculator (which again is based on my testing rather than anything scientific).

 

[shenion]

I doubt the 90 will be able to handle 1mm wire. It should have no problem feeding 0.9mm.

It should feed .8mm if you use 5356 wire.

It should do 1-2mm Al ok. My 130EN struggled with 3mm, needed a bit more heat.

Personally, I would go with a Clarke 160-180 range. Would increase waht you can do considerably and would not hit duty cycle issues.

 

[cliddell]

Thanks folks.

I think I was too focussed on the low output of the 90, but if the 30 amp lower setting will still be suitable for bodywork steel, then that opens up a few more options.

I'll wait a little while (save up!) and get one of the larger, smaller Clarke machines.

Chris