Buying a welder

[dk1]

Hi Guys.
Looking to buy a Mig welder. I have done a bit of ARC welding in the past poorly, so basically will be starting from scratch. Will be used for automotive work, and general purpose repairs. My budget is up to £200. Truefully I dont know much about welders or welding yet, so I thought I would get advice from the professionals. I will be using a domestic supply with an extension lead.
Is this any good from Screfix.
http://www.screwfix.com/p/fan-cooled-mig-welder-150a/30030

Thanks for any advice offered.

 

[madkayaker]

without knowing what your wanting to weld its hard to say but with a 60A min it will be no use for welding cars

 

[shenion]

From the reviews:

Yes this is a cheap welder and great things were not expected, but this welder should be avioded at all costs.I went through three before getting a refund, all faulty.
The first looked as if it had been dropped prior to arrival. When attempting to weld the machine would decide when it was going to work, not the user depressing the trigger. This varied between 3 and 20 seconds, a couple of seconds welding was achieved before the wire got stuck in the hose, wriggling the hose allowed the wire to feed through again where it would pop out 5mm from the tip.
The second looked in great condition, however the wire would not feed, the wire feed control knob just spins. I later found that the potentiometer circuit board was broken off so the motor would never work.
The third and final attempt with this welder was a combination of the above, again looked as if it was dropped prior to arrival and the wire feed control knob span past the stops (a symptom of the potentiometer being damaged).
Save some more pennies and buy something else."

With a 60A minimum, too hot for bodywork.

 

[dk1]

Thanks guys.
Will be using it for car repairs,sills,floor panels etc, jobs around the house such as making gates.

 

[madkayaker]

its not going to do that save up a bit more an get a clarke

 

[Robotstar5]

A Clarke 135 should do what you want but as above you will need to save a few more pennies

and welcome to the forum

 

[keith19]

Secondhand Clarkes do come up on ebay, and you can strike lucky.
But take someone along who knows welders and welding so they can give it a look over and try it out. A decent machine is worth waiting for.
And they come in gasless only; gas only; and dual gas and gasless. Don't get a gasless only if you are new to this and will be mostly working on bodywork, as they are rather hard to learn on with thin metal.

 

[penetrator]

Hi Guys.
Looking to buy a Mig welder. I have done a bit of ARC welding in the past poorly, so basically will be starting from scratch. Will be used for automotive work, and general purpose repairs. My budget is up to £200. Truefully I dont know much about welders or welding yet, so I thought I would get advice from the professionals. I will be using a domestic supply with an extension lead.
Is this any good from Screfix.
http://www.screwfix.com/p/fan-cooled-mig-welder-150a/30030

Thanks for any advice offered.

My advice is to keep practicing with the arc, turn up the amps. anyone can pull the trigger on a mig. Once you have mastered arc mig is childs play, i know people that say u can,t weld upside down with mig what crap, single pass on 16mm plate upsidedown is childsplay, keep up with the arc it pays off.

 

[dk1]

Thanks for the advice guys. I sold the Arc a number of years ago.I will save up for the Clarke 135Te.