clarke 135 te

[kettle on!]

hi folks,i bought a clarke 135 te and am wondering if it has the strength to weld a towing plate to my van,its quite thick 8mm[the plate] but i think i only need to run round the perimimter to do a seem weld[i think]any advice i would be greatfull.cheers.ps ive not welded for 9 years.

 

[Iain Westland]

Think your gonna struggle with that to be honest, you should be up at the 180A range for that and as its for towing Id suggest not ...

Iain

 

[Tino]

I think a 135 is probably a little under powered for that thickness. If it's just a one off job you may be better of borrowing or renting a stick set, probably the cheapest option. 2.5mm or better 3.2mm rods.

 

[pedrobedro]

What are you welding it to and what is your van ? You should only use approved towing fittings and they do come under the MOT now. It's more usual to use a spreader plate bolted either side of the vehicle metal than to weld something on.

 

[kettle on!]

im welding it to a solid square bar,its a transit van!im only towing light small trailer and if i sell the van ill remove it,im not dragging heavy weight thats why i thought i could get away with it,the question is will the 135 te get into the plate enough for the weld to be reasonably strong,could i run a few beads to build it up?thanks for any advice.

 

[Wozzaaah]

Your 135 won't be up to it.
As has been said, a stick welder would be better, even a smallish one would have enough power to do that job and you can pick them up for next-to-nothing.

Edit: This is from another thread;

There was a nasty accident near here at Heage where a trailer detached from the car and killed a young child in a pushchair so fit a check cable.

Don't take chances

 

[kettle on!]

wow,couldnt live with myself,ill probly bung someone to do it properly,better safe than sorry,cheers

 

[malcolm]

Might be worth a pop into a local motor factor dealing in towbar attachments to check for prices. I fitted one to a Mondeo a few years ago. Probably about £150 all in, and it bolted straight on to the chassis. Saved a lot of messing about.

 

[Keith1200]

135 te

I own the same model, it will not weld 8mm steel. In my experience it struggles with steel thicker that 3mm (seem welding). I'm no expert! but anything thicker than 3-4mm? has to be a stick welder.

 

[the snooper]

just go to a light commercial breakers yard and buy one if its the older type transit they only bolt to the chassis bumper mounts

 

[Wozzaaah]

just go to a light commercial breakers yard and buy one if its the older type transit they only bolt to the chassis bumper mounts

29-07-2009 11:36 PM

....and ask for directions to Specsavers while you're at it!