Clarke 151EN or 151TE

[Alister]

Hi guys
I have been searching through this forum for some time now and because of what I've read here have decided to go ahead and buy a Clarke welder. I already have a GYS 146 stick welder for heavier stuff so this will be mainly for car body work. The GYS is very good but I'm not and spend a lot of time chipping slag and grinding down ugly welds, I'm hoping the MIG will be a little more forgiving. Unfortunately here in Northern Ireland there are very few second hand welders available so I will be buying new.
As the title suggests I am torn between the 151EN and 151TE, I know I will need to go with gas for a better weld so even if I buy the EN I will upgrade it to gas so the TE is the obvious choice, or is it?.
I don't anticipate any major restoration projects so this will be for occasional use only but I still want the quality of the welder to be reasonable, as my skills are very limited and I need all the help I can get. So here are the questions

Is the quality of the EN as good as the TE since the TE is over £70 dearer but seems to be less versatile (can't run gassless for out doors)

How much is it to upgrade the EN to gas? The regulators are around £40 but would I need anything else?

Is the regulator which comes with the TE any good or will I be replacing it anyway to use bigger bottles? If so then the EN would make more sense, then I can get whichever gas I prefer.

As I said I already have a nice inverter stick welder so should I be going for something smaller like the Clarke 135TE? It is around the same price as the 151 so is it better quality or just less popular? I will need to fabricate engine mounts for a project soon so was thinking the 150A welders might be better for this.

Thanks in advance

 

[Robotstar5]

Is the regulator which comes with the TE any good or will I be replacing it anyway to use bigger bottles? If so then the EN would make more sense, then I can get whichever gas I prefer.

The regulator is for the (expensive to use) disposable bottles so will need to be replaced for bigger cylinders.

... and welcome to the forum.

 

[Alister]

Thanks, that's what I thought.

So then What's the point of buying the more expensive TE if I need to spend another £40 straight away for a decent regulator?????

Am I missing the point?

And thanks for the welcome too.

 

[Robotstar5]

Depends on your usage, if you only need to stick the odd patch on the car once a year for the MOT, the disposables are adequate and cheaper than renting or buying a larger cylinder.

 

[Alister]

I guess you have a point but then again for such infrequent use a gasless welder would do the job too. Or are they really that bad? I've never used a MIG so not sure what to expect.

 

[Alister]

Mmmmmm
I have been checking around and can only get Sealey locally but at good prices. Denis Wilson in Glenavy has a Mightymig 170 for £360 and a 150 for around £260.
Are the Clarke machines much better than Sealey?

Edit
Been reading further and the common consensus is the wire feed on Sealey is not so good.
I think I have made my mind up to go for the 150en or 151EN. It will do the small job I am buying it for now without me spending any more money and when I need it for a big job I'll get the gas and regulator.
Gas bottles seem to be £100 ish plus £27 for refill for a small bottle or £120 up front plus £60 per year rent and £60 per refill. No way I will need the big bottle so I need to budget an extra £150 or so for the gas and regulator.

 

[mr migwire]

i have just taken delivery of a brand spankin sealey mightymig 190 to replace my 11yo sealy supermig 185 honestly cant fault the machines at all, my 185 has had a hard life and is still going but i wanted a replacement so opted for the 190. you could do a lot worse.
i got mine from ebay seller "cheap bargain tools" for £377.95 inc free next day delivery. it comes with wire,2stage gas reg, MB15 torch and earth clamp, no mains plug on it though but thats no biggy.

 

[Wallace]

no mains plug on it though but thats no biggy.

Usually an indication that the supply should be more than 13A.

 

[mr migwire]

Usually an indication that the supply should be more than 13A.

yeah i have a 16a feed for the plant in the garage so fitted a nice shiny new plug, will also be fitting a din plug for the return lead and moving the mains cable to the rear but thats just me being fussy

 

[Alister]

Fitting a 16A socket for the welder is no big deal but I don't think I can justify spending £360 + £100 for the welder and gas when I will probably only use it a few times a year (although I know things can change). I have a project in the early stages which will require cutting a hole in the firewall of an RX8 and welding in a new panel, then making engine mounts for a VAG 1.8T (yes I know that's completely bonkers but look at the fun we will have doing it), but when that is done I mightn't use it again for months.

I've been doing some sums and unless I'm missing something then the 151EN with the regulator and gas is cheaper than the 151TE

The 151EN from Tool-Net is £229.64, The small bottle regulator is £13.93 and a 110 Bar bottle of C02/Argon gas (54% bigger than normal) is £12.76, 5kg wire £12 from local supplier = £268.33
The 151TE from Tool-Net with regulator, small roll of welding wire and small bottle of C02 gas is £298.55

£30.31 Cheaper with much more wire and a bigger bottle of gas which I believe is better too.

Apart from a bit of hose is there anything else I will need?

 

[Kayos]

I looked at those Clarke welders then bought a sealey. It holds 5kg reels out of the box and came with a full size bottle regulator.

Mine is a Supermig 150 and was £200 "shop soiled" basically opened, pat tested and re boxed. So far I've replaced the inner wing and flitch on my astra van with no problems, and will be tackling the arches in the coming weeks.

 

[mr migwire]

the thing i like about my sealy's is they both take 15kg rolls which for me is perfect. totally understand where you are coming from alister in regards to budget and use balance, i do a fair bit so can justify the machine i have but if you are a light user then as you said you probably dont want to be throwing to much money out on something you wont use alot.

that being said i started out with a sip gasless and ended up addicted to welding....lol

 

[Alister]

From what I've seen the welders hold their value well so if I wanted to upgrade later it won't be a problem selling the Clarke. I read a thread from another forum where a guy used a Clarke 150 to repair a Vauxhall Victor and his work was amazing. I recon if it was good enough for him out will do me.

 

[Alister]

Just a wee update. Found this
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CLARKE-MIG-160-EN-TURBO-NO-GAS-WELDER-/321539540034?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2047675.l2557&nma=true&si=1Wko3qKht0WGGke5WJ0PI2p6dgM%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc
on ebay placed a bid and won the auction, I'm no expert but I think 132 quid for an "as new" never used Clarke 160EN is pretty good. Now waiting for the courier to deliver it. Will report back when I have tried it but for now will be looking for a non hire gas supplier local.

 

[mr migwire]

looks like you got a good one there mate, look forword to you posting up your progress....

 

[Alister]

Welder arrived today and really pleased with it though just learning about MIG welding. Need to order some tips and get the gas sorted but apart from some bits of the hose and earth wire being nibbled by a mouse, the welder is as new. The plastic was still on the wire and the rest of it looks unused. :-)

 

[Alister]

My first attempts with my new welder using some 1.5mm computer bits and pieces.

I think more bad and ugly than good but this is gasless so not expecting perfection, and as my first attempts (before reading the how to's) pretty pleased.

 

[mr migwire]

not to bad for your first attempt, keep up the prctice ...

 

[Jan]

If you were on the UK mainland I would be advising you to go for the BOC Volkszone deal as the gas volumes are much higher and the costs very much lower per foot of weld. Obviously that still depends on how much welding you'll be doing due to the cylinder rental costs. Welding with a shielding gas is so much easier and far less messy than using flux-cored gasless wire. However I have no idea if this deal extends to Northern Ireland. Try ringing the Freephone number on the BOC website front page for more info.

 

[Alister]

Thanks for the suggestion I might give that a try but first will call in with a local welding supplier and see if I can get any deals. I need wire, tips, regulator, connectors etc. Will report back how I get on.