Clarke or Draper?

[HaydenK]

I've been considering getting a mig welder for using at home, after scouring every thread and post on here the consensus seems to be get a Clarke welder and get one bigger than you need.

After looking on machine mart 2 welders jumped out at me,

the 135te, would do what I want:

https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/135te-turbo-mig-welder/

and the 151en, would do what I want and more:

https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/mig151en-turbo-no-gas-mig-welder/

but while looking around another one jumped out at me, a draper mw170t:

https://www.lawson-his.co.uk/draper-71095-mw170t-230-v-mig-welder-160-a

Its cheaper than the Clarke welders, by a large margin, yet just as powerful as the 151 and more so than the 135 and has a long earth cable and torch lead which I like as I'm buying this purely for automotive work (patch panels, etc) and don't fancy dragging the welder under the car with me. The only thing that's putting me off is, unlike the Clarke's, I cannot find a mention of them anywhere. I've owned and used draper tools before and they always seemed well made but an air ratchet and a welder 2 different things entirely.

Does anyone on here own or use one? How would you rate the build quality compared to one of the Clarke welders above?

 

[a111r]

Generic Chinese machine. It has a 60 Amp minimum, so no good whatsoever for bodywork.
https://www.drapertools.com/product/71095/230V-Gas-Gasless-Turbo-MIG-Welder-(160A)

 

[Rrobson]

I use a Clarke 160en for hobby work, and it’s ok. I paid about £160 second hand but it wasn’t used much. It’s biggest advantage for me is I can sling it in the boot but the wire feed can be a bit hit and miss and can be difficult to dial in on the faster speeds. It works well enough and it’s welded up my project car without trouble.
I would buy another, mainly for the portability aspect but when I upgrade I’ll be buying 200a Oxford or similar, I want something quality.

 

[HaydenK]

Generic Chinese machine. It has a 60 Amp minimum, so no good whatsoever for bodywork.
https://www.drapertools.com/product/71095/230V-Gas-Gasless-Turbo-MIG-Welder-(160A)

Never noticed that, they do 130a machine with 21a minimum which would probably be better for me. China make everything from welders to worldwide pandemics these days so that's no surprise. I'd read that the blue Clarke welders are made in Italy but I can't find anything official to back that up? Same goes for the torch lead, I can't find the length of them anywhere.

 

[eddie49]

The 130 Amp Draper welder, with 21A minimum:
https://www.lawson-his.co.uk/draper-71091-mw140t-230v-mig-welder-130a
is described as Gas/Gasless, and the torch and work return cables are labelled "+" and "-" , but according to the electrical symbol on the data plate, it does not have a rectifier! ( Two overlapping circles = only a transformer.) I really wouldn't trust any of these Draper machines.
However, this one is intriguing - an MMA-to-MIG Spool Gun add-on box:
https://www.lawson-his.co.uk/draper-00587-mcb200-230v-mma-to-mig-converter-200a

 

[a111r]

I'd read that the blue Clarke welders are made in Italy but I can't find anything official to back that up? Same goes for the torch lead, I can't find the length of them anywhere.

The blue ones were Italian made but the 'cut off' date is not clear.

Their torches are c. 1.75 m long, as the liners are 1.9 m.

 

[Turbo]

I'd read that the blue Clarke welders are made in Italy but I can't find anything official to back that up?

Telwin in Italy used to make all the welders for Sealey, Clarke, Draper & SIP but I think the cheaper hobby models are made in China now, not sure about the pro models.

Out of Draper or Clarke, the Clarke machines had a better reputation for build quality.

If you need it for bodywork I'm afraid that you are going to need a bigger budget, the cheaper migs generally perform very poorly on the low settings needed for car panels. I started with a Sealey mini mig 130 & it was impossible to use on panels. I now have a Rtech 180 mig & its a joy to use on all thicknesses of metal.

The other option is to buy a good used pro quality mig, they pop up regularly for sale on here.

 

[Cobbler]

I think you will find the original range of welders, both red & blue are Italian made, there is also the cheaper budget range, 102, 106, 145 & 196 these I understand are Chinese.

 

[HaydenK]

Thanks for the replies, I'm definitely leaning more towards the 151 now.

Telwin in Italy used to make all the welders for Sealey, Clarke, Draper & SIP but I think the cheaper hobby models are made in China now, not sure about the pro models.

Out of Draper or Clarke, the Clarke machines had a better reputation for build quality.

If you need it for bodywork I'm afraid that you are going to need a bigger budget, the cheaper migs generally perform very poorly on the low settings needed for car panels. I started with a Sealey mini mig 130 & it was impossible to use on panels. I now have a Rtech 180 mig & its a joy to use on all thicknesses of metal.

The other option is to buy a good used pro quality mig, they pop up regularly for sale on here.

That Rtech one looks good and I could stretch to £500 but with gas and everything else I think its going to be too much for what I want. I'll keep an eye out as I won't be doing any welding until the weather picks up (or at least dries out) as I'll be welding outside mainly.
Another one I came across today was the GYS Easymig 140 which I think would suit my purposes very well.