First MIG advice

[darran sandwich]

Right i am looking into buying my first mig and from what i can see most people seem to favour clarke mig's on here. I have a budget of around £400 which puts me in the range of a few but i was wandering if this would be up to the job?
http://www.wilstar.co.uk/products/2/2/clarke_mig160tm_mig_welder_next_day_uk/

Im looking at doing car work and chassis work on my land rover and wasnt sure if 150a would be up to it. would i be better off getting the 205 and waiting until i have a bigger budget? I did have my eye on a 180 amp sealey but from what i can tell they seem to have wire feed issues. Is this still the case or are the newer units more reliable?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

thanks
aaron

 

[shenion]

That is a nice machine and probably the most recommended on this forum.

150A will do the chassis fine.

The 205 is too expensive, for near the same price you can get a PortaMIG that will run circles around the Clarke.

Check out weldequip's shop from the link at the top of the page. He's the goto guy for many here (I would but I'm on the wrong side of the pond.) Ald, welcome to the forums

 

[darran sandwich]

Thanks for that, this was the vibe i was getting really, i was only a little worried when i was told too look for about 30A per 5mm plate thickness and that my landrover may be on the limit of that. Although i don't know how true this is i guess if i was patching it could be.

Oh and thanks for the welcome

 

[darran sandwich]

I have been looking around some more and it appears that these are made at the same place as portamig,
http://www.wellyweld.com/products/britarc-161-72538.aspx
has anyone got any experience with these and would it be worth stretching my budget
or maybe on of these? as from what i can tell its all the smae manufacturer?
http://www.technicalarc.co.uk/index...al-compact-mig?page=shop.browse&category_id=8

 

[cumbriasteve]

It is certainly a 'lookalike' for my Portamig and if built to the same standard would be a good buy, the only problem I can think of...what if anything has been omitted to keep the price low.

 

[darran sandwich]

Yeah i guess that is the risk really. I have asked Technical Ark for a price on their unit so i will ask them, as from what i can tell they make the potamig, oxford weders, britarc and there own. Its just weather they are worth the extra money above a clarke you see

 

[cumbriasteve]

Definately worth the extra money if you intend to enjoy and carry on welding.

 

[slimjim]

It is certainly a 'lookalike' for my Portamig and if built to the same standard would be a good buy, the only problem I can think of...what if anything has been omitted to keep the price low.

You get what you pay for with welders, if Tec arc are selling them cheaper, then they are building them cheaper, which means either cheaper components, or cheaper workers

 

[darran sandwich]

I think the argument could go either way with Tec Arc Surely being the manufacturer of Portamig ETC and buying direct would allow them to cut out the profit margins, transportation and rebranding required to sell to outside companies.

That would probably only count on their own brand products though as i dont know if they own Britarc or are producing them for another supplier. I would accept that they may not be as good as a Portamig but would the extra £150 or so above a clarke be a worth while investment?

 

[cumbriasteve]

The issue is this, many people buy 2 MIG welders, the first is the one they buy when they can't see why they should buy the dearer one, thinking it will do what I want and I am sure I will be happy with it.

The 2nd one they buy, is the one they should have spent a few quid extra on in the first place, many of us have been there including myself, an hour after using my Portamig I knew so clearly it should have been purchase number one and could have saved me a fair bit of money if bought in the first place, welding became easier, more enjoyable and to a much higher standard.

 

[darran sandwich]

Thanks for that steve, I know what you mean to be honest i have done the same with many tools in the past. I would just like to know th difference before i buy one really. Is that your way of saying stay clear of the clarke then?

 

[Country Joe]

Thanks for that steve, I know what you mean to be honest i have done the same with many tools in the past. I would just like to know th difference before i buy one really. Is that your way of saying stay clear of the clarke then?

I dont think Steve's saying to keep clear of Clarke machines.
Like SlimJim said, you get what you pay for. You would find there was a noticeable difference between the Clarke & the Portamig, which shows in the price. By all accounts the difference in price is well worth it, though.

All the Best,
CJ

 

[darran sandwich]

But what about between the Britarc and Tec arc ones and the portamig, as there all pretty similar on paper

 

[keith19]

Lowest amperage is about all.
Portamig goes down to 15 Amps dc output, the other two go down to 20 Amps dc.
May make welding very thin metal - 0.5 - 0.6 mm - a little easier to learn.
All three are capable of regular workshop use, where most ops should be at least semi-skilled and capable of welding thin car panels with a low output of 25 - 30 Amps anyway. But the Portamig, for the extra £100, does go up to 180 Amps.

 

[darran sandwich]

Ah yeah i didnt notice that I guess the higer top end and slightly lower bottom end would explain it. Im still not sure which was to go as my budget is still getting blown out of the water

 

[roofman]

The issue is this, many people buy 2 MIG welders, the first is the one they buy when they can't see why they should buy the dearer one, thinking it will do what I want and I am sure I will be happy with it.

The 2nd one they buy, is the one they should have spent a few quid extra on in the first place, many of us have been there including myself, an hour after using my Portamig I knew so clearly it should have been purchase number one and could have saved me a fair bit of money if bought in the first place, welding became easier, more enjoyable and to a much higher standard.

agree with this 100%

 

[keith19]

You won't be wanting to move any of these about very much, will you? They are all workshop machines, not easy to lift in and out of a van very often.
Just mentioning this as some guys need to work on outside jobs from time to time, like I do.

 

[darran sandwich]

I will be moving them in and out, I had a look and there around 45kg which isnt too bad if the bottle is about the same then thats 2 trips i guess. But yeah it will be outside work

 

[keith19]

Check it out first.
Do you have a way of making good cover from the wind where you'll be working, or maybe a barn or shed? Just thinking that so far we are looking at purely gas mig welders, and wondering if you might need the option of gasless at times?
I think this is maybe an option on your three possible machines, anyway, but if you needed it you would have to specify at the time of ordering.

 

[darran sandwich]

i have a stick welder so i guess if it was really windy i could use that, if not my drive is prettysheltered and i could put up some wind deflectors if need be.