hello all, im new, ive just brought a clarke 151te

[ToNy 5]

hi all, im tony from wolverhampton in the west midlands, im very new to welding, i brought a clarke 151te from machinemart, it was on sale because its a display unit maybe, cost my £209 and came with a new 0.6 wire, new c02 argon gas, gas reg, and 0.6 tips, it came with no plug and has 3 months warrenty,
how do i know if there is gas comeing out of the gun or when the gas bottle is empty?
my first job will be to weld the thin metal on the floor of my van, i think is less than 1mm thick, any tips on settings?

 

[rtbcomp]

Welcome to the forum.

You can hear the gas when you pull the trigger (make sure the wire feed roller is disengaged if you hold the torch near your ear to listen!)

Guessing you have the small disposable bottle, it will be empty after about 10 mins. You're much better getting a full-size bottle.

As for the metal, get some pieces of scrap and experiment. The manual should give you an idea of switch settings.

 

[keith19]

Hi Tony, and Welcome!

Looks like you got quite a bargain there with the 151te; Clarke normally have these down at about £300 including VAT.

You can put a 13 Amp domestic plug on the 151 without any problems, but make sure it's good-quality one, I generally use one of the rubberised heavy duty type. The only time it's likely to blow a fuse is if you are welding at top output on 4 - 6 mm metal on a longish run, but you maybe won't be doing that for awhile yet. Short bursts at top output don't generally blow the fuse. Just a note on the plug, don't use a cheapo Chinese fuse, they tend to wear out quickly or blow at the slightest excuse. Get some decent 13 Amp fuses like MK brand or similar.

I'm not familiar with the 151te, it has a rotary dial for the power settings I think, unlike my older-style 151EN. So just start off with the wire speed set around halfway, use some 1.6 or 2.0 mm scrap to start on, and set your power switch around halfway too. Then just experiment.
It's always advised you start on thicker metal than you are going to be working on, to get to learn technique more easily without worrying about blowing holes. Then when you feel happy with what you're doing, you can graduate to thinner stuff.

But first read up as much as you can, and watch the tutorials on here, and there's quite a lot to watch on Youtube, too. It's great fun learning!

 

[Fazed]

Hi Tony.
I have a Clarke 160EN here, ace little machine. I think the 151TE will be more than man enough for welding your van floor.
I also have the manual for 151/160 and the guide settings are similar.
For thin steel stick with the 0.6mm wire and try the following settings as a guide:
Workpiece thickness:
0.6 - 0.8mm, MIN, 1, wire speed 5 - 6
0.8 - 1.0mm, MIN, 2, w/s 5 - 6
1.0 - 1.2mm, MIN, 3, w/s 5 - 6

HTH.

 

[Angusdog]

Welcome to the forum. My tip? Buy a cheap micrometer if you don't have one already. Mini floors for example are about 1.2mm, body panels 0.8mm roughly.

 

[adamsmitqc]

how are you finding the welder? started to weld yet?

 

[ToNy 5]

Welcome to the forum. My tip? Buy a cheap micrometer if you don't have one already. Mini floors for example are about 1.2mm, body panels 0.8mm roughly.

thanks, i like this forum, the people hear seem to be nice and helpful, ill get a digital micrometer soon, the floor is bendy in the place i need to weld, can bend it with fingers, ill get some pics up at the weekend.

how are you finding the welder? started to weld yet?

ive had a quik weld on some 1mm sheet metal, i made a bit of a mess and some blow holes, but then did some stop start welding, is better and no holes,
i wanted this welder because its 30amps to 150amps and because the lower models dont have the rotary power dial and chooseing power seems to be a bit confuseing,
i think i can use gasless wire on this, but not sure

 

[denisstark]

its bought not brought

 

[s410man]

thanks, i like this forum, the people hear seem to be nice and helpful, ill get a digital micrometer soon, the floor is bendy in the place i need to weld, can bend it with fingers, ill get some pics up at the weekend.

ive had a quik weld on some 1mm sheet metal, i made a bit of a mess and some blow holes, but then did some stop start welding, is better and no holes,
i wanted this welder because its 30amps to 150amps and because the lower models dont have the rotary power dial and chooseing power seems to be a bit confuseing,
i think i can use gasless wire on this, but not sure

i wouldnt use gasless wire if you are welding inside

even if welding outside i wouldnt use it if possible

a simple windbreak and gas set to around 12lpm should be enough to stop any porosity

when the gas bottle is empty your welds will look like a areo bar

 

[ToNy 5]

its bought not brought

thanks, ill try to remember it, bought

i wouldnt use gasless wire if you are welding inside

even if welding outside i wouldnt use it if possible

a simple windbreak and gas set to around 12lpm should be enough to stop any porosity

when the gas bottle is empty your welds will look like a areo bar

i had a weld today, power on minimum and wire speed on 2 to start then turned the speed up to 4,
i turned the gas up to ful and stil couldnt hear it comming out the nozzle?
anyway, heres some pics

 

[keith19]

Are you using gas, and if so, is it a mini bottle? The middle pic suggests a lack of gas...

 

[ToNy 5]

Are you using gas, and if so, is it a mini bottle? The middle pic suggests a lack of gas...

yes mini bottle co2/argon, tryed the reg on full and medium, cant hear gas commin out nozzle, im starting to think that the welder is faulty

 

[Fazed]

Did the machine come with wire?
Is it flux-cored gasless wire?
Have you got any normal copper coated mig wire?
Have you changed the polarity inside the machine to enable you to weld with gas (IIRC, if you don't, this disables the gas solenoid.)

 

[ToNy 5]

Did the machine come with wire?
Is it flux-cored gasless wire?
Have you got any normal copper coated mig wire?
Have you changed the polarity inside the machine to enable you to weld with gas (IIRC, if you don't, this disables the gas solenoid.)

the wire is clarke(600641) mild steel wire, copper in colour,
there dosnt seem to be any option to change the polarity of anything inside the panel, see pic,
the gas regulator didnt look new that came with it, before fitting, it was very easy to turn, and when fitted, it was harder to turn

 

[keith19]

Maybe the gas reg isn't working properly, and/or maybe it has let the gas out of the cylinder. I dislike these small cylinders, sometimes the gas seems to leak out if you don't turn them off every time you stop welding for three minutes.

Most modern machines have the polarity function on the front, a couple of sockets marked up '+' and '-' or plus and minus. If your machine doesn't have this, it is likely to be gas only. If your welder is a Clarke 151TE I don't think it has this function.

 

[ToNy 5]

think ill try a new regulator until i can find a pub bottle, where can i get a pub bottle filled with co2/argon mix.
is the gas valve in the hand gun triggered by electricity or or can it be triggered with the power off?
also the swan neck is very loose, should i just open the gun up and put tape between the rubber and the plastic of the gun?

 

[Robotstar5]

think ill try a new regulator until i can find a pub bottle, where can i get a pub bottle filled with co2/argon mix.
is the gas valve in the hand gun triggered by electricity or or can it be triggered with the power off?
also the swan neck is very loose, should i just open the gun up and put tape between the rubber and the plastic of the gun?

You can only get pub bottle filled with CO2, need to go to a gas supplier (look in shielding gas section) for Ar mix.

The gas valve is mechanical operated by the trigger directly, so yes it will work without power.

Pop it back to MM for a repair/replacement as it's new?

 

[ToNy 5]

ive been to hellfords and got a sip regulator, cost £17,99, think i can connect a guage to it also, now i have gas, so the old clarke one was caputted,
just had a quik weld to test it, welds alot better now need to get some practice, ignore the middle welds, i had the speed too high

 

[ToNy 5]

guys, im welding a plate onto my floor, but im welding from inside the van, does the welds have to be visible from under the van for the mot, ive tried to weld upside down but is impossible,
heres a pic of what ive done, my first ever weld job, a bit of a mess and not finished yet

 

[stuvy]

if you spray some under seal over it when youv finished itl look good as new