Help.

[The Buddah]

Hello,

Iv'e been on this site before, a while ago after buying a sip welder but reading through the forum i decided to return the welder and start afresh.

Which welder..........I need a welder that can be used from a household socket, be easy to use from a beginers point of veiw and also be able to handle more more complex work such as chassis welding on my land rover once i gain experience. I would like the welder to be easily maintained without costing the earth. The welder will not be used for professional purposes ...just me doing repairs to my off roader, but of course a new toy needs to be sturdy to deal with enthusiasm.

So..what do i choose?

Tuition......Im being a bit cheeky here but is there anybody in the Rainham Essex area willing to give some tuition?


Thank you.

Mike.

 

[greek]

u forgot the most critical part......budget

 

[The Buddah]

Hi greek,

The thing is, does cost make a good weld?

Value for for your pennies against quality and longivity is the main thing cosidering the welder will be sitting around for long periods once the intial enthusiasm wears off.

I doubt that i would ever want to weld for a living but i would like one that will do the job.

Mike.

 

[Robotstar5]

The thing is, does cost make a good weld?

No but it can make a good weldset , an idea of budget would help. Something like a Clarke 151 or 160 would do what you want.

 

[cumbriasteve]

Hi greek,

The thing is, does cost make a good weld?

Value for for your pennies against quality and longivity is the main thing cosidering the welder will be sitting around for long periods once the intial enthusiasm wears off.

I doubt that i would ever want to weld for a living but i would like one that will do the job.

Mike.

Lack of cost can make a bad weld though, not much doing that's anygood under £300, then it's your Clarkes as mentioned or up a few hundred to a Portamig.

 

[Wozzaaah]

There ya go Buddah, that'll do LR chassis just fine.

 

[The Buddah]

How about..

A portamig 185, will this do all the above in my original post, or the portamig 235, but i don't want to use a seldge hammer to crack a nut either.
I just want a good tool that works when you need it to.
I don't know things like how long the gas lasts or what size bottle to use or wheres the best place to purchase.

Theres a big difference between the potamig and the clarks welders but if the clarks do the job without a struggle then cost will win the day.
I have also been advised to have a euro torch.

Sorry im a complete novice....and its already cost me £40 to send the other welder back through the postal system.

Thank you for you advice.

Mike.

 

[Wozzaaah]

Right, at last we're getting somewhere.
When someone on here asks how much you have to spend they do it for a reason, i.e to get you 'the most bang for your buck' so to speak. I picked the most expensive machine in the forum shop to try and prompt you into saying 'I wasn't planning on spending that much, more like £X"
So, now we have that out the way...
If you can stretch to the 235 then most definitely get it, if not then the 185 is more than adequate for any automotive stuff, including LRs.
Be aware that Portamigs are built to order though, they can take 2-3 weeks to be built and delivered.

Edit: I'm not suggesting that you can't do the work with something cheaper but the fact that you've asked about those two machines means that that they're both within your budget.

 

[Drains]

I ran a Clarke 185 (something like that) for years doing semi industrial welding. 240v, no euro torch. Twas fine. Worked hard. My mate now has it and it's still going after 12 years.

 

[The Buddah]

Hi Wozzaaah,

I just don't want to be going over the top on purchasing an item that will spend a lot of time doing nothing. As another member mentioned a clark 160 will do the job, but will it struggle?

I bought a sip before because the ad sold it to me but after reading some reveiws and advice from this site i sent it back at the cost of £40 postage and i don't want to do that again.

On another note.
I'd like to say that this seems like a friendly helpful site to use.

Thank you.

Mike.

 

[The Buddah]

Hi Drains,

well thats another choice to think about.
Thats the thing with a new boy.....waht does he choose....lol
Its like a mine field and you don't know which way to turn with so many choices.
Thats why im here......looking for direction.

Mike.

 

[Wozzaaah]

The Clarke 160 will work fine though it doesn't have a euro torch which is something you mentioned was recommended to you.
Not an essential thing to have on a machine but it makes it easy to replace and service.
The 160 is a decent welder, I helped a forum member set up his new one and was quite impressed with it. That one was used for landrover repairs too.

 

[The Buddah]

Hi wozzaaah

It could be going the clark 160 way at the moment so long as it will weld the 5mm steel without breaking, not that i will be learning on that gauge. More like 2mm to start.

Theres nothing worse that using a tool thats designed to do a job and it brakes when you need it.

Definatly a foot stamping moment...or the point where inanimate objects start to involentary fly....lol

Mike.

 

[Wozzaaah]

Where does the 5mm come from Mike? As far as I know there's nothing that thick on a LR unless you're making custom parts.
If you'll be doing a lot of work with 5mm steel then you're definitely going to have to go bigger than the 160.

 

[The Buddah]

No,

I just got 5mm from the advert for the clark 160 on the link at the top of the home page.
I only want to repair land rover and add a few bits to my trailer, you know strapping down hooks repair to trailer ramps blar blar.

Mike.

 

[Wozzaaah]

5mm is maybe a little optimistic tbh but then most machine specs are a tad on the high side. It will weld 5mm but will depend upon everything being optimal, i.e machine settings, arc length, material prep, operator technique etc.
As I said though, if you think you may be doing a lot of work with 5mm then go bigger, 180-200A to get a better duty cycle.