need a new mig please help

[rallye]

Hi,

I'm looking to buy a new or second hand Mig. I need something suitable for welding cars, and am looking to spent no more than £300.

I'm open to the idea of gasless migs, although I have never used one so am not sure how good they are?

Any suggestions would be great? Thanks

 

[cumbriasteve]

Gasless welding is ok but not as easy as gas, it's benefit is if you are welding where the gas may be affected by draughts.

Buy new if you can, unless you find someone who has a machine that was an impulse buy and not been used.

Within your budget the Clarke range take a bit of beating.

 

[Lawnmowerboy]

i'd go for somethink like a clarke of about 150a
in my opinion gasless is absolute guff, i prefer arc to it

 

[keith19]

Why not get the best of both worlds, gas and gasless?
I wouldn't advise gasless for body panels and similar work, although I have done some myself, and with 0.9mm wire at times! Gasless needs lots of practice on thin metal.
Gas wire is much easier, so long as you can stay out of the wind and draughts.
There's a typical Clarke here below that does both, so you can give gasless a try for outside jobs:

http://www.wilstar.co.uk/products/2/118/clarke_151en_mig/

This will leave you a few quid over for all the other essentials that you'll need, like a proper regulator for whichever gas you choose to use:

http://www.weldequip.com/regulators-gas.htm

and cheap auto helmet, about £30, and gloves or gauntlets, etc.

 

[rallye]

Thanks for the information. That Clark seems like a very good option, and not a bad price. Have any of you guys used one? From what I've read it seems very popular. Also I have just been offered a Sealey turbo mig 170/1, are they any good?

 

[keith19]

I like the Clarke 151EN, but I'm a bit prejudiced, as I've been running one for about a year now. The wheels that came with it weren't much good, so I never fitted them, and like this it doesn't take up so much space. When using it I stand it on a little trolley with castor-type wheels that move nice and easily. It seems a reliable unit, and fairly strongly made. I have used it for hobby welding and a few paid jobs now and then, and it's good up to about 4 mm metal, and 5mm with a vee'd joint. Probably do 6 mm if it was vee'd both sides, but I haven't tried that. Goes down to around 1 - 08 mm if you use the 'thin metal technique', which is like a series of short tacks to lessen the heat. May go lower, haven't tried it yet.

Re the Sealey, I don't know the 170 model, but I do have two or three years experience of using a Sealey 150 'Pro' model years back, at one place I worked at. It too was strongly made, welded anything over about 1.2 mm nicely, but below that we had to take care on body panels, as the lower end output only went down to 35 Amps, which is regarded as a bit high for bodywork. I got used to it, like anyone else who used it, but it always seemed a bit harsh on thin metal. It suffered from wire feed problems too, but that could be because it was used by different operators; you tend to take more care of your own kit.
Check the lower amps output on the Sealey, it should be 30 A or lower for thin body panel work. If it's 35 Amps, give it a miss if you are just starting out, it will be more difficult to learn with.

 

[rallye]

Thanks for the information.

Does anyone know if the Snap on 130 turbo is any good? I've found one at a decent price.

 

[M@tt]

This clarke 160TM is a bargain! well worth a couple hours round trip to get it!

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=29705

 

[keith19]

"Does anyone know if the Snap on 130 turbo is any good? I've found one at a decent price."

These are really an Italian Cebora 130. A well-regarded machine generally, but spares are said to be a bit more expensive than Clarke, and even more expensive if you buy them from Snap-On. Spares here don't seem too bad.

It you get the chance, try to check out the torch works good. Some people have had problems with them. But by and large a decent enough m/c.

 

[rallye]

Finally got myself a new mig. I bought a secondhand snap on 2135 in very good condition.

 

[rallye]

I was looking for a new auto darkening welding helmet too. I entered the xmas raffle in work where there was hundreds of prizes (bottles of wine, hampers etc). I bought one book for a £1 and won a brand new portwest bizweld auto darkening helmet and gauntlets! What are the chances! lol

 

[mike 109444]

If you can just let me know what your numbers are for the Lottery......
Ta

 

[rallye]

No problem, they are...