No doubt you heard it all before by question about first welder and plug rating

[Stuart Window]

so really now its down to the R Tech 180 or Smartmig 162 decisions decisions

 

[PTvor]

I guess my point is this: the clarke 135te is not a bad welder per se (I've used mine for 9 years on and off for hobby use, and it has never let me down), but perhaps times have moved on in the hobby segment.

Clarke always had a reputation as a decent hobby MIG and good value for money.

Inverter MIGs seemed to hit the hobby/DIY market later than MMA inverters, but I think they are making an impact. You get a very smooth arc, you have continuous power adjustment, they seem to have reasonable quality wire feeds and you often have the option of switching to MMA. At top power levels they have much better duty cycles than an equivalent transformer machine, which is great if you use the MIG for a lot of heavier stuff. At the top end the duty cycle of a welder like a Clarke can be less than 10%. They are a bit lighter, by some kilogrammes, which can make the difference between being able to put it in the car and take it somewhere or not being able to do that. They are more efficient so you have fewer problems with 13A plugs.

There are questions about reliability and the cost of repairs if anything goes wrong. Clarkes etc are reasonably easy to fix yourself. Inverter MIGs cost more than a Clarke/Sealey etc.