not another what welder thread

[car.crash]

hi guys, now i know you must see this question day in day out and are probably thinking run a bloody search lol.

i need to know what welder to get, i would run a search but dont know what im searching for so if you can grant me some time and patience then maybe i can pick the right one.

im doing minor restoration work on our cars so obviously need a suitable mig welder around 150 amp (right??). i have around £300 for welder and light reacting mask. i have seen one that screwfix sell for £200 and £100 for the mask but i have also seen many others and like any product one is always better i guess. i would like gas and gasless as they both seem to have pro's and cons so would prefer both and also want it to run off a big bottle as the snap-on 130 im currently borrowing just eats through those mini bottles.

 

[Wozzaaah]

Your budget limits you to a 'hobby' type machine, Clarke being the pick of the bunch. You can get a 160en for a smidge under £225 and a decent auto mask for under £50. If you want to use full size bottles and not disposables, which is what I'd recommend, you'll also need an adapter kit and regulator which would give you a nice set-up for maybe just a few pounds over your budget. As far as I know, the dual-purpose ones don't come with any gas kit at all so you'd need one anyway if you wanted to use gas.

 

[Gasman]

Welcome, (ditto that Woz) Beware of cheapo masks though, there are many sold on the net for under £50 without decent spares,back up or importantly minimum safety requirements. (You only get one pair of eyes!!)

For body work a 150amp would serve you well for anything upto a Landrover chassis.
Consider a specialist supplier (rather than a store chain) because you will always need welding tips, shrouds & gas....sods law on a weekend job.

 

[Wozzaaah]

Had a look at the Screwfix one and I'm not sure if it's a misprint but the amperage range says 60-140. 60 amps minimum seems wrong, most hobby migs go as low as 30 amps and some go even lower at 20amps.

Just found the chinakende website and no it's not a misprint, all their machines seem to start at 60amps, even their 90amp one! The term 'avoid like the plague' springs to mind Get a Clarke, it'll do you fine and last for years. Spares (and machines ) are available from one of our members (weldequip) PM him and see what he can do for you.

 

[car.crash]

i found alot of info on weldequip and he seems a good guy who doesnt just want your money .
called a local supplier today and he said the most powerfull one i can get on a single phase 13amp fuse was a 130 amp. as the 150 upwards demanded to be hard wired or on bigger plugs. this is a problem for me as it will be moved from house to house, on mine and my friends track cars. so we settled that the sip 130 was the one, i didnt go and buy it yet as i wanted to see what you guys thought of this.
i also need a mask the light reacting one, but this seems to be another can of worms as there are many differant types lol. any more reccomendations on either a welder or mask. welder needs to be local due to postage mask can be from a supplier.

 

[Wozzaaah]

Weldequip is one of the finest, I bought my 360 amp mig from him. Like you said, he doesn't just want your money, he will give any amount of advice even if there's no hint of a sale attached to it. Regarding the 16A supply,they have to tell you that for obvious reasons but trust me, you'll be fine with it on a 13A plug. I ran my 220amp mig on a 13A one and only occasionally would it blow the fuse if I used it on full power for extended periods. The worst that could happen is that the fuse will blow in the plug, you cannot damage the machine. Regarding masks, many members have bought Parweld XR 914 ones, they can be bought for as little as £44 from another forum member, diywelding or a siflite one from weldequip for I think under £50. Don't think I've seen any reviews on the siflite ones yet though but I gather they're ok. Send weldequip a PM and ask him to price you up a complete package, you'll be under no obligation to buy it but it will help you to decide what you want.

 

[Baz-Cem]

My brother and father use the Siflite mask and have no complants.

 

[car.crash]

thanks for all the help guys, i know these threads are tedious for you lol.

been looking round the site and the clarke one is looking quite tempting as it seems happier to run on co2 which is what i would prefer as our cars dont need pretty welds on panels just side sills and floors bodging up. i like the look of the masks with the knob on the side so i can adjust it while its on rather than keep taking it off to tinker with it.

 

[car.crash]

here is a few i have picked

1 http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/p.../path/dual-purpose-and-inno-gasin-mig-welders

2 http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/p.../path/dual-purpose-and-inno-gasin-mig-welders

3 http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/p.../path/dual-purpose-and-inno-gasin-mig-welders

 

[Wozzaaah]

My choice would still be the 160en, the 151en asks for a 30 amp supply, no idea why it wants so much juice but it pretty much rules it out for portability. By all accounts the 130en is a decent enough machine but for the extra £24 I'd go for the 160. The duty cycle on the 160 is better than the 151 too .

 

[car.crash]

i was thinking of the 160en for the reasons you said but, it only takes 0.6 wire or 0.9 flux wire. would it be a problem notbeing able to use 0.8 as thats all i have ever used. or can i retro fit 0.8 nozzle on there.

 

[Wozzaaah]

I hadn't spotted that but I can't see it being a problem using 0.8mm wire, again, PM weldequip and ask, he's very friendly. For bodywork, 0.6mm is better anyway as it effectively lowers the welding current meaning you'll blow less holes . If you do decide to buy one from him, get a nice big bag of spare tips and a couple of shrouds, they're so much cheaper than buying packs of 5 from that well known high-street chain with the initials MM .

 

[car.crash]

pm sent to him. i will probs give it a week or so before actually buying one so i can gather as much information on welders so i can find one that fits my requirments best, deffo want to use co2 but from what i have read it shouldnt be a problem with this welder.

 

[Wozzaaah]

Nice one. I'm not affiliated with him in any way but I'd much rather anyone buy something from him (or diywelding) rather than spend money over a counter to someone who quite frankly hasn't a clue about what they're actually selling.