Tig or Mig

[The Buddah]

Hello,
Still undecided on what welder to purchase.
Nearly bought the Clark 160 gas welder.
But at the last moment a friend mentioned that a Tig is better and more versatile.

Now what do I do, can anybody help me with this , preferably a person with lots of experience.

Thank you.

Mike.

 

[shenion]

It is more of a question of what you want to use it for.

TIG can do just about anything, but is slower and more expensive and harder to learn. MIG is more productive.

 

[Richiew]

Sounds like the OP hasn't welded before.

Buy yourself a Mig. As a novice at welding you will find it much easier to get acceptable and usable results using Mig. You will be jumping in at the deep end if you purchase a Tig welder.

 

[The Buddah]

yea,

Im now going back and fourth, ok if i stick with mig should i get the 185 portamig ......or.....clark 160 gas.

First of all will be practicing with scrap then moving onto repairs to my land rover off roader. I have a protection bar that needs to be cut off and re-welded onto the chassis.

I will be welding outside as i don't have a garage that a car will fit in.

I would also like to build a tool safe for the shed.

Mike.

 

[keith19]

Hi Mike,

If you are going to be welding outside with gas you need to think first about how you will rig up wind protection, and perhaps a safety screen to protect any people and pets from seeing the arc. Once you've got these figured you can think about ordering a welder.

Of the two you've listed the Portamig is no doubt the best machine. The Clarke 160 is good, but the Portamig 185 is better. The spec and the price reflect this. Check the specs in Weldequip's shop on-site. Look through the threads on here for more information from owners about their machines, there are few complaints about Portamigs.

The Portamig will help you as a beginner to produce good welds easier, once you've worked out the controls, and it has more the feel of a pro machine, and is strongly built. It will also have more power in reserve should you ever need it. But it's more expensive, has a four-week waiting list, and you will need to play with the controls a bit until you get the hang of it. But other owners on here are very helpful, so you shouldn't have a problem.

The Portamig name is a bit of a misnomer; at 48 Kg it's not a machine you want to be lifting in and out of vehicles every day, or up and down a flight of stairs. But if you can keep it in one place, and bring the work to it, it's ideal, and for DIY work will probably last a lifetime.

Whichever you choose, you'll need to start looking around for a supplier of gas somewhere in your area, and figure what size bottle you intend to use.
Do lots of practice before tackling anything structural on the landy, and post a few pics up here for the guys and gals to tell you how you're doing.
Best wishes with your project.

 

[The Buddah]

Hi keith,

I have space at the side of my house away from other people so that maked things easier and i could rig up some kind of canopy to protect against the wind.

looks like it will be a portamig 185, it may be the cheaper of the range but its about as much as i want to spend considering that there are other thing that are needed such as refilable gas bottles, though i don't know how much they are or where you get them at a decent price.

I will be running off a house hold suply and i take it the portamig will be fine with this.

I will need advice on how to set up the welder once it arives.
The first thing i would like to weld is a bench/tool safe to do as it says on the tin....lol

I just found out that i need to ad another roof bar to my roll cage, so theres another job.

Hopefully i will find some nice person local who could come over and help me.

Mike.

 

[keith19]

Hi Mike,

Take a look at the gas suppliers list to see if there's anyone within easy distance of you. If not, enquire around locally at garages and welding workshops if there's any in your area.

BOC cover pretty well everywhere, but have an expensive bottle rental scheme, and also a refill con where even if you take your bottle in to be changed yourself, they charge you to change it, quite apart from the annual bottle rental and the gas. We used to be with them for years, as there was no alternative at the time. Greedy bustards.

According to what people have written on here, the Portamig does quite well on a normal 13 Amp household supply, up to around 140 - 150 Amp welding output. Higher than that the fuse will blow occasionally, especially on longer runs.
It's only if you will be constantly welding at the top end of the amperage scale - 150 - 180 Amps - that you may need to consider putting in a heavier cable taken directly from your consumer unit. If you will be mainly welding on a landy this is unlikely.

Ask around the forum to see if there are any Portamig owners living near you who might like to call by and help set up the machine and get you started.
Keith.

 

[The Buddah]

Welder ordered

Thanks all,

Ive gone ahead and ordered the portamig 185.
Looking forward to doing the learning bit when its delivered.
No doubt ill be asking more questions....watch this space.

Mike.