What type of welder?

[Chris23]

Hello everyone. I am a newbie & haven't even got as far as which model of welder to buy! My question is which type of welder. Arc, Mig ( gas or gasless), Tig etc. Let me tell you what I want to do & who I am & perhaps you would be kind enough to advise.

I learnt very very very..... basic Arc welding at night school about 25 years ago when Mig etc did not really exist from a hobby point of view/ price. I have done virtually no welding since.

I want a very versatile welder that will cope with old car restoration, motorcycle/trike frame building and also a bit of garden wrought iron work. It will need to work off a 13 amp socket.

My very basic knowledge, & reading here, suggest that the arc is cheapest but likely to burn holes/ warp thin metal. Gas Mig is easiest, most versatile but there is the gas problem & a breeze does not help. Gasless Mig is messy, needs to be outside & isn't as easy as Mig.

Each section of this forum has its fans so can anyone give me an overall view of what each type of welding is best for & what each will not do acceptably well in the hands of a real amateur?

Not much to ask!!!!!

Chris

 

[weldequip]

Forget Arc for welding thin sheet, you will just blow holes in it as you say. MIG or TIG. You will find MIG the easiest to learn, TIG requiring a higher degree of practice & skill.
MIG with gas is definately the best on thin sheet & you can also buy dual purpose gas/gas-less machines, giving you the best of both worlds. 150 Amps is about the maximum from a 13amp supply which will weld approximately 4mm (you could do thicker with multiple passes).
weldequip

 

[Chris23]

Thanks for that - it is what I suspected but I really appreciate the confirmation.

Ok well I now have my trusty Machine Mart catalogue in front of me & lots of suggestion here that Clarke are as good as budget home welders get.

Gas Mig:
There is a Blue 150TE turbo & a Red 151TE turbo. Both 30-150Amps & same weight etc. Red one is £9 cheaper at next weeks VAT free evening .

Gasless Mig:
Greater differences between red 160EN, blue 151EN & a Red 130EN at the same price as the Blue 151EN.

Blue 151EN
Amps Range 30-150
Amps @ 60% duty 62
Open circuit volts 21-32
Weight 25kg
Price VAT free £170

Red 160EN
Amps Range 30-150
Amps @ 60% duty 75
Open circuit volts 18-28
Weight 29kg
Price VAT free £190

Red 130EN
Amps Range 30-130
Amps @ 60% duty 57
Open circuit volts 18-26
Weight 25kg
Price VAT free £170

I note the difference in the outputs & understand that a big welder will always (in the examples above anyway) do everything a smaller welder will do but that a 130amp welder will run out of power for thicker metal before the 160amp ones.

I note the difference in duty cycle which suggests better cooling or better transformer?

I guess the heavier weights might be a good thing if the weight is somewhere useful like the transformer.

Open circuit voltage are different but I have no idea if it matters.

I note the £20 price difference which whilst important would not stop me buying the better welder.

I understand that to make these work with gas I would need Ordinary Mig welding wire, C02/ Argon gas and gas regulator - the bits they supply with the gas Migs seem to be "worth" about £20. I assume that any gas pipe is already there as the Machine Mart catalogue does not mention it. .

Red ones look "prettier" & blue ones less plastic but otherwise like others I don't see the reason for the two ranges.

Please tell me which should I buy and why & whether I am right in my guesses/ assumptions.

Chris

 

[matt1978]

I would PM Weldequipe and ask him what he could get you for your budget. Machine Mart will be making a large mark up on them.

Weldequipe will sort you out.

 

[promusician]

Forget the MM Catalogue. PM "Weldequip" you will get a better service and a far better after sales service too.

 

[car.crash]

i just brought a complete beginners setup from him. his prices smashed machine marts, on both welder, spares and mask, and included delivery too, plus i got some nice free bits too, order all in one go, save yourself money and look after smaller traders, big retailers earn enough, and dont warrant it with ****e customer service.
thats just my opinion