Which budget MIG (Gas / Gasless) unit ?

[BigBunny]

Hello Folks,
I am currently looking at a budget MIG Gas / Gasless welder for a home project. I will be welding bicycle frames and building a recumbent trike. So in terms of capabilities the welder needs to be able to cope with material (mild steel) as thin as 1mm and then up to approximately 4mm (on occasion).
Power in my garage is a UK domestic supply, single phase, on a ring with a 32amp fuse at the fuse board.
So something that can run off a 13amp socket would be ideal.
Budget wise I am looking at less than £250 really. Then on top of that I will get the Argon/Co2 gas.
Duty cycle this will be doing short welds, then a break, then another short weld.
I am currently looking at :
Clarke 151
Sealey Mighty MIG 150
Reading other post has led me to look at R-Tech and GYS units as well.
Any comments on my machine choice and particularly recommendations on these and other budget units will be gratefully received ?
Many thanks
Simon

 

[BrokenBiker]

i would avoid gasless. Its horrible stuff and not good on thin material as it doesn't come in 0.6mm wire.

 

[Parm]

I'm in much the same boat and would be interested in any answers, comments or suggestions

 

[MoreWellie]

I have had a 151te for a number of years and it has been very useful for the range of sizes that you mention but it is designed to take the disposable bottles which can prove expensive if you do a fair amount of welding so I would suggest you look at the 160TM which is configured for normal rental and rent free gas bottles. I sorted the 151 by getting a welding trolley to sit the welder on which held the bottle on the back. As well as the disposable gas bottles being an expensive way of buying gas I have found that the disposable regulators only last a very short time before you have to wind them further and further round to get any gas flow. The Clarke regulator lasted longer than others I have bought but still failed in the same way

It does have a relatively short torch hose which is a blessing when you can get the welder close to the job as it doesn't get in the way but can be a pain as you sometimes need to move the welder around a lot more than you would otherwise. Other than that the torch handle is smaller than an MB15 euro torch and therefore gets in to tight spaces more easily plus spares are readily available when you need them

I have no experience of the Sealey

 

[lazybones51]

I have a Clarke 160TM running off a proper BOC Y sized bottle (Argon Shield). Works a treat and seems really good quality for the money.

 

[God mode restorations]

if you can avoid the gasless...

 

[BrokenBiker]

regardless of what mig you buy, if it is designed to accept disposable bottles, weld equip sell adaptors to convert to a proper sized bottle. comes with a regulator and a pipe to connect onto the 4mm pipe on the welder. once that is pushed on and tightened down just put the reg on the bottle and start welding.