Which Hobby MIG to Buy???

[Ratty]

Around £500 mark for a 20-185amps machine with Euro-Torch. Proper kit with proper spec. PM me for full specification as & when you are ready to upgrade.
weldequip

Hi weldequip! I just posted a newbie (see 'what welder for a sculptor') BEFORE I actually started to look at this great site. having seen your portamig recommended in the 'buying a mig' section I chased around ebay to find you..but no portamig 180! Maybe I'm wrong but it sounds just what I need. perhaps you'd be kind enough to read my post and let me know what you think - also if I wanted one, what's the wait time?
cheers, ratty

 

[Larry A Mills Sr]

Chicago Electric Dual Mig Model 151

Has anyone used or knows anything about this welder?
I'm interested to find out if it will weld 1/16" to 3/32" tubing steel tubing.
Please advise if you know anything about this machine I recently purchased.

 

[weldequip]

Shouldn't have a problem welding that thickness if it is a true 150amp machine (and not just a model number).
One or two of our American friends on the site seem to have the same make of machine but I'm really not famililar with the brand as it's not one we have in the UK. (quite possibly a re-badged European made machine).
weldequip

 

[Nige]

I`m looking at getting a hobby mig this week. I was going to get a cheap SIP, but reading the posts here, perhaps a 2nd hand Clarke may be better for me?

I`ll be doing the odd bit of automotive repair, so the 25A of the SIP ones appealed to me. Should I look for a Clarke low end or SIP ?

Cheers,

nige.

 

[weldequip]

The Clarke Pro-90 goes down to 25amps & will do want you want. I wouldn't worry too much about the lowest setting, 30amps & below is fine for most jobs & there are other, more important considerations, such as wire feed set-up, electronics reliability & quality of torch etc.
weldequip

 

[Nige]

Thanks, I`ll look at getting one of those.

the best seems to be @ £152 so far.

weldequip If you can supply cheaper I`ll get it from you.

Nige.

 

[Bilbobaker]

You are welcome. If you want a well informed & un-biased opinion on ANY (more or less) make drop me a line.

I just bought a Hobart 140.
Is it a good welder?
I don't plan on welding anything very thick because I have a Lincoln 180 AC stick welder for that.
I had a struggle in choosing between the Clarke and the Hobart.

 

[weldequip]

The original American Hobarts are good sets, the European marketed equivalent is a Clarke re-badged!
weldequip

 

[johnakay]

I've had a sip 100amp welderyears ago and what a bag 'o' ***** that was.
I could only weld if I remember rightly about 1" to 2" and then it would conk out.
wire feed was a pain in the ****,set it up to run smoothly then after a couple of goes it would need setting up again.
I sold it in the end and bought a clarke 100amp.
and what a little cracking welder that was.
sold that as I wasn't doing any more welding and at the time I needed the money.
later I regretted selling it. so I bought another clarke but this time 150 amp turbo (best buy auto express).
I even welded 2 x 20mm steel plate on full power.and it worked ok even when hit by a hammer to see if weld will hold.
my personal opinion yes I would recomend it.

 

[gudgeonmczygo]

Gasless MIG

Hello all, I'm new to the forum with only book knowledge of MIG and some MMA experience a long time ago.

I'm on the very edge of buying my first MIG welder, almost certainly a Clarke nogas type, because I read that it's easier to add gas to a nogas than convert a gas to nogas and Clarke are cheap and adequate.

I'm a bit concerned about welding thin metal (car body repair) with a minimum of 30A. Normally I'd be able to reduce the wire thickness to control the heat (or is it the Amps?) but nogas will run off (I assume) .9mm fluxed wire. Is this going to cause me a problem? Will I need to convert it to gas immediately? Should I re-think the whole thing?

Weldequip, I'd particularly welcome your input. I'm also happy to buy off you if your prices are competitive, although I don't use Paypal 'cos I've been stitched up by them in the past.

 

[weldequip]

You would certainly be better using gas on thin bodywork, gas-less can be a bit 'fierce' & blow holes in it
weldequip

 

[gudgeonmczygo]

So what parts do I need to convert a Clarke gasless mig (apart from the cylinder)? what ballpark cost will it be? Is it easy to convert gas mig to gasless later on if required? (Much of the work will be outside so gas may not be an option, although I could plug weld the parts in, they're only wheel arches)

Thanks very much for your prompt response.

 

[weldequip]

To convert the gas-less "EN" models to run on gas you just need a gas canister, gas regulator & spool of wire... around £25. The "TE" models are straight gas only machines & you cannot run them on gas-less wire (polarity reversal is required which isn't fitted on the TE models).
As I said, you will get better performance on thin sheet with a gas set-up, so using a 'wind break' is always a good ploy when working outside.
weldequip

 

[gudgeonmczygo]

Thanks very much for your response. I appreciate you sharing your knowledge and experience with me.
It's the polarity reversal thing I'm concerned about, and I think I will need the possiblility in the future of doing gasless. As I have no experience with shielding gases it's difficult for me to judge under which conditions I can work outside and how effective wind shields are. I reckon I'll buy a gasless and at the same time buy the conversion kit.

PM me if you're interested in selling to me.

 

[Tim]

Hi Guys,

I just thought I'd add my pennys worth.
Quite some time ago now I bought a Portamig 181 from Steve, it was my first machine and I decided to go for the best piece of kit I could resonable afford. Steve provided a great service too.

To be honest after looking at few models in the £200 range the thought of spending £500 on a Portamig was distant to say the least. But after some reading, mostly on here, and listening I decided to drop my cash on the 181.

Wow! I have been sooo pleased I made that choice, the 181 is an awsome piece of work and it genuinly flatters my ability. On more than one occasion poeple have looked at my welds and assumed I was a welder...they often looked a bit miffed when I say, 'no I taught myself and anyway its mostly the machine'. To be honest I really only weld my VW van/beetle, that sort of thing.

I guess i'm writing this to encourage anyone looking for a new machine to do yourself a favour and save hard, the Portamig just might be the best piece of kit you'll ever buy.
If you actually enjoy using your Mig you just might weld that tiny bit better...maybe

Cheers

Tim

 

[Johnny™]

hi im another newbie.

ive just purchased a Berlan BMIG140

heres the spec...

Typ SGA inert-gas welding unit BMIG140
Power supply 230V ~ 50 Hz
No-Load-Voltage 34 V
Fuse 16 A
Welding current 40 ~ 140 A
Welding levels 4 (1 - 2 min. / max.)
Welding Wire thickness (steel) ø 0,6 ~ 0,8 mm
Welding Wire thickness (aluminium) ø 0,8 ~ 1 mm
Welding Wire thickness (inox) ø 0,8 mm
Isolation class H
Protection class IP21
Dimensions (WxHxD) 800 x 450 x 570 mm
Weight ~ 32 kg

having just found this site and this forum i think ive made a mistake on purchasing as its min amps are 40, is this no good for car bodywork?

I cant find any info on here about Berlan, have i bought a bag of ****e? assuming its for hobby welding on my Bug and VW van.

some pics......

 

[Wozzaaah]

40A is a bit high for bodywork, ideally you want 30 or less. Try it with some 0.6mm wire and see how you get on. I'm not sure where their migs are made but their plasmas and tigs are Chinese.

 

[Johnny™]

I made the mistake of assuming it was german built, i guess its going back on Fleabay and ill be ordering one of those nice portamigs from steve (i think thats his name) after reading all the glowing reports and praise about it. Theres no point in cutting corners when your fixing a 40 year old bus that you want to keep for good, so i might as well splash out and buy something really decent.

 

[SeannyD]

Hello Newbie here just asking your opinion of the the Clarke 135TE turbo for camper van panel work and light fabrication. Hi Weldequip, Clarke gas bottles is it worth getting bigger bottles, if so how much does the regulator etc cost and what type/size of bottles to use?

 

[weldequip]

Good little machine yes. You can convert any of the small MIGs to run from refillables for around £35-£40, but if you intend to run from refillables straight away go for the 160TE model. That has an industrial connection Argon regulator already supplied + a cylinder carrier on the rear You could also run the 160TE on disposables initially with the addition of a canister regulator (around a tenner).
weldequip