Which Welding machine help

[gren300000]

Hi All, I've bee doing some welding mainly arc at a place where I hire bench once a week. I'm looking to get my own welding power source. I was just going to go with a simple arc welding, as my budget is low. I have seen a couple of welders that do gasless mig as well. They are not expensive and are made by either sip or draper. would these me any good? I will only be doing a low amount of welding each week, one day max. but as mentioned I'm on a tight budget.

Any thoughts?
Thanks you in advance.

 

[gaz1]

welcome to the forums

i wouldnt go gasless otherwise expect to pay 70.00 for a 5kg roll if not expect crap poor welds your better off sticking to an arc welder than that

if you want to use on thin work your better off using a gas welder but by the time you have finished paying for the gas and wire your around 50.00+ and then theres the rental of the bottle

ive been there and i still have both a clarke 150 and a sip 90 arc welder i have upgraded both to an oil welder and a cebora 195 welder and still have all 4 machines

 

[eddie49]

Hello and welcome!
The cheapest modern Arc welder that you can buy ( apart from a 20kg transformer-based "buzz box" ) is a ZX7-200:

Review - Cheap eBay 200amp single phase inverter MMA

(very) Occasionally I will do a little MMA welding on a job that comes in. Often these jobs are too big for me to get through the workshop doors or it is easier to just not unload them from the trailer they were delivered on, etc. For the past four years I have used my dual voltage 110/240 volt...

www.mig-welding.co.uk

They used to be about 30 quid, but are now double that.
For about double again, i.e. £130 upwards, you can get a low-end imported MIG and Arc ( "MMA" ) welder. They do work ( usually ), but long- or even medium-term reliability can be an issue.

 

[gren300000]

Hi, Thanks for the replies thus far. I was looking to spend around £150 on a arc machine and maybe £300max on a combi if any exits. Renting a bottle would be too expensive.

welcome to the forums

i wouldnt go gasless otherwise expect to pay 70.00 for a 5kg roll if not expect crap poor welds your better off sticking to an arc welder than that

if you want to use on thin work your better off using a gas welder but by the time you have finished paying for the gas and wire your around 50.00+ and then theres the rental of the bottle

ive been there and i still have both a clarke 150 and a sip 90 arc welder i have upgraded both to an oil welder and a cebora 195 welder and still have all 4 machines

 

[gaz1]

ok then forget your combo reference for the moment

a sip 90 arc welder old machine can be picked up at car boots for 10.00 used theres many out there that is used just test them easy enough to take a rod with you

for new even the aldi arc welder at 80.00 is a far price however you can pick up an oil welder for a fair price that thing will weld all day long and not over heat and cut out on you like all the rest

im not a lover of combo machines one machine part goes you loose both versions of the machine

buying lets say a clarke 150 or 151 machine yeah you can buy used and pick them up for a fair price 220 new with a voucher but there near on non existant with gas your paying 300.00 for a boc account rolls of wire is 20.00+

but you get better welds and no clean ups afterwards

the mask i have to say its better to use an auto mask

 

[gren300000]

Thanks,

Gas Bottle will not be possible, hence why I was looking at gasless.
So maybe just go with the arc.

 

[gaz1]

it will be fine with arc on anything above 2mm thickness of material

welding thin material with arc takes some experience but it can be done with alot of practice

all depends on what you want to pay for to buy an arc welder on the newer models you can scratch tig weld with them

 

[tom2207]

Welcome to the forum
First question is ,,, what do you want to weld ?

that sort of points you in one direction or the other.

 

[gren300000]

Welcome to the forum
First question is ,,, what do you want to weld ?

that sort of points you in one direction or the other.

Hi, I've been welding things for my home out of 2mm hollo square tubing. As mention I'm starting out on my own. I have used a mig in the past but as mention a bottle is not an option. Have some frames to make up soon, again out of hollow tubing. I'm also based in the UK.

Thanks

 

[tom2207]

Hi, I've been welding things for my home out of 2mm hollo square tubing. As mention I'm starting out on my own. I have used a mig in the past but as mention a bottle is not an option. Have some frames to make up soon, again out of hollow tubing. I'm also based in the UK.

Thanks

How about a second hand machine ,,, your going to need gas though.
2mm in box with a stick is do able ,,, but its a pita ,,, gas is just a consumable like wire , tea bags and chocolate biscuits ,,, no job ever gets done without the consumables . Why wont a rent free bottle be possible ?

 

[gren300000]

How about a second hand machine ,,, your going to need gas though.
2mm in box with a stick is do able ,,, but its a pita ,,, gas is just a consumable like wire , tea bags and chocolate biscuits ,,, no job ever gets done without the consumables . Why wont a rent free bottle be possible ?

I've been finding it okay on the 2mm, no margin for error. Re bottle I don't have a place to store on or the funds.

Thanks

 

[tom2207]

I've been finding it okay on the 2mm, no margin for error. Re bottle I don't have a place to store on or the funds.

Thanks

mig would make a huge difference ,,, bottles are not that big , and you get your deposit back if you hand them back.

 

[gren300000]

mig would make a huge difference ,,, bottles are not that big , and you get your deposit back if you hand them back.

Yes but my place of work wont allow me to store gas bottles and I cant afford it now, hence I was looking at gasless.

Thanks

 

[tom2207]

Yes but my place of work wont allow me to store gas bottles and I cant afford it now, hence I was looking at gasless.

Thanks

Some people get almost passable results running gasless

I just haven't met them.

 

[henry Kadzielski]

I may just get into trouble here. I have met many people that think, with a bit on knowledge they can get great results on a show string using crap. Logic tells them after their research and their logical thought process they are right. Please let me be gentle 99.9% of the time WTF were you thinking.

Some people get almost passable results running gasless

I just haven't met them.

Couldn't agree with @tom2207 any more. I can calmly say this as I was one of those in my younger days. Now I buy 'FIT FOR PURPOSE' based on my experience.
Please let me state. A great welder with a poor machine will get a good result, however a poor or beginner welder with little to no experience, even with a great machine will not get a good result. Now we have a inexperienced welder with crap compromise machine , what will we expect . Sorry to be blunt

 

[gren300000]

So stick with Arc then?

 

[hotponyshoes]

I think your main issue might be duty cycle.
If your making something bit by bit and doing a couple of welds every now and again then a cheap welder might be fine.

If you're renting a bench for one day a week then you will be wanting to go in and crack through it. Do your cutting/work lists at home then get in there, cut it all, prep it all, Weld it all,
I think the majority of the cheap welders will overheat pretty quickly and that soon gets annoying waiting for them to cool back down.

For a budget of £100 I'd be looking at an old oil-filled arc welder. Get a continuous variable one (rather than one with a 4 way switch) and you'll stand a good chance of being able to run 1.6mm rods which will do 2mm thick box quite well after a bit of practice

 

[gren300000]

Sorry, I may of not been clear. Where I rent a bench I can use all their welders. But I'm looking to set up a small space were I work, but as stated, I cant keep bottles of gas. If I can stretch to it then I might get an esab arc welder, as its seem from opinion, best to stay away from gasless mig.