Will a clarke 135te be enough?

[frazzle]

I've taken on a land rover project. It needs welding to the chassis and inner wings.

I'm a novice with welding but not to working on cars.

There is a local welder for sale which is a clarke 135te would this be man enough for the job? I'm not likely to weld anything other than the land rover.

 

[Red'n'Black]

Welcome aboard.

I've never used the Clarke machine myself but they seem well regarded on here for a budget welder.

Some pics of the Landy!

 

[frazzle]

Welcome aboard.

I've never used the Clarke machine myself but they seem well regarded on here for a budget welder.

Some pics of the Landy!

There it is in all her rustyness!

 

[zzr1200]

Personally I'd say 160 minimum, have welded several LR chassis frames. I'd recommend a 200 amp machine.

 

[tigdlo]

I don't know how much welding you have to do on a chassis but having seen and patched a few land rovers I would be concerned about the duty cycle of the Clarke 135 and would be better with a bit more head room.

Clarke welders are fine, I have a 150 but having used much better machines, I would say try and get something better, especially for a novice. Look at something like an R Tech 180, with 5 years warranty you could always sell it on after and get a good amount of money back. Don't forget to price up gas, mask and gloves if money is the reason you are looking at the Clarke machine, as these will be about £300 alone if you get a 20L bottle.

 

[Rrobson]

As above, no it won’t be if you want to do proper chassis repairs. 180-200a set would be much more suitable.
Although it would be fine for bodywork and thinner materials like the inner wings.

When I had chassis work to do on my 4x4 I bought a second hand tecarc 181 which did a nice job.

Good luck with the repairs what ever you decide to get

 

[frazzle]

Thanks guys! In regards to welding supplies and accessories my brother in law works for a welding supply company so I can get mask and gas etc cheap enough.

I have found a 2nd hand migatronic 180mx locally for 250. Would that be a better buy?

 

[RaceDiagnostics]

How thick is the chassis?

 

[Wildefalcon]

Not very, if it needs welding. I've a 160 Clarke, and it's plenty adequate. If you aren't fussed about awaiting for the welder to recuperate then it would do. If the price was right. But there are better pieces of kit out there.

 

[eddie49]

I have found a 2nd hand migatronic 180mx locally for 250. Would that be a better buy?

Yes, a Migatronic is a good-quality professional machine, and a traditional transformer-based one like the 180MX will be reliable and easily repairable. The 180MX starts at 25 Amps, which is low enough for thin 0.7mm car bodywork. You need 30 to 40 Amps per millimetre of steel thickness ( or 1 Amp per thousandth of an inch ) so 180 Amps should give a reliable weld on 5 to 6 mm thickness in a single pass. Manual available here:

https://www.migatronic.com/media/2319/50170005_manual_automig-x-mx_en.pdf

At £250 the price is about right, and probably a good deal if it is local to you.

 

[SierraV6]

How thick is the chassis?

Not very, if it needs welding.

Deserves acknowledgment!

 

[frazzle]

Deserves acknowledgment!

This did make me chuckle. Good ol chocolate landrover chassis

 

[frazzle]

Yes, a Migatronic is a good-quality professional machine, and a traditional transformer-based one like the 180MX will be reliable and easily repairable. The 180MX starts at 25 Amps, which is low enough for thin 0.7mm car bodywork. You need 30 to 40 Amps per millimetre of steel thickness ( or 1 Amp per thousandth of an inch ) so 180 Amps should give a reliable weld on 5 to 6 mm thickness in a single pass. Manual available here:

https://www.migatronic.com/media/2319/50170005_manual_automig-x-mx_en.pdf

At £250 the price is about right, and probably a good deal if it is local to you.

Hey thanks for that, I bit the bullet and bought it so now just arranging collection.

Bit of a strange question but where the gas bottle sits behind the welder it has a small amount of rust. Presumably from where the bottle moves about, is it possible to buy the correct green paint?

 

[hotponyshoes]

Hey thanks for that, I bit the bullet and bought it so now just arranging collection.

Bit of a strange question but where the gas bottle sits behind the welder it has a small amount of rust. Presumably from where the bottle moves about, is it possible to buy the correct green paint?

Yes! They are actually about the only one I know that supply the paint. Either comes in a small touch-up pot or an aerosol.
Although it might not match particularly well if yours is an older machine. Paint on welders is subject to a lot of uv exposure so trends to fade fairly well!

 

[Robotstar5]

Bit of a strange question but where the gas bottle sits behind the welder it has a small amount of rust. Presumably from where the bottle moves about, is it possible to buy the correct green paint?

Most of the welders at work had a rubber mat under the bottle so it may be worth considering once you've painted it.

 

[dextadriver]

There’s a good chance the chassis is worse than you think it is
I remember someone welding in stiffeners before he started cutting out rotted chassis to prevent body going out of shape

 

[chris pruteanu]

After welding with a Clarke te151 mig which I bought new in 2005 and which i regarded as the bees knees, I recently got myself a wurth welder- rebadged synergic stel tiggy 171- it’s in a completely different league ! I would give the Clarke a miss and get something a bit more professional- it will make you a better welder !