MSter Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 After perhaps a little too much practicing my welder went pop it was a clarke 85amp gasless welder.I am now in the process of sourcing a new/secondhand one but there are so many out there i really dont know what to buy.I was advised to go for no less than 150amp as i can always turn the power down.Can anyone advise me of any good units that have purchase or used and would recommend.Does anyone have a good unit they wish to sell??I was also advised the likes of sealey and clarke are consumable units and to go for something better any advice greatly received.I have alot of welding to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zendervision Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 Everything I know about welding I picked up from mig-welding.co.uk Forum. They have a "which welder" section. It's lower powered than you're after, but I recently bought an inexpensive baby MIG (Clarke Pro* 90) on the basis it was ideal for beginners and low powered enough for car bodywork. Getting good results considering I've never welded before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piman Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 Hello Mster, you say "I have alot of welding to do."Is it all car work or varying thickness? Personally I favour oxy\acetylene, but I realise it's not for everyone; it's plus point is it's versatility so it depends on what work you intend to do?Alec Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paudman Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 Sip 130 Migmate Turbo, it's lasted me since 1995. Perfectly adequate for all body panels or chassis work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard B Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 I had a Clarke 150TE for quite a while. I upgraded to a bigger unit when I started repairing a Land-Rover chassis.The circa 150 unit's by Clarke, SIP, etc are all much the same in terms of quality (or so I believe).A big (refillable) bottle is a better bet than gasless; unless you are doing a lot of welding outside in windy conditions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSter Posted March 13, 2011 Author Share Posted March 13, 2011 What would i need to convert a 150te from the small gas bottles to the larger refillable bottles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT6Craig Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 Quote:Sip 130 Migmate Turbo, it's lasted me since 1995. Perfectly adequate for all body panels or chassis work.Agreed, does the job well. Although I broke mine last weekend :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willows40 Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 i have a clarke 135 turbo had it about 10 years, Its rebuilt so many cars that i`ve forgottn how many. It does everything i need and if you turn it up will weld thicker than any metal on cars,When it does finally give up the ghost will replace it with a bigger one but that is only because of the amount of welding i do.To convert it to the big bottles you need a regulator and some tube, think you can buy the things you need from seeley and places like that.cheers andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 Sealey's are good for what they cost. I wouldn't bother with a gas less one, I don't think the results are as good and you're actually going to pay extra for that facility, unless of course you prefer gas less welding. I'm just an amateur at welding but have friends who weld for a living and they all gave me that advice before I bought my rig, but I knew better of course! But they were all correct, gas welding is so much better.The old adage remains: buy the best you can afford. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSter Posted March 13, 2011 Author Share Posted March 13, 2011 think im going to go for the clarke 150te seems to have the best reviews and good amp coverage. Will be converting it to refillable bottles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willcolumbine Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 The Clarkes are good little welders. I've got the 160tm and been really impressed with it. You've got to check the min and max amps though. Mine is called a 160 but the maximum amps is actually 150! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 I would disagree about sip and clarke being similar.I had a clarke 90, a brilliant machine that will turn down nice and low, some bigger welders WON'T so do check any specs. After several years it finally packed up, until that point only requiring tips and a couple of liners.replaced with waht I thought was a better unit, the sip130turbo. Nothing but grief. Eventually improved a fair bit by using a steel liner (bit like bike brake outer cable) but the wire feed was always grief and needed all sorts of fettling. Then the relays started seizing on, so the wire just kept feeding. I replaced with a 150 amp cloarke, not really as good as the 90 for cars but will work for 4-5mm steel which is handy. All my migs have been gasless. I use them outside, so gas would be problematical. Also the gasless will work even if the prep is less than 100%, which is very handy for awkward corners.On balance a gas mig is a better bet, and will give nicer welds. But too many slag gasless off without trying it ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willcolumbine Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 The SIP wirefeed issue is a well known issue! - http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/sip-wirefeed.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeyb Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 I've had the SIp feed issue, had trouble getting a PVC liner long enough so fitted a Eurotorch conversion - result total transformation! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSter Posted March 14, 2011 Author Share Posted March 14, 2011 has anyone got any pictures of the welding they have done with a clarke or sip welder someone who has helped me weld in the past is strongly advising me against a clarke or sip or sealey, clarke seem to get good reviews for the decent ones was just wondering if anyone had any pics so i can see the quality of the weld it produces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Jones Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 Weld quality down to operator skill, machine set-up, gas type being used, cleanliness of workpiece - I could go on..... It is certainly true that some are easier to use than others though.FWIW I bought a Clarke 100E in about 1987 and it was still working as recently as last year. Dead now, but not a bad innings for a cheapy as it had seen plenty of use and abuse. I did add a cooling fan to it and painted the heatsinks black. Duty cycle was much improved. I "replaced it" 10 years with a used but newer semi-pro industrial SIP 160 unit, but if I was expecting improved performance I was disappointed. The SIP has a nicer Euro torch but doesn't weld any better and I've dragged the Clarke back out several times when the SIP was driving me nuts. Certainly I'd consider Clarke the best of the cheapies.Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim S Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 I've had my SIP migmate turbo 130 for coming up to 10 years. Almost all my welding has been outside and I've always used gas. I've used it for quite a few weldathons - Dolly, TR7 and Acclaim and the more I've used it the better the welding. Don't like the switching arrangement that's used for the power setting although once the right combination's found it works OK. My advise is:1. practice, practice, practice and more practice.2. make sure you are welding solid metal, i.e. cut out all the rust3. get it as clean as you can4. DON'T WELD WEARING VARIFOCAL LENSES, when I swapped to my reading glasses I improved by 100%5. Check the mask filter is not too dark or use a 500 watt lamp to light up what you're doing6. make sure you are positioned comfortably and your body is stable, a wobblely welding hand is useless7. speaking of hands wear welding gloves at all times, rigger gloves are ok at a pinch but it's still possible to get UV burns with them8. wear thick overalls, welders ones if possible and wear boots, I found slip on ones are best 'cos if a blob of weld gets through believe me you want that boot of as fast as possible.9. wear old clothing underneath unless you don't mind holes in your best tee-shirt, jeans, socks etc plus an ear'olin' off the missus when she's found them whilst doing the ironing10. relax, the number of times I've caught myself holding my breath, which results in rushing and most likely a crap weld.The above are not in any particular order, except perhaps number one and I'm sure others can add another ten. I've found welding to be frustrating on occasions but very rewarding when it all gos right. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT6Craig Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 I managed to sort my wire feed issues out on my sip by replacing the liner with a new en from halfrauds. I then used a washer on the wire spindle, and a spring sandwiched between that and the thumb screw at the end of the spindle. Not sure if that how it's supposed to be as mine was absent any anti birds nest device but it works well. The spring applies enough force to stop the coiled wire unravelling without putting undue tension on the wire.Full day of happy welding on Sunday! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT6Craig Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 The spring was made from a paperclip.Did this weld a few weeks back, its the hinge box to chassis in case you are wondering. This was done on my sip.Welding criticism welcome, self taught so always looking to improve...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 Very good weld, Craig, especially welding onto iron lace.Why have you not replaced the piece made from steel/air mix?(New sort of composite material?)John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferny Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 I use a Migmate here. Can be an almighty pain in the arse! They're also known for changing their settings when you move the welder around. That's great fun when you've spent some time getting the weld just right then need to move the whole unit to repeat on the other side of the car! ;D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSter Posted March 16, 2011 Author Share Posted March 16, 2011 looks like a good weld can i ask what sip machine you have still being advised away from clarke but cant find anythinig decent. AHhhhhh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 Who is advising against a clarke? beware of the pub talf and chinese whispers. As I have said I have owned sip and clarke. Clarke is far better. Look at teh mig welding forum, same thing. Look up the problems with the smaller sip, and it becomes obvious.Otherwise, spend out and buy a portamig, murex or other quality machine, but it does get expensive for the pro kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSter Posted March 16, 2011 Author Share Posted March 16, 2011 Ok the person advising me against Clarke is a guy who does all lifting tackle welding of beams etc.I can either buy a good quality clarke 160tm ready for the refillable bottles goes down low enough on the amps for body panels and high enough should i ever need to weld thicker stuff or a secondhand migatronic if i can find a single phase.The mig welding forum seems to rave clarkes but cant seem to find any pictures of the quality of weld they provide.Whilst i know my welding will not be visable i want it to look good and be proud of the quality of workmanship and not like a thousand seagulls have pebledashed the underside of the car. I wanna buy something thats gonna last me a good few years i know for around £300 i can no where near buy the best but would like to make a good investment as i would not easily be able to but another should i make the wrong decision!!Any help advice greatly received. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard B Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 cliftyhanger wrote: As I have said I have owned sip and clarke. Clarke is far better. Ditto although I went from a 100Amp SIP mini-Mig to a Clarke 150TE, so not comparing like for like. The Clarke was great, until I started taking on bigger and bigger jobs and so ended up with a 255 Nu-Tool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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