Can U Recommend A Good Mig Welder

[barry d 6]

i was wondering could u recommend a good mig welder with gas.my budget is fairly tight so i can afford about 300 max.is there any decent ones out there for that money.

[swordfish210 20]

Probably be looking at one from the Clarke range for that sort of money, would you want to buy new or secondhand?

[welshpug 1,666]

might get an used snapon/cebora for that money, or a new clarke as mentioned, there;s loads others out ther though.

 

I'd highly recommend having a look on the migwelding forum.

[omega 82]

i had a clarke 130 till it got nicked,works well and i had it for about 10 years and did 2 mods to it.i converted it to a proffesional gun and i built a cage on the back of it and added a extra fan to blow more air through it.

Edited November 17, 2011 by omega

[Fox 3]

I've got a Clarke MIG pro 90, I bought it about six years ago second hand for £50. They even admitted it had only been used a couple of times. What sort of jobs are you intending to do with it and how often?

[joe1joe 3]

I have got a clarke 160 turbo and it can produce nice welds, but the rectifier has just gone on it and it has had about two years of hard use.

 

So i would say for home use a clarke welding plant are very good (and your budget) but if it was used alot daily i dont think it would last long.

 

Also they do seem to have spare parts in stock which is good.

[omega 82]

Also they do seem to have spare parts in stock which is good.

 

a very important point that is ofton overlooked.

[M@tt 77]

as said, the Clarkes get a good rep for the money for home use

 

i've got a 160TM it takes the larger bottles rather than the crappy disposables which are gone in literally no time at all

 

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/mig160tm-welder

 

Machine Mart are having a VAT free offer at the moment till the 21st so you can get that 160TM for £279 instead of £335 saving £55! You need a voucher though but I've got one i'm not going to use it so if you want it just let me know

[BlueBolt 156]

Mate of mine got one from Tool Mart, cost him 280ish... Said its very good, and the quality of weld it produces was tested yesterday as he welded a complete seem on his step daughters Ka which had to be jacked up yesterday for a change of wheel, and no probs at all!!!

 

I'd get one... If he hadn't already lol

 

Oops, just read above reply which is talking Bout the same one lol

[swordfish210 20]

as said, the Clarkes get a good rep for the money for home use

 

i've got a 160TM it takes the larger bottles rather than the crappy disposables which are gone in literally no time at all

 

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/mig160tm-welder

 

Machine Mart are having a VAT free offer at the moment till the 21st so you can get that 160TM for £279 instead of £335 saving £55! You need a voucher though but I've got one i'm not going to use it so if you want it just let me know

 

That one looks nice, what do you do about getting one of the bottles and how much do they cost?

[brumster 135 1 Cars]

Got an old derivative of the 150TE Clarke myself, must be over 10 years old. It's had good use this year building the new car but all-in-all it's had a hobbyist lifestyle, and it's been perfect at it. No issues at all. I converted it to 'proper' Argoshield gas bottles rather than the hobby ones, just for convenience really.

 

As has been said, if it was being hammered day in, day out I've no idea how it'd stand up... but for the amount I use it, it's fine.

[M@tt 77]

That one looks nice, what do you do about getting one of the bottles and how much do they cost?

 

BOC have a good offer for the hobbist welder if you have a look at it here

 

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/showpost.php?p=311475&postcount=211

 

but in brief its about £40/year to rent the big Y size bottle and ~£30 for a refil.

So first year will cost you £70 for a full bottle and then £40 a year after that plus any refils you may need. I'm still on my inital bunch of gas so not had any refill charges

 

HTH

Edited November 18, 2011 by M@tt

[welshpug 1,666]

how big is the Y bottle Matt?

[M@tt 77]

http://www.boconline.co.uk/health/gas_safety/cylinder_weights_sizes/argoshield_cylinder_sizes.asp

 

the machinemart disposables hold 110 litres and cost £15 the BOC bottel holds ~5 m3 (5000 litres) for £30 refil(excluding the £40/year charge) so about 45x as much gas for not alot more money

Edited November 18, 2011 by M@tt

[dumbiron 0]

Another vote here for the Clarke 150, i have had mine for nearly 10 years now.

Used it for everything from thin french body work to a land rover chassis. Gas prices are kept down due to the ex-mrs owning a pub

[welshpug 1,666]

Cheers matt, that'll be the bugger my mate has in the workshop, he used to have the W on his van

Edited November 18, 2011 by welshpug

[swordfish210 20]

BOC have a good offer for the hobbist welder if you have a look at it here

 

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/showpost.php?p=311475&postcount=211

 

but in brief its about £40/year to rent the big Y size bottle and ~£30 for a refil.

So first year will cost you £70 for a full bottle and then £40 a year after that plus any refils you may need. I'm still on my inital bunch of gas so not had any refill charges

 

HTH

 

Thas a hell of a lot cheaper than i expected it to be, i take it that includes them delivering the bottle.

[davey sprocket 14]

I've just bought the Clarke 160TM as posted above but second hand, albeit essentially brand new.

 

I'm a total newby at welding but it is a lovely bit of kit. I got a proper light sensitive helmet style mask with it, rather than the hand held jobs you get as standard which makes a huge difference being able to use both hands.

 

I've got a BOC distributor just down the road and he recommended a new small size cylinder ( I can find out more details if needed) that I've gone for. It was something like £16 for a fill and £18 for the years rental. Think it holds the equivalent of 8 disposables IIRC.

 

Edit: That's the fella!

Edited November 18, 2011 by davey sprocket

[matt.f 16]

Got a Clarke 180 and it's spot on,not much different to the ones at work which cost about 5 times more!

[welshpug 1,666]

buggers, no local BOC's doing that

[M@tt 77]

no delivery included, although i think you can get it delivered but have a feeling their delivery charge is something daft like £50, so you just pick it up yourself from a local depot. should be able to find one near you on the BOC site

 

http://www.boconline.co.uk/how_to_buy/store_finder/store_finder.asp

 

WP> did you call them?

Edited November 18, 2011 by M@tt

[Leet205 48]

These guys do gas aswell, deposit of £50 on the bottle and no yearly rent and £32 per refill. slightly more expencive than BOC listed above - but to be rent free would be ideal imo.

 

http://www.adamsgas.co.uk/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=54

 

They have a fair few stockists about now aswell

Edited November 19, 2011 by Leet205