Budget MIG welders

Wicksta

Wicksta

Wicksta

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Quite a short/simple question here after being reminded in the Mini thread.

I'm constantly thinking to myself "I wish I had a welder" when wanting to make things like brackets and it would also be handy for the kit car I'm building.

Can anyone recommend any good budget MIG welders for occasional use?
 
Clarke 150 Turbo, it's about £180-200. Fan cooled and takes either disposable bottles or full size bottles. Also takes full size reels of wire unlike some others. Welds thick and thin all day without complaining. Bought mine years ago on recommendation and it's been ace.

You also want an auto dimming mask and a pair of thick welding gloves.
 
I have the same one as Jonny there I think. Good bit of kit and still going strong. My old mig died so I got this one from a relative and its a few years old I think.

Jonny, do you know about the availability of big bottles? Do you need an account with BOC or the like?
 
The Clarke welders (sold by Machine Mart) are consistently rated as one of the best budget models.

The 150 model should cover pretty much everything you are ever likely to need welding (unless you start ship building as a hobby). I started out with a 105 amp model which was fine for body panels, and ok for ~16 gauge chassis tubes, but once I started trying to weld 3mm plate it ran out of puff, so I bought the 150 amp model and been very happy with it.

EDIT: Looks like the newer 151TE is the same price as the 150TEat the moment, but specifications are virtually identical.

Note that these welders take a LOT of current from the mains when used at their highest settings (up to 15 Amps), using one of these through a long extension cable is not a good idea.
 
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Thanks Jonny, I figured you'd be the man to speak to. :-)

I've seen a few Clarke 151EN turbos as well, I assume these are similar? They can also be used gasless apparently.

Going to keep an eye on the 'bay as second hand ones seem to go quite a bit cheaper.

EDIT: wow, thats 2 more posts recommending the same welder as well, I'll go for one of these for sure then, cheers guys!
 
Can these Clarkes work as gas-less, or are they simply not designed with that in mind?
 
Dogbreath said:
Note that these welders take a LOT of current from the mains when used at their highest settings (up to 15 Amps), using one of these through a long extension cable is not a good idea.
Click to expand...
That new one looks pretty good. I notice the prices have gone up a bit which is a shame. Might be worth waiting until they have one of their VAT-free days and save £40.

I use mine on the end of a 50m extension lead. Probably don't get as much power out of it as I could right by the mains but it's fine.

rypt said:
Can these Clarkes work as gas-less, or are they simply not designed with that in mind?
Click to expand...
They can, you just use gasless wire in them instead of solid wire and leave the bottle switched off. Gasless makes a right mess and the weld isn't as good quality. If you really need to lash something together and it's windy then gasless is useful but the rest of the time you should use gas.

I find on the car this welder prefers CO2 and it lasts a lot longer than argon/CO2 mix in the disposable bottles. I used about 4-5 bottles of CO2 to do my whole car, that's a hell of a lot of welding. If you can get hold of a pub CO2 bottle and a mate who can fill it then this is the cheapest way, otherwise you need an account with BOC and the bottle rent can work out very expensive if you only weld occasionally at home like I do. I keep a stash of bottles mail ordered from Welders Warehouse and if there's an emergency Halfords sell them for £10 each.
 
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Dogbreath said:
The Clarke welders (sold by Machine Mart) are consistently rated as one of the best budget models.

The 150 model should cover pretty much everything you are ever likely to need welding (unless you start ship building as a hobby). I started out with a 105 amp model which was fine for body panels, and ok for ~16 gauge chassis tubes, but once I started trying to weld 3mm plate it ran out of puff, so I bought the 150 amp model and been very happy with it.

EDIT: Looks like the newer 151TE is the same price as the 150TEat the moment, but specifications are virtually identical.

Note that these welders take a LOT of current from the mains when used at their highest settings (up to 15 Amps), using one of these through a long extension cable is not a good idea.
Click to expand...
Like Mike, my first welder was a 105EN. It's great, but looking back I should definitely have gone for the 150 as you can still turn it down for welding thin steel, and probably will probably upgrade to one of those the next couple of years.
 
Also have a red clarke one, can't remember which model. bbut it's good.
But it can't take the big drums as they seem to get stuck and it's a pain. Stick to the medium size drums of metal.
 
AcidHell2 said:
Also have a red clarke one, can't remember which model. bbut it's good.
But it can't take the big drums as they seem to get stuck and it's a pain. Stick to the medium size drums of metal.
Click to expand...

OTOH unless you are using the MIG very frequently, or it's stored in very dry conditions the wire tends to get surface rust and then it's pretty much impossible to use. I'd feel a bit annoyed if I had to bin a large reel of wire!
 
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