squonk
Part of things
Posts: 864
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Apr 11, 2023 21:06:27 GMT
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Some welding needs doing on my Avalanche chassis so I have figured out that at the age of 62 its time I learned to Mig weld. I did a bit in the past using an old and intermittant mig welder but think its time I got something that works properly and had another go myself.
Not looking to spend a fortune but have found a Draper 70047 welder on Amazon for £278. Does anyone have experience of this welder or can recommed an alternative at a similar price?
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2004 Chevrolet Avalanche Z71 2005 Mercedes CLK320 Cabriolet 1996 Mercedes C180 Elegance Auto Saloon 1996 Rover 620Ti (Dead fuel pump) 1992 Toyota HiLux Surf 1987 Range Rover Vogue (Rusty) 1992 Range Rover Vogue SE (More Rusty) 2006 Chrysler Grand Voyager 2008 Corsa 1.4 Design
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Proton Jumbuck-deceased :-( 2005 Kia Sorento the parts hauling heap V8 Humber Hawk 1948 Standard12 pickup SOLD 1953 Pop build (wifey's BIVA build).
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squonk
Part of things
Posts: 864
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Yeah, I looked on there but found it to be like a HiFi forum. Unless its mega expensive its junk!!! The cheapest recommendation on there was an R-Tech welder which is just under £600, more than double the price of the Draper welder. I'm not looking for something to build a car with, just to weld the ocassional patch on it.
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Last Edit: Apr 12, 2023 9:07:52 GMT by squonk
2004 Chevrolet Avalanche Z71 2005 Mercedes CLK320 Cabriolet 1996 Mercedes C180 Elegance Auto Saloon 1996 Rover 620Ti (Dead fuel pump) 1992 Toyota HiLux Surf 1987 Range Rover Vogue (Rusty) 1992 Range Rover Vogue SE (More Rusty) 2006 Chrysler Grand Voyager 2008 Corsa 1.4 Design
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Yeah, I looked on there but found it to be like a HiFi forum. Unless its mega expensive its junk!!! The cheapest recommendation on there was an R-Tech welder which is just under £600, more than double the price of the Draper welder. I'm not looking for something to build a car with, just to weld the ocassional patch on it. R-tech are not the "hi-end" of welders, they are very much mid range. For your application a Clarke would be more than adequate. I can find lots of threads on there that address budget requirements.
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Proton Jumbuck-deceased :-( 2005 Kia Sorento the parts hauling heap V8 Humber Hawk 1948 Standard12 pickup SOLD 1953 Pop build (wifey's BIVA build).
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Proton Jumbuck-deceased :-( 2005 Kia Sorento the parts hauling heap V8 Humber Hawk 1948 Standard12 pickup SOLD 1953 Pop build (wifey's BIVA build).
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squonk
Part of things
Posts: 864
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Apr 12, 2023 10:40:31 GMT
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Thanks for that, it looks ideal. I still have some bottles of gas from the old mig (does it go off?) and a mask but I'm going to replace it with an automatic mask.
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2004 Chevrolet Avalanche Z71 2005 Mercedes CLK320 Cabriolet 1996 Mercedes C180 Elegance Auto Saloon 1996 Rover 620Ti (Dead fuel pump) 1992 Toyota HiLux Surf 1987 Range Rover Vogue (Rusty) 1992 Range Rover Vogue SE (More Rusty) 2006 Chrysler Grand Voyager 2008 Corsa 1.4 Design
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bstardchild
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 14,945
Club RR Member Number: 71
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Mig Welder Recommendationsbstardchild
@bstardchild
Club Retro Rides Member 71
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Apr 12, 2023 13:32:34 GMT
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Yeah, I looked on there but found it to be like a HiFi forum. Unless its mega expensive its junk!!! The cheapest recommendation on there was an R-Tech welder which is just under £600, more than double the price of the Draper welder. I'm not looking for something to build a car with, just to weld the ocassional patch on it. That's not really a fair comment about the forum in my opinion - no offence intended People buy a cheap "box mover" manufactured in a land far far away and get frustrated with it because they are built right down to a price with a profit in the box It doesn't mean they don't "hot glue" stuff together it's just they don't do it very well. They have problems with wire feed and welding amps as they warm up. There are some good threads on migwelding forum from people who have attempted to make a better welder out of a cheap one (One very long one is mine after I bought an SIP in 2007 and then attempted to make it better in the subsequent 3 years) There are upgrade kits for "Euro torch conversion" (Std hobby torches are quite nasty to use) "Improved earthing" clamps (Again what you get clamp wise is cheap and chearfull), separate wire feed "motor transformers" (to try and improve the consistency of the wire feed which is often linked to the power settings and then you can go down the control side of PWM (pulse width modulation for wire feed motor control) Just because it might help copied from the mig welding forum my costs during three years for a cheap "box moving" welder SIP Cosmo 170 Costs (Inc modifications) £152.00 Purchase cost BINB - "Old Stock" (included delivery) 1st mod to wire feed - should be std IMHO £2.00 Wire Brace 2nd WFM Mod - separate power feed £4.70 Relay Bridge £21.10 Transformer £10.00 Wire & Connectors 3rd mod - Euro Torch - to fix constantly leaking gas valve £29.00 Euro Torch Connector £20.00 Gas Solenoid £32.00 Euro Torch £7.00 (Postage) 4th Mod - Multi turn pot and counter - fix over senstive std Pot £12 2K Ohm 10 Turn Pot ("First one") £22 10 Turn Pot counter 5th Mod - to stop wire run on £3 Relay Brake 6th Mod - 100 Ohm Trim pot £2.50 - The cost of pint cos that's what I owe BillJ 7th Mod - to remove original wire feed circuitry and improve wire feed £15 PWM £12 New 10K Ohm 10 Turn Pot to suit PWM ("Second one") £1.63 for some rubber feed If my math is any good Total £345.93 So cost over the three years for just the welder was £115.31 per year So cheap welder not so cheap after allSo after I did all of the above and it was still not a patch on a decent machine so I threw it on a shelf and bought a Portamig at £600 - the most expensive tool I have ever bought for my garage life/hobby In the 14 years I have had it I have never had a single issue and I can pretty much set it up with a guess and be spot on for whatever I am trying to weld Cost per year £42.85 If you are going to buy cheap my recommendation would buy a Clarke as they seem to be best of the cheap end
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Apr 13, 2023 17:29:43 GMT
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thats what i have, had it 3 years, been mint! well recomend it.
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Apr 13, 2023 18:35:59 GMT
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Yeah, I looked on there but found it to be like a HiFi forum. Unless its mega expensive its junk!!! The cheapest recommendation on there was an R-Tech welder which is just under £600, more than double the price of the Draper welder. I'm not looking for something to build a car with, just to weld the ocassional patch on it. I had a SIP MigMate 90, bought for £50 off a mate, blew holes in everything. After much thought and dithering I bought the RTech on 12 months credit. Wow, what a difference, even an occasional welder like me can make good welds on my 50 year old MG Midget, in my opinion it was worth the money, made making patch panels and glueing them in an enjoyable experience. It may be expensive, but worth it for the lack of frustration I had with the ancient SIP.
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1993 Rover 220 Coupe 1972 MG Midget
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Apr 13, 2023 19:11:46 GMT
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Yeah, I looked on there but found it to be like a HiFi forum. Unless its mega expensive its junk!!! The cheapest recommendation on there was an R-Tech welder which is just under £600, more than double the price of the Draper welder. I'm not looking for something to build a car with, just to weld the ocassional patch on it. I had a SIP MigMate 90, bought for £50 off a mate, blew holes in everything. After much thought and dithering I bought the RTech on 12 months credit. Wow, what a difference, even an occasional welder like me can make good welds on my 50 year old MG Midget, in my opinion it was worth the money, made making patch panels and glueing them in an enjoyable experience. It may be expensive, but worth it for the lack of frustration I had with the ancient SIP. My experience also.
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squonk
Part of things
Posts: 864
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Apr 13, 2023 20:44:06 GMT
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I had a SIP MigMate 90, bought for £50 off a mate, blew holes in everything. After much thought and dithering I bought the RTech on 12 months credit. Wow, what a difference, even an occasional welder like me can make good welds on my 50 year old MG Midget, in my opinion it was worth the money, made making patch panels and glueing them in an enjoyable experience. It may be expensive, but worth it for the lack of frustration I had with the ancient SIP. My experience also. Unfortunately the RTech cost (even on credit) is completely out of the question. Doesn't matter how good it is if I can't afford it I'm afraid.
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2004 Chevrolet Avalanche Z71 2005 Mercedes CLK320 Cabriolet 1996 Mercedes C180 Elegance Auto Saloon 1996 Rover 620Ti (Dead fuel pump) 1992 Toyota HiLux Surf 1987 Range Rover Vogue (Rusty) 1992 Range Rover Vogue SE (More Rusty) 2006 Chrysler Grand Voyager 2008 Corsa 1.4 Design
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Apr 13, 2023 21:01:08 GMT
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I am not a regular welder (my project car is plastic) but I do make the occasional bracket and captive nuts etc which do require some MIG work. I was using my friend's old SIP, which was, for want of a better phrase, a flipping disaster.
I got so fed up I gave it back to him, and trundled down to Machine Mart. I could not justify spending £600 on an R-Tech machine as a) I don't need to use it much and b) I didn't have £600 spare. I spent £320 odd instead and bought a Clarke 135TE. This came with a small bottle of gas (which I haven't yet finished) and a hugely laughable handheld "mask". (It's garbage).
For an occasional user like me, the Clarke's a revelation compared to the old SIP. It seems that I can actually weld! It will be knocked into a cocked hat by something from R-Tech, but for what I use it for, it is fine.
If you're welding up a complete rust bucket, get something epic. It will save you so much time. But for the occasional patch, this Clarke will do you fine.
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Apr 13, 2023 22:05:05 GMT
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I have a Clarke 150TE and it must be getting on for 20 years old now, apart from a new torch its been fine and i've done several cars with it including this one: forum.retro-rides.org/thread/213238/econo-jag-mk2-1967-autoWhile there are no doubt better welders out there, if you can't get good welding with something like the Clarke then you won't get good welds out of a more expensive one either. I used mine a lot, i've done three Jags, two sprites and a VW camper (all major jobs) plus loads of other bits and pieces and its as good as the day I bought it. Its ok for a bit of thicker stuff from time to time as well.
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Apr 13, 2023 22:19:38 GMT
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Yeah, I looked on there but found it to be like a HiFi forum. Unless its mega expensive its junk!!! The cheapest recommendation on there was an R-Tech welder which is just under £600, more than double the price of the Draper welder. I'm not looking for something to build a car with, just to weld the ocassional patch on it. Agreed, the R-Tech isn't cheap, but it works and the after sales support is excellent, even out of warranty as I can attest to. They diagnosed the problem and sent me the replacement parts FOC. I have had welders made by SIP and Clark. I may have been unlucky but they have never worked properly for me and welding wire tangles were a constant issue. No issues with the R-Tech so far. Once you have a welder you will be surprised how many uses it has and it will get more use that you expect :-)
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Last Edit: Apr 13, 2023 22:20:32 GMT by nalesutol
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Apr 13, 2023 22:21:51 GMT
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I am not a regular welder (my project car is plastic) but I do make the occasional bracket and captive nuts etc which do require some MIG work. I was using my friend's old SIP, which was, for want of a better phrase, a flipping disaster. I got so fed up I gave it back to him, and trundled down to Machine Mart. I could not justify spending £600 on an R-Tech machine as a) I don't need to use it much and b) I didn't have £600 spare. I spent £320 odd instead and bought a Clarke 135TE. This came with a small bottle of gas (which I haven't yet finished) and a hugely laughable handheld "mask". (It's garbage). For an occasional user like me, the Clarke's a revelation compared to the old SIP. It seems that I can actually weld! It will be knocked into a cocked hat by something from R-Tech, but for what I use it for, it is fine. If you're welding up a complete rust bucket, get something epic. It will save you so much time. But for the occasional patch, this Clarke will do you fine. I got a hand held mask with my TIG welder. I should have asked how I was supposed to use it :-)
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Apr 13, 2023 23:58:41 GMT
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I understand budgetary constraints, I'm sure everyone else does too, but, to echo what has already been said, you should buy the best welder that you can afford rather than getting a budget option because it appears "affordable" - it isn't.
In the long run, a poorly made welder will struggle to do what you want and will end up being completely frustrating; worse, it will probably make whatever you are trying to do much harder than it needs to be.
Perhaps see if you can find a decent middle of the road welder being sold by someone that is upgrading.
Whatever choice you end up making, good luck with your welding.
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tofufi
South West
Posts: 1,458
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I had a Clarke 150TE for 15 years or so (In fact, I still have it, set up for welding stainless for exhausts etc now).
I managed to get reasonable welds from it, and it wasn't a terrible machine (with a wire feed mod).
I then bought a secondhand but nearly new Sealey 180 from a friend who had emigrated. I paid £275, best new price I could find is about £400 at the moment. It is a better machine than the Clarke, although still not flawless.
Might be worth looking around at secondhand, although with this sort of thing there's some benefit to finding one you know hasn't been abused.
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Last Edit: Apr 14, 2023 6:29:25 GMT by tofufi
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slater
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 6,390
Club RR Member Number: 78
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Mig Welder Recommendationsslater
@slater
Club Retro Rides Member 78
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Apr 14, 2023 10:30:14 GMT
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If you can't afford an R-tec then buy a second hand transformer machine off ebay or somewhere. What's important is to avoid 'hobby migs' make sure it's in the 160-220amp range 240v, has a proper euro torch and takes a full roll of wire and you can't go too far wrong. Ofcourse there's always the chance somone will palm you off with a dud buying second hand but if you can't afford a decent new welder then it's your only viable option. DO NOT be tempted to by somthing new and cheap amoned at the hobby market. If it's less than the R-Tec it's going to be curse word. There's a reason they are cheap.
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vulgalour
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 7,244
Club RR Member Number: 146
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Mig Welder Recommendationsvulgalour
@vulgalour
Club Retro Rides Member 146
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Apr 14, 2023 11:06:31 GMT
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Clarke offerings are, generally speaking, adequate. Of all the machines I've used it's the best of the affordable machines and they seem to last okay and tolerate being abandoned in the corner of the garage for long periods. The biggest trouble I've had with them is wire feed issues so if you're getting into a larger job (as welding often ends up doing whether you like it or not) it can get incredibly frustrating as those issues get progressively worse the longer you're working.
I know the R-Tech is currently out of budget for you but when you're able, as others have said, they're a great machine for the money. If you're having to weld outdoors and repair less than ideal material, it just compensates for all that in a way no Clarke I've used ever has. Takes a lot of stress out of even the smallest jobs.
As Slater says, avoid the hobby welders, you're just going to have a bad time.
Oh, and auto dimming masks are worth every penny, even the 'full colour' ones aren't that pricey these days.
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Apr 14, 2023 13:12:06 GMT
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If you can't afford an R-tec then buy a second hand transformer machine off ebay or somewhere. What's important is to avoid 'hobby migs' make sure it's in the 160-220amp range 240v, has a proper euro torch and takes a full roll of wire and you can't go too far wrong. Ofcourse there's always the chance somone will palm you off with a dud buying second hand but if you can't afford a decent new welder then it's your only viable option. DO NOT be tempted to by somthing new and cheap amoned at the hobby market. If it's less than the R-Tec it's going to be curse word. There's a reason they are cheap. Completely agree with this, I've used friends Clarke's and SIP hobby welders in the past and they had me convinced I couldn't weld! 🤣. I ended up going for an r tech, they're still mid range but it made the world of difference and they take decent size wire reels and have a euro torch which is worth the extra alone. I found the wire feed is much more constant than the cheaper stuff. I know you say they are out of budget but may be worth giving them a ring as they often have "shop soiled" ones that they do cheaper, when I rang they didn't have any but did throw in a load of tips, shrouds, wire and a stick lead just because I asked what deals they had on and couldn't offer an actual discount. Maybe worth keeping an eye out on the forums for a second hand one, as said previously they have pretty good customer service for getting parts and repairs.
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