Odin
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,406
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Jun 30, 2008 10:58:28 GMT
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most of these cheep sip/sealy/clark etc welders are not worth the money really.. ive known people who've had them and think they are great but tbh just spend the dough and get a decent mig.. something like a migatronic or even a cebora ceboras are quite good value but all the ones ive had/used have been really good.. si Hey, don't tar Clarke welders with the same brush as SIP ones! I've got a Clarke 135TE and it does a great job. SIP welders, however, are well known for all sorts of wire feed issues.
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Jun 30, 2008 12:56:09 GMT
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My Clarke 150 has never given me any trouble. I bought it because it had been recommended as a reliable bit of kit
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Jun 30, 2008 14:30:52 GMT
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Well, today I discovered 2 interesting facts about it.
1 - loosing the rag when it screws up non-stop for 5 minutes, repetedly slamming the torch on the ground while screaming " golly fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck" doent make it work better. Infact, this snaps the end off the torch, meaning you have to spend the next 45 minutes messing with bits of copper pipe to repair it.
2 - more usefully, if you take the covers off and look at the circuit for the wire-speed control (i believe they are all pretty much the same across the range) there is a wee blue variable resistor on the circuit board - turning this fine-tunes the wire-speed. I was finding before that I had to have the speed on minimum and that was a little too fast, well turning this down a bit means that I now need to move the knob round to about number 2 to get a similar speed and I can go a bit slower if I want. It only takes a TINY movement of this resistor to make a noticeable difference to the feed, but I now find I'm getting more frying-pan sizzzzzzzzzzzzzzle and less PAAPAPAPAPAPAPAPAPAPA splattering.
Its still not perfect, but its significantly better.
And when I have the cash I'm still going to ditch it and buy a sealey etc. ;D
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Last Edit: Jun 30, 2008 14:32:40 GMT by dave21478
1986 Panda 4x4. 1990 Metro Sport. 1999 Ford Escort estate.
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Jun 30, 2008 17:22:34 GMT
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Hey, don't tar Clarke welders with the same brush as SIP ones! I've got a Clarke 135TE and it does a great job. SIP welders, however, are well known for all sorts of wire feed issues. I have the same one, its still alright, but still new enough, so for now I'll mostly blame my lack of technique for last weeks hole burning adventures! ;D
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it doesn't matter if it's a Morris Marina or a Toyota Celica - it's what you do with it that counts
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Jun 30, 2008 18:35:23 GMT
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My SIP is fantastic......for proping my garage side door open on a hot day.I bought a Clarke one which was a big improvement but i have overworked it,and now its starting to give me grief.A mate at work has a Kempi(?) he keeps trying to sell me,so i guess thats my next purchase.
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qwerty
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,416
Club RR Member Number: 52
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Jun 30, 2008 19:28:23 GMT
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I have a SIP 130 Turbo. Wirefeed problems as normal but have the mod. Found CO2/Argon mix made a big difference to my welds.
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Jun 30, 2008 19:49:52 GMT
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Hobby migs are allright for just that, hobby stuff. £200 is cheap for a welder, think of it as buying pound shop goods then expecting it to last and have the same quality as Harrods finest. It aint gonna happen. If you want good quality and no maintenance buy a good quality welder (which will be expensive), if you want a basic welder and you don't mind fixing it occasionally, but a cheap one!
FYI the welders we use at work are all 250A+ and cost well over £500 each, and that was donkeys ago, they still work, and need only basic bits changing now and then. My Clarke 150t welder for home use is allright, its 4 years old and has only done about 6 sets of sloors and sills, plus various other small jobs here and there, and its needed a new liner and shrouds and tips here and there, far more often than my works one does, but it only cost £200. You cant buy cheap stuff and expect it to be amazing!
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"Chasin' the gash, with a four-out-the-dash"
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