Aggressor Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 wat type & size welder would i need as i'm going be getting my manta gte in abt 2 weeks & its gonna need afair bit of work doing to it... cheers rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason b Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 Always go for the best you can afford, you want something man enough to do chassis work but also need to remember that it has to go down to low enough settings to enable the welding of thin body panels. If it is just for hobby work then I can highly recommend a clarke 150/160TE from personal experience. You will hear that SIP's are to be avoided but I have no real experience of one other than a friend's, theirs had some wire feed issues but they can be fixed. Also don't think that small bottles are cheaper unless you are literally doing 2 inches of weld. Especially if you are learning you'll want a nice big refillable bottle of argoshield light or similar as it will speed up the learning process and be far cheaper. All the best Jason p.s. I can't recommend automatic helmets enough - really help for learning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aggressor Posted July 21, 2011 Author Share Posted July 21, 2011 thanks jason good tips ya alot welding to be done..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monzta Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 I have a 200 amp welder and that is just a tad too much, will make burnthroughs once in a while, so i can only suggest you keep it down to the 160amp mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opel2000 Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 Always go for the best you can afford, you want something man enough to do chassis work but also need to remember that it has to go down to low enough settings to enable the welding of thin body panels. If it is just for hobby work then I can highly recommend a clarke 150/160TE from personal experience. You will hear that SIP's are to be avoided but I have no real experience of one other than a friend's, theirs had some wire feed issues but they can be fixed. Also don't think that small bottles are cheaper unless you are literally doing 2 inches of weld. Especially if you are learning you'll want a nice big refillable bottle of argoshield light or similar as it will speed up the learning process and be far cheaper. All the best Jason p.s. I can't recommend automatic helmets enough - really help for learning As above, Clark Welder about 150Amp will be a damn good bit of kit... I've got one. SIP steer clear, had 2 SIP Welders, and same issues with both, just not good kit at all. Spend as much as poss on an Auto darkening helmet, cheap ones are ok but expensive ones even better. Was going for Coding on positional Aluminium MIG and there was myself and another bloke on the course that had a helmet that could adjust the shade enough for the arc intensity. Then When welding outdoors in the sun you can adjust the sensitivity so it isn't constantly dark as soon as the sunlight hits it. Gas bottles..... I've never had a problem using the disposables and find they suit me more than the cost of a larger rented bottle, with contract and refill cost etc. And personally I prefer neat CO2 for thin panel work over an Argon CO2 mix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shug Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 I started with a clarke 150 and was a nice wee welder. Swapped it for a portamig 180 which goes down to 25 amps (clarke min is 30 I think) and its even better, but it was 3 times the price! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lamchop77 Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 I started with a clarke 150 and was a nice wee welder. Swapped it for a portamig 180 which goes down to 25 amps (clarke min is 30 I think) and its even better, but it was 3 times the price! Portamig are prob the best for the serious hobby guys. The 185 is the one i'll be uprating to. Used clarks all the time that i've been welding and they are ok, the new ones aren't as good as the older ones though. Spoke to the guy at Weldequip whom sells the Portamigs and they have been designed as the welder to fill the gap between the Clark welders and the pro stuff. Things that are better than the clark stuff are that they use the Euro torch setup which is far superior to the clark swan necks and actually cheaper to replace. Prob i've found with the clarks is that the umbilical is too short to reach inside cars if your modding the floors/rear suspension mounts/rollcage installations and you have to put the welder in the car with you, the eurotorch std length is 3m so theres no issue with them. The wire feed is an industry tried and tested setup so no issues there. The big bonus for me is that the welders are made to order and not just mass produced, and there made in the uk (yorkshire somewhere) and if anything does go wrong its easy to get it fixed. The tranformers also have a 2 year warranty on them double what clark have. With welders you do get what you pay for and for the extra £200 the portamig is definately the one i would buy. HTH Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opel2000 Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Things that are better than the clark stuff are that they use the Euro torch setup which is far superior to the clark swan necks and actually cheaper to replace. Prob i've found with the clarks is that the umbilical is too short to reach inside cars if your modding the floors/rear suspension mounts/rollcage installations and you have to put the welder in the car with you, the eurotorch std length is 3m so theres no issue with them. Whole heartedly agree with that, the torch and the earth clamp on the Clark is miles too damn short, drives me mad at times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mantadoc Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=27448&highlight=euro+torch+conversion Seen it done before and here it is again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas77GR Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 hello on the same subject, I have a 150 Clarke mig which has been great up until the nozzle end in the swan neck got damaged somehow (i took the old welding tip out with a bit of force and can't screw in a new contact tip..) are there replacement parts for these clarkes, and can I weld without a tip?? (i.e just the wire and the shroud in place but no copper tip) cheers T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shug Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 Yup. Go to mig-welding.co.uk an go to weldequip shop. Guy knows his stuff and is very helpful. Sells loads spares. If its not listed he'll prob be able to get it for you. Bought from him many a time. You just need a new swan neck. Easy job to replace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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