15 replies to this topic

[Stu1961]

Well I have got to the point in my project where I need to go out and buy a welder, at this point in time I have looked at the Clarke 135TE which seems to be the one most seem to recommend but have just come across this one (Eastwood 175) which is sold by 'Frosts' in the UK, although it's a little more expensive than the Clarke you get all the bits such as the regulator and controls which are infinitely variable (Amps and wire speed) For a beginner such as myself I feel having the afore said features maybe a distinct advantage. Just looking for the thoughts of you guys that are experienced or have used this particular bit off kit. The machine is American so will be enquiring with 'Frosts about spares availability before making a purchase, they also do a 135 which I thick would also be more than suitable but it is 120v/60Hz not sure you can get a transformer in the UK that will accommodate that voltage but maybe wrong.

Thanks in advance for any advice given, much appreciated.

 

http://www.frost.co....-spool-gun.html

Edited by Stu1961, 18 August 2016 - 10:54 AM.

[tiger99]

If it is 60 Hz you can not use it here, even with a transformer. That goes for ALL products that use an internal transformer fed from the mains, which invariably contains insufficient iron and copper to cope with the lower frequency. A meltdown follows....

If it has been designed to run over a limited frequency range, commonly 47 Hz to 63 Hz, then it is ok.

But there is still no point in buying it as an adequately rated stepdown
transformer will cost as much as the welder.

You need to ask the supplier the right questions or buy something explicitly designed for 230 V 50 Hz.

[tiger99]

Oh, and that link is to a spool gun, not a welder.

[Stu1961]

The 175 is 230v/50Hz sorry didn't mention that in my original post, thanks for confirming the 135 will be no good as it is 60Hz only. The link is for the welder but shows a picture of the spool gun that comes free with it, just need to scroll through the pictures underneath it. Tried reposting with the right pic but will only show the spool gun in the link.

Edited by Stu1961, 18 August 2016 - 12:41 PM.

[Shifty]

Stretch your budget a bit more and get this..

 

http://www.weldequip...mig-165-mig.htm

 

 

I have one and have also used clarkes and many other types of welder, this is one of the best I've owned

[Stu1961]

Stretch your budget a bit more and get this..

 

http://www.weldequip...mig-165-mig.htm

 

 

I have one and have also used clarkes and many other types of welder, this is one of the best I've owned

That looks great especially with the 15-160amp range. Don't mind paying the money for a quality product in the hope it maybe easier to set up and more forgiving than a machine with a lesser spec for a beginner like me.

Edited by Stu1961, 18 August 2016 - 01:08 PM.

[InstantCustard]

I recently bought a R Tech MIG 180 and it's a seriously nice bit of kit, I've not touched a welder for around 4 years and was using a Clarke 250TE of a friends before and this is much easier to use and even as a novice I've managed to get some pretty tasty looking welds with this machine.
Importantly the customer service is spot on according to many reviews and they do some decent finance options so you don't need to stretch yourself immediately.
Pretty sure they're doing a free spool gun at the moment too, you'd need to check.
http://www.r-techwel...-tech-i-mig180/

[Stu1961]

Would seem there are many to choose from. Looking at the specs for all three machines it would appear that the Eastwood has a Tweco torch whatever that is, don't know if it could be fitted with a Euro but if not I guess that is against it. The other two have what would appear to me to have very similar specs where as the Portamig 165 has a range of 15-160amps the R-Tech is almost £100 cheaper and starts at 30amps. So my next question is 15 or 30amps for a beginner like me I would assume the 15amp option would be better though if 30amps was adequate for the job is the 15amps unnecessarily low for the thickness of metal used in a Mini shell. Not sure what the inverter is for on the R-Tech has it something to do with being able to run it off a generator.

 

Really appreciate the help gents, makes all the difference.     

[Stu1961]

Just had a bit of a read up on inverter welders think I know the differences now. I do like the idea of the smaller physical size and lightness compared to a transformer mig, would definitely make my life easier in that respect when it comes to storage and portability. Had a look at some reviews transformer v inverter the general feeling was the welds maybe better but they questioned the long term reliability of the inverter sets though having said that it should be a able to do at least my shell without any issues I would have thought.

[R1mini]

15 or 30 amps won't make any difference to how it will weld mini panels, I never get anywhere near the lowest settings on any mig I have ever had.

 

David

[Stu1961]

Thanks David that's a great bit of info. 

[Shifty]

Yup, the low setting is only useful if you're welding coke cans, however the difference between welding with a big welder compared to a cheaper little one is night and day.

 

At the settings you need to weld minis, the welder is barely being worked at all.

 

You can also weld a lot faster as well, I had a 160amp clarke to do mobile stuff with and jobs took twice as long.  

 

They are smoother, easier to use and give a better quality of weld.

[tiger99]

Inverter welders "may", even "should" be less reliable than the traditional type, but it depends on the quality of both design and manufacturing and how hot the internal parts run. (A large part of my job involves relative reliabilities of different electronic items, and doing battle with penny-pinching bean counters.) However the electronic components are generally standard parts which are replaceable (someone on the Web does repairs, try Googling). There is a high frequency transformer which has not many turns of wire and so is relatively easy to repair in the unlikely event that it burns out.

For what it is worth, my traditional MIG, a BOC Migmaster Turbo, aka some Cebora model, is broken... I can't be bothered fixing it as, despite an excellent review in Practical Classics a zillion years ago, it's wire feed was never particularly good.

I am intending to buy an inverter MIG some time soon. Thanks to everyone who posted above, I will take all the information into account.

Oh and if you want a fine example of where penny pinching on a handful of cheap electronic components has prejudiced reliability, look no further than Dyson. He spends about 100 times as much on warranty claims as he saves by using lower rated components than his designers recommend. From a reliable inside source...

[gazza82]

Dyson products aren't cheap either ... So when one works he must be minting it!!

Our first one burnt out the motor but outside warranty. The problem I've seen though seems to be the quality of the plastics which get brittle quickly.

[tiger99]

It is mostly the semiconductors whose voltage ratings leave no margin at all for transients on the mains supply. The cost difference is pence, on something retailing at several hundred quid. I call that senseless greed.