25 replies to this topic

[s2ulk]

Hi all,

I’m looking to buy a welder. Based on various recommendations I’ve read on here, I was looking at the Clarke 135TE but it’s no longer on sale. So can anybody recommend a good alternative/similar MIG welder?

And will a MIG welder suffice for all welding tasks required to tackle sills, heelboard, boot and general floor repairs?

Thanks

[nicklouse]

Look at the R-Tec ones. They are very good and great service.

[weef]

I can't recomend the Machine Mart  products but if you are going to go along these lines you could go for the next model up, the Clark MIG 151EN.

This welder will be capable, on paper, of tackling all the jobs you have mentioned, but remember you will have to buy the accessory kit if you intend to use it with gas.

I personally like the Lincoln products, good quality machines giving reliable performance for years.

It all depends on how deep your pockets are and what other use you may have for a welder, but a good secondhand professional welder will be better in my opinion. 

[s2ulk]

Thanks both, are the Machine Mart weldersess reliable compared to the others mentioned?

[Ethel]

I have a Static Arc I'm happy with. I've yet to give it a thorough testing on body panels (been gasless welding angle & tube with great results: for me) - but it's a similar spec to R-Tec: 30-200A.

 

I think it'd be nice if it dialled the ampage down a little bit lower. Duty cycle is also a number to look at, unless you drink lots of tea.

[s2ulk]

R-tech 180 looks like a good option. I need something that can weld at a lower power output as will be running it off a portable power station.

[sonikk4]

R-tech 180 looks like a good option. I need something that can weld at a lower power output as will be running it off a portable power station.

 

I have recently sold my 135TE Turbo and gone for the R-Tech Digital 181 and so far for what i h\ae used it for seems good. Not attacked a mini with it but i cannot see any reason it will not do the job. (wouldnt have bought it otherwise)

 

And to answer one of your earlier questions, a half decent MIG will carry out ANY welding you need to do on a mini.

 

I beat the absolute crap out of my Clarke 135TE Turbo, numerous restorations, numeorus other cars and anything else i needed to weld. It ran faultlessly and the only thing that went wrong with it and it was my fault, i damaged the liner. Replaced it and it merrily trogged on for years. The only reason why i sold it was i had the money for a upgrade.

[bpirie1000]

I would certainly suggest a significant amount of sheet metal for practice.

Could also get in touch with local college, some run welding courses from beginner. Shows how to set up the welder and what to look for to make welding better..

I would say make sure all surfaces are bare metal and clean and measure twice cut once...

[stoneface]

I'm another vote for R-Tech

[Homersimpson]

I have a Clarke 150 TE, I've had it for over 20 years and restored three Jags, a VW camper and two Frogeye sprites plus loads of other bits and pieces and its been great and still going strong.  I fitted a better torch after a while but otherwise its as bought.

 

A lot of people say good things about the R-Tec welders as above, I guess it depends on the price difference and how much welding you plan to do.  I certainly have no plans to replace my Clarke.

 

I always use gas, I've not tried gasless but I understand it can work well but looks less pretty but as you will probably be grinding it up either way then it might be worth trying gasless or having a machine that can do both.

 

A grinder and paint makes me the welder I ain't

[s2ulk]

I have a Clarke 150 TE, I've had it for over 20 years and restored three Jags, a VW camper and two Frogeye sprites plus loads of other bits and pieces and its been great and still going strong. I fitted a better torch after a while but otherwise its as bought.

A lot of people say good things about the R-Tec welders as above, I guess it depends on the price difference and how much welding you plan to do. I certainly have no plans to replace my Clarke.

I always use gas, I've not tried gasless but I understand it can work well but looks less pretty but as you will probably be grinding it up either way then it might be worth trying gasless or having a machine that can do both.

A grinder and paint makes me the welder I ain't

I see the Clarke 150 has power output from 30-150A? Can you weld most Mini body panels at the lower end of that power scale? As mentioned above, I will be using a portable battery power station with a power output of up to 2,400w and so it should be able to handle a welder but would likely struggle at the upper end of the power scale.

[Homersimpson]

 

I have a Clarke 150 TE, I've had it for over 20 years and restored three Jags, a VW camper and two Frogeye sprites plus loads of other bits and pieces and its been great and still going strong. I fitted a better torch after a while but otherwise its as bought.

A lot of people say good things about the R-Tec welders as above, I guess it depends on the price difference and how much welding you plan to do. I certainly have no plans to replace my Clarke.

I always use gas, I've not tried gasless but I understand it can work well but looks less pretty but as you will probably be grinding it up either way then it might be worth trying gasless or having a machine that can do both.

A grinder and paint makes me the welder I ain't

I see the Clarke 150 has power output from 30-150A? Can you weld most Mini body panels at the lower end of that power scale? As mentioned above, I will be using a portable battery power station with a power output of up to 2,400w and so it should be able to handle a welder but would likely struggle at the upper end of the power scale.

 

The Clarke 150 has 6 power settings and for car body work I tend to use the 2nd and 3rd settings depending on what I'm doing.  I'm not sure how a portable power unit will work with a welder where you are shorting out the secondary side of the transformer.  Can you take the power unit to a supplier and test it to see if it will work?  The total power output isn't necessarily the whole story with things like welders as it needs to be able to cope with the inrush current when you start a weld.

Edited by Homersimpson, 08 February 2025 - 11:14 PM.

[s2ulk]

Good idea, I ought to make a trip to a machine mart or to R tech and see if they would let me try one of their welders on the power station. There are a few videos online of people using these for welders and they appear to cope but not clear at what power output they are operating the welders.

[Ethel]

When I was researching mine, I found some online posts from punters using these for off site work as they're tiny for a mig.

 

They say they'll accept callers & are based in Leicester if that's of use

 

https://youtu.be/adB6cj7D85A

[Steve Harris]

Has no one mentioned a TIG welder yet??

For a beginner they are much more user friendly and are easier to control the amount of metal deposited.

The weld material is not as hard as mig and can be planished flat more easily before grinding/sanding.

Probably more expensive than a mig but results are better.  Try watching you-tube , "SLG Classic cars " and "Khos designs" will show you, with a TIG, just how it can be done.

You only need 35 to 40 amps to weld car body steel. 
Argon can be sourced from most of the gas bottle suppliers.