On the hunt for a decentish mig. Not used every day, but will get a fair few hours use each month I would say.

I dont have the cash for a Portamig, and I think they may just be overkill for what I am going to do.

What are the Clarke 151TE or 160EN like these days? Thinking the dual polarity of the EN may be useful so I can do gasless if needed.

Also found the Lincoln Handy MIG, ERP Supermig 150 and the SWP 170C all the same sort of price new.

Basically the budget is £300 max, willing to go secondhand for a better machine as long as parts/spares are easily available.

Cheers,
David

[Edited on 28/10/09 by flak monkey]

ive got the clarke 135te turbo, and its been excellent,

does the 150 amp one work off a standard 13amp plug now, i'm sure in the past it needed a 15A supply

hth

Ray

Yep ideally needs a 16A supply, but thats no problem as I have a 16A socket in the garage anyway

I have a 151te. Great welder but i dont really have anything to compare it to.

I happily weld with the clarke 151 at full power through a standard plug.

Seems like an ok welder to me, but if you can afford it i believe the 160 is an all together better machine.

I have the clarke 170A version.
Works well, good wire feed, as I learned from my last welder!Darren

151te here, great welder (used one from the bodyshop over the road for 5 minutes once - it was horrific! proper terrible cheap thing). The clarke is nice, had it for a year & no problems yet

quote:

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Originally posted by MikeR
I happily weld with the clarke 151 at full power through a standard plug.

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I bought a 160 after reading good things about it on www.mig-welding.co.uk/

Been very happy with it so far. Its my first welder though, so I've not got anything to compare it to.

The VAT free days at Machine Mart are a good time to get one.

151te and no probs whatsoever.

160T here and its a cracking bit of kit for the money.

Whats the difference between the 151EN and the 160EN?

The 160 seems to have a lower open circuit voltage which ISTR is better and a slightly higher duty cycle.

Other than that they look virtually the same other than the price?

euro torch.

quote:

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Originally posted by blakep82
mine didn't, kept blowing fuses.

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quote:

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Originally posted by flak monkey
Other than that they look virtually the same other than the price?

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Are you sure its a euro torch? Looks like all the other std fixed ones to me?

I know you can convert them but didnt think they were as std?

David

Actually your right, my bad, its not a euro torch fitting at the welder end but does take the euro torch style shrouds the ie the slip over ones not hobby style screw on ones.

I have a SIP 150Turbo , before that a Clarke 120 which was much better than the SIP.

Ive recently bought a Clarke 195TEC on wheels, its excellent.

my SIP runs on a 25m extension lead from a socket 13amp in my kitchen...

Without any problems.


However the big Clarke now has a 40amp dedicated supply on a 10mm cable.


Clarkes are good value for the money, SIP I wouldnt have again.

Poor settings options & crap wire feed


other than that they are crap ....

David,

I have said it before, I have used a Clarke 140E since 1988 and it has been a belter, some professional use for about 10 years.

However I have been lucky, you would be much better off with a second hand industrial unit, from main names like Esab, Lincoln, Migatronic, Kemppi etc. They are a real joy to weld with, all parts are easily available off the shelf.

Well I just won myself a Lincoln SP170 on ebay

Should be a reasonable machine, seem to get good reviews. New they are around £700 so.

Interestingly they are also rather useful for MIG brazing... apparently