Done a search but didn't really find what I was looking for, What manufacturers do people use / recommend or what should I steer clear of.

Thought about something around 150amps.

Thanks for any help.

Dave

pretty much most of the welders under £300 are all the same just with different badges and cases, most cheap 150 amp welders will weld a locost chassis no problem, make sure you stay clear of gasless migs though !!!!

Just avoid SIP (also sold as Cosmo) on the sub 500 pound range the feed mechanism is a joke and welding voltage/current controls aren't reliable, of the easy to find hobby welders Sealey are pretty good.

Carnt agree more, DO NOT BUY A COSMO.
They are utter shite, im on my third replacement and it has just stopped feeding wire at all, fiddled with all the switches and made sure the feed bearing wasnt stuck.
Im just gonna ask for my money back and get a sealey or ERP one.
Good prices here: www.welduk.com

Re the SIP's as long as you dont go for a migmate as they are just the rebranaded cosmo that B&Q sell.
They are ok once you get into the light industrial versions.

I got a mig mate 130 and have been welding up my BIGRAMPS, this is 3mm angle, I have spent many an hour reworking the feed machanism.

the 5KG wire reel did not run freely so had to remod the spacing and a scoosh ow wd40 every couple of weeks.

The drive roller tensioner is built on a plastict bracket that bends after being under tension for some time so I had to make a metal supporting bracket.

Using such a high feed rate (only using 6mm wire at the moment) when you get a stick if the tension on the drive bearing is high the wire will endup jumping the roller because there is nowhere for it to go,

the most frustrating this is the wire feeding through to the torch, if there are too many bend going to the torch the wire stutters and gives poor quality welding so I have to keep the welder in a position that it keeps the torch in a straight line from the weld.

After all of this the weldr is now working great and with a bottle of argsheild for £40 1 off payment I am welding well into the night and my BIGRAMPS should be finished fairly soon then its back to the build after almost 3 years off.

Today i popped in machine mart at preston and had a look at their range...
came out with a Clarke 160TE
i cannot believe you can get a welder of this quality for £200 the only thing its missing is detachable hose, however all the rest of the bits are industry std fittings which is good.
the difference in actually welding is amazing, its like spreading butter

We used a Migmate 105 turbo with exactly the same problems and cures as Ewan!!
It has now welded 2 chassis, 2 axles and 2 of everything else on a Locost and is still going strong. You just have to get used to it!!

Marcus

Went out yesterday only to find that the wire feed did't work. Everything else was fine, fan, gas .....

so took the torch apart and found the small connector on the end of the trigger wire had slipped off the trigger.

Nice easy fix.

this may help someone.

when my old cosmo one did this it was just one of the power switches had been knocked and had rested in a 'inbetween' state.

Have said it lots of times on here, but I'll second the mention of WeldUK ltd, and ERP welders.

These are "unbranded" sealey machines, and are excellent, and £200 less than the equivalent sealey.

I have the 230amp machine which was £400 and has been superb. Previously I had a Clarke 150TE (£200 about 7 years ago) which was ok I suppose, but the wire feed was still weedy and it still was very much a "hobby" machine, not really built for the rigours of my workshop!

The old Clarke machine still did all the welding when I built this though, so I suppose it was okish!



Pug 1

[Edited on 11/8/05 by NS Dev]