Guinness
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| posted on 28/2/08 at 12:59 PM |
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Is this welder any good?
For welding up a chassis or similar frame?
It's the only one left in my local B&Q and it's £139.
Not sure if that is a deal or not?
Also not sure if it's man enough / the right sort of welder?
 
Gasless MIG
Cheers
Mike
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 28/2/08 at 01:03 PM |
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by the time you've finished it will be practally worn out.
but it wil do the chassis, you'll notice that it is a gasless one, the welds will be alot hotter and more prone to twist the chassis. I'd
recomend you go a bit higher up the scale and buy a gas one.
it also seems to have very basic power controls and if this is your first go at welding I'd not buy that.
[Edited on 28/2/08 by Mr Whippy]
Fame is when your old car is plastered all over the internet
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 28/2/08 at 01:04 PM |
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For a start it's gasless - it does work, but it's a little messy and you get a lot of smoke when you weld.
The wire is a lot more expensive (but you save on gas cylinders)
If you ever want to use gas then you may have to muck around as the polarity will be the other way round.
Also, you will have to buy a regulator, hose(s), before you think about getting gas.
If it was my choice, I'd hold out for a proper gas MIG welder.
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BenB
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| posted on 28/2/08 at 01:05 PM |
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I'd suggest 90A is a bit marginal and gasless can get expensive.
If you're going to be making a chassis I'd get a more powerful one and a gassed one at that.....
The price doesn't seem that competative....
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 28/2/08 at 01:07 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by BenB
I'd suggest 90A is a bit marginal and gasless can get expensive.
If you're going to be making a chassis I'd get a more powerful one and a gassed one at that.....
The price doesn't seem that competative....
good point, I never even noticed the power it so small. try to get between 130-150amps
Fame is when your old car is plastered all over the internet
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BenB
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| posted on 28/2/08 at 01:08 PM |
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Something like
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SEALEY-MIG-MAG-WELDER-S0771-130-AMP_W0QQitemZ260215366986QQihZ016QQcategoryZ64818QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
would be a much better option!!!!
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Guinness
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| posted on 28/2/08 at 01:11 PM |
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OK thanks lads.
My local B&Q has a massive section where they are clearing out end of line power tools. Just picked up a B&Decker dremel for £10! and spotted
that lying there.
Wasn't sure if it would be any good for what we do.
Obviously I already have a completed car, so a whole chassis isn't going to be an option, but if I wanted to do engine mounts / cradle or
something of that size might it be more economic than a gas one?
Mike
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 28/2/08 at 01:13 PM |
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That's a good price!
(it won't last long, now you've posted it...  )
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BenB
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| posted on 28/2/08 at 01:14 PM |
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Yup. For small stuff it'd probably be okay- then again, engine mounts aren't exactly unstructural!!!
Gas cylinders have a nasty habit of leaking (even if you unscrew and remove the regulator after use). Because gasless wire doesn't have this
problem for very intermitent use it's okay. It also has the advantage of working outside (with gassed MIG the shield will be blown away)...
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 28/2/08 at 01:14 PM |
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obviously someone has an I-phone
Fame is when your old car is plastered all over the internet
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Guinness
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| posted on 28/2/08 at 01:40 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Mr Whippy
obviously someone has an I-phone
Who?
I've got a blackberry though! 
Cheers
Mike
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martin1973
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| posted on 28/2/08 at 04:44 PM |
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to be honest gasless mig welding is pants
looks very untidy lots of splatter.
the wire is expesive, but you dont have to buy gas.
ok for jobs outside because theres no gas to blow away.
best buy a gas one from the start but thats just my opinion.
martin
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Mole
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| posted on 28/2/08 at 05:36 PM |
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Plus the gasless wire leaves a coating on the weld that you have to brush off. Thats no big deal but it doesn't conduct electricity either and
that can be a pain in the backside if you need to go over the weld.
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stevebubs
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| posted on 28/2/08 at 05:38 PM |
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If you're looking to do engine mounts then (IMO) you need something a bit more meaty as you'll be wanting to weld 3/4mm plate.
OTOH, it would be OK for tacking something that you could take to a proper welders....
All depends what you want it for!
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MikeRJ
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| posted on 28/2/08 at 07:37 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by martin1973
to be honest gasless mig welding is pants
looks very untidy lots of splatter.
I seem to be the only person that's ever had a good experience with gasless? I put a new sill and wheel arch on my 16V GTE Astra with a 105EN
Clarke using gasless wire and it made a perfectly neat job. You do have to wirebrush the flux residue off, but it's not a difficult job. I
didn't notice it spatter much more than normal wire using CO2.
That said I don't think the B&Q Welder that the OP has found is much of a bargain at all, and if it can't be easily converted to use
gas then best avoided.
[Edited on 28/2/08 by MikeRJ]
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Fred W B
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| posted on 28/2/08 at 08:25 PM |
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Seconded, thats not a welder it's a toy
Cheers
Fred W B
You can do it quickly. You can do it cheap. You can do it right. – Pick any two.
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Guinness
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| posted on 28/2/08 at 09:00 PM |
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What about the link to the Sealey 130 Mig on ebay that Ben found. More suitable?
Mike
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 28/2/08 at 09:37 PM |
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Winding back to the original question (sort-of) - I keep a roll of gasless wire for use in my MIG, for odd jobs. Saves having to worry about whether I
have enough gas.
It does cost more, is a bit dirty, but it does work reasonably well. I view it in the same category as stick welding, but suitable for thinner jobs.
But if I was doing a chassis again I'd get a gas set, as it's much easier to do a proper job.
But maybe not with that set!
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JoelP
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| posted on 28/2/08 at 10:20 PM |
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get down MM on a vat free day, you can get a gassed 160A welder for about 200. Not much more for a much better machine.
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Taz Surfleet
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| posted on 29/2/08 at 12:02 AM |
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if you must have gasless and theres absolutley nothing wrong with that then you may be better off looking at something like this
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/130A-GASLESS-TURBO-MIG-WELDER-INCL-STARTER-KIT_W0QQitemZ180219679414QQihZ008QQcategoryZ113743QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewIt
em
take no notice of the idiots who claim you cant weld with gassless its like everything else the more you do it the better you get ! however the 90
wont cope with long welds before overheating then youve got to wait for it to cool down before you can start again !! shame youre not closer to me I
have a clarke 90 in good nick in the shed that I dont need anymore !!
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