hi all, im just aboout to start my locost which i want to race for the 750mc, can anyone recomend a welder? someone said i need a 150 amp mig with gas and turbo, will this do? thanks

I have no idea about welders but welcome to the forum

Mark

hi mate, thanks, thats urs is it? smart

Budget one last year tended to be Clarke 150 turbo machine, not sure how you can turbo a welder though.

Also buget for a proper gas bottle and gauges, this will double the cost.


Regards Mark

cool tahnks, apparrantly its a cooling fan which just makes the machine work for longer

I can vouch for the clarke 150 turbo from machine mart.

Turbo just means its air-cooled by a fan so you can weld for longer without it overheating.

Shaun

cool is taht the blue or red? thanks

clarke 151TE to be precise
i got one, cracking welder. i forget what price it was, but people say the little disposable bottles don't last long, i've found them to last a loooong time actually. when i bought the welder in about march last year, it came with one bottle, and i bought another. haven't bought one since. i think i'm actually still on the original bottle (i tried welding aluminium with argon and might have switched bottles by accident) just don't turn the gas flow up too high

mine is the red one

and welcome btw

wow, thanks ofr all your help guys, im gonna order it now, anyone do the 750 championship?

I,ve had my blue one 20 years now, the biggest improvement I made to it was replacing the thin earth lead and clamp for something much more substantial.

It made welding a lot more stable.

If you have not welded before then also get a full face helmet that sits on you head, hold the gun with one hand and support your wrist with the other.

Make the table a decent working height so you are comfortable, this helps a lot then look forward to everything you wear gaining small pin holes + the horrors of balls of weld running down inside your sleeves or what is possibly the worst going inside your boot… aaarg The odd earwax fizzle when welding upside down also brings a grimace. Its all good fun.

You can also show us your first sunburnt arms next week

Regards Mark

i used the mig welding forum here for all of my questions about welding.

I brought a second hand clarke 150t from ebay.

I found it quite easy to do, not started my chassis yet, but just practised on some scrap pieces of the same thickness i am going to use.

Unsure if you have thought about the gas, but i used Adam Gas (link) as my supplier, the reason being that they do a hobby welder package, it was £94 for the gas bottle to get delivered, but you then have no monthly charges, if you went to BOC etc.

I believe the re-fills are about £54, but when you return the bottle when you have finished you get the £40 back.

HTH

cool thanks for the info, im currently stripping an engine for the project as i have already started it id better finish that first, even tho i am now full of excitement to geting a suntan and welding burns from making the chassy

Do you guys manage to run the 151TE from a standard wall socket??

i run mine on a normal 13A plug, and it works fine on anything except the highest power and on thick steel. on highest power it blows fuses in seconds.

but it run perfectly if you're using it for 3mm steel, or on the chassis etc

though i am looking to run it on a 16A circuit today


[Edited on 8/11/08 by blakep82]