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jameslwt

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I have been reading loads of posts on here, and via links to various sites about MIG welders, and I have a quick question. After thinking/talking about it with loads of people, I am thinking of the Clarke 151TE, (loads of recommendations) but I see a few people have mentioned Hobarts (which apparently are rebadged Clarkes in Europe anyway).

What are people's experiences of Hobarts? And importantly, where can I get them/get a price from? :D

Cheers

James

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I have been reading loads of posts on here, and via links to various sites about MIG welders, and I have a quick question. After thinking/talking about it with loads of people, I am thinking of the Clarke 151TE, (loads of recommendations) but I see a few people have mentioned Hobarts (which apparently are rebadged Clarkes in Europe anyway).

What are people's experiences of Hobarts? And importantly, where can I get them/get a price from? :D

Cheers

James

James,

Sorry to be a dmapening squib maybe - but absolutely would NOT recomend one of these

The duty cycle is V poor,

It doesn't even have a EURO torch coupling.

Clarke welders are at best "Hobby" stuff, and not made to last, yes the price is cheap - poss very cheap, but I would advise you spend a tad more and get some decent ?

This guy is good and I have used him in the past

http://www.migtigarc.co.uk/MIG_Welder/mig_welder.html

Butters AMT 1800 Mig Welder

Cebora Craft Mig 180 Mig Welder

Yes they are more £ but a different league

I have recently used one of this below and these are REALLY nice for the money :)

Murex Tradesmig 180 Mig Welder

SERIOUSLY - consider how long you expect this to last, what you wnat it to do, and the quality item will outlast and give far better results

Nige

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Clarke are the best all-round little machines out there, but they are just that - little machines. One bonus is you can get spares, IF you go to the right place.

As Nige said, what do you want it to do?

I spent ages (years) researching this, and have just bought a Portamig 211 (MigTigArc sell them, but they're more expensive than where i got mine from). There is also a Portamig 181 which might be more suited to what you want. You will struggle to find another welder that will beat the current span, number of voltage settings and duty cycle for the price of a Portamig, they're made in York, too. :)

Avoid SIP like the plague, especially specific units, unless you want to be fiddling with the wire feed unit all day long.

Have a look on www.mig-welding.co.uk, the forum is really helpful, I've learnt a lot from there.

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Clarke are the best all-round little machines out there, but they are just that - little machines. One bonus is you can get spares, IF you go to the right place.

As Nige said, what do you want it to do?

I spent ages (years) researching this, and have just bought a Portamig 211 (MigTigArc sell them, but they're more expensive than where i got mine from). There is also a Portamig 181 which might be more suited to what you want. You will struggle to find another welder that will beat the current span, number of voltage settings and duty cycle for the price of a Portamig, they're made in York, too. :)

Avoid SIP like the plague, especially specific units, unless you want to be fiddling with the wire feed unit all day long.

Have a look on www.mig-welding.co.uk, the forum is really helpful, I've learnt a lot from there.

..........Interesting

Thought of the clarke 151 as V8 bertha has one and said it was pretty good when he used it, and various people who had borrowed it said likewise. Lots of positive comments on other forums too.

TBH really can't justify more than £200- £300 as it won't get much use ( and policemen don't get paid enough!) - it's only going to be for small stuff anyway. Have plenty of contacts for big jobs, and certainly at the moment wouldn't trust myself anyway!!

Had a look at mig-welding.co.uk yesterday and he basically said that if not going into it big time, then Clarke is the best mainstream brand around at the low end of the price bracket. ('hobby spec')

Hmmmmmm, more thought required!!

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Got a SIP and the feed is a complete PITA, it is always going wrong, and of course each time it wastes about 8ft of wire :(

Having said that, it finally went completely buggered so I took it apart and put it back together correctly (I think the assembly is carp) and put the wire liner much closer to the feed wheels (which are lower than the wire liner input slightly!) and fingers crossed it looks much less likely to go wrong now.

I reckon buying a decent welder is a must, normally you can work around the quality of your tools but I think for welding you just can't do that, a pants unit will create pants welds all day long no matter what you do. I am certainly no expert welder, but the quality of what I can do takes a massive leap when I go from cheapo sip unit with 4 power settings and no wire speed or gas to my mates machine which has a few more bells and whistles and gas.

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I've got a Hobart 175 and its excellent, its got full copper windings so is very well made, no, its not professional but seriously do you need such kit? This one can weld pretty meety stuff and has a good duty cycle.

mine cost me £175+vat from Wellington Welding and i have to say i'm chuffed to bits.

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Many thanks

:D

I replaced my Clarke 151 TE with a Portamig 211 from the the same place as LandymanLuke. Clarke are cheap and compared to machines costing twice as much then obviously they don't stand up. The nice thing about the Clarke is you can pick it up and put it back in the shed when you've finished with it, not to be discounted if your short on space, my Carke was my second they've always been reliable and my first was sold on as opposed to being scrapped.

Spare tips, liners and shrouds are available at all the DIY places plus Halfords along with the gas bottles, the machines are easily repairable with a good spares back-up. If you use a proper trade machine at work and that's what you are used to then don't bother with a Clarke as you'll probably hate it.

If you are an occasional welder and want to do your own repairs on your Landy then I think its good enough, if you want to get into alot of fabbing then look elsewhere.

If you still want a Clarke after all the advice given then I still have mine and its only about 2 years old, if your interested :D

Andy

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I replaced my Clarke 151 TE with a Portamig 211 from the the same place as LandymanLuke. Clarke are cheap and compared to machines costing twice as much then obviously they don't stand up. The nice thing about the Clarke is you can pick it up and put it back in the shed when you've finished with it, not to be discounted if your short on space, my Carke was my second they've always been reliable and my first was sold on as opposed to being scrapped.

Spare tips, liners and shrouds are available at all the DIY places plus Halfords along with the gas bottles, the machines are easily repairable with a good spares back-up. If you use a proper trade machine at work and that's what you are used to then don't bother with a Clarke as you'll probably hate it.

If you are an occasional welder and want to do your own repairs on your Landy then I think its good enough, if you want to get into alot of fabbing then look elsewhere.

If you still want a Clarke after all the advice given then I still have mine and its only about 2 years old, if your interested :D

Andy

How much?

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How much?

£100 for welder + spare mini regulator, shrouds, tips the odd bottle of gas and a BOC type regulator and may have a part used reel of wire on but not sure.

I'm travelling down to Hampshire tommorrow.

Andy

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£100 for welder + spare mini regulator, shrouds, tips the odd bottle of gas and a BOC type regulator and may have a part used reel of wire on but not sure.

I'm travelling down to Hampshire tommorrow.

Andy

Andy

Not sure if you'll get this in time....

What condition is it in? If it's good then I'll have it.

Give me a call on 07736 724229 uo to 11pm tonight or anytime tomorrow, although I'm marshalling at Minstead with Shire club.

Cheers

James

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I've got a Clarke 151 and to say it has a poor duty cycle is a load of c**p. I've made some mega welds on full power, non-stop for 20-30 minutes and it's not cut out. The construction isnt up to professional standards and is a bit tinny, the torch is a bit flimsy, but it's very good value for money.

I'd definatley buy another if Iwas after a budget welder.

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I'm still using a Clarke 120E I bought nearly 20 years ago and it's never let me

down or cut out. I've recently used a Cebora 150 on some thick stuff and yes

it is better but not so that I'd pay the extra for one for the amount of welding I do.

It'll be another Clarke when mine eventually croaks.

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If it helps, Andy can leave the welder with me - I will be around all week, so you can pick it up from Winchester any time (ish).

Just thought that might make life a bit easier than having to meet up during the few minutes he is around...

Cheers, Al.

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Thought of the clarke 151 as V8 bertha has one and said it was pretty good when he used it, and various people who had borrowed it said likewise. Lots of positive comments on other forums too.

I've used Dan's 151 and although it's a good little welder... I would strongly advise buying an old "proper" welder rather than a brand new hobby mig, they're just nicer all round.

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If it helps, Andy can leave the welder with me - I will be around all week, so you can pick it up from Winchester any time (ish).

Just thought that might make life a bit easier than having to meet up during the few minutes he is around...

Cheers, Al.

Cheers Al

I will wait and see if Andy gets a chance to call me, as will be heading out the door in about an hour.....

My number is above in earlier message

Cheers

James

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£100 for welder + spare mini regulator, shrouds, tips the odd bottle of gas and a BOC type regulator and may have a part used reel of wire on but not sure.

I'm travelling down to Hampshire tommorrow.

Andy

Well

For THAT money you cannot go wrong :lol:

I was not saying the Clarke 151 uis junk - its not, for the hobby welder they are at the top end of the range of whats out there, but they are built down to a price (non euro torch etc - which can be a PITA) and other bits. Compared with a Industrial machine -well frankly don't, its prob not fair - cheaper MIG basically often have the prob of not having the same quality of output (can't explain the tech reasons but I am sure someone will) and often are 2Tweaked" for maximum output, often meaning they don't weld as well as they maybe should at low amps. Not all industrial units are good, thats a fact, and mnay cost more than the clarke, but IF you were buying brand new, and IF you could afford a few quid more then there are better machines for a bit more, what you have for £100 squid is another matter - thats well cheap :lol:

Lastly, no mig work best flat out, always better to have a MIG of a higher output and run at 80-90%, duty cycles are a werid thing, as many manufactuers fiddle the figs based on the heat that the unit started at for testing (I think the std is 40 degrees, whereas starting cold gives a better figure in "Results" etc) but duty cycles can mean welders running flat out have a deteriation of the weld before it trips out, hence why weld at 80-90%.

One thing is for sure, you are highly unlikley to ever loose money on this purchase, for most stuff on Landys it will be fine, and you caqn always trade up later if you feel the wish or need.

Nige

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