Which welder????

[Lee C]

Not sure if this is in the right section or not, but not wanting to keep interrupting anyone's resto thread, I thought I'd ask a few questions here !!!!

I'm contemplating welding my own bus this time, so I'll need a welder, obviously!!!
But which one ?
I'm assuming a 240v mig is what I'll need?
I'm a bit worried about gas bottle rental , but after googling it.
Turns out one of my current suppliers is a hobby gas I guess this means no rental agreement etc??

As for the welder???
Clarke or sealey???
Not sure what all the numbers in them mean though :lol: ??

 

[Fortunate Son]

I was using a sealey mightymig 130xt which I borrowed of my old man and after replacing the liner, earth clamp, gas valve, swan neck it worked OK for a while. I got myself to thinking that my skills were getting to the point where an upgrade would help - especially in terms of stable wire feed which the Sealey didn't really have (maybe the motor is on the way out).

I did a lot of research on mig-welding.co.uk and ended up buying a GYS Smartmig 162 just before Xmas. It is much much better than the Sealey and has disproved the bad workman blaming his tools theory a little! I am now a better welder - fact!

I bought it from weldequip (Steve) who is the main man on the mig-welding forum and he was great to deal with he wasn't the cheapest supplier at the time (he is now) but service and advice was brilliant.

Gas-wise, I must have gone thru 30 disposable bottles with the Sealey but I have now got a proper bottle of 5% CO2 (19 litre equivalent water capacity). It was around £107 all in and about 55 quid comes back if I take the bottle back - it's about 38 quid a refill which compared to £450 I spent on those crappy disposables is pretty reasonable.

Only problem were the crappy straps supplied with the welder to secure the bottle - I ended up using some mini ratchet straps.

You can get inverter based technology migs now but the advise I got was they are great when they are working but very hard and costly to put right when they go wrong and don't take too well to being knocked about occasionally.

http://www.weldequip.com/gys-smartmig-162.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/forums/buying-a-welder.19/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

HTH, Andy

 

[megaaircooledvw]

Agree with above ,try going to an off licence that you can buy barells of beer from that come with a chiller unit .They also supply co2 gas to pump the beer,about a meter high,costs me 12 pounds a refill

 

[Lee C]

Many thanks gents I'll check out the websites!!!
I often get invited to VAT free days at machine mart, so that's why I thought of a Clarke or sealey machine.
Also does it not need to be a mixture gas ?
CO2 & argon????

 

[68_early_bay]

Many thanks gents I'll check out the websites!!!
I often get invited to VAT free days at machine mart, so that's why I thought of a Clarke or sealey machine.
Also does it not need to be a mixture gas ?
CO2 & argon????

it doesn't have to be a co2/argon mix can just be co2, but he welds are soooooo much better with the mix 8)

 

[megaaircooledvw]

Co2 is fine.its just used as a flux to keep oxygen away.

 

[Fortunate Son]

5% CO2 95% Argon for thin bodywork (BOC stick a coule of % of O2 in I believe)
15% CO2 85% Argon for 3mm plus or welding up agricultural gear!
100% CO2 works OK I am told but can be a bit less tidy and hotter for thin stuff (where you will be using 0.6mm not 0.8mm wire - just to open another can!)

 

[Mark]

CO2 / Argon is much better than just CO2.
I get my gas from BOC. Argoshield light.

 

[*Sam*]

Regard the actual welder, the closer to a professional/commercial spec the better.
I wouldn't bother with anything that hasn't got a euro torch and stepless power, also consider if you are welding body work you will need a low power setting, some of the "hobby" welders won't go down very low.
I'm not trying to suggest I have the best welder or vast amounts of knowledge but if it helps I opted for http://www.thewelderswarehouse.com/Welding/mig-welder.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Cheers
Sam

 

[Fortunate Son]

Out of interest, Which one did you go for Sam? - I considered the 170 but it was just a little bit beyond my budget

 

[*Sam*]

Ahh i thought the link was set to take you to the 165.

Like you I wanted the 170 but I couldn't stretch to it as I was stretching to reach the 165.

I did my battery tray last year and then some more substantial welding more recently with it.
I found it to be great on both avocations.
I'm told one of the things to look for in a decent welder is the wire feed mech which according to reviews I read the sealed and Clark suffer from week mechs.
The euro touch makes replacement cheep and it is very nice to use.

 

[*Sam*]

Just as note, I'm not a well seasons welder at all, so am just speaking from experience and passing on advice I was given.

 

[Fortunate Son]

Thanks Sam, much appreciated.

Andy

 

[Lee C]

What's a Euro torch???

 

[Fortunate Son]

It's a detachable (from the welder) "pipe" which the torch is permanently fixed to - it carries power wiring, shielding gas pipe and wire from the main machine to the torch. Cheaper welders don't have them.

I always thought it was just a convenient feature, but now I have one the 'armouring" on the Euro torch is much tougher and I don't have to worry about having too tight bends in the "pipe" which could restrict wire feed and gas flow.

You can get an OK quality replacement Euro torch for around 45 quid, so it is a consumable item for a good quality welder used regularly. It is a right pain replacing a fixed torch on a cheaper welder and they seem to be more expensive / lower quality.

 

[NickJ]

Have you got a fixed budget? As this could affect your choice as much as anything else, I got a Clarke welder from MM on one of their vat free offers a 151en turbo and I'm very pleased with it also got a hobbyweld gas bottle as the little ones will cost you a fortune.

 

[Lee C]

I have £0 available for a welder & floor panel & sills, so I'm going to struggle I reckon!!! :lol:
But , it's February now, February's got to be easier than January, right???? :|

 

[NickJ]

I have £0 available for a welder & floor panel & sills, so I'm going to struggle I reckon!!! :lol:
But , it's February now, February's got to be easier than January, right???? :|

:lol: Yes got to be easier, I had to wait for a big birthday to get mine, previously used a second hand ebay cosmos (sip) the Clarke is much better, I had to change a few bits on the cosmos so not as cheap as first thought either.

 

[Webbaldo]

You can have mine lee if you paint my beetle!

Budget wise the Clarke Gas ones are fine for general stuff if you don't want a big garage one.

Get the highest rating one you can afford

If your rich, cebora etc, the Clarke ones (Italian ones not the newer Chinese models) are good and all the spares are available from machine mart, unlike the cheaper brands.

Avoid the Chinese ebay ones, and SIP ones seem to have issues with wire feed.

My little Clarke EN90 is fine for bodywork, might struggle with outriggers/chassis. (It has 4 power settings and welding on 2 is more than enough for any bus panel)

Gas wise, argon/co2 mix works well for me, nice clean.

Some people just use co2 pub gas. Works but I found it a bit more sputtery.

Don't use the gasless ones, there sh1te, meant for welding gates outdoors etc not bodywork

If you don't need to weld loads, the cheap disposable bottles are ok. Yes there not the cheapest way but if you only have a couple of sills etc, you'll only use a couple of bottles.

I did 2 outer sills, various small cab plates one rear arch half and I still have some left in a 600g bottle

 

[colinvw]

Lookup adams for gas rental. £55 rental for bottle & around £30 for refills. Loads of suppliers around country.


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