MIG Welder Advice

Hi guys

About to purchase my first MIG welder and could do with some advice. I'm looking at the following 2 models from Clarke (right price range, local, seem to get postive reaction on the groups) but not sure which would suit me better - they seem to be pretty similar ! Need something that will cope with a restoration project so probably bodywork and chassis

Clarke 151TE - Hobby Range £223.19 Clarke 160TE - Automotive/Industrial Range £234.94

151TE 160TE Max Amps 150 150 Amps at 60% Duty 65 75 Min Amps 30 30 Open Circuit V 19-31 18-28 Weld Thickness 6mm 4-5mm

The only other differences I can see from reading the specs are that the

151TE needs a 30amp supply and the 160TE has electronic wire feed control

Does one appear to be better than the other or is there anything else out there I should be looking at

Thanks

Jim

Reply to
Jim
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Are you sure it needs 30 amp supply? Most of these little MIG welders plug into the normal mains via a 13 amp plug and I can't see why it should draw

30 amps. OK it might provide 30 amps output, but that's different.

Rob Graham

Reply to
Rob graham

According to the website it does

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Not a problem as I have a suitable outlet in the garage for the compressor

Jim

Reply to
Jim

I'm using a 160te at the moment and also have a hobby 100emk2. The 160 is a far better machine and is fan cooled for a longer duty cycle.

Reply to
Gary Millar

It's the 60% duty cycle that gets to you, waiting for the welder to ccol down starts to wind you up after a while.

Reply to
Duncanwood

Personally I can't see the point of a fan for working on cars and hobby jobs. I have a Clarke 120E Mk 2, which hasn't got a fan. Last week I was using it nearly all day to make a special rack from 1" square by 1/8" thick tubing. Rack was only 5ft x 4ft x 14" but it's construction took over 120ft of tubing, so there was quite a lot of welding. It never cut out once. Maybe it would if one were continuously welding very long seams at maximum power, but how many hobbyists would doing that? It also plugs into a std 13 amp socket, so can be used wherever there's a mains supply. Mike.

Reply to
Mike G

Likely to cause warping on car stuff too?

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

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