Mig welder for £300?

[Monkey Mark]

Looking at a mig welder for crimbo.
Mig welder, will be used mainly on cars & panels.
Have access to plenty of flux core so don't mind gassless.

Any recommendations?

 

[novocaine]

gasless flux core isn't mig welding. not the point though.
buy a gas unit , use it with flux cored reverse polarity. you never know when you might need gas, such as welding panels or cars, as flux cored is pretty much useless below ~2mm unless you are very very good and even then you will end up with poop welds and holes. for 300 notes, the clarke units get a reasonable write up (having used one a long time ago, it was ok, the little mig I have is comparable). for 170 quid (if you have a VAT free voucher) the 145 should suit you, it's a basic machine without all the bells and whistles and it duty cycle isn't amazing so for practicing it is going to be a bit of a pain, that leaves you with 130 quid to buy a spool of wire, mask, gloves etc. add in another 150 quid and get a tank of gas and a regulator when you need it, which I suspect you will once you start trying to weld panels with flux cored.
(rent free from gas-uk is 50 notes for a 30litre with 80 quid deposit, basic cheap regulator is 30 quid)
when you say you've got access to flux core, are you sure it's gasless flux core, there is dual shield too.

 

[Monkey Mark]

Thanks for that.
I maybe should have added a little more info.
My son will belearning but I can already weld but I use industrial Lincoln's on 3 phase so I can't borrow one. As such, mask gloves etc don't need to be purchased.
I'd have to check on wire though. It was donated but we never use it at work so I've not looked at it properly yet.
But I would need gas & reg if I go down that route.

 

[novocaine]

Seriously consider the 145 from clarke then, along with a regulator and rent free gas bottle you'll be hitting home at around the 300 mark if you've got a VAT free code.
you don't need anything bigger at home, it will burn a hole in 4mm plate with enough effort but can lay down a nice stringer on 20 gauge without any real issues. grab a pack of tips and a fluted shroud to make it a bit easier to see whats happening. oh and it comes with a free mask shaped object, the glass from which is perfect for using as a scraper, the rest is garbage.
a 5kg spool of flux core is around 30 quid (I appreiciate you maybe getting it free at first, but the stock isn't for life), that gets you a 15kg of mig wire with change, 3 times more welding, it quickly adds up to a bottle of gas.

I keep a roll of flux core in, just in case I'm middle of job and the gas runs out, I can swap over and keep going if I have to, but the weld quality suffers, it's like going from cutting butter to cutting cheese, both are easy but one is just so smooth, lol.

heres where I get my gas from. https://www.gas-uk.co.uk/rent-free-gas- ... elding-gas
it's rent free but there is a deposit on the bottle of 80 quid and 11 quid delivery, so your looking at more like 130 quid for a 10 litre bottle (i get 20 litres at a time at the moment)
other option, if there is one in your area is hobbyweld, who do a bottle with built in regulator, but don't deliver.

hope that helps.
If he wants to learn to weld, find an old buzzbox MMA and teach him to hold an arc first, he'll be such a better welder for it.

 

[heimlaga]

I don't think welding car panels with a cheap gasless mig is a very good idea......

 

[graduate_owner]

I bought a Clarke 160TM which is the cheapest of the so-called industrial ( yeah, right) models. It is made in Italy, so not a Chaiwanese import. I have had it for just over a year and seems fine, although I haven't used it a great deal. It cost me just over £300 on a VAT free day at Machine Mart - not a place I tend to frequent. It doesn't come with gas etc, so I spent about £20 on wire and just over £100 for a cylinder of argoshield, including returnable deposit. Minimum amps is 30, but I don't know if that is suitable for car panels.

K

 

[dickm]

heres where I get my gas from. https://www.gas-uk.co.uk/rent-free-gas- ... elding-gas
it's rent free but there is a deposit on the bottle of 80 quid and 11 quid delivery, so your looking at more like 130 quid for a 10 litre bottle (i get 20 litres at a time at the moment)
other option, if there is one in your area is hobbyweld, who do a bottle with built in regulator, but don't deliver.

If he wants to learn to weld, find an old buzzbox MMA and teach him to hold an arc first, he'll be such a better welder for it.

Regarding delivery, our "local" supplier of Hobbyweld in Elgin (50+ miles away) does actually deliver for free. Very helpful guys, too, but obviously a bit far for most folks!

+1 for learning on MMA. Once you can weld something like 1mm steel cleanly with that, Mig is simple. But if you learn the other way, much more difficult. For a beginner, autodarkening helmet makes life easier too.

 

[novocaine]

VAT free this weekend if your a member of their mailing list.

 

[heimlaga]

+1 for learning on MMA. Once you can weld something like 1mm steel cleanly with that, Mig is simple. But if you learn the other way, much more difficult. For a beginner, autodarkening helmet makes life easier too.

If you choose to start with stick welding buy a DC welder. Old rectifiers are pretty cheap theese days. I weld everything I need with a 1960-ies 200A three phase rectifier. That's a good welder in my books and I paid 90 euros for it some 10 years ago and during those years of frequent use it has reqired some 300 euros in repair costs. New cables and new diodes and four exploded condensators and a new stick holder.
Theese days there are several makes of fairly good 150Ampere single phase inverters at roundabout your price point. Kemppi makes a very popular model.

Before the Unitor I had an Esab Bantam two phase transformator which produced AC current and though they said it was a good AC welder it was bad enough to convince any clever young lad that he lacks talent for welding. Stubborn as usual I learned to weld with it but it was a pain from start to end and don't want anyone else to go that route.

There are some special rods made to be easy to weld even with an AC welder. Esab OK46 for instance. However all those sour rods produce welds that are dangerously brittle in freezing weather. At -30 celsius the welds are like glass and you can do much harm with a sledgehammer but already at -5 which is more common in your country the welds are noticeable weakened.
Hence all AC stick welders should be scrapped.