O?T mig welders

[Darrell O'Neill]

Looking for some advice from people who'll know better than me...  

Im looking for a DIY mig welder for some light duty use in the garage etc, mainly just perhaps inch box section sheet steel etc, etc.

short listed two. Clarke 135amp turbo here and a yZ113743QQtcZphotoQQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem" target="_blank">sealey 130amp mig welder here from ebay Is the clarke really worth £60 more?

Advice on either or a better suggestion would be gratfully recieved.... £150-£200 quid max

[Azzacat]

Ive got a clarke 151, does what i need it for, the welder chap in work says its crap but he' is used to far better and more expencive machines!

I cant comment on the sealy one however my clarke has had a new swan neck and a liner, a teflon one now as these seem to be the first things to break  

I find it fairly easy to use and it is what i have learnt to weld on. Mine was £165 cash from a local indipendant tool shop in bar hill Cambridgshire so look around for a better price.

Cheers

[Matt Seabrook]

To be honest if you are going to weld 25x25 box I would get a bigger welder. I think you would be able stick two bits of box together with a 135amp welder but I would not class them as being welded together. 180amp welder is about the minimum I would be looking for for light fabrication and sheet work. We have a 230amp welder at work and when I have made the roll hoops for my race car that has been turned up most of the way to get good penetration.

[mr-rad]

I have used quite a lot a 180 amp Sealey and would buy one tommorrow if I needed one. As Matt says 135amp will struggle with 25x25 box. The other thing when welding at the top end of its abilities is the duty cycle and you'll end up spending time waiting for it to cool down before you can weld again. Also disposable gas cannisters are crap, pub bottles are better but you cant beat a bit of Argon.