9 replies to this topic

[wreckitralph]

i have a clarke 150te its had a hard life still works but i need a second welder for a possible unit i may be having  [sharing wokshop space] save carrying a mig between home and the unit its mainly car bodywork that i wil be using it for

my mate has a big mig 200 plus amps and the welds seem very even and neat and are  consistent  so am i better off getting a bigger mig and turning it down  for the ar panels must also be 13amp household plug

[Maccmike8]

Mines a 135te and does everything needed. I thought the 135 was the biggest you could go on conventional plug?

[wreckitralph]

mines an old model second hand when i got it its 155te clarke it runs of  a standard household plug  ive been looking around the net this evenin and the R Tech 180 inverter welder will run of a stock 13 amp plug up to 160 amps after that needs a 16 amp supply to run at 180 apparently  i dont see any circumstances that will require 180 amps on a mini

[sonikk4]

What about Porta Mig, check them out.

[Shifty]

I've got a Porta mig and it's pretty good, had a Butters 1800 before that and that was good as well.

 

The big difference between the smaller hobby Clarke and the Porta mig size is the speed you can weld at.  I had a 135 Clarke and it was dog slow compared to the Butters.

 

It's really worth spending the extra money.

[wreckitralph]

ive been offered a old butters i think it is?  tonight    seperate wire feed runs from a 13 amp plug apparently [ive questioned this at 300 amps] so its clouded the matter slightly older up market machine in good condition  or a new hobby  semi pro  mig 

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Edited by wreckitralph, 21 October 2019 - 10:25 PM.

[Icey]

ive been offered a old butters i think it is?  tonight    seperate wire feed runs from a 13 amp plug apparently [ive questioned this at 300 amps] so its clouded the matter slightly older up market machine in good condition  or a new hobby  semi pro  mig 

 

While it'd probably be nice to have a production grade machine the bigger question is - why waste the space? Unless you have a large workshop I'm sure the sq.ft it takes up will be better used for something else.

 

However, alot of the large machines can run on both 415 and 240v, it just limits the upper range so it may be OK.

 

 

I need to replace my tired old gasless MIG at some point soon, I'll probably go for either a Clarke or an RTech (and see if they'll do a discount on a TIG and MIG purchase).

Edited by Icey, 22 October 2019 - 12:22 PM.

[stoneface]

I have an R-Tech 250A Mig and its been very good compared to the clarke and sip i've had. I weld more than just thin steel and the fully adjustable voltage and wire speed is much better than the few switches some of the cheaper machines have.

 

You can get a 5% discount on R-Tech with the TMF discount code MINIFOR which I wish I knew about.

 

Clarke welder are capable machines but most of the smaller ones use their own non removeable torches rather than the euro torch.

[wreckitralph]

I have an R-Tech 250A Mig and its been very good compared to the clarke and sip i've had. I weld more than just thin steel and the fully adjustable voltage and wire speed is much better than the few switches some of the cheaper machines have.

 

You can get a 5% discount on R-Tech with the TMF discount code MINIFOR which I wish I knew about.

 

Clarke welder are capable machines but most of the smaller ones use their own non removeable torches rather than the euro torch.

i have heard good things about r tech as i only have 13 amps i wouls be limited to a 180 amp machine i think

[stoneface]

I'm know you can find cheaper than R-Tech and I looked at many others before deciding. It ticked the boxes for me and I've not been disappointed.

 

I believe their 180A version is good for 13A input, and the 250A version can be used on 13A upto 160A. I have used it on 13A plug without issue at lower current. But it's normally connected to 32A output so not an issue for me.

 

The beauty of having a larger amperage is the duty cycle is better for the same currents of lesser units.