MIG Welders

[Mikey G]

Need a half decent MIG for my workshop, has to be able to do up to 5mm plate for brackets as well as general bodywork fabrication.
Have used/borrowed/owned a number of welders over the years from cheap Maypole up to a Lincoln Electric. Its not going to be heavy use on a daily basis, just odd jobs on the weekends as I fumble through projects at home. Been looking on ebay at welders up to 200 amp, there are some ropey looking used ones that would be ideal but the temptation of a new unbranded foreign special is appealing, especially as some have the option of TIG and MMA.
Budget is £2-300 but will pay a little more if its a better chance of a decent one. Some of the specs look good and most have Euro torches too.
Like the look of something like this but I think I would need some sticky labels for translation
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5-in-1-MIG-MAG-TIG-FCAW...

Any alternative suggestions would be greatfull

[Stig]

From a domestic 240V suppply, I'd be looking at the Clarke 151TE or the 160EN (the latter being gas or no gas)

I have a 160TM (predecessor to the EN but is gas) and it's been excellent.

[Mikey G]

Had a Clarke 180 years ago (not sure on suffix but it was blue) bought it in shares with a friend, he bought my part off me and had to scrap it a year later as something failed in it that was so expensive to replace for a few quid more he bought a new welder. Kind of put me off the Clarke range.

[eltax91]

Tagging myself in here.

I’ve never welded before. Want to learn and have a couple of jobs in the offing that I was going to pay to get done. Maybe it’s time to just buy a welder and copy YouTube vids until I get good?!

Most of the OP has confused me. 5 in 1, euro torch, etc?!!!

Is there a good guide somewhere on what all the jargon means?

Any recommendations on a good kit to start with. Presumably answer to the OP are very much relevant to me?

[OldGermanHeaps]

Best advice I can give is if budget is a concern get a used quality one instead of a new budget one, my first mig was a £250 sip and the wire feed mechanism was junk, always jamming, speed would vary during a beadand sometimes ti would slow down as you move the torch and friction built up in the cord to the point where the wire would fuse to the tip and jam up. My welds always looked biscuit ersed and they were weak. I picked up a cem pro model from a liquidation auction for £62 and it is night and day, constant wire speed no matter how much you move the cord, solid good quality heavy duty feed rollers etc on it the results it gives are in another leauge. It is a heavy bd though, you can tell just by looking at the ride height when its in my van.

[G600]

eltax91 said:

Is there a good guide somewhere on what all the jargon means?

Loads of info here https://www.mig-welding.co.uk

[wildoliver]

Mikey G said:

Had a Clarke 180 years ago (not sure on suffix but it was blue) bought it in shares with a friend, he bought my part off me and had to scrap it a year later as something failed in it that was so expensive to replace for a few quid more he bought a new welder. Kind of put me off the Clarke range.

They can be a bit hit and miss. I've had 2 both bought nearly new. A blue one, I think the same as your old one, and my current red one a 160en as described above. The blue one was iffy from day one, barely did the job and the wire feed was pretty pants. But it stitched a few cars together, when an acquaintance offered me a bit more than I paid for it I snatched his hand off and bought the red one.

The red one has been fantastic. Has a lot of hours on it now and I've just replaced the liner in the gun, the neck and of course tips/shroud mainly due to just being worn out. It's economical on tips and shrouds and has been a really good buy, I'll be selling it at some point to replace with a Lincoln or similar. In short for a hobby mig I'd go for one of those, for a pro mig go for a pro machine.

Don't bother with the likes of sip, I've had the misfortune of using a couple and found them crap, I'd also avoid the Chinese stuff unless you view it as disposable.

[Mikey G]

I have noticed the inverter type welders dont require a big power supply, many seem to be rated at 200A and be supplied via a 16A plug, yet a lot of the conventional welders for the same rating require a 32A socket. I can fit one but it means i'm limited on my supply to my garage which is on a 40A MCB so a bit of appliance management would have to take place to use full power.

There are a number of German welders on ebay but i have a feeling these are rebranded chinese units..

[wildoliver]

For what it's worth I used to borrow a big 240v "semi industrial" welder from a local company that made them, the equivalent to a nice Lincoln or similar. That ran fine from a 13a plug for most work and you would only be pushing up to needing a high amperage supply for welding really thick stuff together. Intact even down at the workshop when we are welding thick brackets for trailers together we generally manage fine on a 13a supply.

[finishing touch]

I have to smile as your post starts with;

"Need a half decent MIG for my workshop, has to be able to do up to 5mm plate for brackets as well as general bodywork fabrication."

and ends with;

" Budget is £2-300 "

No offence intended but thats like saying, I'd like a 300 bhp sports car but it needs to do 45 mpg.




I bought a Lincoln 210 second hand for £400 and a 15% Hobbyweld gas cylinder and a gas reg that added another £100.
Specifically for car stuff I also bought a 4m long 150amp torch (£75) as the one that came with it was a 3m x 250amp.
Ideal for the thick stuff but a bit unwieldy for bodywork. £575 in total but it's payed for itself many times over.


Good s/h stuff will hold its value should you ever wish to sell so you can't loose.


I think you need to reduce your requirements or up the budget.

Paul G

[Mikey G]

finishing touch said:

" Budget is £2-300 "

Dont just cut the quote off at that point, I did say I would up the budget for the right welder and I am fully aware of the extras required, a package of around £500 would be maximum but there is a lot of crap on ebay, Looking at the advice so far i'm avoiding SIP and Sealey but one or 2 of the Clarke models are having good reviews and I promised not to buy one. But R-Tech keep coming up in conversations as well as Parweld and GYS which all seem to be getting good reviews which may tempt me to go new instead but that will put my package over budget.

[E-bmw]

Sorry to state the obvious but even the lowliest 110 amp mig will do 5mm steel.

I have a 110 I bought second hand (but virtually unused) for £60 over 5 years ago & have done 5 & even 6mm steel & stainless MANY times.

[hidetheelephants]

Any of these will do what you want; other welding equipment suppliers are available.

[DrDeAtH]

Look at R Tech they have a good aftersales backup.

[finishing touch]

Mikey G said:

Dont just cut the quote off at that point, I did say I would up the budget for the right welder and I am fully aware of the extras required, a package of around £500 would be maximum but there is a lot of crap on ebay, Looking at the advice so far i'm avoiding SIP and Sealey but one or 2 of the Clarke models are having good reviews and I promised not to buy one. But R-Tech keep coming up in conversations as well as Parweld and GYS which all seem to be getting good reviews which may tempt me to go new instead but that will put my package over budget.

Sorry Mikey to cut you off but I was merely trying to say that I went the second hand route but still payed the best part of £600.
Thats without the mask & safety wear that we need, or already have.

A word that bothers me is "decent". I assume this means different things to different people.
As a pro welder of some 40 years I would regard a "decent" make as a name that would be found in industry. Maybe the single phase home version
will be the smaller model, but still made to an industrial quality, hence my Lincoln 210 (which is 185amp true output btw).

Others might regard a Chinese made, but sold by a UK company with their backup, to be "decent".

Even the "lot of crap on eBay" pleases some. The old bottom line again.


My advice would be, buy the best you can stretch to as it will pay for itself many times over, and the right one will hold its value.
Buy one with many small voltage increments as this will enable the perfect setting for thin bodywork to be obtained.
My Lincoln does every half a volt.

Paul G

[handpaper]

DrDeAtH said:

Look at R Tech they have a good aftersales backup.

My son has just bought their MIG180 for use at home. He's a welder by trade, and reckons it's as good (in its capacity) as the Lincoln and Miller kit he uses at work.
It does MIG and MMA, comes with Euro torch and gas regulator, and costs £400 + VAT, delivered next day.

[227bhp]

E-bmw said:

Sorry to state the obvious but even the lowliest 110 amp mig will do 5mm steel.

I have a 110 I bought second hand (but virtually unused) for £60 over 5 years ago & have done 5 & even 6mm steel & stainless MANY times.

It isn't the upper levels cheaper welders have problems with, it's the lower levels (thin metal).

This same subject (welders) comes up practically every week and the same stuff gets repeated over and over again, here is my oft repeated quote.
The more expensive the welder, the easier it is to use and get a good result. So as a beginner you're always going to find it difficult.

[E-bmw]

227bhp said:

E-bmw said:

Sorry to state the obvious but even the lowliest 110 amp mig will do 5mm steel.

I have a 110 I bought second hand (but virtually unused) for £60 over 5 years ago & have done 5 & even 6mm steel & stainless MANY times.

It isn't the upper levels cheaper welders have problems with, it's the lower levels (thin metal).

This same subject (welders) comes up practically every week and the same stuff gets repeated over and over again, here is my oft repeated quote.
The more expensive the welder, the easier it is to use and get a good result. So as a beginner you're always going to find it difficult.

I won't argue with you, my reply was aimed at the earlier poster who implied that a £200/300 welder won't do 5mm steel.

[SamR380]

As much as I'd love a Miller or Lincoln inverter machine, as a complete amateur hobbyist, I can't argue with the value provided by a second-hand Clarke machine. If you get one of the later red coloured ones it'll be just fine. If you're careful it'll manage to butt sheet <1mm on the lowest power level, it's as much about the prep and fit (gap).

This is an SD1 inner sill, probably 1.2mm and I'm pretty sure I was using power level 3/6 on my Clarke 160. I'm not confident enough to get a proper bead going, with the heat build up from a bead a lower power setting would be required.

[Mikey G]

After deliberating and researching till the cows come home I took the opportunity of 10% off on ebay and bought the R Tech 180A inverter MIG. Its over budget but a good deal considering with the discount at £430. I decided I needed the lighter weight of an inverter MIG due to my workshop having 2 floors and carrying a 30kg plus welder upstairs isnt easy. And the used offerings or cheap chinese specials didnt inspire confidence, guess i'll have to do some overtime to cover it but think it was the best choice.