I would like to replace my aged SIP 130 mig welder . I would like a bit more power and a much more reliable wirefeed, what can people recommend from experience, I like the look of the Red Clarke machines...........how many amps do I need for 6mm metal?
Rescued attachment Clarke-151TE.jpg

I recently bought a clarke 160T which is superb compared to the COSMO 130 i had, which is the same as your but rebranded.
For 6 mm steel you should easily weld with the 150

How much do you want to spend?

I had a clarke 150 TE and it was not really capable of welding 6mm properly. They may claim it is but it's not.

I replaced the Clarke with an "ERP" 210 (or 230, can't remember) which was £400 from Weld Uk ltd. not cheap but better than the Clarke by a truly undescribable amount!!!!!!!!!!!!




here's the details:

weld uk ERP mig

heh heh, just read your post about the wirefeed. that was why I got rid of my clarke 150!!

The ERP machine uses a Euro torch, so it's easy to replace the lead, liner etc.

The feed mech is much stronger and it will easily weld 6mm. In fact it will weld 10mm to the same std that the clarke 150 will do 6mm!!

To be honest, the thickest that my clarke ever made a proper job (100% penetration on full power) of was the roll cage in my rally car, and that was only 2.5mm wall tube.

I'm not surprised about the optimistic amps/mm claims , I was guessing that I would need 185 - 200 to weld 6mm properly.

Which is getting marginal for a 230v domestic socket I think!

Don't bother with those clarke things .....Cebora 185amp on a 13 amp plug will out do those things anyday....cheaper than you think as well for a proper bit of kit....I have had one for 4 years and hammered the thing....made way too many chassis and wishbones with it, only thing to go wrong was the torch but that was my fault for resting it on a joint i had just welded.....Not a smart thing to do

If £400 is within your budget that's what I paid for a Lincoln Electric 185 from BOC.

Mick

Cebora (MIG) and Lincoln (TIG)....
Got 'em both in the workshop Dave!
Pop in and have a word with Stu...if you are at home!
Fozzie

Cebora 180, had it nine years, no problems at all.

Well respected in the welding trade.

quote:

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Originally posted by Surrey Dave
I'm not surprised about the optimistic amps/mm claims , I was guessing that I would need 185 - 200 to weld 6mm properly.

Which is getting marginal for a 230v domestic socket I think!

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stick it directly into a 20 amp breaker on your garage consumer unit, make sure it doesnt have any cable thinner than 2.5mm 3 core flex and you cant really go wrong Garages should always have an RCD anyway, super safe.

got a 45 amp breaker for the garage (with RCD as well) and no cable less than 6mm (45 amp) all the way to the sockets!

Practical Classics have done a thing on small migs this month. SIP Migmate 105 came out top with Screwfix 13189 recommended and Clarke MIG 85ENB as budget buy.

these are all small machines anyone any comments on these from real locost experience?

Caber

As I said further up, I was okish for a while with ym Clarke 150 TE which i thought was a very small machine with low output. One of those really small ones is just not worth it in my opinion.

For the time it takes to save up another £100 it is worth doing to save the hassle with the small machine and the limited work it can do.