E30 Zone

Hi guys, Firstly I hope everyone is having a lovely Christmas and wish everyone a Happy new year!

Now I'm looking to take up a bit of welding in the new year and with a scrap car just sitting there what better place to practice?

I was asking for opinions from the Welding gods on this site.

I've done a bit of MIG welding in the past and I'm not too bad as I was being taught by a Very capable welder himself..

Now I'm looking to get my own and am looking at this for a start-up welder:



https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/151te-turbo-mig-welder/

Machine mart has a VAT free day coming up so it would probably be the best time to get it.

Any opinions welcomed

I'm a welder fabricator,that looks ok for a beginners set.Ill take its for car welding and not structura work etcl. I'm sure you probably know but before welding on cars always disconect the battery.

ah wrote:I'm a welder fabricator,that looks ok for a beginners set.Ill take its for car welding and not structura work etcl. I'm sure you probably know but before welding on cars always disconect the battery.

It sounds like you would be the perfect person to ask about this then lol

Yea it would only be for small welding on cars only..Mainly for patching corroded parts etc

I'll be honest its just another skill I would like to master, and with a scrap car sitting there it would be the perfect place to cut and weld areas for practice.

Iv had that one for years ,and run it on cheap beer gas and successfuly stuck two wrecks back together,if you have a little expreince you should have the hobby welder laying a nice bead and dailed in soon.good luck. love your thread on ya vert,its kept me going on mine!

andysheep wrote:Iv had that one for years ,and run it on cheap beer gas and successfuly stuck two wrecks back together,if you have a little expreince you should have the hobby welder laying a nice bead and dailed in soon.good luck. love your thread on ya vert,its kept me going on mine!

Thank you mate! That means alot

I can give some advice if you need it ,but not knowing how you know and how much welding you've done I'm a bit stuck.To be honest I haven't done much car stuff but if can help in any other aspect of welding let me know.

ah wrote:I can give some advice if you need it ,but not knowing how you know and how much welding you've done I'm a bit stuck.To be honest I haven't done much car stuff but if can help in any other aspect of welding let me know.

Thanks I will bear that in mind when I buy a welder

I looked at one of these for my garage at home (have a big MIG in the workshop) and wanted something to run off a 13amp, I ended up with a slightly larger machine which is the 160TN (not much more money) and its spot on for the money and once set up has welded cars, bike frames and some quite heavy plate with no issues. I also use a Hobby Weld bottle with no rental as its not used too much at home.

Neilios wrote:I looked at one of these for my garage at home (have a big MIG in the workshop) and wanted something to run off a 13amp, I ended up with a slightly larger machine which is the 160TN (not much more money) and its spot on for the money and once set up has welded cars, bike frames and some quite heavy plate with no issues. I also use a Hobby Weld bottle with no rental as its not used too much at home.

This one?



Whats the differences between that and the 151TE? It looks like the 151TE does more to me but I am a newbie at this lol

Hi , I have used this welder to do a small patch up job and it's a great little welder , just be aware that you get a smoother and cleaner weld if you use it with The gas bottle.

snowman wrote:Hi , I have used this welder to do a small patch up job and it's a great little welder , just be aware that you get a smoother and cleaner weld if you use it with The gas bottle.

Thanks mate

The main difference between the two is that the 160TM has a higher duty cycle than the 151TE.

Powerwise they will be the same, 150Amps max from a 13amp 230AC single phase supply.....

kam-325i wrote:The main difference between the two is that the 160TM has a higher duty cycle than the 151TE.

What does that mean?

Ben

It basically means you can do more welding before the "overheat" kicks in.

The 151TE has a duty cycle of 60% @ 65 amps.

as a example, it means you can weld @ 65amps for 6 mins out of every 10 minutes.

i wouldn't be too worried about the duty cycle as you will be welding with very low settings, and letting it cool to avoid distortion

As others have said pub c02 is a good option, cheap and you won't have to change bottles constantly

like willnz said avoid flux not only is it messy but also burns hotter - although I'd disagree that pure argon is the best you want c02 in the mix

jimmyspeed wrote: I'd disagree that pure argon is the best you want c02 in the mix

Definitely some CO2 needed, but there's no need to cadge CO2 cylinders from your local pub these days (as I did, when I first started MIG welding.) Plenty of places (try your local motor factors) do assorted gasses now, where you pay a one off refundable deposit on the cylinder, and swap it for a relatively cheap refill as and when you need it.

Thanks for all the advice guys..its exactly what I needed!

I'll be honest I didn't even know you could weld without gas as the one at my old work had a gas canister attached to it and we had to adjust it to get the best welds.

Im looking forward to getting one and messing around now

Are the ones i put up good enough or can anyone recommend another product?

After a couple of brand new DIY and semi DIY models, I went for a semi professional second hand welder off of ebay that was local to me. The difference in performance, especially in wire feed, is the difference between night and day.

Brianmoooore wrote:After a couple of brand new DIY and semi DIY models, I went for a semi professional second hand welder off of ebay that was local to me. The difference in performance, especially in wire feed, is the difference between night and day.

Euro torch conversion FTW!

I bought a 186 a good few years ago after buying a cheaper clarke set and not getting very far.

£620 is a lot to pay but results were far superior

https://www.weldequip.com/portamig-mig-welders.htm

Leigh

hmm all depends on how serious I want to get with it I guess. .

bigbird76 wrote: after buying a cheaper clarke set and not getting very far.

£620 is a lot to pay but results were far superior

https://www.weldequip.com/portamig-mig-welders.htm

That's about the level of machine I bought second hand - £600's worth of welder for DIY price.
I put a new earth lead and clamp on it, plus a new mains cable, and apart from a bit of bubbling around the edges of the red metalwork, it's as new.