Recommend a starter welder

[pablo]

Id love to learn how to weld so could anyone recommend a starter welder I could get that will be decent enough for light use? Gas? Gasless?

I presume the more basic stuff works off normal mains ok?

Budget around £300 for all I need (mask etc)

 

[Ollie]

Gasless or disposable gas bottles will leave you frustrated and could put you off welding. I would recommend something second hand that takes a big bottle. 180-200amps. Euro torch. You can get bottles filled with co2 handy enough.

 

[Blackie]

Gasless or disposable gas bottles will leave you frustrated and could put you off welding. I would recommend something second hand that takes a big bottle. 180-200amps. Euro torch. You can get bottles filled with co2 handy enough.

This. I have a friend who went gasless first and realised that he should’ve went for gas first.

Could have avoided much frustration and had better quality, better finished welds from the get-go had he went with gas first.

 

[Coog]

I was advised to go gasless first then upgrade to the bigger bottles and regulators instead of spending similar money on a gas welder with the hobby bottles then upgrading that. It meant I got a better machine for the money.

7 odd years later I've yet to convert it lol but will do the day I need to sort bodywork out.

 

[pablo]

I really dont fancy the space requirements and hassle of gas bottles etc. for all it will actually get used for

 

[Antoin]

Don't go near gasless if you plan to weld any car bodywork.
Try to get a decent make second hand with a full size regulator instead of the disposables.

A cheaper (no rental charge way of getting gas) is to use a CO2 fire extinguisher and use it upside down. this will do you until you see if you take to it.

Argon mix is nicer to use with a nicer weld and much more forgiving on thin metal but that will require either buying a bottle and get charged for refills or rent a bottle and get charged for refills.

I started with a Sealey 130amp on disposables. ***** welder but it got me into it and eventually upgraded.
The Clarke machines get good reviews on the migwelding forum for a starter welder.
SIP seems to be the most common "motorfactors" welder that is about.

 

[chopaholic]

100% go for gas straight away, gasless/small gas bottles would put you off.

As other people have mentioned, buy a second hand decent branded one, you often see them on FB market place, even something in need of basic parts like a torch.

Masks can be got from eBay cheap.

 

[Antoin]

Even Lidl do masks for feck all.
30quid would get you an auto darkening mask

 

[Antoin]

You could take a chance on ebay for one of the many cheap Chinese inverter mig welders.
Sub £200 would get you a gas mig welder. Type in Rohr 150amp in ebay and that will bring up a few.
Pot luck if it works out of the box and support for them if it does go wrong is anybodies guess. That Rohr crowd say they have UK support but who knows?

 

[John_MK5]

R Tech 0% finance. Do not waste your time and money buying second hand unless you know what to look for. Gasless welders shouldn’t even be considered.

 

[eamon343]

I have a sealey mightmig gasless and it does the job, and can be upgraded to gas anyway.

@lightning, how much is the gas conversion kit for the sealey welders?

 

[Coog]

Even Lidl do masks for feck all.
30quid would get you an auto darkening mask

Lidl have welders in aswell. No idea how good they are but I suppose it depends what you're doing with it also.

 

[Nicky]

Go for a gas welder.

For gas, head to Denis Wilson’s and get a StarGas bottle which is a 1 off payment for the bottle rental (refundable at any time when you return the bottle) and your first fill.

For a welder, I’d say to look at a MIG with a Euro torch and something around 150amp. You’ll be able to run this off a 13amp plug, so no need to upgrade electrics in the garage or anything. Opting for something bigger means you’ve less control between preset power settings, making welding lighter stuff a bit harder, whereas a 150amp welder will be ideal. I’ve a 210amp MIG and she’s a bit ignorant for panels and sill repairs, though ideal for making frames and props for the building work and repairing the lorry bodies where it all 3-6mm steel.

Budget for a good auto darkening mask, a decent grinder for cleaning surfaces prior to welding, a good selection of clamps and plenty of abrasive wheels/flap discs.

Edit - don’t waste time with CO2 either. Argoshield is specifically designed for MIG a welding, and going for the StarGas bottle from Wilson’s means you could get a bottle of Star MIG Light. You could very easily be put off welding by using poor quality gas, practising on rusty steel/scrap and having a crap welder. If you do get a welder, get some off cuts of new steel to practice on and get to know the machine instead of old scrap that’ll have the welder spitting and spluttering and the wire sticking to it like sheite to a blanket...

 

[Antoin]

Lidl have welders in aswell. No idea how good they are but I suppose it depends what you're doing with it also.

It'll be the same chinese mig welder as any other just in Lidl/ Parkside colours. At least with Lidl it will have a decent warranty.

 

[John_MK5]

You could buy a brand new r tech like this, comes with torch, earth lead gas hose etc.

it’s a bit more expensive now but will be cheaper in the long run. They have top notch after sales.

R-Tech 180 Amp Portable Inverter Mig Welder (240v)

Mig Welder R-Tech MIG180

www.r-techwelding.co.uk

 

[stevyg]

Using 75/25 Argon CO2 or even just straight CO2 with MIG is the way to go, very versatile especially for working on cars at lower voltages. Flux core has a lot of splatter and the welds look like a dogs dinner. A stick welder will burn holes through car parts too easily. TIG make beautiful looking welds but I'd start with a MIG & practice a lot. Upgrade from there once you're comfortable. Miller makes a combo welder, MIG, TIG & Stick. That would be the way to go if you can stretch the budget.

 

[Woodcutter]

I think I have a wee 130 Mig machine lying about work, it’s old stock so wont be dear.

 

[Ollie]

A switch went on my r250. They got it lifted and returned within a week and even offered me a courtesy welder r tech is 100%

 

[Ollie]

@pablo If you're local to Belfast, colinglen fuels does gas. A bottle is £70 refundable and £30 a fill which lasts me ages. Used it at least once a week on ods and ends.

 

[Antoin]

@pablo If you're local to Belfast, colinglen fuels does gas. A bottle is £70 refundable and £30 a fill which lasts me ages. Used it at least once a week on ods and ends.

NIFEX (Charlie) is up there as well thats who I get my gas off.
They are right beside each other lol

 

[Ollie]

NIFEX (Charlie) is up there as well thats who I get my gas off.
They are right beside each other lol

Yeah sorry thats who I mean. Thought it was the same crowd.

 

[Antoin]

Yeah sorry thats who I mean. Thought it was the same crowd.

I think a lot of people think that. If you come in the top gate they are the first you see and assume its NIFEX and end up doing their business there rather than heading to Charlie. Id say he loses a bit of business that way TBH.
Last time I was up i thought he had revamped his place!

 

[adzy]

I have a sealey mighty mig 150, I run it off the disposable small gas bottles. And tbh it does the job fine, I only use it occasionally and and small bottles have lasted a lot longer than I expected.

 

[mr_s81]

You could buy a brand new r tech like this, comes with torch, earth lead gas hose etc.

it’s a bit more expensive now but will be cheaper in the long run. They have top notch after sales.

R-Tech 180 Amp Portable Inverter Mig Welder (240v)

Mig Welder R-Tech MIG180

www.r-techwelding.co.uk

This is what I went for on the 0% offer. Great welder and my first project was to patch up the old rotten deck on my ride on mower. It has a 3 year warranty and I must say I'm very pleased with it to date.

 

[-Pete-]

I'm in the same camp as @Nicky and @John_MK5. I would just get something decent from the outset instead of faffing with second hand dung. Unless you wanted it just for doing some fab work like building a bench or shelving etc then a cheap and nasty second hand stick welder will get you started but as you're probably planning car stuff , a mig is the way you'll need to go.
R tech stuff is very good and their service is excellent with all serviceable stuff too. I would honestly recommend just getting one of their entry level mig units and go to either denis wilsons or mac autoparts for the star gas. I use stargas for my co2 mix and pure argon for my tig welder and theyre spot on. Both come in 10litre, 20 litre and 47 litre bottles.
if you can stretch to a 200 amp machine may as well give yourself the capacity and with the duty cycle, the same as compressors, you want some overhead should you need instead of just ragging the balls out of a 150 when you want to do something heavier which inevitably will happen once you try and make your first chassis or roll cage from scratch


summary - rtech mig with stargas co2 and youll have it years and it will do all you need (until you want to do stainless or aluminium or titanium fancy welding then its a slippery slope! )