Any thoughts on this welder

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SteveM
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Any thoughts on this welder

Post by SteveM »

First, let's preface this with I know less about welding than Sam Cooke knows about history.

There's a guy locally who is selling a Clarke Weld 100e wire-fed welder (think this is MIG?).

It is missing the tank for the shielding gas, but the gun is there. Not beat up, comes with a cart. There's a big spool of wire in it.

Sorry for the fuzzy pics. Looks like it says 20 amps. Guy says it can weld up to 1/4".

Here's a link to the manual:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/richard.ma ... _150TE.pdf

So, what can this welder do and is it worth $100?

I don't have any projects in mind, but I don't expect to be welding anything really big, so size-wise, this may be OK for me, but it's like a lathe - as soon as you get one, you need a bigger one.

Steve
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ken572
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Re: Any thoughts on this welder

Post by ken572 »

Hello :!: Steve :D

If it were me, I would PASS on this one and only
because parts might be very expensive, due to
the shipping cost's coming from the UK. The Clarke
International Company, seams to be a good company
to deal with, if you live in the UK. I tried to find out
if they were a foreign division of Miller Electric, and
had know luck. Keep looking for welders close to
your home, so you can go and have have someone
weld with the machine to test it for you.

Ken. :)
One must remember.
The best learning experiences come
from working with the older Masters.
Ken.
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SteveHGraham
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Re: Any thoughts on this welder

Post by SteveHGraham »

Chinese, I believe.
Every hard-fried egg began life sunny-side up.
SteveM
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Re: Any thoughts on this welder

Post by SteveM »

SteveHGraham wrote:Chinese, I believe.
It says "Bowling Green, Ohio" on the front, but who knows what it says on the back.

Steve
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SteveHGraham
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Re: Any thoughts on this welder

Post by SteveHGraham »

There is a Chinese machine-tool company called Clarke, and I was thinking I had read something about Clarke welders coming from China. Now I think it's a different company.

Some guy at Hobart Welders claims they're Italian.

One nice thing about them: they come in both red and blue so depending on what you get, you can pretend it's Lincoln OR Miller.

http://www.hobartwelders.com/weldtalk/a ... -4226.html
Every hard-fried egg began life sunny-side up.
david5605
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Re: Any thoughts on this welder

Post by david5605 »

Go read the owners manual listed. Be sure you pick the correct chart. I'd doubt it could even weld ⅛" steel. The duty cycles are ridiculously low for ridiculously low welding amps.
Pay attention to the duty cycle. A duty cycle of 8% means it will be welding less than 1 minute out of every 10 minutes. The other 9 minutes it will be cooling.

I wouldn't take it for $25
redneckalbertan
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Re: Any thoughts on this welder

Post by redneckalbertan »

Yes you are correct, sort of, in calling it a MIG. I don't like these little 110 volt machines, that being said I thing that the Clarke welders are better than some of the Chinese stuff that you see drift ashore these days. Finding out if you can get consumables for it would certainly be important in my books, not just tips and nozzles but feed rolls and liners as well. Check for a flow meter, if it has the upgraded one (or regular flow meter), not the stock one that comes with the machine according to the manual, that would make it much more valuable. Having to use the tiny little bottles that they show could get costly. I would not want to weld 1/4" plate with this little welder. It would be great for sheet metal up to 1/8" if you are welding anything thicker, you would have to start thinking about doing it in multiple passes not one. It will also be very slow going.

I personally like Miller welders, but have not used their 110 volt units. I don't like Lincoln but their 110 volt units have impressed me, if you can find a little 110 volt lincoln I would encourage you to go that route they are a much better welder and some of the nicer ones have infinate voltage control, this Clarke does not, it is switched.

To address the nomenclature of MIG; although welding steel with a wire feed process is commonly refered to as MIG, it is not always correct. MIG is short for Metal Inert Gas, CO2 is not an inert gas. So any time you are using CO2 or a mix of it, it should not be refered to as MIG but still often is; and I'm sure my talking about it won't change much!

FCAW Flux Core Arc Welding
FCAW-S Self Shielding
FCAW-G Gas Sheilding
GMAW Gas Metal Arc Welding
GMAW-P Pulsed
GMAW-S Short-circuit

Multiple acronyms may describe the same process, if you are using a wire feed pulsed process welding aluminum with Helium, it could be called MIG, GMAW, or GMAW-P.
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ken572
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Re: Any thoughts on this welder

Post by ken572 »

redneckalbertan wrote:Yes you are correct, sort of, in calling it a MIG. I don't like these little 110 volt machines, that being said I thing that the Clarke welders are better than some of the Chinese stuff that you see drift ashore these days. Finding out if you can get consumables for it would certainly be important in my books, not just tips and nozzles but feed rolls and liners as well. Check for a flow meter, if it has the upgraded one (or regular flow meter), not the stock one that comes with the machine according to the manual, that would make it much more valuable. Having to use the tiny little bottles that they show could get costly. I would not want to weld 1/4" plate with this little welder. It would be great for sheet metal up to 1/8" if you are welding anything thicker, you would have to start thinking about doing it in multiple passes not one. It will also be very slow going.

I personally like Miller welders, but have not used their 110 volt units. I don't like Lincoln but their 110 volt units have impressed me, if you can find a little 110 volt lincoln I would encourage you to go that route they are a much better welder and some of the nicer ones have infinate voltage control, this Clarke does not, it is switched.

To address the nomenclature of MIG; although welding steel with a wire feed process is commonly refered to as MIG, it is not always correct. MIG is short for Metal Inert Gas, CO2 is not an inert gas. So any time you are using CO2 or a mix of it, it should not be refered to as MIG but still often is; and I'm sure my talking about it won't change much!

FCAW Flux Core Arc Welding
FCAW-S Self Shielding
FCAW-G Gas Sheilding
GMAW Gas Metal Arc Welding
GMAW-P Pulsed
GMAW-S Short-circuit

Multiple acronyms may describe the same process, if you are using a wire feed pulsed process welding aluminum with Helium, it could be called MIG, GMAW, or GMAW-P.
Good Morning :!: AL :D

Very Nice Write Up. :wink:

Ken. :)
One must remember.
The best learning experiences come
from working with the older Masters.
Ken.
redneckalbertan
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Re: Any thoughts on this welder

Post by redneckalbertan »

Thanks Ken!
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warmstrong1955
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Re: Any thoughts on this welder

Post by warmstrong1955 »

AL has it pretty well covered!

I have a Miller 135 110V machine. Small stuff.....1/8" or less, including stainless, I grab the little Miller, and does a good job. It will do 1/4"....but that's really about the limit, and it doesn't do it so well, or fast. So anything above 1/8", I fire up my PowCon.

So....depending on what you are doing, it could be a handy little machine machine. Things like exhaust & hydraulic tubing...they work great.
If it's all set up for gas, may not be a bad deal. Never cared for the flux shielded wires.
Not familiar with Clarke, past knowing they exist.

Bill
Today's solutions are tomorrow's problems.
redneckalbertan
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Joined: Thu Nov 01, 2012 10:39 am
Location: South Central Alberta

Re: Any thoughts on this welder

Post by redneckalbertan »

If Bill is recommending the little Miller 110 volt machine, then I would change my recomendation to finding a 110 volt Lincoln OR Miller over the Clarke.

Both Miller and Lincoln have, at least in the past, had demo trailers that would make their way around to trade shows, farm show, and the like, giving people a chance to experience their product. A quick google search should be able to tell you if and when one will be in the area. I think if you can try their product and then try the Clarke or a little Chinese machine from Harbour Freight or other off shore manufacturer, the comparison would, hands down, win over any skeptics of the benofits of "American Made" over off shore.

Regardless of what you decide buy good name brand wire for the machine! I have used cheep wire from Princess Auto (their product line is similar to HF's with a lot of items) as well as Lincoln wire in the same 110 volt machine and there is a world of a difference in the volume and amount of cursing from one to the other!
SteveM
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Re: Any thoughts on this welder

Post by SteveM »

Thanks for all the recommendations.

I may go back tomorrow (it's a garage sale) and see if I can get it really cheap, but otherwise, I think I will hold off.

I've set up a craigslist search for welders to see what pops up.

Good advice about the wire.

Steve
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