Welding advice

JebLZ · Jan 21, 2015

Would an 80A gasless mig be sufficient for any small welding jobs (patching holes in chassis or bulkhead or rear crossmember, etc) that might crop up in a banged up defender?

If not, what would be the minimum? I think the chassis is 2mm, right? Is the rear cross member or bulkhead any thicker?

I'm completely new to welding and like the idea of buying an old defender that only needs (at worst) minor repairing, and it seems like small chassis holes are common on cheap-ish defenders, and most would be an MOT-fail as a result. I have somebody's old 80A welder and am wondering if that would be fit for purpose or would it be better to buy a 150A one or something, or just pay a professional of course

trax · Jan 21, 2015

80 is pretty low, i think you will struggle and gasless isn't great. if you have it already then have a go

chrisstdt · Jan 21, 2015

Even if you had to buy a bigger one it would pay for itself after the first couple of patches

tottot · Jan 21, 2015

trax said:
80 is pretty low, i think you will struggle and gasless isn't great. if you have it already then have a go

Agree with trax,to small and will be difficult use well. Look up beginners section on Mig welding forum plenty of good info.

Karls · Jan 21, 2015

JebLZ said:
?..and like the idea of buying an old defender that only needs (at worst) minor repairing...

And stop right there

I like that idea too but, and trust me on this, you will never find one :lol:

JebLZ · Jan 21, 2015

I thought that would be the case. Oh well - it'll take me a few months to save for a defender anyway - my initial idea of budget was 2-3k bit I reckon that will buy me a lemon so am looking at 4-5k now, there seem to be more decent-ish ones in that range.

I'll practice with my little 80A and invest in a better one if I need later. Cheers guys!

dag019 · Jan 21, 2015

JebLZ said:
I thought that would be the case. Oh well - it'll take me a few months to save for a defender anyway - my initial idea of budget was 2-3k bit I reckon that will buy me a lemon so am looking at 4-5k now, there seem to be more decent-ish ones in that range.

I'll practice with my little 80A and invest in a better one if I need later. Cheers guys!

3k will buy you a defender with an MOT that will need work but would be derivable and a good basis. You just need to be careful you choose the right one.

In terms of the welding I have never had good results using gasless, but you can get some decent starter kits second hand relatively cheaply that will be more powerful. I found mine (180A Clarke with full CO2 bottle) for £100 on gumtree.

Shifty1962 · Jan 21, 2015

Always buy the best you can in terms of tools because as you get better at using them you'll be cursing the fact that they are not man enough. I'd recommend a minimum 140amp mig but the difference in cost between that and a 180-200amp is minimal so buy the biggest you can afford. Some of the cheap chinky ones are good value for money but dont expect them to last long. I changed over to Tig when my mig went bang and I get much better looking welds but it takes longer than mig.

JebLZ · Jan 21, 2015

3k will buy you a defender with an MOT that will need work but would be derivable and a good basis. You just need to be careful you choose the right one.

That's what I'm looking for yep, wanna be able to drive it for a while and for nothing major to need fixing until I build some experience. I've seen a few for around £3250 that make me interested. Will see what's available when I have the funds.

With the 180A MIG, is that on to run on standard single phase 240V? I had heard that anything over 150A would need a 3-phase, especially if using extension cables. Would be nice if I could use a 180A though!

trax · Jan 21, 2015

JebLZ said:
That's what I'm looking for yep, wanna be able to drive it for a while and for nothing major to need fixing until I build some experience. I've seen a few for around £3250 that make me interested. Will see what's available when I have the funds.

With the 180A MIG, is that on to run on standard single phase 240V? I had heard that anything over 150A would need a 3-phase, especially if using extension cables. Would be nice if I could use a 180A though!

i'd say most people get rid of vehicles when they need to spend some cash on them and they no longer want them

trax · Jan 21, 2015

JebLZ said:
With the 180A MIG, is that on to run on standard single phase 240V? I had heard that anything over 150A would need a 3-phase, especially if using extension cables. Would be nice if I could use a 180A though!

brand and quality are a big thing here

portamig 185 input 16A
portamig 235 input fuse 25A

single phase.. depends on the quality of the components.. also duty cycle shows that

cheaper quality units are not as efficient

keep in mind normal sockets are 13amp, but you can run 32A or whatever from your consumer box and use 32A sockets and rated wiring to your shed.

but for 13amp, yeah 150 probably about max before issues/trips

also, you are meant to totally unroll your ext reel if you are using 13amp

bluedog333 · Jan 21, 2015

Conversely, make sure the welder has a low enough setting for panel work, it's all very well being able to chuck out 150A, but if the lowest setting is 50A you're going to be cutting panels (eg bulkhead) rather than welding them! Gasless is sh*t, but can come in handy as long as you've got the gas option.
80A max setting is too low though!

Locky1978 · Jan 21, 2015

Don't go with gasless of you can help it. I've used gas for a long time now, I used a friends gasless welder recently and it's like night and day. Gasless gives poor welds on anything but perfect steel.

TheJoker · Jan 22, 2015

I've seen the damage a gasless MIG can do. Stay away at all cost.

Ian46 · Jan 22, 2015

TheJoker said:
I've seen the damage a gasless MIG can do. Stay away at all cost.

+1 to that. They are absolute crap. A gas mig is the one you want and for welding landy chassis you need a 150amp. A 130amp will weld them but my Cebora 130 soon gets hot and switches off.

JebLZ · Jan 22, 2015

Nice one, thanks for the advice. I'll keep my eye on gumtree/ebay for some bargains.

trax · Jan 22, 2015

Ian46 said:
+1 to that. They are absolute crap. A gas mig is the one you want and for welding landy chassis you need a 150amp. A 130amp will weld them but my Cebora 130 soon gets hot and switches off.

150 doesn't mean it'll be any better. you need to look at duty cycles.

Landyfox · Jan 22, 2015

I use the Clark 135TE Turbo and have found that it manages admirably with most jobs.

IamRobbie · Jan 23, 2015

i had a gasless 90amp and it did me for a few little jobs while i learnt, then i got hold of a 150 i think mine is with gas, a lot better for patching ect but not the best for the real thick stuff.

practice with the 80 amp then move up.

lurch915 · Jan 23, 2015

Unless it's a massive amount of work I prefer stick welding, much better penetration for the thick stuff .

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