Gasless hobby welder?

[Jimmy No Hands]

Evening all,

Just looking for advice really, I am in need of a welder. I see these hobby type gasless ones pop up for not very much money and I'm just wondering if they're actually any use. I won't be doing any heavy fabrication or thick stuff, just small automotive repairs. I can MIG/MAG/TIG/gas weld perfectly fine but I've never actually tried one of these gas-less hobby units so I'm just wondering if I'm better saving up and investing in a proper one or whether one of these will do the trick for what I require.


Jim

Edit: I've found of those little Wolf 140 Gas or Gasless units for around £170, are these my best bet? At least I have the option then.

Edited by Jimmy No Hands on Tuesday 2nd April 13:48

[Mr2Mike]

Gasless is 'ok' for occasional use, or for use outside where it works better than gas shielding in windy conditions. However the wire is expensive, the welds don't seem to be as neat as gas (that might just be me, but I can get much nicer welds with gas shielding) and it covers the surrounding metal in a white powdery residue that you have to wire brush off. It also seems to spatter more.

If it's just for the odd bit of welding the small gas bottles are fine. The high capacity ones from e.g. Machine Mart last a pretty good length of time if you don't go mad with the regulator setting, and remember to turn it off after use. At the very least I would go for a dual purpose machine that can be used with gas shielding or glassless wire. I started out with a Clarke 105EN which made a good job of attaching new sills and rear arches to my Astra GTE, but after buying a gas bottle for it I never went back to gasless. I built most of a Locost chassis with that welder and a single high capacity disposable bottle. Obviously if you ever intend to weld thick stuff, more current is needed.

[oakdale]

Gasless is quite poor compared to the gas type particulary when welding thin materials like car bodywork and exhausts.

[Jimmy No Hands]

Mike I've sourced a Clarke 90EN locally for not much money. I believe it is of the gas or gasless type. I will need to buy a regulator separately as it doesn't come with one. Having done a bit of reading the Clarkes do seem to be preferred over the Wolf sort. I am going to take a look tonight.


Edit: Thanks for moving mods, got a bit more attention in here.

[Mr2Mike]

Jimmy No Hands said:

Mike I've sourced a Clarke 90EN locally for not much money. I believe it is of the gas or gasless type. I will need to buy a regulator separately as it doesn't come with one. Having done a bit of reading the Clarkes do seem to be preferred over the Wolf sort. I am going to take a look tonight.


Edit: Thanks for moving mods, got a bit more attention in here.

Yes I believe you will need to buy a regulator for it, but they are pretty cheap. If you have a hunt on eBay etc. they can be had for a tenner or so for the type that fits disposable bottles.

Edited by Mr2Mike on Thursday 4th April 13:08

[Jimmy No Hands]

Bugger sold before I could get it, however found another at a similar price which includes not only a regulator, but a mask! (Albeit probably not the auto sort, but its a start) so I'll report back once I've picked it up.