thoughts on clarke welders?

[willz2155]

i just got this clarke 180 en mig, cart, tank, and three spools of wire off of craigslist tonight for $300. i have about five min of welding experience under my belt, so im going to be doing a lot of practicing before i touch the gun to the rod. the guy i bought it from said he lost all the manuals that came with it, but i could find them some where on line he just couldnt remember the site. anyone out there know what website would have manuals for clarke that i can download? thanks.

 

[Tripper]

Ground!!!

I'm sure u can go to the Clarke website & get the info. My best advice besides practice is make sure you have a good ground!

Here's a link to some other Clark migs that may help...
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/richard...100E_150TE.pdf

BoB

 

[willz2155]

thanks for the link, every little bit is going to help.

 

[Bonehead]

I don't know much about the Clark welders, I have seen the arc welders for years, usually on a farm. Should be okay, just practice a bunch before you weld anything important.

 

[willz2155]

thats the plan im going to borrow a generator from my buddy, and start mangling as much scrap as i can get my hands on.

 

[Sam_Fear]

I've got a Clarke 135 I picked up the same way. My manual has suggested settings for both the 135 and 180. If you can't find it online, I can copy mine. Not much else of use in it really. I haven't done a lot of welding and this is the only MIG I've ever used, so can't compare, but I'm OK with it. Wish I had a bigger unit though. USE GAS - no gas is a messy pain.

 

[Gearhead10]

I had a welder just like that I bought new.Worked pretty well for sheet metal but weld anything over 1/4 inch and you'll over work it and damage the rectifyer inside unit.I later sold it and got a Hobart 175.Don't use flux core wire,makes a mess and you don't get the penatration you need. Best thing you can do is practice w/scrap pieces and you'll learn just what heat setting & wire speed works for you.

 

[35Mastr]

Dont know much about Clarke welders.I am Miller fan myself.But from your pics.It has a roll of flux core wire and a bottle attached to it.Use up that roll of wire while you practice.Dont turn the bottle on.You just be waisting the gas.Then get yourself a roll of mild steel wire that is gas sheilded.And then you can use the bottle for that.Just keep welding till you feel comfortable.After that the skys the limit.

 

[Sam_Fear]

35Mastr's post made me think: CHECK THE POLARITY OF THE GROUND BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING!!!! Gas and no gas are opposite - there is a chart on the inside.

 

[willz2155]

thanks for the info. the guy i got it from game me the bottle even though its empty so i can use the turn in program and get a new one for $20. my plan was to burn through the two rolls of flux core before i went out and refilled the tank, i figure i wont feel so bad messing up with the free stuff.

 

[dmw56]

Great buy on the welder. One suggestion, if you do a lot of welding or even a fair amount you will definitely want a bigger bottle or another spare. Nothings worse than running out of gas in the middle of a project.

 

[eugene vik]

gas

go with the gas and use solid wire, the other stuff wont weld decent
make sure you do tha polarity

bought a bunch of 110 vt wire feeds w /wrong polarity and got them almost free after they would not weld
got tired of them and bought a small lincoln, good welder 220Vt and finally sold it when not using it and now miss a lot
got 2 Millers but they are kinda big for sheet metal

 

[willz2155]

thanks for all the info, everything helps since im figuring this out on my own you know.

 

[CAM]

Clarke welders

http://www.clarkeusa.com/manuals/we/

Hi have a 180 here and have used it a lot.
Good little welder for the average projects.
Use the big Lincoln stick machine for the heavies.

 

[Sam_Fear]

If you're going to use that flux core for anything besides practice, at least get a can of anti-spatter - it'll help some.

 

[Ratcrazy]

Got the shaft

Bought a Hobart 135, 110 volt welder from a fellow who replied to my request on Graigslist last week. Gave 300 for the used welder which at the time seemed to be a good deal being the guy claimed to work for Hobart and trained through Hobart. I did try it out at his house for a couple of small spot welds and then again at home day before yesterday with a couple of good burns on some 3/16 with great penitration. Long story short the stinking thing when south while out in the garage today putting a patch panel in my cab. Oh yeah he also claimed it was only a year old but after going on line today to download a manual on it it turns out to be 8 years old. Imaging that

This guy used the welder with a bottle [75/25] but never changed the settings on the machine from flux core wire to bottle gas and solid wire. While trying to see what was wrong with it today is when I notice that the welder was wire for flux core wire and not solid wire w/ bottle.

I guess my question is will running the welder with a bottle hurt it by being wire for flux core wire and not changing the polarity?

I took the + side and reversed the wiring from the - side and struck an arc but only for a second or so and then put it all back like it was and the thing worked long enough to do three spot welds and over heated and stopped. GRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Any ideas what I might try before hauling it to the repair shop and spending more on it?

Thanks

 

[RatHead]

I like my Clarke welder..

 

[Rev Tex Devlle]

i heard they are good till the break ,, the lincoln man said parts are hard to get ahold of,, but ya know howthat is!!! buy it here we can fix it,, lol!!RTD

 

[LordMaximo]

Bigest problem you apprentice welders will come into as you begin to perfect your touch, is to keep the tip out of the slag. Once you ground out your tip and electrode, you will eventually foul your welder and cause a curent over load. This over load will litterally fry your main control board and then you will be paying around $300 to get the welder fixed. And if you are first getting a 220V welder, make sure your wall socket is wired correctly for the welder. Other wise you will simply burn it up on the first go around and have nothing.

Sorry for the dark cloud, just thought you should know up front the possible down falls of what can happen to your new investment.

A slag build up in the tip will ruin it real fast. Just be mindfull of your tip position, and to bring you back to a more happy experience, IMO, it actually is worth the time to take a beginners welding coarse at your local VoTech.
It only makes you a more confident and educated person, and I tell my kids the same thing, to all 16 of them, School Rules and Rocks when you know what you are doing the first time around!

Gotta love this kind of hobby and make the best of your situation all.

Maximo