Welder for home use

[paulhipwood]

Hi All
I need to have some welding on my car.
I have welded at work; but have had the welders supervise my efforts - much to their amusement.
I have seen various home welders for sale.
Can anyone recommend a suitable system.

paul

 

[Dave's E55 AMG]

these aren't bad depends on your budget they do have other cheaper and more expensive ones, but I'd stick with a MIG

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/100e-mig-welder/path/diy-mig-welders

 

[hotrodder]

Avoid SIP welders. Butters and Clarke are both well respected DIY brands. Don't be tempted by cheap gasless MIGs- you really want solid wire and a CO2/argon gas mix for automotive sheetmetal. Disposable gas bottles are a waste of money, there's a few places around that supply refillable cylinders without rental (required by BOC and AirProducts), google 'adams gas' for more info

 

[popuptoaster]

you want something that will adjust down quite low so you can weld the thinner steel on cars, 140amp max will do anything on a car and not stress your power supply to much, if you want to use it a lot the continous weld rating will be important so you dont have to keep waiting for it to cool down, the wire feed on the SIP welders is rubbish and will ruin your attempts, anything from 2-300 quid for a decent hobby MIG, the best investment after the MIG is a self darkening visor, it'll improve your welding no end. Disposable bottles are fine for casual use, easy to store and transport and no worries about trying to find someone to fill a full size jobby.

 

[Aussie Nick]

Try The Inverter

I don't know what some of the welding buffs here think of the inverter welders but I think that they are ok and easy to use(once you get the hang of it).
I have tried all of the above and agree with the others .By far the mig is probably the best to use . However you have to rent those damn gas bottles to get enough decent supply of the Argon which may preclude you going down that path. I found the inverter produces a very good weld and even a small inverter will provide a penetrating weld to repair a front end loader or excavator bucket.
I found with the inverter that the cheaper Murex rods produced a better and more consistent weld than the more expensive Aussie ones (CIG). I was also advised to reverse the polarity for the welding of the thicker plate and this seemed to work better than the conventional wiring method i.e. negative to rod and positive to welder. Apparently this heats up the plate more than the rod enabling the use of the welder where the plate is thin or rusty without burning through. Hope this is of some benefit to you on a very interesting topic not often seen here on this forum.