well i was looking at buying a clarke welder it is the 130EN wire feed welder can use gas but i am going to use the flux core wire as the sheilding gas it can output 130 amps and it runns on 110V 60HTZ household current....289.99 dollars.....can weld up to 3/16" mild steel...well does anyone have anything against these welders or do you think it is a good one to use just now and then for home use, nothing too special....thanks...

 

I've got a Clarke 100 amp I've had for several years. I use the .023 wire with 75/25 shielding gas, it's been pretty good. The price you were quoted is about what I paid for mine back then. I've seen the 130's at a local farm supply store with a nice cart included for about that price. Mine came with the regulator and hose, no cart, and I bought two of the 20 cubic foot gas bottles, 40 cubic foot would be better.
I've used a buddy's century with the flux core wire, guess if you were wanting to use it outside on a windy day you would have to use flux core. I didn't care much for the smoke and mine hardly ever leaves the garage and I like a nice clean weld with no slag. The slag from the flux core is very easy to chip though and it made a really smooth weld.
Mine is usually always set to the max and if you really get to going it would trip out the thermal overload eventually. Mine didn't have a cooling fan but the back of the case was louvered and holes pre-punched to mount one. I was given some old auto diagnostic equipment that I snagged a fan out of that fit perfectly, duty cycle be D@%^ed!
I use a millermatic 300 at work when needed that pretty much spoils you to run anything else. I tried doing some aluminum once with my clarke with less than acceptable results, takes way more heat than these things put out. I've got a guy pretty close by that welds for an airline who I am glad to pay to heli arc the special stuff.
For fairly light general hobby type stuff, I think the clarkes are just fine. Century is cheaper and normally you get what you pay for, don't really know what Lincoln and Hobart have as far as price range but might be something to check into.
Take care and good luck, DK

 

good info.....well i bought the welder and it came with the cart and gas conversion kit and brush and a helmet also for 289 so that aint bad....well it seems to work well but i used up the 1/2 lb of wire that it came with the first day....i have the wire speed at 2.25 and heat at 4...well i like it anyways....

 

I bought a CLarke EN180 (230v) Like it alot. Only used the flux core wire so far.

 

Hey that's great, glad you like it! I got curious and checked out northern's website a while ago, even the century 130 is a little more than you paid for your clarke 130. I believe your cart is painted to match the welder and tilted back so you can see the controls easier? I got one of harbor frieghts el cheapo carts, it's pretty flimsy, guess I need to do some welding on it!
FYI, if you use the .035 flux core I saw some at walmart last night, looked like a pretty small spool, maybe 2lb. I was getting 3lb spools of the solid wire but have since been getting 10lb. I think I have had mine for 8 or 10 yrs so for occasional use your's should last a long tiime.
I took my Grandpa's old buzz box up to the farm for repairing stuff up there, and my lincoln AC 225 is loaned out to a buddy, so it'll be just light duty stuff around home for a while, take care, DK [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

I bought my Clarke from these folks: http://store.ineedparts.com/store/de...p?idAffiliate=

another vendor: http://store.weldingdepot.com/cgi/we...WE6524P-8.html

Home Depot has good prices on 10# spools of flux core. About $35. Lincoln brand.

 

I hope the Clarke parts arent hard to find where you live. We sell welding supplies and dont carry anything except for the more popular machines(Lincoln,Esab,Hobart,Miller). These machines cost more, but I believe you get what you paid for. I know this advice is too late for this topic, but maybe it will help someone else. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

I had a Century, the biggest 110V wire feed they made. Basically, I had to have it at full output most of the time, and after a couple years, I burned it out. Cost more to fix than I paid for it, so I tossed it. Now I have an Esab 220V wire feed. A far superior machine in terms of quality, duty cycle, power output, etc., but cost about 4 times as much, as well.

About the biggest compliment I can give the Century was it had infinite heat settings, as well as infinite wire settings, allowing for great control over the weld.

Wind blows the shielding gas away, so in anything over a gentle breeze, you are far better off using flux-cored wire.

In my opinion, Hobart probably makes the BEST compact 110V welder, but at probably 1 1/2 to 2 X the price of the Clarke. If you aren't going to use it a lot, the Clarke is adequate. It does a really good job, but the Hobart has heavier-duty components.

The Lincoln is a really good welder, available in 4 or 6 heat settings, or with optional infinite heat settings. A better machine than the Century, for not a lot more money. The one with the 4 or 6 step heat setting is somewhere between the Clarke & Hobart, and priced in between, as well.

 

I also have a Clarke welder and all the parts are available thru http://www.weldingdepot.com , I have made several purchases are they have done a good job in shipping my orders.