Anybody used a Clarke welder?

like this

http://store.ineedparts.com/store/viewitem.asp?idProduct=2784

or do I just pony up the extra 250 for a hobart 175?

They are sold by Harbor Freight. Enough said.

A Hobart is already a cheaper Miller, you cheap bastard.

CRASH

I've got them both... and a craftsman. go for the hobart.


Mike

best prices I have found on a new hobart is at Orchelins farm supply if you have those in your area.

They usually run a sale once a quarter with the Handler 175 for $575

andyr354 said:

best prices I have found on a new hobart is at Orchelins farm supply if you have those in your area.

They usually run a sale once a quarter with the Handler 175 for $575

Click to expand...

I got mine for $600, delivered to my door, with a cart. :yelclap:

CRASH

ebay has a bunch of hobarts and millers pretty cheep new shiped to you door with no shipping charges. I was just looking at them since i need to ad to my tool colection and theres some thing that a stick and a tig just suck at so mig it will be.

I noticed the Hobart has preset heat ranges, its not infinately adjustable, Does the Miller 175 have an infinate adjustable heat setting?

99% of the time, you will never know the difference. You can mess with in-betweeen penetration rates by playing with wire feed speed.

CRASH

CRASH said:

99% of the time, you will never know the difference. You can mess with in-betweeen penetration rates by playing with wire feed speed.

CRASH

Click to expand...

really?

I used a Miller 250x (SWEET!!) for a year, then was using a Hobart 175 for a couple months (neither were mine) and I found it annoying not having the infinite adjustability. I had that 250x down cold where I could tell if it was .2 volts off.

edit: the Hobart was still a great machine, but can't really compare with a $3000 MIG (it had the Al package also)

Ok, maybe its different with smaller welders, I have very little experience with anything smaller than a 250, cause that was the norm at our shop and It was extremely usefull having infinate heat adjustment, I'll have to ask around a little and see what the concensus is!

CRASH said:

They are sold by Harbor Freight. Enough said.

A Hobart is already a cheaper Miller, you cheap bastard.

CRASH

Click to expand...

I don't think HF carries clarke but it is scary that the chicago electric one is more expensive it has a smaller duty rating than the clarke and some other specs differ so I don't think they are rebaged.

Oh and I am not cheap, I'm economical :twak:

Gary E said:

I don't think HF carries clarke but it is scary that the chicago electric one is more expensive it has a smaller duty rating than the clarke and some other specs differ so I don't think they are rebaged.

Oh and I am not cheap, I'm economical :twak:

Click to expand...

You are cheap.

And lazy.

Lazy, Cheap Gary.

CRASH

Never dealt with a Clarke. I have 2 Lincoln (Weldpack 100 and a Powermig 200) and worked as a production welder with a Miller 200. No problems with any of them. The Miller took a beating. I would blow through a 44 pound spool in about 5 days on average. Look up welders on E-bay and find one of the companies that is selling them in large quantities for a set low price. Print that and then call local weld shops with that price to see if they can beat it. Try Airgas or Merriam-Graves. I got my 200 for $500 less than Sears would touch doing it that way. ESAB seems to be another higher end welder. Stay away from the buzz boxes that don't give the option to run gas. My Weldpack 100 has a 20% duty cycle and has never shut down on me. Perfect for sheetmetal but wouldn't trust it for heavier stock.

CRASH said:

You are cheap.

And lazy.

Lazy, Cheap Gary.

CRASH

Click to expand...

So let me get this strait, you are calling me lazy when you can't get a rig ready to run for BOTW? You only have 3 platforms at your place, geesh you would think one of them could of been operable. :thrown gauntlet:

Gary E said:

So let me get this strait, you are calling me lazy when you can't get a rig ready to run for BOTW? You only have 3 platforms at your place, geesh you would think one of them could of been operable. :thrown gauntlet:

Click to expand...

My reputation is one of owning and operating junk.

This is no longer acceptable.

From now on, I drink no wine until its time.

And it will be the best of the best.

CRASH

I have a simlar older Clark model 220v EN 150 with gas. It works ok for the little work I do with it. (but, I also have gas, stick and tig) Yes, it does seem a bit cheap (flimsy case, gun, and feed mechanism) compared to some other units but it does work ok. I don't use flux core much anymore because I don't like the spatter I seem to get. I don't know if this has anything to do with the quality of the unit, since I've not used any other unit with flux core wire. With gas it's pretty much like a hot glue gun. I bought mine at a pawn shop for $175.

Bottom line: (1) It's worked for everything I used it on, but if I used it more regularly I think I would want to go up a notch to a Lincoln / Hobart / Miller. (2) Even though you can compensate with feed speed, if I upgrade, I will get one with an infinate power setting. (3) If you can swing it, upgrade. I doubt that you'll regret it, especially a year or so down the road.

By the way, I was at Sears this week and noticed that they are now carrying some Clark welders along side the Craftsmans. I was glad to see that they had tips, etc on the shelf for my unit.

I have a Clarke 115 volt mig...It's 3 years old now...I don't use it on a daily basis, but it has had 37# of wire run through it...I have had zero probs...I did add a cooling fan to improve the duty cycle a bit.

I use it for metal from 18 gauge to 1/4"....after that...out comes the ole Miller because of the limited amperage output.