Clarke mig151en v Clarke 160tm

Hi,
Complete newb here..
Ive been thinkin about learning to weld for a while, I am into 4x4 off roading and as such some of the modifications I have had done to my truck have involved some welding which to be honest I always wished I could do myself. I now need more stuff doing which I do intend to have a crack at, not just to save money but mainly for the satisfaction aswell.
I have done some trawling and reading and this is what I have so far.

I will be welding mainly brackets and bars no more than 4mm very max, more likeley 3mm so was looking for something 150A ish.
After the novelty has worn off I'm guessing that I will be using the welder every few months or so, not once a week.
Some of the welding will be done on my drive as my truck is too big to get in the garage.
Ive ruled out disposable gas options because it doesnt seem cost effective.
Ive looked at the Clarke 160tm which seems like a good buy in the long run, but ive also looked at the Clarke 150en which pound for pound will work out cheaper even if I convert it to run on refillable gas and I would have the flexibility of using it with no gas.

Anyway to help make my mind up which welder to buy my newbie questions are:-

How windy does it have to be for the gas to be ineffective, would it be possible just to put screens up to prevent draughts? Or is it a definate, if your'e outside you cant use gas..

Does using gas really make that much difference to the weld?

Is the versality of having a gas and no gas welder worth it?

Can the 160tm be modified to run without gas and does it come with a single gauge or dual gauge regulator?

I'm thinking with the 150en I would have the best of both even though I like the 160tm better (just personal choice)

Is there any other differences between the two that I have missed.?

Loadsa questions I know but I really am just setting out so would really appreciate any advice/tips/info. Please be gentle..

Thanks
Phil..

Does not take much wind, but I put a big sheet of plywood upwidn when needed.

Gas vs gaslless is a big difference.

The 160 is gas only and comes with a regulator.

The 160 has a shelf for a refillable bottle. The 150EN doesn't. The 150 usually does not come with aregulator, if it does it wil be for disposables.

Gasless is tough for thin metal. A gas/gasless machine might be a nice feature but after using gas, I never want to use gasless again

Shenion has summed it up pretty well, if you can get yourself a bottle through the volkszone offer, the thread is a sticky in the shielding gas section
gasless is quite frankly horrible!
i would go for the 151en as its not got so much plastic on it and can be strapped down to a little trolly also holding your bottle (good little first project!)

welcome to the forum as well mate

Welcome to the forum dude, know all about the 4x4 thing, had to get myself a welder because of it! lol

Another 4x4er here.
I just got a clarke 160tm and it seems to be a good bit of kit (although to be fair I have nothing to compare it to).
Mines got a single dial regulator and I just got a bottle from Adams gas.

Its £50ish quid deposit on a bottle and £36 for a refill. Seemed like good value to me and reasonable convienient for me too but not sure if there will be a dealer near you. I didn't want to rent because like you I will only use it rather infrequently once the novelty has worn off. Have a good look on here as there are plenty of other non-rental bottle options...

Hi Phil, and welcome aboard.
One of the main reasons for buying a 151EN is the gasless option it offers can come in very handy if you run out of gas and need to finish a job urgently.

Also very handy for gate and fence work in the garden if you don't want to be lugging big gas bottles about.

Another thing is that learning gasless gives you a second skill, which can come in useful at times, like working at a mate's place and don't want the bother of moving big bottles again.

Gasless will never be up to the same standard of welding finish as gas, even CO2 gas. But some guys on here do use it for bodywork, so whether anyone can use it or not seems to be down to practice and aptitude. And probably attitude too, come to think about it. But gasless welds good and strong, does fine for quick repairs, and can be fun.

Having said all that, I have to tell you I have a 151EN myself, so I may be a bit biased. Nothing against the 160TM, it's a good machine, although like the 151EN it only has a top output of 150A, no more. I think the dial power regulator on the 160TM is one big improvement over the 151, which has three separate power switches.

But why only learn one new skill when for the same notes you have the chance to learn two?

Many thanks for all the replies and the info, I took it all on board and although I didnt intend to, I have taken the plunge and gone for the 160tm.
Keith, I was typing at the same time as you and now Im wondering if Ive done the right thing...
The thought process was something like this.
I did more trawling and research and not found much between the two other than someone commenting on the red ones matching the tool box which I can relate to..
Anyway I only intend to buy once and it doesnt seem like I will be welding if its windy anyway, I will be inside having a beer if its too windy so I thought the 160 is all set up I dont have to fanny around with sorting the conversion stuff out.
Then I spoke to Justin at Boc about the volkszone deal(thanks for the heads up)...great deal but I dont think I will need a Y cylinder, but turns out that the 2 litre will probably be just right to start with and only £40.80 total for the year, so I could get a couple of refills for the same price as a Y. And I thought that nice little bottle will fit snug on the back of the 160.

I added everything up and the 151 was still coming up way cheaper so now Im thinking thats it the 151 it is. I can get the conversion,make a cart and that will be cool.

This afternoon I'm out shopping with mrs D and get an email from MM, which I normally delete without looking, for some reason I looked at this one which said 'Dont forget you have till midnight tonight to use your no vat discount'
WTF..come to daddy..

So I get the 160 for £290 delivered..happy days.. I couldnt get to my local store in time otherwise I would have saved on delivery too.

I know I wont need to make a cart as a project but I have a garage bench and racking to do as projects..
Cant wait to get started now...

Well, they are both good machines, Phil, so I don't think you'll have any disappointments with the 160TM. Nice price, too!

Phil D said:

Then I spoke to Justin at Boc about the volkszone deal(thanks for the heads up)...great deal but I dont think I will need a Y cylinder, but turns out that the 2 litre will probably be just right to start with and only £40.80 total for the year, so I could get a couple of refills for the same price as a Y. And I thought that nice little bottle will fit snug on the back of the 160.:

Click to expand...

The new little type bottles are really hard to get hold of at the moment because they're new and just been bought out

you would be about right with an X size bottle its somewhere between the two.

i can just about lift a w size bottle onto the back of the esab at work, now thats heavy!!!!!

Cheers guys..
I have manged to get the 2 litre cylinder of argoshield light from BOC in wolverhampton..not sure how long it will last in reality but I'll see how it goes..might have to upgrade later.
Also got some bits and bobs coming from Weldequip and hopefully picking up some 3mm mild steel offcuts tmrw to have a go on..
I'll probably set meself on fire next week and give it all up...