Clarke 150TE Torch / Liner Service

Given the recent deterioration in the weld quality of my Clarke 150TE, I decided it was time for a bit of TLC. Top of the list was a new liner, combined with, of course, a new tip.

This work has restored normal service and, for the half hour or so that it took, is well worth doing.

Here, for all you Clarke owners is the step-by-step process. Although this was done on a 150TE, I would think that the service is pretty much the same for all Clarke DIY Welders.

Firstly, remove the side cover to expose the wire feed mechanism.



Next, release the wire feed tensioner......



....And flip the adjustment roller up and out of the way......



Keeping tension on the cable drum, cut the filler wire.....



....Making sure to secure the cut end through the small hole in the cable reel. Don't let the cable relax on the drum, or it will happily unwind itself - if this happens, a new reel of wire will be in order.



Next, remove the three screws, securing the cable clamp, where it enters the welder....



Now, you can clearly see the wire liner, protruding back towards the feed rollers.....



Next, you need to turn your attention to the torch. Begin by removing the five screws that hold the two halves of the torch together....



....Exposing the torch internals.....



The wire liner, gas feed and power all attach to the alloy valve block. The body of the valve block also acts as part of the torch switch circuit.

Remove all internals from the torch and then, using an 8mm Open End spanner, remove the wire liner.

Whilst doing this, maintain a straight run in the cable from the welder to the torch. This allows the liner to rotate as you are undoing it.



The end fitting also secures the power cable to the valve block - don't forget to reposition this when you assemble the torch.



Keeping the cable run straight between the torch and and the welder, slip the old liner out.

The new liner (as supplied by Machine Mart) is very over-sized. Compare it to the old one and trim to length....



With the cable run still straight, slip the new liner in - ensuring that it protrudes back into the welder.

Slip the end of the cable through the power cable and secure back into the valve block. Take care not to over-tighten - let it make contact and then just nip it up.



Next, reinstall the torch internals - making sure that the switch is correctly positioned and contacts the valve block when fully depressed and that the cable clamp fits neatly into the reccess in the handle (unlike here!)....



Reposition the torch casing and secure the screws.....



Before securing the cable clamp screws inside the welder, make sure that the outer sheath sits neatly back into position within the clamp and that the liner is correctly positioned - to accept the wire......



Keeping tension on the cable reel (I find the best way is to simply apply pressure to the wire with your thumb) remove the end of the filler wire from the hole in the reel (the one that you carefully tucked it into earlier) and position across the rollers and into the new liner. Reposition the tensioner and reset the tension.

Personally, I always remove the tip when feeding wire - so it's the ideal opportunity to fit a new one....



Top it all off with a nice new shroud, refit the wire feed cover and that's it; job done.

This simple task has rejuvinated my lovely little 150TE and, given how simple the job is, will be on the list of regular maintenance going forwards.

Obviously, this is not a definitive guide and based on my own experience - but thought it may be useful for anyone who has not changed a liner before.

Before

are all teh small clarke wirefeeds like that?

looks half decent.......sip owners take note

That's a useful tutorial - good to see the process. One thing I'd add is extend the liner as close to the wire feed rollers as possible - that reduces the chance of birds nesting through unsupported wire.

That's a good point, Malcolm.

My new liner had a good couple of feet extra on it - so there's plenty of scope to do this.

I did think of going for a Teflon liner - does anyone know if they are better than wire?

Cheers,

Ian.

Teflon liners are for aluminium. They wear quickly so aren't the thing for steel wire. The older Clarkes (early 1990s) were fitted with plastic liners as standard, but they wore quickly and were replaced by steel ones in the more recent models.

Thanks Malcolm - glad I didn't go for the Teflon then.

Some time ago, I had an old SIP, with a plastic liner. That wore quickly and was, if memory serves, much more fiddly to replace than the Clarke wire liner.

mike os said:

are all teh small clarke wirefeeds like that?

looks half decent.......sip owners take note

Click to expand...

I believe that they are, Mike.

Personally, for DIY use, I think my little Clarke is great - well put together and much nicer to use than a SIP, which I am sometimes forced to use (seriously!)

That is a good tutorial, well done for doing that!

I also have a Clarke 150 TE and I'm amazed at how clean yours is, where are the dents, weld splatter, overspray from numerous paintjobs in the garage and grinding dust (stuck on with the paint).

Did you detail it??

And yes, the Clarkes are very good budget welders. And mine came with the steel liner.

Chickenjohn said:

That is a good tutorial, well done for doing that!

I also have a Clarke 150 TE and I'm amazed at how clean yours is, where are the dents, weld splatter, overspray from numerous paintjobs in the garage and grinding dust (stuck on with the paint).

Did you detail it??

And yes, the Clarkes are very good budget welders. And mine came with the steel liner.

Click to expand...

Cheers Chickenjohn - LoL - I am a bit OCD when it comes to looking after my tools - and my welders are top of the heap. I regularly ensure that all dust and detritis is removed from inside and it even has it's own dust cover (ok, an old curtain - but it does the trick).

Notwithstanding this, it does see real service - I even used this particular welder to repair the inner rear wheel arch on my old Porsche 944 - which I note is an interest of yours also.

Yep - I'm a real fan of Clarke welders (unlike some of their other power / machine tools).

Good tutorial, I'd second the comment re liner length, fit full length then trim at feed mech to suit.

Hi, I used this guide to change the liner on my Clarke 150TE, much more useful than the instructions in the user manual, thanks.
Also mine still had the plastic type liner mentioned earlier in the thread. I bought it second-hand so I'm assuming this is the first liner its had in a very long time! Needless to say it's like a different welder now.

I'm trying to fit a new liner to my Clarke 120E and having no luck. It doesn't seem to matter which way I feed it, it seems to get about a foot from the end of the outer sleeve and refuse to go any further.

I've kinked it now so obviously it's junk. Has anybody any suggestions on how to fit the replacement replacement sleeve?

Ta

Had a beer or two and slept on it...

Bought a steel liner and it slipped straight in. Piece of cake. Couldn't believe it

The only thing I can add to this excellent guide is about screwing the liner into the valve block. As my sleeve (bit with the liner etc in) is quite tight which limits the movement of the liner, I found it easier to remove the fitting for the gas hose and screw the valve block onto the liner rather than the other way round. The clip for the main power cable made fitting a spanner a bit awkward.

Turns out the steel liner cost less than the nylon one and that's at machine mart prices...

thanks for the pics on how to do it was simple enough to follow

I also have done the swan neck liner as well easy enough to do on the clarke machine and brings it back to full working order

total price from machine mart 14.38 for both metal liners

Thanks for the clear write up. I have an old Clarke 150 that is the 'no gas' type. It has the gas tube from welder to torch already fitted from new and it's attached exactly as the pictures in the post above. The manual says I can use gas if I buy a regulator and change the polarity - easy job.

However, the valve metal block inside the torch doesn't seem to be working - the trigger doesn't seem to activate the valve for the gas - basically I'm always on. The 'piston' in the block doesn't make contact with the trigger. The valve piston does move approx 4/5mm. I'm assuming this might be either a) stuck at the wide open range or b) there is a subtle difference between gas and no gas torches.

Thoughts appreciated before a spend on a new valve block. How much travel should the little piston have?

Cheers

Ok, just to round off - I took it all apart and 'exercised' the valve plunger. Now have more travel and an on / off for the gas. So new metal liner and jobs a good un

glad you got it sorted out then

gaz1 said:

glad you got it sorted out then

Click to expand...

Cheers, it's actually a 100EN that is about 27 years old and still working well.

Used this guide to change to torch liner on my circa 1987/88 Clarke 130TE. Got the liner from Weldequip.

The cable clamp on mine is a bit different and tba a bit of a pita. Two self tappers then two longer machine screws with nuts and star washers. As you unscrew the long screws the nut and washer falls off meaning you have to unscrew the other side of the case to retrieve and fit back when you've finished:



The new wire liner: At the torch end on mine I needed a 9mm spanner to undo the old liner but an 8mm spanner for the new one.

The new wire liner is covered in a blue plastic liner but it doesn't cover the entire length of the liner. This is after cutting off about 2':



Some blue heatshrink from the selection box soon sorted it:



All back together now and wire fed through.

Great guide with a handy addendum from ONOFF for the older machines, like my 130TE.

Only bought it a couple of weeks ago, so want to get all the consumables renewed before I get to learning the art of the arc. Last thing I want is the machine going up it.

So unwound filler wires are as good as scrap? I received 2 no gas wires, part used and ALL unwound. To be fair, they have a have a few spots of the red peril on them so I guess I already know the answer.