"Joe Pfeiffer" wrote in message
...
A little while ago, I had a question about life-span of fluxcore wire,
and mentioned that I had a MIG welder I'd gotten as a Christmas
present that I was planning to write a review of at some point. Well,
here it is -- I'll mention going in that I've got no association with
Clarke nor the company I got it from other than having bought this
welder.

Before I begin: when I was researching MIG welders, somebody (I think
on this newsgroup) mentioned that the most important feature of a 120V
MIG was that it weigh enough and have a solid enough handle that it
could be used as a good boat anchor. If that's your view of 120V
welders you can stop reading right here, since this is a 120V welder.
It is a light-duty unit; if your interest is in structural welding of
1/2" thick metal you can forget about it. Like any tool, there are
things this welder is designed for and things it isn't, and major jobs
like that are 'way outside its range.

I have the Sears version of the same welder and find it a perfect fit for my
needs- I've done some body work with it and fixed the $1200 catalytic
converter on my truck with it. It's paid for itself and then some.
With practice and quality wire, it will weld angle iron nicely- I built a
welding table with mine (a mandatory item for a MIG welder).

I do have one comment- the cooling system is a lousy design, but is easy to
improve. Here's how I did it:

http://www.metalworking.com/dropbox/migfan.txt
http://www.metalworking.com/dropbox/migfan.jpg
http://www.metalworking.com/dropbox/migfb4.jpg
http://www.metalworking.com/dropbox/migfsd.jpg

I guess the best place to start is with the crap... excuse me,
accessories... packaged with it. It comes with 1/2 lb of .035
fluxcore wire

Discard it. Fluxcore wire is nasty, gassy stuff. Learn to MIG weld- it is
very easy and the welds will be strong and good looking.
As always, practice, practice , practice. Most beginners tend to move too
fast (I know I did) and it takes some disipline to slow down.

Buy more nozzles- they wear out fairly quickly and will lead to poor welds.
Buy some anti-spatter spray- your welds will be much neater.

I think, based on the manual which is the same for both this welder
and their 180EN, that the two welders share the same cabinet. At any
rate, there are holes in the cabinet that would be perfect for
inserting an axle to put it on two wheels in back (I'm sort of tempted
to do that...),

Sears packages thiers with a decent cart that holds the welder and argon/CO2
tank. You might want to copy it.

The cabinet also has room for a 10lb spool of wire inside (which is what
I've got in there now).

I wouldn't use such a heavy spool for two reasons: the tractor system is not
super heavy-duty and welding wire does corrode (causing no end of grief) and
the only thing you can do is replace it with clean wire. Throwing out 10
pounds of wire gets expensive. Trust me on this one. Unless you plan on
doing a _lot_ of welding, the smaller spools are a better choice.

So: If you're looking for a light-duty welder for reasonably thin
metal, this one seems really good for its price. If you're going to
be doing heavy-duty structural welding, that's just not what it's
intended for and you'll be miserable.

Agreed.

-Carl