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Any Welders A On Here?


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Correct welding is an art not a trade I can weld a bit but not if your life depends on it.

My weld looks like pigeon shite lol.

ive seen welds that look 100% but are doing feck all because the person doing the welding aint set up the welder right ..not enough penetration is the major one

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A 180 amp one or above , think the one we had in the garage was a 230amp

its not just about amps, more on matching wire size to power levels, turn a high power machine up too high and it just sprays metal over a joint giving next to f/all penetration, the only time a high power machine has any advantage is in duty cycle, and when it comes to welding cars and trucks up this can be pretty much ignored with any machine capable of running up to 160a with .8 wire, main thing with mig on rusty crap that you get on cars is cleaning down to good metal, and doing that without removing most of what was fairly sound in the first place, when I was at it I used two angle grinders. one fitted with a wire cup brush to remove loose rust and paint (preferred method for me, less metal removal) the other with sanding discs, again to keep metal removal to a minimum, good luck and practice like hell before you go near a motor

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A 180 amp one or above , think the one we had in the garage was a 230amp

 

its not just about amps, more on matching wire size to power levels, turn a high power machine up too high and it just sprays metal over a joint giving next to f/all penetration, the only time a high power machine has any advantage is in duty cycle, and when it comes to welding cars and trucks up this can be pretty much ignored with any machine capable of running up to 160a with .8 wire, main thing with mig on rusty crap that you get on cars is cleaning down to good metal, and doing that without removing most of what was fairly sound in the first place, when I was at it I used two angle grinders. one fitted with a wire cup brush to remove loose rust and paint (preferred method for me, less metal removal) the other with sanding discs, again to keep metal removal to a minimum, good luck and practice like hell before you go near a motor
some one who can explain it better than me :laugh::thumbs:
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i dont think 200 will get much in the line of even a second hand co2 welder. secondly there are pretty decent machines available in single phase 220v capable of penetrating double the gauge of a landy chasis.im not sure about uk but in ireland we have to have a licence to get the bottles of cougar 5 and argon and that works out expensive as you can only rent the bottles anually and then pay for refills as needed. there is a 280 turbo mig here running on single phase so thats a pretty substancial machine. the 3phase ones are alot smoother power delivery at higher amperages as the bigger single phase machines are running alot of current on striking an ark and it fluxuates a bit if another machine is turned on while you are welding, (lights dimming when starting off) that has a big bearing on your penetration if looking for top notch welding.

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a mma/stick welder capable of 150a will do the job perfectly with a good quality electrode/rod.

esab 3.2mm 6013 rod would be my choice.

you should get adequate penetration at 130A.

I'd be looking for a new spring seat though as they do rust badly where they meet the chassis.

don't forget a good primer afterwards to slow the rust return.

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I was a welder for 8 years mate and welfing rusty steel on cars (grind it down all you want) is not easy andgor the sake of 50 quid for someone to do it properly, unless your gonna use the welder alot no point buying one as the gas/wire is not cheap either

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