clarke welders

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any one have any opinions on clarke welders?
Reply:Howdy Howdy!  Clarke welding machines are in the same class as Century, Harbor freight, and all the Chinese stuff you can find on ebay new and looking like a great deal.  I mean this is a non-opinionated kinda way. I own a Century mig, and it does what it does well.  If you get one for a good deal, keep in mind, you are getting what you pay for.  It will work fine, but the power won't seem to be there, the consumables may be hard to find, the gun cables may not hold up well... But for a hobbyiest, they work.  I would not recomend them.   IF price is the reason to look at a Clarke, the ni suggest doing some searches at Tool king for reconditioned  Hobart welders.  They have the full line, and you can get a 175-180 class, high quality professional/hobbyiest grade 240 volt input unit for about 450$ with regulator and wire.  Reconditioned, warrunty, and alot of my welding online friends have gotten them and had great luck with them.  they have recon 210 class and 250 class machines as well!  Also the smaller 130 class units if you wish too.  I can't recomend enough going with a 240 volt input machine ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS!!!  If you don't nead the power output levels, you can ALWAYS benefit from the higher duty cycles, and they are just better built units regardless of brand.  Brian Lee  Sparkeee27
Reply:I recently found myself out of town and in need of a welder for some light duty work.  I bought a 110 Volt Clarke AC stick welder from Northern Tool and it did the trick.  I wouldn't wish to use it for production work but, for now and then and very portable, it's fine.
Reply:My wife bought me a Clarke EN130 for Christmas this year and I was very surprised at the quality of the unit. I would say that it's a definite step up from the HF welders, but not a Hobart or Miller. The wire feed is smooth and consistent. You can get replacement tips at Lowe's and Sears. I've ran about 5-6 lbs of wire through it so far and have had no problem. The only drawback for me is the short length of the leads. Keep in mind, I only use this thing around the house. Hope this helps!