Welders

I am looking into buying a welder probably MIG. And I was wondering what to look for in a welder. Also what brands are good (other then Lincoln Electric)? What brands to avoid?

Lincoln, Miller, ESAB are good. Century, Home Depot, Harbor freight, not so good. A 130 amp 110vac from Lincoln or Miller would probably do anything you need for a car, plus no need for special wiring. Service and parts easy to get, very important. E-Bay has some good sources. I got my Miller from Indiana Oxygen Co., IOC. On E-Bay. Good price, free shipping, good after sale service. You can also get your tank from them, too. MIG is definately the way to go as a newby. If you want to really learn how to weld, check out your area community college or trade school. Usually cheap, decent teachers and others that are motivated to learn. Very few hot chicks, though.

I am learning how to weld right now with Formula SAE and ASME Moonbuggy.

+1 on IOC.

They are the cheapest on most all welders and have free shipping, you can call them and they talk to you...good customer service

I don't like the 110v welders. They drive me crazy.

I'd recommend you get at least a Millermatic 180 (220v). if you're going to buy new.(good used is a viable option) Or maybe a Miller DVI which can run on both 110 and 220.

People will tell you that they do fine with a 110v machine, and maybe they do, but it's very limiting, IMO, and small problems often magnify those limitations to the point of not being able to use the machine.

-James

Hobart stuff is good as well. In the average Challenger's budget, I think I'd go for the Lincoln. I have had excellent service from my 110V unit, welding stuff as thick as 1/4". I have welded thicker stuff by beveling and making multiple passes. I also bought one of Lincoln's small plasma cutters and have been very pleased with it.

Whatever you get, make sure the wire is 'dead' until you pull the trigger. I was using a bud's Century at his place, it scared the crap out of me when I was in a tight spot, clipped something metal and the arc started.

What price range will I be looking at for a Lincoln MIG welder?

Mine was $349.00, but that was several years ago. Probably $375- $400 now. They come set up for flux core wire, there's a gas conversion kit for $119 (no bottle) and then you can weld aluminum.

I've owned a 110v Miller since 1990. It has been a great welder for small projects, but I wish I had a 220 when my trailer broke in half (I wonder if the current trailer owner wishes I had a 220--I'll never know). My last two houses have only been wired for 110 in the garage anyway, so a 220 would have required more work.

My dad recently bought a 220 Hobart at Tractor Supply for about $500. I paid more for my 110 15 years earlier. My next welder will be a 220.

$500, plus another $100 or so in accessories will get you a decent welder. Find a shop that will give you some scrap metal. You'll need it for practice and fabrication.

I've had good luck with Hobart. Miller parts at a Harbor Freight price. Hard to beat that.

I'm currently in the market for a sub 180 machine for taking to the track/ mobile stuff as hauling around my 220v unit is a PITA. I've been seriously looking at HTP's stuff for a long time... only problem is that I really like hands on before I buy.

i have a hobart 135.. had it for about 5 years.. no probs.. love it.

same unit. same experience.

Mine's a Millermatic 185, 220vac, excellent machine. I made up an extension cord, 30', to connect to my dryer outlet. Real heavy 4 conductor wire. Works out fine. But, 110 is easier to find.

My Hobart Handler 125 is a pretty good little unit, but with a couple things to consider:

-My Hobart uses .024" wire, and the .025" Lincoln wire that's easy to get at any home improvement store won't feed and work right in it no matter which tip I use. That means I'm stuck getting new wire at Northern or TSC, which isn't a big deal since they are both under 20 minutes away and have good hours. My friend's Lincoln 140, on the other hand, runs my .024" wire through it no problem, and he can go get pretty much any wire anywhere.

-To convert mine from flux-core as it came to MIG I had to take the machine apart and install the solenoid and some other hardware inside. The kit to do this came with the regulator and like J-man indicated was about $120 all-told since I bought the big spool hub at the same time. My buddy's Lincoln already had the solenoid installed, all he had to buy was a $35 regulator to convert. His machine is rated the same as mine and has about the same controls but was only @$75 more expensive. That means his was cheaper in the long run but a bigger purchase up-front.

-My Hobart welds circles around the Lincoln, both in penetration and in duty cycle. That said, neither is going to do well with single pass on >1/4" thick materials. It will, however, set those welds up well enough that a stick welder makes very short work of them, which is how I use it. My only real grief with it is how short the wire-feed lead is, I ended up just mounting it and the stick welder on top of the plasma torch and building a bracket for the bottle so the whole works rolls around the shop.

I got my Hobart Handler 180 at TSC last year for $650 on sale. It came with a cart (fairly decent), and the gas conversion kit inside one huge effin box. Switching to gas just ment hooking up a tube, and buying a tank (was $150 with a free fill up, I did the 4ft tall one) the regulator was inclueded. I really like it. It's given me no problems and I welded 1/4" metal for a trailer hitch for about 45 minutes and never had to stop. The new 187 has the Millers infinite control which is nice. The welder at work is nicer than the handler 180.. But it's an all digital lincoln behemoth that cost 2500.

That is the other thing I was wondering how much is a stick welder? I really don't enjoy stick welding in fact I prefer TIG but TIG welders are expensive.

I have access to a number of welders (AC stick, MIG and oxy/acetylene) at work pretty much anytime I want. We have a nice big Lincoln stick unit that could weld battleships.

But recently, at a race, I had a chance to see one of little ~Miller Maxstar~ inverter welders. Running off a modest 110V motorhome generator, it worked great. The owner (a pro-welder) says these things are excellent. At $900, they aren't cheap, but are a real high quality item.

DC stick welders are relatively cheap. If you want to do aluminum, you'll need an AC TIG or a MIG with an aluminum spool gun.

If you need the flexibility of 110v, I would recommend the Miller 140. If you can work the 230V and need mobility, the Miller 180 is the way to go. I have my previous generation Miller 175 on the top shelf of a cheap $50 Harbor Freight welding cart with my HyperTherm 380 Plasma Cutter on the bottom shelf with all my consumables, welding pliers and gloves on the middle shelf with an 80CF C25 tank attached to the back. Here's the cart:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/photos/90300-90399/90305.gif

I can roll the whole thing around with relative ease to where ever I need to work.

Hobart is owned by Miller and is also a good quality machine with a few less options and some plastic parts where the Miller has aluminum parts.

You'll spend far more on "accessories" and consumables than you will on the machine so it pays to get a good machine to begin with. You'll spend far less time fighting problems with your equipment so you can spend more time improving your technique.

As some have stated, take a class. You'll get to use industrial quality equipment and it will reduce your learning curve significantly if you have someone knowledgeable showing you the basics and tweaking your technique while you work.

I've added an AC TIG to my rig too and being able to do aluminum on intake manifolds, heads and other components is a lot of fun!

Cheers, WW

Stick welders are for building bridges.

I have a Lincoln SP 135 Plus and I love it. I bought it from Tech-Air. I e-Bay'd my stick welder shortly after I got it. I couldn't believe how hard I was trying get it to do light duty work.

Spend the money and get an auto-dimming helmet. It makes learning to weld easy.

On the 110v migs, most are pretty limited on output, but they do have their place.
One. They're very portable - track, jobsite, someone else's garage, wherever you've got 110V. Two. They're great for working in tight places as the gun and lead are commensurately smaller and easier to handle, bend, locate, etc. Many rollcage guys use the smaller machines as they are only working with lighter material many times in tight spots or out of ideal position. For any sort of bodywork 110v machines are sufficient.

There is one 110V machine that really kicks some ass in the output department. The Systematics (C-K Systematics) MP 140 also marketed as the Snap On MM140 (Muscle Mig). Its an intermediate machine (weighs 175#, not so portable), and will do 120 amps at 100% duty cycle (20A, 110 V circuit input) and 140A at 60% (30A, 110V, not the most common circuit). That's better than most lower end 220V machines. Super smooth arc, well built. I've had one for over ten years. http://www.800abcweld.com/store/?crn=221&model_view=1&action=show

I picked up one of these harbor freight cheapie TIGs off craigslist for $100 bones brand new in the box. I figured for the minimal investment I couldnt go wrong.

Guess what. I LOVE it! No footpedal of HF start but if you can strike an arc with a stick welder you can TIG with this. I took it to work and did 6 hours of straight production work with it and it never missed a beat.

Buy a nice little lincoln or miller MIG and grab one of these to cure your TIG itch.

A Hobart 135 and a Miller 135 are basically the same as Miller owns Hobart. They work perfect for tacking and even for Structural repair in the Auto collision industry one of my friends built a trailers with his. For the current prices not bad, Plus i know at least 6 People who have then and never had problems.

I would basically be doing bodywork, exhaust tubing and motor mounts with this welder. I doubt I would be building a cage but that might always be a possibility.

That's what I do and use the Mac Tools mx135, same a miller and hobart, work perfect for that, Beautiful welds

96DXCivic wrote: I would basically be doing bodywork, exhaust tubing and motor mounts with this welder. I doubt I would be building a cage but that might always be a possibility.

In my own inexperienced opinion, 110 mig is fine or even great for exhaust and body work sheet metal. You are going to have a heck of a time welding up strong motor mounts without more power or experience. I use a cheapo HF mig on exhaust, yes its ugly, but its exhaust. A 220 stick for heavy stuff like motor mounts.

Million ways to skin a cat. And you get what you pay for.

Millermatic 250 and EconoTIG. I'm a big fan of blue