Welder recomendation

jecsd1 · Post by **jecsd1** » April 21, 2008, 1:49 pm

I am looking for a good 220V MIG welder for my slick project. Can anyone recomend a brand and/or specs. Thanks

grabber64 · Post by **grabber64** » April 21, 2008, 2:24 pm

i have a hobart which works great. some say miller is the best. i think they are about the same truthfully. around here where one is sold then the other is too. those would be the easiest to get parts for. you want to get one that has plenty of adjustments. the more you can adjust it then the better you can get the weld. i have 5 adj for wire and 10 adj for voltage and it is a 220v. i have no issues with welding on mine nor had any problems. just comes down to how much do you want to spend. hit a few shops and do your research. there are seasonal deals where they will throw in a cart for free. something to look for since that is an extra 75 bucks atleast and that baby is heavy especially with a tank. i've seen a lot of guys that just use a 120 for some serious body building. i didn't want to limit myself on something later so i went with a 220v for myself. we have a rural king in this area and they were the best on price.

jakdad · Post by **jakdad** » April 21, 2008, 2:27 pm

I have one of these and have been very happy with it. Look on the internet for best prices Usually about $800.00 shipped. It will weld anything you ever need and lasts a lifetime. Wish I had bought one years before instead of all the money I blew on the smaller welders. It plugs into a large 220 Volt range plug.

http://www.weldingsuppliesfromioc.com/c ... l+Cart.jpg

You will be well pleased.

PFM-64f100 · Post by **PFM-64f100** » April 21, 2008, 4:47 pm

I finally upgraded to this welder a month or so ago. It has plenty of settings to keep me welding. http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/ ... 600_340600

I had a little 110 version that I just out grew (not enough heat). In the beginning I had to much heat but had learned to weld a lot better now. I will also have that little 110 welder for sale at Pate.

jakdad · Post by **jakdad** » April 21, 2008, 4:58 pm

[quote="PFM-64f100"]I finally upgraded to this welder a month or so ago. It has plenty of settings to keep me welding. http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/ ... 600_340600

I have a Miller that looks exactly like your Hobart. I think they merged a few years ago. Great machines!

36truck · Post by **36truck** » April 21, 2008, 5:08 pm

I just used the Miller that Jakdad posted it work great plenty of adj. to work on sheetmetal with.

jakdad · Post by **jakdad** » April 21, 2008, 5:42 pm

36truck wrote:I just used the Miller that Jakdad posted it work great plenty of adj. to work on sheetmetal with.

Absolutely! You can weld sheet metal and up to 3/8" plate. And for mild steel, I use co/2 gas (cheap). with .030 wire.

PFM-64f100 · Post by **PFM-64f100** » April 21, 2008, 7:12 pm

Hobart is a miller just there non name brand. The main dif between the miller model and hobart is the duty cycle.

My hobart has a Duty Cycle of 40%. The miller like a 60% duty cycle. If I did welding all day long with not that many breaks then I would go miller but the little I do on the weekends doesn't justify the increased cost.

Post by **Greg D** » April 21, 2008, 9:14 pm

I use this one, lol.
Actually works quite well though, good penetration but a pretty short cycle. If you get one go get a good electrode holder right away, only gripe about it I had.

http://www.chpower.com/webapp/wcs/store ... 681_10766_

This don't look bad for the $ though.

http://www.chpower.com/webapp/wcs/store ... ResultView

Alan Mclennan · Post by **Alan Mclennan** » April 21, 2008, 10:38 pm

I know this doesn't help much, I have a CIG Transmig 165 a bit older than the one in the link but very similar,
http://www.thermadyne.com/IM_Uploads/Do ... 202007.pdf
As you may note our light duty welders run on 240v and the heavy duty run on 415v with a fair bit of sting in them!
I also use a automatic darkening shield which really makes things easy to start in the right spot

Alan

66fordtrucknut · Post by **66fordtrucknut** » April 22, 2008, 5:52 am

I use a Snap-on 140A 110 Mig/DC Tig at home and it does great I got a good deal on it. If I have anything too big to weld with it I have a gas powered stick welder. Other than that I'll take it to work and tig weld weld it with my Miller synchrowave. I pretty much do only Aluminum and stainless at work and don't ned a mig there. As far as shielding I gas I rather use 75-25, the bead lays flatter and gets better penetration. I personally don't like or trust the auto darkening helmets, I've used the old head nod style for 30 yrs. kinda hard to teach an ol dog new tricks I guess, good luck with whatever you get.
Charlie

blackagatha · Post by **blackagatha** » April 22, 2008, 2:17 pm

my dad has a cheap little Chicago Electric 220v mig from Harbor Freight. It works really nice as long as you dont over do the duty cycle. that's what always gets me in trouble, I always have big bad projects with big thick steel (up to 1/4), and the thermal protection will trip after like 20-30 minutes, it's only supposed to go for like 10-15.

As far as the auto dark helmets go, I really like them... BUT if you're working in a tight spot, IE welding on an axle, while in a car, and wind up with the frame blocking the solar panel on the forehed... well, it doesnt go dark. Granted it already has a decently dark tint so it doesnt hurt ya too bad.

Phil · Post by **Phil** » April 22, 2008, 9:52 pm

I have a $50 garage sale 110 Mig, shielded Sears welder.
It can be made to work, just not by me.
I hired this chick instead.
She's doing the repairs on my 68. Teaches welding at the local CommCollege

Post by **Greg D** » April 22, 2008, 9:54 pm

grabber64 · Post by **grabber64** » April 22, 2008, 10:10 pm

the auto lens suck when you have bright lights around you also. they won't flip back and forth due to the brightness of the area you are working in. atleast mine works that way.

that flash burns the back of your eyes. if you make too much scar tissue back there then you might have one big blind spot period. i am pretty darn picking when it comes to my eyes and i don't see any issues with mine not catching the flash. granted if you block the sensor it won't work on any mask.

that 220 could be overkill for most people. and you can do a ton of cars for bodywork with just a 110, but that one time to want to weld something thicker will stop ya in your tracks everytime. my setup is a hobart 185 with a cart for 600 bucks and i own the tank for 145 more. i don't have a farm or a tractor. i am just a city slicker with a passion for cars and tinkering. that welder does more than what i need. i have patched floor pans and quarters on my mustang and it has paid for itself in just that one project alone. i will put those extra pennies for that plasma cutter that i might use three times out of the year.

blackagatha · Post by **blackagatha** » April 23, 2008, 12:28 am

hey tell that welder chick that I am looking for somebody like her... <3 <3<3

but Im sure we're halfway across the country... and she dont want me anyway!

Man I would like a big ol heavy duty plasma cutter... one that can cut big ol thick stuff... I'm sure some of the big ones can cut 1/4 inch, cant they??

It seems to me that the light has to flicker to make the welding hood go dark. I can stare at the sun and it wont change, but if you wave your hand with spread fingers in front of it it goes dark. It'll also go dark if you use a grinder with it on.

I've had more trouble with a regular hood and a stick welder (ie cant turn off the juice) and accidentally zap before its closed than I want to remember... the auto dark pretty much pervents that.

66fordtrucknut · Post by **66fordtrucknut** » April 23, 2008, 5:47 am

I think the old style will train you to have better hand /eye coordination. I've welded everyday for 30 yrs., Ive had maybe 3 flash burns and 2 of those times was'nt my doing. I'll take my 5 dollar omni view gold lense. I have a nice plasma I get to bring home when I need it, I also have been bringing home my miller 200A dynasty tig welder, you can plug it into anything and it will auto detect what current you're using. I 've been trying silicon bronze on some of those hard to get to spots and it works great, kinda like electric brazing.
Charlie

jwh f-100 · Post by **jwh f-100** » April 23, 2008, 10:08 am

Miller is definately a great welder. At work we have a Miller 200 and the 15 years I have been here it has never let us down.

As far as home use I am kinda with Charlie. I believe having a 110 mig and also a 220 stick is a good combo for home. You have the freedom of using the 110 mig anywhere but still have the stick welder for the heavy stuff. A person could purchase a quality new or slightly used 110 mig then pick up a garage sale stick welder for alot less money then what the 220 welders cost.

I have a 110v Clarke 130en mig and it works great. http://www2.northerntool.com/product/200310825.htmI bought it very slightly used. It was already converted to use gas, a cart included, and a full 50lb. tank of argon. I was lucky and got it for about half of its value. Still looking for a nice old Lincoln stick welder.

I am also not yet convinced that the auto helmets are faster than the speed of light.. Your eyes may not feel it at the end of a day but I worry about the long term effects.

jakdad · Post by **jakdad** » April 23, 2008, 10:21 am

Wow! I just gave my old Lincoln away a couple of years ago. Since I bought the 180 Miller, I dont need the stick. After spending money on 2 or 3 110 volt wire welders and buying rods for the lincoln, that money would pay for a $600.00 to $800.00 miller and now I can weld anything I ever need to with one unit. I do prefer the gas set up as it's not as messy as the flux. I should have bought the Miller to begin with but I couldn't see the forest for the trees.