Welders - Come inside

[Sonic03snake]

Im looking to buy a mig welder, ive been told to get a 220 V machine and stay away from gasless ones. Any other advice as to what I should look for? This will be mainly used for sheetmetal repair.

[Inkdcountryboy]

im not a "professinal" but weve done alot with a gasless mig welder from harbor freight.. welding weight brackets and motor mounts,frames, all kinda stuff for our pulling tractors...

[Ares]

I can say I have also done alot with gasless Mig's for myself. Welded up broken ladder racks, frames, sheet metal, exhaust and cut and made my own wrenches up using it. I use Lincoln Electric. On that note I would love to buy a TIG and gas MIG. Gas shielded welders would be much cleaner thats for sure.

[wick]

In all seriousnes, get a 110. The versitility of it is way better than a 220. Especially for what you are going to use it for. Perfect for sheet metal work, good for mild frame repair and great to weld with. Next time you are at mikes, stop up and try it out before you buy one. Better to "test drive" than to buy something you dont like. Mine can do up to 5/16 steel. Thats way more than I will ever need it for. You too for that matter. Plus, you can take it anywhere you want. Gotta help a friend out and his project cant be moved, take the welder with you.

[map351]

Lou

Watch e-bay there's some smokin deals on NEW Miller combo machines i.e. TIG/Mig/Stick in the 300+ AMP range. I wouldn't buy a machine less than 250 AMP AC/DC with High Freq.

Also check HAMILTON TOOL & SUPPLY CO http://www.toolsupermarket.com/ Them have a room full of used commercial welders. Watch out for 3 phase machines make sure of your service into the shop.

Check some of the local welding supply for commercial trade in machines or repaired machines for half the price, this ain't the home Depot junk. I have my Lincoln Ideal Arc 250 TIG/STICK machine for 30 years it never failed me..

Craigslist > http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/tls/1514484328.html
Today it's a 6K dollar machine new!

Mike

[Flyin Monkey]

This is a new version of the one I have. It has worked like a champ for the last 10 years. It will do both flux core (gasless) and solid core. I use the 25# Co2 bottles from the beer distributer for my welding gas. It is WAY cheaper than buying for a welding house.
http://www.mylincolnelectric.com/Cat...t.aspx?p=42422

[INSANELY CRAZY]

i used a 110 gasless mig for all kinds of stuff. depends on what all your looking to do with a welder.

now also i use a gas mig a work and its really nice, i weld on aluminum and steel.

[SK@StreetLethal]

Lou we use a 110 lincoln mig for most of the small stuff we do. Works great for subframe connectors and smal fabrication. On the larger stuff we use a 220 machine. For the turbo kits and other things like that we use the tig. We rarely use the 220 mig though. I think the lincoln is a 135 machine and It get used almost constantly with no issues. Anything thicker than 1/4" though and its just doesn't get good penetration.

[wick]

Lou we use a 110 lincoln mig for most of the small stuff we do. Works great for subframe connectors and smal fabrication. On the larger stuff we use a 220 machine. For the turbo kits and other things like that we use the tig. We rarely use the 220 mig though. I think the lincoln is a 135 machine and It get used almost constantly with no issues. Anything thicker than 1/4" though and its just doesn't get good penetration.

Exactly!!! Half the price of a 220 machine too...

[madmaxin22]

not to hijack but i have been trying to figure out which kind to get... i mainly want it mostly to weld panels/patches on auto sheetmetal... will a flux welder like this one do the job??
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

really dont want to spend $600+ on a gas mig welder i might only use a few times

[wick]

Flux core wire is messy and not really recomended for sheet metal work. Once you get the welder, you will find uses for it like you never have before. If cost is a problem, get one that you can convert to gas later down the road. My wife got me mine for Christmas about 6 years ago. Its a Lincoln MIG-pak 135. I later added the bottle and been using that since. It was a nice price too. Back then, Vinces welding in Carnegie had a deal on it for right around upper $500 range. I dont really know what they go for now. I upgraded the bottle size a few times now and started using the 10lb roll of wire. It gets used a ton at my house. Especially with me doing my engine bay. HAHA

[bgblockelcamino]

buy biggest one you can afford. yo ucan always turn the heat down but you can't turn in up. i have a ESAB migmaster 250 granted it is overkill but never have to wrry about upgrading. i have welded heavy equipment to small sheetmetal repair.

have used plenty of 110volt machines and some of them work superb too. those little lincoln electric ones work well and also get gas for it. you will hate flux core.

[Sonic03snake]

WOW, tons of good info in here. Thanks guys!!!

[madmaxin22]

are there any local places that sell complete setups so you dont have to piece it all together?? i need everything from mask, to clamps, to unit, tank, gauges... guess i need to start pricing the package out for when the weather warms up....

[mustang50lx]

I have a gasless 110 I use at home. We have a big 220 at work. The gasless 110 works good. The 220 with shielding gas produces a cleaner weld. One thing I don't like about the 110 is the duty cycle. I think it is 20 or 25% compared to 80% for the one at work. One nice thing about the 110 is that it is small and I drag it around with me if I need to.

[2000 Ultra Z]

get a 220v with gas alot easier to use and the welds are better

[Martin0660]

I have a 110 V flux core machine I use to tack things up. After they are tacked, I take them to the real welder and listen to him b!tch about the junk in the weld the whole time he is welding ;)

Mine came from the farm store. It's here if you ever want to try one before you buy.

[Sonic03snake]

I have a 110 V flux core machine I use to tack things up. After they are tacked, I take them to the real welder and listen to him b!tch about the junk in the weld the whole time he is welding ;)

Mine came from the farm store. It's here if you ever want to try one before you buy.

LOL, thanks for the offer, Bob. Ill let you know.

[yeahloh95]

lou i have been looking too tractor supply has both 110 and 220 units ,i think i might get the biggest 110 , like was said before so it can be used any where

[lib88stang]

Sears has the Lincoln handy Mig for $299 and it comes with everything but the bottle. I don't know what your wanting to weld with it, but lincolns are nice machines.