welder

[wvuarmyeng]

getting stuff gathered up for my reverse flow build all depends on pipe i can get from our scrap pile at work.  i have access to a lincoln mvp 210 that i have fallen in love with

i would like to get some input from everyone here what would be a good unit to purchase when i come around to getting my own unit. and yes i have access to 220

dont have much welding experience but i am learning and have some very experienced guys helping me out

thanks guys

 

[socalcooker]

What's your price range? That's the big question when it comes to welders. Do you want MIG only or TIG/stick? I typically stray away from combination machines. I also am not a fan of 110 machines there's just not enough power or duty cycle there to do any real fabrication. I'm a Miller fan I have 4 Welders all Miller. I've looked at a miller 211 recently for a hobby welder it looks decent. If your planning on doing sustained heavy fabrication I'd go with either a 212 or 252. I've heard good things about the Hobart mig which is the cheap brand of miller and quite an it cheaper than the 252. Those are all MIG.

Kyle

 

[wvuarmyeng]

like to stay under 1500. i do like hobarts. we have a miller 165? or something close to that at work ive got to mess with a few days and really like it. i would also like to pick up some stick welding also, not much use for TIG anytime soon. i just want it to do small stuff like building smokers and stuff if the wife wants made lol

i prefer MIG since its easy for a newbie to mess with without having much knowledge. i do want to take some classes at the local votech but that requires time that i seem to be short of hahaha i need like 72 hrs in a day

 

[kam59]

I only weld stick so I am partial to that. I use a Miller 225 AC/DC at home and it will do anything you want to throw at it. If you do decide on stick make sure you get AC/DC because AC only is going to frustrate you. Hobart is built by Miller the stick machines are equal but when you step into the smaller wire feed machines the Miller has metal rollers where the Hobart has plastic from what I am told.

 

[wvuarmyeng]

thanks for the info bud really appreciate it

do you not like the multipurpose cause they arent specific to one type hence give some here to give it there?

 

[kam59]

As in stick/Tig combos? I have never had a need for tig at home I do not weld aluminum and my machine weld SS. As for thin metal I can weld 55 gallon drums with mine in a pinch so Tig is not really needed. They are great to have if you have a need for it I just do not have one. Kinda like my O/A torch I get more out of it than I would a plasma. Would I like a plasma? Yes I would but I get everything done I have with my torch. :)

 

[imafishingfred]

I have both stick, Lincoln AC/DC 225, and ESAB Migmaster 250. Both run on 220. I also have a small Miller mig that runs on 110 but for auto sheetmetal only. From my years of experience I can tell you, if you can stick weld you can also pick up mig welding with ease. Not so much going from mig to stick. If you have access to both practice before you buy.

 

[ahumadora]

I agree with Socal cooker .

Just don't buy one of those flux cored jobs from harbor freight no matter how inviting the price maybe.  (think trying to weld using a sparkler)

 

[kam59]

 
I agree with Socal cooker .
[h2]Just don't buy one of those flux cored jobs from harbor freight no matter how inviting the price maybe.  (think trying to weld using a sparkler)[/h2]
                       ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

That is funny lol. 

 

[bmudd14474]

I just got this one

http://www.sears.com/hobart-autoarc...lerId=Sears&prdNo=20&blockNo=20&blockType=G20

And it works really good.

 

[pc farmer]

I have a hobart 125. I use flux core wire in it. It has metal rolls to feed the wire. I weld on our farm equipment and fab stuff for the farm. It really works well.

 

[gary s]

All the name brand machines are good and probably a bunch of off brands. I was in the Steel Erection Business for a long time and used pretty much all of them.

It was all commercial use so the Hours really piled up. Probably used more Miller than anything else because I got great deals from my Welding Supplier.

But they are all good especially if yoy take care of them.

Gary

 

[wvuarmyeng]

haha my buddy had one of the farm something or other 110v that i messed with.... thought it was me till i used a real welder at work lol

 

[socalcooker]

What I meant by combination machines was mig with stick and TIG. You can make any stick welder do TIG with the right parts. If mig is what your going for I'd go with the 211. I don't have first hand experience with one but miller has never failed me.

Kyle

 

[redeyedrooster]

I also am shopping for a mig welder. I have used both Miller 251 and 252 for the last 15 Year’s at work. Everything from 16ga to 1/2” which is about all I figure, I’ll ever need. Miller 252 is for my future I believe. I have a 80 gallon air compressor tank I want make a horizontal offset reverse flow smoker out of. That will use a lot of 1/4” & 1/2” I’ll probably use a stick on. But I want to make a insulated reverse flow vertical smoker also, that’s what I want the mig for, plus all the other fab stuff I want to do around our place.

 

[wvuarmyeng]

I picked up a used thunderbolt xl for now still looking for a mig. I'm hoping to pick up my 6 ft piece of 24" it's either .375 or .500 wall lol that baby won't be light

Merry christmas!

 

[cmayna]

I've had my Lincoln Pro 175 Mig welder for a few years now. You can set it up for either 110 or 220v. Both my garage and shop have 220 so I'm covered. It helped me restore two vintage Mustangs and my old chebbie truck. Love it big time. Since I've retired from the vintage car restortation hobby, I don't weld near as often as I did and it takes me a few minutes to get back in gear, but whenever I needed to modify one of my smokers or fix something that has broken, the welder steps up.

 

[fatbastard09]

A little late in responding to this, but I just want to note that I did buy a $90 flux core welder specifically to build my reverse flow (with no prior welding experience) and it worked just fine for the job. I'm not exactly disagreeing with ahumadora or kam59 that better equipment is the way to go, just wanted to say that it can be done...

 

[wvuarmyeng]

Thanks I was able to pick up a miller thunderbolt xl used and just recently found aver bought a hobart 175 mig. I'll set for whatever I want to do except tig I'm hoping to get started here once the weather breaks here