The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Buying MIG welder

I've been looking at MIG units and it seems that one of the big differences on the low priced units from big sellers, ie. Miller/Hobart and Lincoln is voltage control.

The lowest cost units have a 4 position "tapped" voltage control as opposed
to a "continuous" control. The tapped units appear to be about a $150 less money. I'm leaning to the continuous - got any opinions about this?

I plan to use this unit to learn with and intend to work with thin materials like sheet metal. Building heavy frames and trailers etc. is not my intention. I have a '85 F**d to practice on and then on to '51 Chevy.

My advice is to buy the best one you can afford, even if you have to save a little longer to get it. It's easier to weld with the better machines and you have more control. At our museum we had a 120 volt Lincoln for about a year before we decided to sell that one and get the 220 volt model. It's even better, and we weld steel up to 1/4" thick with no problem.

Also, think about repair parts. You can get Miller / Lincoln parts at any weld shop. Can you do the same with the cheaper units? Joe

I bought one of the cheap Lincoln Weld-Pak machines a couple of years ago. While it is a pretty good machine, I wish I would have sprung for a better one. I exceed the capability of the machine pretty regularly. I thought that I would just use it for sheetmetal, but I've used it for a lot more. It doesn't have the oats to do anything more than simple (upto 1/8 inch) work. I do a lot more fabrication than I thought I would. Don't scrimp.

I have had an "off brand" (Century, sold trough Snap On) for about 15 years and it has performed very well. I had to replace the gun twice, other than that nothing. It is a 220/205 amp.
At work I use a small 110 volt Miller 130. I HATED it at first, but after getting use to it, I now find that I enjoy using it. I weld frames (1/8") with out a problem.

SR

What was it that you hated about the Miller 130?

No one has mentioned the "tapped" control verses the "continuous" control? Doesn't make a difference?

PRW

Paul, the lack of control (four heat settings)and it just seemed to be tempermental. I still think it is, I have jsut gotten used to it and prepare the metal better and keep the nozzle clean.

My Century has 9 heat settings and it just seems that the 220 welder will burn through more contamination than the 110.

I had just left a shop with the best welder I had ever used and was more than a little spoiled. It was an AIRCO 220 running on three phase, the perfect power source for a MIG. The "Converter" in the welder that changes the AC to DC provides a much smoother flow of electricity to the tip, it would weld through just about anything! It would almost weld my its self! It was also a continuous control, and it worked great.

I recently passed a pretty strict welding test for ICAR and we used a little 110 Lincoln welder, I don't know the model number but it too worked great.

GO HOBART!!! I have put many spools of wire through a little Hobart handler over several years of use. It has been a really good, trouble free machine, and welds everything from thin sheet metal to 1/4" stuff equally well.....

This reminds me of a question I've had for awhile. I added the MIG kit to the WeldPak 100 and am using a CO2/argon mix. What should the gauge setting be? Wherever I have it set now (I'm not at the shop) works OK, but I was wondering if there is a general rule.

pknauth, the standard is 25-30 cfh (cubic feet per hour) if your guage reads PSI instead, set it at 3-4 PSI. If there is a breeze in the area, up it a little.