The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Tool Chest I want to buy a mig welder

I want to buy a mig welder. Any input on which one to get would be appreciated. I see there are some 110 volt models. Are they any good or should I get a 220 volt unit. Tractor Supply sells some inexpensive ones and so does HF. Are these ok, or should I buy a better one?

Also, are they hard to use for a hobby guy like me?

Thanks,

Jeff

everyone has a opinion on this, but i wouldn't get a 110. i would shop around for a 220 like a smaller hobart. i wouldn't get just a flux core either. i sold a hobart 140 handler w/flowmeter for about $400 a year or so ago. i would try for something like that. a good used one. 110 will just disapoint you, flux will just look crappy, not weld cool enough for thin pieces, and have pinholes. cheaper welders made offshore just don't have the parts support that brand name ones do, and they are the ones that really need the parts support! most local welding shops can look up and order parts for lincoln and miller. they are just better machines. you will eventually want to weld something better than a 110 flux core will do.

i have been welding for 20 years but am no expert! i first learned to use a mig in high school shop. i didn't have one personaly for several years after that. but i used a arc straight for 20 years. i think a mig is pretty simple to use. it produces a good looking weld with less consideration to angle, speed, arc lenth, and out of position welding than a arc. if the machine is set up right and you know basics of penetration and judging a good weld it's pretty easy to get a good weld with one. if you are starting from scratch, a hours worth of pointers from someone could get you going. good luck, hr

I've got a Lincoln MIG, model 140, 110v with gas, and have found it to be excellent for everything from sheet metal to frame members

easy to use, but it does take some time and practice for an amateur to get the hang of welding

Bill

I have a Hobart 140 with gas from Tractor supply. I wore out one of their Century MIG welders and the Hobart was a great improvement. If you're primary work is sheet metal panel replacement, I don't think you can beat it for the money. However, if you're planning on welding heavier stuff on a regular basis, I would spring for a Hobart 220v unit. In addition, TS also carries all the welding wire, replacement tips and the 25/75 bottled gas.

Just make sure that which ever welder you buy has a solenoid controlled gas feed shutoff.....the less expensive models don't completely stop the flow of shielding gas when you release the trigger and the only fix is to replace the $100.+ handle and line.

Dave

Don't buy a cheapo welder. You're going to have this welder for a long time, get a lot of use out of it fixing things you never imagined. I bought a Miller 135, 110v, with tank, nice cart, spool of good mig wire 8 years ago for $750 new. Money well spent, I've used it quite a bit. Stick with a Lincoln, Miller, or Hobart and you'll have a nice one. Don't waste your money on a cheap made in china welder. By the way, mig is the easiest type of welding, good to start out with. The main thing about learning to weld is being able to "see" what you are doing. My welding instructor back in the day always said "if you can see it, you can do it". What you are supposed to "see" is HOW you are laying a bead, penetrating the pieces being joined, etc. It just takes some practice.

You can turn down a big welder to do thin work but you can't turn up a small welder to do adequate work on thick metal.

Save your money up and get a big one. I have a Millermatic 251 with a spoolgun. It will weld anything I need. I found the best deal was from www.cyberweld.com.

Stotman

Hobart 140 with gas is what I have and very happy with it. I primarily Weld 16g sheet metal for my truck and it is doing a great job so far. I welded on work table which is serving me a great purpose for all my welding work for the panels

My 2 cents

Ganesh

That's the same rig I use daily. I actually prefer it over some of the newer rigs we have around.

Just to make a suggestion.....add a good quality auto-darkening helmet and you'll be a lot quicker to master the art. My $100.00 helmet has a fixed static lens setting of 11.....and I'd suggest getting one that was variable with a max of 10. On low amperage stuff you will be able to see and control your feed better. I've even seen a LED light that clamps onto the gun to give you better visibility at lower amperage settings. No shadows...makes sense.

Dave

Good point with the auto-darkening. I have a good quality one, but the shade is too small, I kick myself for not buying the larger "full face" shade.

i'm sorry i said a 140 hobart but it was a 150 or 160. it was the smallest 220 unit they made ot the time, in fact i don't think they make it any more. it was easy enough to carry around if you needed to but it would still weld 1/4" if need be. have we convinced you to get a good one yet?

I have a Miller 235 amp stick welder. This works well for all the heaver stuff including the rusty & dirty steel. I also just bought a 110 wire feed ( 90 amps )with the gas option. This relly works great for the light sheet metal stuff and work 1/4 " stock or less. So ....... I have I believe the best of two worlds. I also bought the wire welder used but the man never used it ( Still in the wrapper ) I bought it for ten cents on the dollar.

You have convinced me to get a brand name.

Now, should I get a 220v or a 110v unit?

I am getting the welder for light household work and to do any needed repairs to my 1942 Chevy PU.

A 110 v unit has a huge portability advantage and can be used with long extension cords and if you exceed the duty cycle on sheetmetal you're warping it anyway. Backed up by a 220V stick welder in the garage you can tackle anything even somebody's broken ornamental iron outside somewhere 220 is not to be found. The smaller mig will feel more like a glue gun and be generally handier. Gas is a must except for outdoor work where fluxcore is needed for windy conditions. Mine is a Lincoln.

i agree with everyone on the sticking with major brand, depending on what all you need welder for on what voltage to get. myself i am a hobbiest mainly my truck, so i bought a lincoln 140 110 volt, also in my budget, but the best money i spent was on auto-darking helmet, my biggest problem was not being able to see what i was welding but not now

Regarding portabiltiy: My 220 unit (Hobart 187) is pretty portable and will run on a 14 gauge 60 foot extension cord. I can pick it up with one arm but it is pretty heavy.

If you want to do real frame work, I wouldn't recommend a 110v unit. If it is welding on mounting tabs for something that won't kill you if it falls off, then a 110 is OK...

I have a little Lincoln WeldPac with the gas kit. It's done everything I need it to especially sheet metal. When you are MIG welding patch panels, you are going to do it in little spaced spots around the patch, not one big continuous weld.

I watched a guy welding a patch panel in with a MIG and he was actually welding about a 1/4 inch at a time, then putting down the welder and picking up a hammer and dolly and flattening the weld. Then he'd do another small weld about 4 inches away from the first, then he'd hammer that one.
Slowly he worked his way around the patch, eventually filling in between all the little welds.

Anal????

As most folks on here have already said, you'll need a 220 if you want to weld a lot of thicker metal (framework), otherwise a 110 should be fine. I got a Hobart 140 (110v)with gas regulator brand new in the box off craigslist for 250 bucks, and it has served me well, though I mostly do sheet metal work with it. I have done some welding on 1/8th inch plate, but only on small brackets and such. It worked fine for that, but you would probably want something with a longer duty cycle if you wanted to weld a large amount of heavy gauge metal.
Also I would suggest taking a mig welding course at your local community college if one is offered. I took a 10 day course for a hundred bucks, and it was well worth it. All the free wire, gas, and scrap metal I could want to practice on. Plus tips about puddle control, tip angle and other general welding techniques, from an experienced welder. Mig is easy to learn, but it's still nice to have somebody give you pointers.

I was at Home Depot this weekend and they have a Lincoln 3200 HD on clearance for $150.00. It is missing the gun, grounding cable and gas hookup. I wonder what those would set me back. I'm going to check on Monday.

I am no expert on welders. But a couple of my freinds have burned up Lincolns doing body work. Miller seems to be a very good unit. Mainly because Miller uses a copper transformer,whereas Lincoln uses an alluminum transformer.If I were to buy one I would go to a knowlegable Miller dealer and try to come up with a good deal.I do have a 35 year old Miller stick welder,that has never let me down. It can sit in the cold shop for a couple of years,and when I hit the switch shes ready to go.In all fairness go to a regular dealer who is knowleghable of his product,and go from there.Probably to another dealer.

what's your guys take on a Lincoln pro mig 180?

I'd say a slightly hotter and more expensive version of the Lincoln 140, which I've been very happy with

Bill

does the 140 run on 220v and your 140 has been trouble free?

If you can weld with gas you can weld with a TIG. Infinite control over heat and filler feed and can handle anything steel on your project. I have one of THESE and a MIG. The MIG is sitting collecting dust... I never use it.

My review of the unit can be seen HERE

Just FYI. I know I'm swimming against the tide but I do a lot of that anyway so blast away.

sure I would like to get a tig, but I just can't afford it

I talked to a few electrical engineers from Lincoln, those mini machines are not made in their Ohio plant, they are made in Italy (as I remember) but not in the US. Even their crackerboxes have aluminum windings. These guys said that the new transformer designs are more efficient and do not need to use copper. Can't speak for the others, but I think that hobarts machine is made over yonder also. You'd be better off in the long run to buy at lease a 215 amp machine, that is in the heavy homeowner category if you are a serious hobbyist.

Per the TIG discussions. We all can't be like Woody and weld razor blades together. As someone who has *not* been formally trained to TIG like he has, I do enjoy my TIG, but as far as getting things done, I usually break out my MIG. (We will see since I built a new cart to haul all my machines with one plug-in and all bottles on board so I can just turn on the machine I want and start working if this remains the same. I think it will.)

With TIG, you have to hold your tungsten the right distance, get the arc started, get the puddle going, dab in your filler, move on. This takes two hands and a foot and lots of coordination. This is after I have set up by choosing: type of Tungsten (straight, lanathated, ceriated, thoriated), tungsten size, sharpened the tungsten (on a dedicated stone) find the same size collet, chosen the size of gas cap, type of back cap, filler rod type and filler rod diameter, then set my machine for AC or DC, electrode polarity, pre-gas, pre-amperage, start (hi-fi or lift), welding amperage, slope, wave percentage, and post flow. It's like landing the gol-durn space shuttle.

On a MIG, set the voltage, set the wire speed, pull the trigger and move the gun. To me, the MIG is much easier. Sort of like coloring with a crayon.

However, if you want to take the time to learn to TIG, you can weld and put less heat and filler in the metal (better welds), and with an AC/DC you can weld any metal that is weldable. You will just be much slower than a MIG, and it will take you a lot longer to learn how.

Miller is making a new TIG machine that is priced for the hobby market and doesn't take a ton of settings to get going. I'd look at that one if I was in the beginner TIG market.

All of those things get done one time. I have not touched the settings on my machine since I bought it. Welding things on your truck is the simplest form of welding so further adjustments are not necessary... and I sharpen my tungsten with the same 5-inch hand grinder that I grind rust off my truck with. Let's not resort to exaggeration to make our argument.

Welding with a TIG is like welding with gas. If you can oxy-acetylene weld you can TIG weld. TIG is like oxy-acetylene on steroids.

The foot pedal thing is legit, but you can get a controller that mounts to the torch that you operate with one finger. If you watch Orange County Choppers, they use hand controllers, and if I were learning today I'd start with a hand controller.

Mig welder
I bought a miller auto weld a few months ago.Like it very much.
Just dial in the thickness of steel and it auto sets the temp.
It works on 110 and can weld up to 12 guage

When your tungsten gets messed up or broken off when you stick it just open a jar of quick sharp. It will put a point on the tungsten right now and it's no fuss no muss. It will save you time trying to get the rod perfectly ground and does not get the rod contaminated from other things ground on your grinding stone.
62Blue
Don

I have never heard of "quick sharp", Can you give me some information on it?

Chem Sharp

Bill

That sure is interesting... never heard of it before but I've been away from welding for about 30 years so it must have come into existence while I was out of the loop.

What does the point tungsten sharpened with this look like?

Can you control the length of the taper with it?

Will it remove a glob of steel from the point if you stick the tungsten on the puddle?

>>stick the tungsten on the puddle?<< Say it isn't so.

I've been using a finger control since I bought the Lincoln Precision 185 TIG. You are not always welding while sitting at a bench. Much welding on a vehicle is out-of-position welding and I can't see myself trying to operate a foot control while laying on my side or back. The wire for the finger control is attached the main cable so there is less clutter. My foot control is brand new and still in the drawer under the welder. The only downside is that they get $200 for them and there isn't much to it.

Dale, every time there is a thread about welders, you proclaim that the Miller uses copper transformer wire. I think that you will find in this range of welder, they both use aluminum magnet wire. This wire is made specifically for electric motors and transformers.
It is odd that you would think Miller uses copper when 40 years ago they were the first to build machines with aluminum wound transformers. They even found a way to weld copper leads to the aluminum windings with a combination of pressure and a twist, sort of a friction stir technique. I think Lincoln uses a mechanical crimp to connect the two.

Find a welding supply that sells both red and blue and they will tell you to pick your color, they're both just as good.

I'm a hobart man.... I've been to several weld shops, and for small welders like us hobbyist's use, Hobart is the top recommended choice because it's a Miller without the "Big Blue" price tag. As for Lincoln, their little machines can do aluminum, but their arc and weld quality isn't quite with Hobart/Miller

Now, if you're going into the big leagues like the Hobart Fabricator sized machines, etc, then it's a wash...

I'm extremely happy with my Hobart 187. Welder, cart, spool of wire, lifetime lease on an argon tank (with initial fill) all told right at $800. Haven't even opened the spool of flux core wire that came with it. I'm currently loaded up with .030 wire and I've been welding in cab corners, and doing occasional thicker steel welding, just change the heat and feed rate. VERY satisfied.

With chem sharp and the like you have to dip the tung in it and then strike an arc against copper to get the point to form. At least that is what I remember the instructions on my jar of the stuff to say. I will admit I have not tried it. That is what I need, some more chemical fumes released in my shop...

i have a little 110 mig unit from harbor freight that does all my needs for only 120.00 you can pay an extra 200 for a name brand but why when you get the same parts without the sticker, thats all the lesser known brands are is just repackaged millers and hobarts

surly they aren't repackaged millers!!!! well i guess you could do like me buy a old machine- i have a millermatic 35. can't speak bad about the chinese ones, never owned one. it may be possible but i would be pretty suprised. i'm sure some of the parts, maybe all, are made overseas now.