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mig welder

dirtwarrior

dirtwarrior

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I know nothing about welding but I want to get a mig welder. Must run on 110v not 220v. I can get one from Harbor Freight which is a 90 amp (likely to be inflated) or maybe a good used one off craigslist.
There are many things to consider welding amps, gas or no gas etc.
I am going to do simple repairs at home and some fab work. What should I look for in a mig. Any pitfalls buying a used one?
 
I would stick with Lincoln, Miller or Hobart, you can get parts or consumables at most any welding shop and they work. I've tired Harbor Freight and it is hit and miss, some things they have are OK, some just crap. I even tried a welder from Eastwoods and it is just not the same as my Lincoln or Miller machines. Look for a used Lincoln or Miller 100-140; these are nice 110 Volt machines. Depending on the material you're going to weld, you may or may not need the gauges, regulator and shielding gas. Personally; I use .023-.025 wire and a CO2 Argon mix and can weld up to about 3/16" mild steel and do a real nice job. It will also weld very thin material because of the fine .023 wire. If you don't want or need to weld thin material you could get by without the gauges and shielding gas and just use a rosin core wire.

Probably a good idea to watch some Youtube videos and see how it's done before you decide what you really want to spend the money on. But from my experience you get what you pay for in welding equipment.
 
Thank you for the reply. I will watch videos for welding
 
Spend the money and get a good gas welder, stay away from flux core welders. Just my opinion.
 
dirtwarrior said:
How are Forney or Clark
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No idea, I have no experience with either; I have heard of Clark, not Forney. Doesn't mean a whole lot, I'm not a professional welder, I just weld my own projects and some tooling.
 
go 220v not 110 you will NEVER find a 90A 110v breaker... just doesn't exist. 220 will plug into your dryer or you can easily install a good twist lock plug from your panel to the welder its cheap and easy. more input = better more consistent welds.
 
I have a Clark mig, it is a great welder. +1 on the 220v. The 110 versions just do not have the output for anything more than light sheet metal. Also, go with the shielded gas models. FLux core is only good for making a mess or if you are welding for steel construction in the wind.
 
Do not get one from harbor freight. I suggest Hobart, other than that Lincoln or Miller are also great.
 
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Dr. Banner said:
go 220v not 110 you will NEVER find a 90A 110v breaker... just doesn't exist. 220 will plug into your dryer or you can easily install a good twist lock plug from your panel to the welder its cheap and easy. more input = better more consistent welds.
Click to expand...

Don't worry about the amps and 120 volt it is not the same thing. The amps listed on the welder are the welder output DC amps at a very low voltage, all you need it a 20 amp 120 volt breaker to run a 140 amp Lincoln or Miller welder; I know because I have both. I assume it's the same for other brands.

A 220 volt is a great welder; I have two that are for bigger jobs and if you're welding 1/4" and bigger all the time it is for sure the way to go. But for sheet metal and thin stock you just cannot beat the 110 volt welders using .023 wire.
 
Get a little 110volt Lincoln or miller. My Lincoln migs and tigs have been excellent. Don't even think about not using gas.
 
solidassears said:
Don't worry about the amps and 120 volt it is not the same thing. The amps listed on the welder are the welder output DC amps at a very low voltage, all you need it a 20 amp 120 volt breaker to run a 140 amp Lincoln or Miller welder; I know because I have both. I assume it's the same for other brands.

A 220 volt is a great welder; I have two that are for bigger jobs and if you're welding 1/4" and bigger all the time it is for sure the way to go. But for sheet metal and thin stock you just cannot beat the 110 volt welders using .023 wire.
Click to expand...

Great advice guys.

So if you had a mix of projects ranging from small shelves and fasteners, up to weight-bearing platforms and railings for a vehicle carrying many people, would a single welder be appropriate for all this or no chance of that?
 
chocolatemalt said:
Great advice guys.

So if you had a mix of projects ranging from small shelves and fasteners, up to weight-bearing platforms and railings for a vehicle carrying many people, would a single welder be appropriate for all this or no chance of that?
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The next step up is a dual voltage 180; it can use 120 to 240 volts and can put out up to 180 amps when it's using 240 volt:

http://www.lincolnelectric.com/en-us/Equipment/Pages/product.aspx?product=K3018-2(LincolnElectric)

It's more money and of course has more capacity than a 120 volt 140 amp machine. Hard to imagine you would need more power than this one or even the 120 volt 140 amp, but I don't know what you want to weld. If you know the thickness of the material it's real easy to check and see which machine you need.

I think I would look for a used 120 volt machine; there seems to be a lot of them for sale in about any major city. A lot of people buy them and never use them; if you can pick one up on the cheap; use it for awhile and then you will know if you need something bigger or not.
 
chocolatemalt said:
Great advice guys.

So if you had a mix of projects ranging from small shelves and fasteners, up to weight-bearing platforms and railings for a vehicle carrying many people, would a single welder be appropriate for all this or no chance of that?
Click to expand...
A single welder is fine for this but it will end up being a fairly sizeable mig.
 
Oh..and Def be gas shielded
 
solidassears said:
The next step up is a dual voltage 180; it can use 120 to 240 volts and can put out up to 180 amps when it's using 240 volt:

http://www.lincolnelectric.com/en-us/Equipment/Pages/product.aspx?product=K3018-2(LincolnElectric)

It's more money and of course has more capacity than a 120 volt 140 amp machine. Hard to imagine you would need more power than this one or even the 120 volt 140 amp, but I don't know what you want to weld. If you know the thickness of the material it's real easy to check and see which machine you need.

I think I would look for a used 120 volt machine; there seems to be a lot of them for sale in about any major city. A lot of people buy them and never use them; if you can pick one up on the cheap; use it for awhile and then you will know if you need something bigger or not.
Click to expand...

Great advice, thx. I'll go the used-and-cheap route.

Been meaning to do this for a while but it may wind up being a rare little hobby unless I start converting my RV into something akin to this, lol (and yeah, I might...):

20100905_11435-Panorama.jpg
 
they typically have them on the floor at praxair or airgas and they are normally near airports, dont by a cheap one the wire will go cold and keep feeding its really frustrating
 
Just build a blacksmith forge and get an anvil. You can pack on some mean size with that setup...
 
idk i just use the one at work that i know i cant afford lol and it has free argon and tungsten
 
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