MIG Welder

snottystang · Oct 4, 2007

I am looking for information regarding MIG welders. I am thinking of buying a 115volt welder for working on the car but not sure if it will be enough. Any info would be appreciated.

mrmustangman357 · Oct 4, 2007

you get what you pay for. that'ss all i can tell you. stay away from clarke and cheapo harbor freight. you will lose more cash replacing your junk one than just buying a good one in the first place.

chromedog · Oct 4, 2007

truthfully, clarkes are made by lincoln... take a look at a clarke, and a lincoln side by side,,, only difference is the color of the case.

runawayabc123 · Oct 4, 2007

Any reason why you are limiting yourself to 115v? (I am guessing 20a max, more likely 15a max.)

Running a 230v cable isn't that hard. (Rather, temp one with a braker that no building inspector knows about.) I guess though, that if you have never done any electrical work, this is a bit much for a first project.

Also, keep in mind, you can go to a 230v air compressor too. (But not likely able to use both at the same time.)

Just give it some thought before you write it off.

xoxbxfx · Oct 4, 2007

buy the best welder you can afford...

Id go with lincoln, hobart, miller. Im a miller fan personally. All the professional welders I have met use miller, and you see lots of welding trucks running them to. Save your money and buy a good one, dont go cheap, let it break and have to buy a new one.

Lincoln makes a nice little 130amp machine thats 110v. It will weld just about anything you need to weld on a car. It says up to 1/4", but you will need a couple passes to get a full penetration. Get the gas bottle for it, not flux weld.

Id recommend a Miller 175/180, but its a 230v machine. Its around $700...but again, save and buy it once. Dont waste your money on a junk one.

mustbereel · Oct 4, 2007

I bought a cheap Harbor Freight MIG and used the flux core wire at first. It worked for about 2 days before it became intermittent. Then it just stopped working. I replaced it with a 115v Lincoln MIG added gas and couldn't believe how much better it performed. From sheet metal to 3/16" steel it works very well.

ForceFed70 · Oct 4, 2007

A good 115V MIG will do any welding job you'd need to do on your car. Stepping up to a 230V is a good idea tho as you'll really increase the duty cycle. But the downside to 230V is that it's not nearly as portable.

Definately pony up for the gas setup, but if you do go with 115V get some flux core wire as well. The flux core wire will allow you to weld slightly thicker metal.

As mentioned, you get what you pay for...

car_kent · Oct 4, 2007

From personal experience, i started with a Lincoln 115V with gas. It was small, mobile and easy to use. For small jobs and thinner metal, it was great. However, I traded up to a Miller 230V unit when i started to tackle jobs with thicker metal (> 1/8") and longer wielding periods. With the 115V unit, the weld penertration and quality would go down with steady use - limited duty cycle. The Miller has been great with a range of wire sizes, metal thickness up to 1/4 ", and stainless wire. I occasionally miss the small size of the Lincoln unit.

Kent

snottystang · Oct 4, 2007

Thanks for the responses. I am only going to go 115v as I will only be using it on this car and don't want to have to pay some one to come and do my welding for me. A lower duty cycle will hopefully make me take my time and not heat things up to much. Mustbereel, I was wondering which unit you have?
Thanks again,
Scott

BarnStang · Oct 4, 2007

I actually got a great deal on a Hobart 140 at Carquest of all places. Came with a cart, back pack bag with the helmit, gloves, slag hammer and gas regulater. And everyone is absolutly correct about the quality. I helped out a guy in a shop down the street and used his cheapo no name welder. I asked him what was wrong with it. He said that's how it's always welded...wow. WHat a world of difference between the Hobart and that thing. Don't get the cheap welder! I think the 140 is still the largest 115v Hobart welder you can get. And I used flux wire at first. Put all my floor pans in with it. Best garage tool I have ever bought. I think Miller makes the Hobart line or bought them or something.

mustbereel · Oct 4, 2007

snottystang said:
Thanks for the responses. I am only going to go 115v as I will only be using it on this car and don't want to have to pay some one to come and do my welding for me. A lower duty cycle will hopefully make me take my time and not heat things up to much. Mustbereel, I was wondering which unit you have?
Thanks again,
Scott

snottystang,

I have a Lincoln Pro-Mig 135 which I bought at Home Depot or Lowes for around $450. I bought a gas tank at Airgas. Don't bother with a small tank get a 135 cubic foot tank or you'll be refilling it often.

TD68302 · Oct 4, 2007

mustbereel said:
snottystang,

I have a Lincoln Pro-Mig 135 which I bought at Home Depot or Lowes for around $450. I bought a gas tank at Airgas. Don't bother with a small tank get a 135 cubic foot tank or you'll be refilling it often.

Same unit I have, works great, no problems. I need gas, it works fine without it, but it is so much nicer with it.

NasaGT · Oct 5, 2007

I have the same Lincoln as well, with gas. Very happy with it. Gas welding is muuuuch nicer than the flux-core, but as mentioned you can weld thicker stuff with the flux core setup.

JC6715 · Oct 5, 2007

I just got myself a Hobart 140 and am very pleased with it. Got it from northerntool.com for $460 with free shipping. Great piece of equipment, I'd recommend them.

RogerC62 · Oct 5, 2007

I got a Hobart 140 last spring and love it. I got it at a local welding supplier for around 450. I used to fabricate at a previous job so I already had a lot of the extra accessories. I do need to finish my cart for it though since I have to get it out of the shed and carry it to the driveway to work on my car. I would love a 230v unit but this does the job.

snottystang · Oct 19, 2007

Thanks all, I ended up with a Licoln WeldPak 3200HD. It should be enough to do what I need. Listed for 649.00 at home depot, ended up getting it for 400.00. Now I just got to learn how to weld!

Jester67 · Oct 20, 2007

I have a hobart 180 230V unit they now have a 185 230V unit. It is very nice it is made by Miller . I had a chance to use a friends Lincoln 135 and I like the hobert better as I was able to adjust it better to the work I was doing also got very tired of letting it cool off. Like others have said you get what you pay for.

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