Dual Voltage Welder opinion

[elginfarm]

Hi everyone,
I am looking for opinions on dual voltage Mig welders. I am considering a Lincoln Power Mig 180, but will consider other brands based on the input received from your collective experiences. I will be using it for fabrication and farm repairs. I don't want to get into brand bashing or anything like that, just good advice and opinions. The reason I am considering the dual voltage is in case I need to do a repair in the field and have to use a generator to power the welder. My welding experience is some Oxy/AC cutting, using an AC/DC stick welder that I bought for some experience and fabricating, and what I learned from a couple of Stick and Mig/Tig classes that I took at the local community college.
Thank you all,
Eldon

 

[IslandTractor]

I own two dual voltage welders, a Miller Maxstar 150 and a Miller Passport. Bottom line is that it is great to have the flexibility with portable machines that run on 110v but still have the ability to harness extra power from 220v when needed. The fact that both are inverter machines is a double bonus as they put out more welding power out of 110 than transformer based 110 machines.

Downside for this extra power and flexibility is the premium cost. I got both of mine used and in very good condition. It would still be cheaper to have one small 110v and a second 220v machine however not many 220 welders are portable.

For your intended field use either of mine would be great. Cheapest would be the Maxstar without Tig. If you have a generator you can use either 110 or 220 depending on gen size. 5000 watts from the generator would allow full power. The Passport is even more capable and is Mig but at three times the cost.