I have a question about welders...

[swnoel]

I'm just finishing up a barn and have brought in a 200 amp service. If I was to buy one kind of welder what should I buy and which manufacturer?

thanks

 

[Ritothebull]

Whats your budget and what are you going to be welding, and do you have any experience?

 

[prof fate]

Things to consider...
What are you planning to weld, or more important, how MUCH do you plan to weld? How serious will you be at this?

The easiest to use is a mig welder (gas wire feed). They, like any tool, come in a broad range of prices. Generally the most versatile type of unit as well.

I got a 'buzz box' - aka, stick welder, arc welder, etc. They come in AC and DC (ac wall outlet, the ac/dc is how they output their power). Which you want depends on what you're welding. Mine is a cheapie AC unit, great for thicker (1/8" and up metals).

I got a cheapie wire feed 'flux core' welder from harbor freight - 110v so versatile in that regard, pretty easy to use, got it for tacking up at the farm where I don't have (yet) 220v outlet..not that I want to weld in a barn full of hay and horses and sawdust...so I do my welding at home where the tools and such is. I used it recently to weld automotive sheet metal. Spatters a lot more than MIG.

TIG is the higher end, often for specialty use AFAIK.

Good name brand welders can run $700 and up. If you weld a LOT then yes, spend the bucks. More features as well.

If you only do it now and then and don't mind a bit more fiddling with things, then the harbor freight stuff is fine. You can oftne get their 110v flux core for $85-95.

Then there is the different settings (amps) on welders, and different rods/wire (material, thickness, flux, etc) depending on what you're welding, the angle you're welding (upside down vs on a table say).

Still learning myself.

 

[sd455dan]

I'm just finishing up a barn and have brought in a 200 amp service. If I was to buy one kind of welder what should I buy and which manufacturer?

thanks

Well with single phase 240 VAC 200 amp service you can chose a wider variety of Older transformer welders since some models can draw over 100 amps @ 240VAC.

when you purchase a newer small inverter welder they generally are less demanding on the supply power source because they are more efficient at converting input to output power.

Do some research of the various types of welding and get an idea of what you want to learn or need to weld 1st.

Many books and some instructors suggest learning stick welding 1st or second after Oxy/Acetylene.
then moving on to other styles. others suggest starting with mig , because it is (easier) to pick up.

Watching and controlling the puddle is a good start no matter what type of process is being used- I am still learning and trying to improve also.

There are several skilled welders on TBN that hopefully will jump in with suggestions.

posting What you want to weld and any previous experience will help Us help you.

 

[yomax4]

I agree that Budget and Experience is key. Under 3K and you have a million options. 4K and up narrows the field and i could offer some of the better options.

 

[RNeumann]

Power MIG 21 MP

ESAB and Miller also make multiprocess machines. This one seems to be the most popular of the 3 though. All 3 will do MIG, Stick and TIG welding. Plus they will run on 120 or 240v for the USA model.

 

[swnoel]

Whats your budget and what are you going to be welding, and do you have any experience?

It would be for general welding , repairing something that's broken. Just looking for a basic welder that I can learn on at an affordable price.

 

[Ritothebull]

It would be for general welding , repairing something that's broken. Just looking for a basic welder that I can learn on at an affordable price.

The guys over at Welding Web love this machine and it's on sale right now for an amazing price, there are cheaper imported machines for a lot less but I wouldn't recommend them to my worst enemy. I have an ESAB plasma thats almost 30 years old and has been used hard and I never had a problem with it, I don't really need an other welder but for this price I may order one myself.

ESAB Rebel EM 215ic MIG Welder 0558102436

 

[Einthewoods]

Millermatic 211 #97614 FREE helmet FREE gloves FREE | Welders Supply Company Beloit-Big Bend-Burlington Wisconsin and Rockford, Illinois

Great machine with a lot of versatility

 

[rScotty]

Millermatic 211 #97614 FREE helmet FREE gloves FREE | Welders Supply Company Beloit-Big Bend-Burlington Wisconsin and Rockford, Illinois

Great machine with a lot of versatility

I second that. I've got an older millermatic and it is great. There are others nearly as good, but Millermatics are the standard. Love that machine.

For Swnoel I've gotta talk about learning welding. What you need is a short couple of hours of welding instruction. I've never met a welder who was reluctant to teach someone how to weld. And you will be amazed at how quick it is to pick up the basics. A couple of hours is plenty to go from knowing nothing to being able to do good looking, strong, and completely satisfactory electric welding in 1/8" to 1/4" in mild steel of any shape. And just knowing how to weld that size of mild steel will cover about 90% of the welding you will ever do.
You'll get better, but for baic welding in mild steel you'll find that one evening of instruction will make you good enough to get on with things.
If you have a choice, I recommend that you do that one evening instruction welding with an inert gas MIG setup like the Millermatic.

The other 10% of welding is mostly thinner/thicker steel and the various special alloys. Things like thin body sheet, or stainless, aluminum, titanium, hardfacing, tempering vs cracking in high carbon alloy steel, thick sections of structural plate, the use of the torch for brazing and heat treat... Unlike basic welding, every single one of each of these can take days - or longer - to get close enough to being right to be usable....and a lifetime to master.

But that first evening of learning will teach you enough to get going on it.
rScotty

 

[Einthewoods]

Millermatic 211 #97614 FREE helmet FREE gloves FREE | Welders Supply Company Beloit-Big Bend-Burlington Wisconsin and Rockford, Illinois

Great machine with a lot of versatility

This is also a good machine if you also want to stick weld and more

Miller Multimatic 215 #97693 FREE helmet FREE gloves FREE | Welders Supply Company Beloit-Big Bend-Burlington Wisconsin and Rockford, Illinois

 

[k0ua]

I am not knocking in any way any of the other welders or ideas presented here, but I have had good luck with my little Everlast PA160 amp stick welder. Yes a Chinese inverter welder I purchased well over 5 years ago for $269. I have done all sorts of welding and fabrication with it thru the years. I can also do scratch start TIG with it with a simple TIG torch I picked up for less than $100. This welder has easily paid for itself, and a buddy and I plan to use it soon to repair a radio tower he acquired on the cheap in the next few days. Below is a picture of the little welder and some examples of a few things I have repaired or fabricated with it. I would say I have my moneys worth out of this little stick/TIG machine

 

[strantor]

The only welder I have right now is a TIG. I chose TIG because a lot of what I weld is thin aluminum. If you want to be able to weld thin aluminum there are not many options. Some of the new MIG machines with computer controlled multi pulse algorithms are rumored to do it but I don't know much about them. TIG is the most versatile welding process and I wouldn't give up my TIG machine for anything. But it's also the biggest pain in the butt to learn and to run. While I wouldn't give up my machine, I also wouldn't recommend a guy try to learn welding on it, lest he give up in frustration. IMO your first machine should be a capable good quality MIG machine. You can skip the 120V welders and the flux-core-only welders. Your intro to welding will be a frustrating experience if you buy a crappy low amp machine.

My welder is an Eastwood TIG200. I can vouch for this specific welder but I don't have experience with other Eastwood products. I'm considering buying one of their MIG machines. What I really want is a Millermatic 252. Best welder ever, IMO. If you find one used, buy it.

 

[rScotty]

James, that is beautiful welding on everything you show. And very nice work on those copper alloy? rings...
Newbies take note: those are photos from a real master welder.

But I've also got to say that that just because the master welder can do a scratch start TIG fusion weld in stainless the thickness of your thumb nail without blowing things apart.... and all the while using nothing but a cheap Chinese box..... doesn't make necessarily make it the best machine for the beginner. The beginner profits from the most stable arc possible. And while anyone might get lucky and find stability in a cheaper box, super stable arc is one of the things we tend to find in the more expensive welders.

My advice, start with a good known-brand MIG. Get that one evening lesson. Avoid low end 110 volt machines if you possibley can; go 220V. And avoid the kind of wire feeds that rely on flux-coated wire only. As you get better you will very quickly prefer to use solid wire and inert gas for shielding. The millermatic does all this well.

Of course there is always the torch. Don't forget the torch. It's trickier, but versatile.

An oxy-acetylene torch can do many kinds of exotic metal work.
Here is some tiny torch welding in non-ferrous metal. All welded; no solder.
rScotty

 

[Mark @ Everlast]

I'd recommend an Everlast Power i-MIG 200. With that unit, you get both stick and MIG for about 800.00. It can weld flux core as well if you purchase the drive rolls. It has spool gun capability for MIG welding aluminum as well It is a modern, compact, up-to-date inverter with good duty cycle and performance that meets or beats any welder out there. IT's also dual voltage with 120/240V input capability. You get far more for your money.

MIG Welder, Power i-MIG 2 - Everlast Generators

 

[Mark @ Everlast]

James, that is beautiful welding on everything you show. And very nice work on those copper alloy? rings...
Newbies take note: those are photos from a real master welder.

But I've also got to say that that just because the master welder can do a scratch start TIG fusion weld in stainless the thickness of your thumb nail without blowing things apart.... and all the while using nothing but a cheap Chinese box..... doesn't make necessarily make it the best machine for the beginner. The beginner profits from the most stable arc possible. And while anyone might get lucky and find stability in a cheaper box, super stable arc is one of the things we tend to find in the more expensive welders.

My advice, start with a good known-brand MIG. Get that one evening lesson. Avoid low end 110 volt machines if you possibley can; go 220V. And avoid the kind of wire feeds that rely on flux-coated wire only. As you get better you will very quickly prefer to use solid wire and inert gas for shielding. The millermatic does all this well.

Of course there is always the torch. Don't forget the torch. It's trickier, but versatile.

An oxy-acetylene torch can do many kinds of exotic metal work.
Here is some tiny torch welding in non-ferrous metal. All welded; no solder.
rScotty

An Everlast may be cheaper in price, but it's construction, capability and arc quality are not. The arc quality is among the most stable in the industry. One reason? We still use copper where most people are subbing in aluminum. And James started out with that machine, not a master, IIRC.

 

[rScotty]

An Everlast may be cheaper in price, but it's construction, capability and arc quality are not. The arc quality is among the most stable in the industry. One reason? We still use copper where most people are subbing in aluminum. And James started out with that machine, not a master, IIRC.

Well, the use of copper is intriguing. Using copper sure makes a difference in transformers and contacts - although for entirely different reasons. Glad to hear someone is still using copper.
rScotty

 

[prof fate]

I'll be welding my brush hog 'body' as soon as the rain stops (in like 3 days) - it's split along a seam...and I'll be doing it with a $99 flux core wire feed cause that's what I have available. Easier than moving the 850 lb brush hog to the 'good' welder or re-wiring the barn for a 220 outlet.

I've played with a torch..my early lessons. Then moved to stick (what my dad did most) and once you learn to strike and hold an arc it's easy to work a puddle. Mig is just plain easy. Wire feed flux is prettyeasy too - I was doing sheet metal with it and that sucks all the way around.

I did weld up a mower frame (heavy sheet metal) with my stick welder a few year back.

Having enough confidence in your work that you life may depend on the weld holding is 'the key' to being a 'welder' - I made a back blade and it held up all last winter, only had one weld fail out of 20 plus. Very happy with that result. (mix of flux core for tacking at the farm and stick to finish). But one's life isn't hanging in the balance if the back blade fall off moving snow...like a bucket hook with a chain and something hanging..

This year got a new tractor and will be welding a front blade on a titan qtach plate...MUCH thicker steel, so all stick. Should be easy...famous last words, right? LOL

I've also welded up a mount for my tool box, umbrella for the tractor - once you can weld you find all sorts of things to weld!

Maybe i'll invest in a good mig/tig/stick unit in the future.

 

[k0ua]

Well, Scotty, I am a far cry from a master welder. When I go fishing I have been called the Master-Baiter. But that is about it

The Everlast was my first DC stick machine. I did have an old Lincoln AC buzzbox which I have since traded off. The little Everlast that I can throw over my shoulder with its included shoulder strap does all that I need to do. I have a few hours on an Oxy/Ace torch, which might have helped a little on my TIG work, but mostly it was all just trial and error. Lots of error I might add. In truth, I only post my better work. I hardly ever show my "crap work".

For every chain I have made, or copper crush washer I have fabbed up with TIG, I could show you a dozen things I have blown holes in!

But the point is , you (anyone really) CAN learn to weld with stick and to do TIG, it is JUST a lot harder, and the learning curve is longer, and the chance to be frustrated is bigger. I don't frustrate easily. And if I do, I just set it aside and come back to it later after I have cooled down.

Many guys have come to me with getting their radios interfaced to their computers, and it isnt that I am that much smarter than them, it is that I will stay with it longer when they given up in frustration, called it a dirty name, and stomped off for a beer. I will sit and "screw with " things until I defeat them.

Stick and TIG welding is kinda like that. Don't expect good results real quick. Of course that varies by person. The neighbor came over a few weeks ago and wanted to stick up some nuts on the end of rebar to use for drive rods to hold down a metal garage. I welded up one and showed him what to do, and he took off from there. He didn't do too bad of a job for having never welded before. He jumped a bit at the arc strike, but overall he done well. Of course I started him on 7014 rod, which just about welds itself, but hey, I was proud of him and his work. Welding on nuts is not the easiest task anyway as it is not straight line welding.

Anyway, enough of my ranting, but my point is I sure don't consider myself a "master welder". but I have glued some things together, and most of 'em stayed glued!. :cool2:

 

[charlton289]

I have a Hobart 205 ac stick welder it works fine for the projects I have done with it. I got it from Northern Tool a couple years ago my son had one of those wire fed welder and he was pretty good with it till he tried mine now all he uses is mine he sold his it was one of those northern tool specials don't remember the name but I went with Hobart because of the reputation of the name and was told that they are a good brand. It's up to you what you get but I do say this since I have had my 220 amp. Welder compared to the one my son had his really sucked up the power but mine I can't really tell on my power bill when we have done any kind of welding all I can say is what ever you get have fun and enjoy learning what you can and can't do with it.