What type welder would you recommend?

TonyC · Nov 26, 2001

No doubt for me that ARC is easier. As your instructor points out, gas welding just takes a little more practice. Even as a novice, I get better at it all the time. Plus, if you get good at gas welding, you get even better at ARC, MIG etc. I just feel that gas welding is so flexible and inexpensive that it's hard to beat.

Corm · Nov 26, 2001

Gator - I'm just a beginner welder, the only experience I have is building a tandem axle trailer this spring with a lot of help from a knowledgeable friend. It was a fun project, I learned a lot, and got a real nice trailer to boot.

We used two Mig welders - a Lincoln SP125 Plus, and a Millermatic 250. We used the Lincoln (which I ended up buying from him at a great price) for the sheet metal stuff, and for some tack welding. We used the Miller for the majority of the welding (most of the trailer was 3/8"). The Miller being a 220V unit, breezes thru anything up to 1/2" with no problem. It also has a long duty cycle which is something to consider when buying a welder. My little Lincoln has a short duty cycle, which means that you weld for a little bit, then you wait for the unit to cool off, then you weld a little bit, then you wait..etc. etc........ With the Miller you can basically weld till you get tired (and with a mig welder you can really lay down a long bead without stopping). Both welders used a CO/2 Argon mixed gas. I have no experience with fluxed wire welding.

I have found my Lincoln to be satisfactory for most everything else I've done since I built my trailer. I did buy a used Sears 250 amp arc welder this summer. It comes in handy occassionally when I need to weld or repair some thick stuff.

My recommendation, based on my minimal experience, would be to go with the largest 110V mig welder you can afford. One other thing, I bought a Speed Glass auto darkening hood this spring when I started my project. It's not really a necessity, but it sures works nice. Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

Corm

Bird · Nov 26, 2001

Gator, I've been just reading this thread, instead of throwing in my 2 cents worth, and as you can see, there are some varying opinions./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif For my first experience with welding, I went to a welding supply dealer instead of the discount stores; thought I was going to buy an oxygen/acetylene rig, but the salesman steered me to an oxygen/MAPP gas rig instead (I lived in town and was going to keep it in the attached garage and he said it was much safer than acetylene). I took it home, read the book, and tried to stick two pieces of metal together; couldn't do it. I took the rig back and told the salesman I thought it didn't work. We went out in their shop together and he laid down as pretty a bead as I've ever seen done with any kind of welder./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif So I took it back home and practiced until I could weld with it (nothing like he did, of course). Then I built a rack for a neighbor to hang the "works" out of grandfather clocks on to repair them. Next he asked if we could build some "racks" for computer equipment where he worked. I assured him we could, but that by the time we finished, he'd understand why IBM wanted so much money for theirs. I told him an arc welder would be so much better. So he bought a Lincoln 225 (stick welder) and we built the racks. He couldn't get the hang of using it, so I did the welding.

Now my brother has an oxygen/acetylene rig I can use when necessary and he has a mig welder (flux core; no gas) that he likes (I haven't used it enough to get the hang of feeding the wire at the right speed). And I have a really cheap little "Miller de Mexico" 120 volt arc welder - short cycle time, as Tony mentioned, so it's slow - but it does almost anything I need to do. When I was building my forks to put on the bucket on my FEL (using real 4' forklift forks), my brother told me I couldn't weld anything that thick with my little welder - but I did! And I've tried picking up loads that were too heavy for my tractor to pick up, I've bounced loads on the forks, etc. and I've yet to have my first weld break.

In other words, I'm no welder, but I've stuck a lot of pieces of metal together with cheap equipment, and I've never had one break apart where I put it together. It just takes a little practice with whatever equipment you buy.

shade2u2 · Nov 26, 2001

I saw that Quality Farm & Fleet had a 120 (or 150) volt MIG/WIRE (gas) welder with startup stuff (helmet, gloves, wire, etc) for $299. It looked like at nice starter setup for the money...

Anonymous Poster · Nov 26, 2001

...It looked like at nice starter setup for the money...

I saw that also... a 3-day weekend special.

I seen it last night and didn't have enough time to research the unit...Clarke?{in-house name maybe}... and it's about 90 mile round-trip to fiddle around.

If it's a good deal, it will come again... /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

gator · Nov 26, 2001

Thanks again all, now I'm totally confused /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif, just kiddin!
I think I will go with the MIG fluxcore/gas. As far as the input volts I'll shop around and see. Just remembered I have a generator in the garage (for hurricanes here in N.C.) that I can roll out and use for 240V so that will eliminate the need for additional wiring.
Again, thanks all for your input, and the oxy/act(MAPP) sounds like a good investment in the future (I do have a bent box blade top brace and FEL bucket that does need straightning)

Wally JD 750 "GATOR"

therrien · Nov 28, 2001

What ever you get, be sure you can get replacement consumable parts easily.( tips or nozzles and hose liners.)

Doug T B1700 TLB

gator · Dec 2, 2001

I ended up buying a Lincoln Pro 135 MIG Welder (120V input) that LOWES had in their flyer. Started out at $437.00 but got Military discount of 10 percent and get a $ 30.00 factory rebate to boot. Looking forward to using it!

Wally JD 750 "GATOR"

radman · Dec 2, 2001

Congrats on your purchase. you will find the welder very useful. I used to drill holes and bolt things together but a welder is much quicker and easier. Your 135 mig welder will serve you will. Lincoln is a good brand name.

smokey · Apr 9, 2002

I bought an old Lincoln 400AS with the intention of pulling the Perkins motor off to fix an MF tractor. Got it running though and decided not to wreck a perfectly good DC arc welder.
I hear that these old models are more reliable as they had discrete components. Later welders used the welder generator to start the diesel motor. Reduces weight and cost but bit of a hassle when something goes wrong though.