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It looks like I'm going to be getting a $2k judgement soon and I'm going to try to talk the wife into letting me get a welder. I'm looking for suggestions, preferences, and things to look for in general. 220v gas MIG.
Thanks,
Billy
I have been looking at welders for a while and have decided on a millermatic 210.
It will weld up to 3/8 in a single pass and they tell me that you can push it to 1/2 or better but not at 1 pass. With the gas tank it is $1475.00 plus tax.
You can upgrade this to use a spoolgun for aluminum or stainless later.
You might consider the passport (millermatic), as it does 115 or 230 volts and is a bit more portable depending on your use.
I would get a Miller (or Lincoln if that's the way you swing) 175 amp unit with 25/75 gas. This will easily do anything and everything you want on your (future) rig. With the money saved versus buying a 210 you can get a tube bender, etc.
i'd definitely check out Sean's tip! sounds like a great deal
I absolutely love the Lincoln SP175plus. It was a complete toss up between the MM175 and the SP175+, I chose the lincoln because the teflon liner was an easy upgrade for light aluminum work. Spool gun is too $$$ for my blood. At the time I wasn't sure if it was easy to get teflon liner for the MM175.
I absolutely love the Lincoln SP175plus. It was a complete toss up between the MM175 and the SP175+, I chose the lincoln because the teflon liner was an easy upgrade for light aluminum work. Spool gun is too $$$ for my blood. At the time I wasn't sure if it was easy to get teflon liner for the MM175.
liners are consumables and very easy to replace. I would say it's dead even between the Miller and lincoln. My firstwelder was a 110 lincoln and I got pretty good with it before upgrading.
billy, spoke too soon. It's actually a Lincoln. Tom (suzuki tom) has this welder and I have used it. It's a pretty good deal.
liners are consumables and very easy to replace. I would say it's dead even between the Miller and lincoln. My firstwelder was a 110 lincoln and I got pretty good with it before upgrading.
billy, spoke too soon. It's actually a Lincoln. Tom (suzuki tom) has this welder and I have used it. It's a pretty good deal.
I would get a Miller (or Lincoln if that's the way you swing) 175 amp unit with 25/75 gas. This will easily do anything and everything you want on your (future) rig. With the money saved versus buying a 210 you can get a tube bender, etc.
i'd definitely check out Sean's tip! sounds like a great deal
While I did look at these first I was under the impression that it would only do 1/4" plate Maximum and not at a single pass but since researching that a bit I think it will go 1/2" so 1/4 should go single pass...correct me if I am wrong.
I don't understand anything about duty cycle yet so this confuses me...it has been my experience bigger is always better. My goal is to build rail buggies and motorcycles so I am not sure this is the best choice for me...opinions welcome!
I just spent the past month burning all sorts of stuff with a Hobart 135amp MIG with 25/75. I was amazed at what it could handle. I actually undercut 1/2" tube once (after the tube was already nice and hot).
Being able to penetrate thick metal in a single pass is cool, but going over twice isn't a big deal to me. Plus, bigger welders are less portable ones, so if you have to drag this thing around at all you will wish it was smaller.
I'm not saying it's preferable to have a smaller welder, it just may be more practical.
When I was Welder shopping, I found what I thought to be some really excellent deals on both Lincoln and Miller 175amp migs. Just out of curiosity I drove down to the local Airgas and they had the Lincoln for exactly the same price as the Ebay stores. Naturally I went local, and they have taken care of me ever since. Check locally, you might be suprised at what you find, and I'm almost certain they would match or come close to a price from an Ebay store on an identical item.
As you're welding the electronics inside the welder heat up. When you stop welding they get a chance to cool down. "Duty cycle" is a measure of how long you can weld, and how long you need to let things cool down, before the machine will shut itself off in order to protect the electronics from over-heating.
With most welding projects you weld a little, stop for a minute, weld a little more, and so on, so that the machine never needs to shut itself down. If the machine has a very limited duty cycle, and you run a long, continuous bead, you might reach the point where it shuts itself off. The greater the duty cycle the longer you can weld, and the shorter your time between welds can be, before the machine shuts itself down.
If your welder ever does shut itself off, with most machines made in the last 20 years or so, you just need to go away and let it cool off for a while and then you'll be able to weld some more. I know one guy who's welder shut itself down during a long welding session and he thought he had broken it--he didn't know anything about its duty cycle. He was ready to sell it for cheap and buy another one when I talked to him and suggested that he try it again. Lo and behold, it worked just fine. Since then he's been careful to take a break now and then when he's doing a big welding project.
good expanation on duty cycle. My old 110 lincoln would shut down periodically. I have yet to have the MM175 shut off on me and I have welded a lot of inches continuously. Truly for cages and bumpers and sliders, you won't have a problem. Make sure you have a really good 220V 30 AMP outlet with properly sized cable. for most lengths under 50 feet, specs say 10/3 romex is fine (check the codes, don't listen to me ). I ran 8/3 for mine for over kill. Under sized wire will limit the voltage getting to your welder.
