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welder advice. Chicago Electric

userbmx1315

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Dallas, NC
Chicago Electric 220V flux mig, 110A @ 15% duty. Less that 1 year old, used one spool of wire. $175

this welder still looks brand new, is it worth it? i want one that will weld 1/4" think steel, lookin at making my own bumper. i dont know if it has the bottle with it. it says mig so it should take gas shouldnt it? new at welders
 
Thats what my buddy has been using for the past couple months on his ZJ project. Not a bad lil welder. Has trouble feeding at times though, we have to pull the wire with pliers every 5 welds or so..

He's been welding everything from unibody to 3/8's with it..

We just got a 160 tankt o run 75/25 this week.

$250 new I think.. may be worth it.

Has some pics of the beads it lays down and such here.
http://www.nc4x4.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34720
 
Neggatory Ghost rider... We changed tip quite a bit, the feed in the unit itself tended to slip and just spin without feeding wire. .030 and .035
 
Chris @ GATR said:
My Chicao Electric doesnt act like that. ;)

I've heard of several others that do.

I scored a brand new lincoln 175 mig for $500 shipped, and if you're after something smaller the hobart handlers get a lot of rave reviews. I've seen the Handler 140 for as low as $375 shipped...

You won't be migging 1/4" with that CE machine, the manufacturer lists the max thickness of steel without mentioning that you have to use flux core to get the necessary penetration.

That said, it'll get you burning metal together right away. Personally, I'd suggest saving your pennies and getting a new unit from linc, miller or hobart. You'll end up with a more capable machine (good if you keep it) that keeps its resale value better (good if you don't keep it). Sometimes you just gotta get a new toy though.
 
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