Mig welder for floor???

I am going to tear out the old wimpy floor in my XJ. I am going to replace it with some stouter sheetmetal and install some drain plugs in strategic locations for water crossings or submarine operations. I have the sheetmetal thing down. I am currently in the US Air Force Aircraft Structural Maintenance school and look forward to getting home to start. I have been doing a little research on welders. I do not have a 220 service in my home. Would a 120V Mig work well for the floor pan, possible roll cage and other misc unibody welding? I am going to get the floor line x'd after it is installed and up the inside wall to the bottom of the doors. Thanks for any suggestions for this novice welder.

floor yes, cage no

tealcherokee said:

floor yes, cage no

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Do you know what you are talking about??? It can work for the cage, mainly depends on your welding ability. My buddy back-halved his cj with a 110, he rolled it over hard right on top of rocks, welds held, tube bent. Like I said, all depends on your competency.

davidt said:

Like I said, all depends on your competency.

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going to have to agree. With the 220 mig, settings were in the low-medium range for .120" tube. Sheetmetal will be easy with 110.

What I understand is if you want to make it easier, get a 220V. Must have to use a pretty low setting for sheetmetal? Flux core or gas, what would you get? I have been thinking of getting a generator to run my setup. I can also use the generator for my house if the power goes out. Sound like a good plan?

If you can afford it, then get a gas shielded 220 mig. Welding sheetmetal is no fun, but you can do it with either maching. Don't know anything about generators, hopefully someone will chime in here.

I have a lincoln 100 amp 110 volt mig welder that does just about all the welding I need done. I have used it to weld cages, spring hangers, long arms, truss's and even thin sheet metal...However, if I would have thought it through I would have gotten a 220V gun instead of the 110 setup because it does weld hotter and is more suited for thicker metals. Past 1/4 inch.

As far as using a generator, go for it. A tig welder is the only one that even remotely wold think about using "clean" power. I have a generator that is in my rig hauler, I use it for welding minor stuff. Havent tried to do any major fixes with the generator pushing my gun, but it seemed to work fine with minor stuff.

Good luck with your project!

-T

with this generator, you said maybe you would also use it as a standby generator for your house. The thing you need to take into account is what you intend to do with it. A 10KW (10000watt) generator will handle about 66amps of current and is about the size of a larger outdoor a/c unit. when you start adding up the loads you would want to run off of it you will discover that you really cant run a whole house on something like that. To run a whole house (200amp service) you would need something along the lines of a 25kw generator. Also for a standby generator you need a transfer switch to switch from utility service to generator service. There are two types automatic and manual. The difference should be obvious but the prices can be very different between the two. So what Im saying is make sure you really consider what you need to do with it. The best thing you can do is go talk to someone at a local electrical supply house. You dont want to talk to an electrician because unless you know them and trust them chances are they will just try to sell you something and not give you what you want. If you have any other questions I might be able to help.

tealcherokee said:

floor yes, cage no

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I have to fully disagree. Someone that knows would have said 90Amps (volts mean very little) no for cage but yes on sheetmetal.

FYI a GOOD 115V MIG welder rated for 130amps does just fine for a tube up to .25 and does awesome on .188!

A good quality 110V welder will do fine for 1/4" or less.
I have always used very HD industrial machines (550amp Hobarts) and recently bought a Lincoln 135Plus.
The key to doing lighter work is to use lighter gage wire.
A good 110V welder with .030 wire will work great for sheet and have no problem with .120 wall tube (cage work)

tealcherokee said:

floor yes, cage no

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HOGWASH! We did a nearly complete rollcage a few years ago in a friends buggy with a 110V 135 AMP Lincoln(after his high dollar miller took a dump)....its been rolled down more rocks, hills and canyons than i could count and not a single weld has broken or remained questionable.

Alright, it seems that the majority say a smaller 120V Mig will do what I want to. I did more research and found that it will do the job I want. Yes, a larger 220V machine would do the job that much easier. However, I do not have a 220V outlet, not even for my dryer(it's gas).

The generator idea may go out the door. Yes, after more research, the generators that run a home and could supply the power needed for a welder range from $500-10,000. I think I will skip that whole idea.

Namebrands??? Which one, in your honest and experienced opinion is a good machine?
Clarke, Miller, Hobart, Lincoln...etc?

The flux core MIG welding seems to be a bit messier and more hassle, but would be good for working outdoors where the shielding gas would get blown away. What are your opinions on using flux core vs. gas shielded?

Last, thank you for the info you guys have come up with so far, it is really helping out.

Ive had a lincoln Mig 135(i think its a "plus") for about 4 years now and have used the snot out of the thing...for 500 bucks or less, its a tough to beat little unit! Lowes or home depot usually sells them with everything you need minus the bottle for right at about 450 bucks. Dont bother with the cheaper harbor freight brands...stick with a good name like lincoln, miller, hobart, etc. I generally prefer miller machines but their often expensive and really not all that much better than a decent lincoln. If your not using it every day and not making your living with it, theres no reason why a low cost lincoln wont work perfectly fine for you.

Save the sheilding gas(i use a argon/C02 mix) for indoor(inside your garage or on a VERY calm day). Anything over a gentle breeze will blow your sheilding gas away and give some nasty looking welds. The flux cored wire welds arent as pretty as a good mig weld, but let you weld in some pretty nasty conditions but generally require more prep work of the parts that your welding. Plus, you can generally weld a thicker material in a single pass with flux core. Either way, get a machine that can do both...each has their ups and downs.