Welder opinions

[JustDandee]

Looking to get a better welder, short term I have some floor pans to work on and then a flat bed. I have an old Lincoln if the materials thicker…I am am not a good welder hoping moving up from a free HF will make me okay each of these is $450 with the bottle. Good value or be patient and wait

 

[tworley]

Looking to get a better welder, short term I have some floor pans to work on and then a flat bed. I have an old Lincoln if the materials thicker…I am am not a good welder hoping moving up from a free HF will make me okay each of these is $450 with the bottle. Good value or be patient and wait

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My experience is that 200amps +/- is real good for what we do on our jeeps and/or thicker material like 3/16 or 5/16. The 140amp range begins to struggle at that thickness. If you're wanting to stay cheap, I think there are several forum members with a Yeswelder that have had good results.

 

[pc1p]

130-140A welders are good for small house projects and repairs, but will more than likely struggle with anything fabrication related.

A general rule of thumb for determining amperage in welding is to use approximately 1 amp for every 0.001 inch of material thickness. This means that for a piece of metal 1/8" (0.125 inches) thick, you would start with around 125 amps. A core flux welder will have slightly more penetration than a gas-shielded version, but the rule of thumb above is still a good one.

 

[JP_in_STL]

A 240V capable would be ideal. I'd look at a Multi Voltage (MVP) Hobart Handler 210 that you could crank up on 240V on the thicker stuff, but still portable enough to run on 120V to weld up your gramma's patio furniture. I've prob run 500lbs of .035 fluxcore through my HH210 with no issues other than replacing a couple liners.

 

[tobiism]

The biggest thing I run into in other people's garages is that they don't have enough amperage in the circuits in their garage to even run a 120 volt welder. For anything up to a 140 you would at least want a dedicated 20 amp circuit on 12 gauge wiring. If you've been struggling with the welders you have you might want to check what your circuit is capable of and upgrade.

 

[JustDandee]

What is the the thoughts on the two above in just doing floor pan tin on an old ford truck? Are they a good value for doing that work?

I have a 220v in the garage that I use a 110 pigtail adapter on…thinking I am good on the amperage…. Budgetary I am prone to mission creep here in that I like tools and that I will blow my budget on this tool by getting some really good stuff. Then not have enough funds to work on it at all this summer. On the other hand I don’t want be junking my tin because I got something that does not work. I got warned that my flux core welder is not going to do me any favors…. Remember when it come time to do thick stuff on the flat bed I got an old tombstone Lincoln stick welder that I feel comfortable with.

 

[tobiism]

What is the the thoughts on the two above in just doing floor pan tin on an old ford truck? Are they a good value for doing that work?

I have a 220v in the garage that I use a 110 pigtail adapter on…thinking I am good on the amperage…. Budgetary I am prone to mission creep here in that I like tools and that I will blow my budget on this tool by getting some really good stuff. Then not have enough funds to work on it at all this summer. On the other hand I don’t want be junking my tin because I got something that does not work. I got warned that my flux core welder is not going to do me any favors…. Remember when it come time to do thick stuff on the flat bed I got an old tombstone Lincoln stick welder that I feel comfortable with.

Yeah those welders should be fine for sheet metal.

 

[Shank]

I bought a miller 211 multi volt machine 12+ years ago as I thought the option to weld on 110 would be nice…. i wouldn’t have spent the extra money, once you’re on 220 you won’t be looking to go back.

 

[JustDandee]

Well I found a Lincoln 220v 180 set-up cart/bottle/ even had the manufacture dust cover…$500. Was talking and making arrangements to go look and realized he was 5 hours away one way. Ugg FB search fail,.. not enough time in my schedule to take a full day to make that run.

 

[bucky]

I started with a Hobart Handler 140 that I bought at action with the full setup cart, tank and accessories for $350. Works great for small stuff but lacked umph for anything thick or long welds. I upgraded to a Hobart IronMan 230 and I’m very happy with it. Went from a 20% duty cycle to a 60%. Cooling fan almost never turns on unless I’m doing a large project. The added benifit is that the welding lead is 5’ longer than the 140. I bought a 25’ extension cord so I can reach inside and outside the shop when welding on my trailers and such. The downside was I had to add a dedicated 30 amp power outlet. Sure it cost a bit but it will last my lifetime.

 

[DuckNut]

A friend of mine builds trailers as a hobby to put vacation money in his pocket. He had an older Miller that finally went to pasture. Because he does not weld daily he decided to try the Harbor Freight model and determined it was not for his use. Then he tried a Yes welder and has had it for several years. He says it has enough power for what he uses it for and the best part is the built in plasma cutter.