There have been MANY posts on this and on other boards about buying welders; what to get.....how big and powerful....wire or stick....AC only or AC/DC. [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] There ARE A LOT of choices out there, especially in hobby-grade welders. I often see the statement: "I want to weld up to 1/4" material with it....that's about the thickest I'll ever have." [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] Just in the last few days, I have come face to face with WHAT I ALREADY KNEW, and that is buy the biggest machine that you can afford. You just never know what you'll get into, and I have yet to hear anyone say: "Dang it! I wish I had bought a SMALLER, LESS POWERFUL machine!" 120V mig welders are neat and they are cute and handy to roll around, but they are LIMITED. I tried using one at an auto repair shop to weld nuts onto broken off 3/8" studs....a sort of routine shop repair situation that anyone could easily have, even under "hobby" conditions......no dice, there just wasn't enough power to get that heat in there and do the job. I ended up using their 225 AC Lincoln buzz box and stick electrode. I used the 120V mig as a place to set my coffee cup. [img]/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif[/img] BE AWARE that there are limitations to these little machines that can leave you wanting. Maybe hold out for something a little more potent. [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]
For what it's worth, I have a sort of crossover welder. It's a Hobart 'Handler' 175 mig welder. It is a 220V machine, but it's able to operate on a 30 amp circuit which worked out very well for me. I'm pretty sure Miller makes one that's very, very similar. I'm sure I'll end up getting something like a bigger Lincoln or Miller sometime in the future, but this does everything I need right now. If I decide to build something like a gooseneck trailer like I've been considering for next year, I'm sure I'll probably want something bigger... and a plasma cutter... and an over head winch... etc., etc., etc... [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
Actually, my Millermatic 35 will weld on the top setting and only pull 24 AMPs. That's .035 wire and really pouring the heat to it. That's one of the nice things about wire is that it will weld with less input amps than a stick machine on the same job. [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] The Hobart Handler is a very hard welder to beat. One of our buddies in CA has a whole fleet of them that he rents out to guys who wanna build something in their garage. [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
Dave -- When shopping for a home welder I faced that choice and ended up with a MillerMatic 135 110V unit for the sheer portability of it. The only 220V on my property is in my woodshop, but this little unit can run anywhere. So I was aware of the limitations of both mini- and mid-sized units...and made a reasoned choice. MIG is a gas (no pun intended), and judging from the number of friends with larger units who have come over here to use mine, my bet is those larger units at my friends' houses are available to me as well.
Sort of like trading implements back and forth. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
[img]/forums/images/icons/cool.gif[/img] That's a great way to extend your tool availability; trading back and forth. [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] Some of the smaller wire machines are literally suitcase sized, and very lightweight. [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]
I have a piece of crap 110V Marquette 135 amp MIG. My brother-in-law has a 110 volt 135 amp Miller that will weld about anything. In fact my pickup bed trailer tongue is welded on the frame with his welder. My welder wouldn't have even stuck metal to it. The cheapie welder does okay on sheet metal but that's it. Next time I buy a MIG it will be a Miller at 3 times the price and worth every penny!
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