Re: Welder Purchase Advice
[Re: QuickDodge]
#2990017
11/28/21 11:49 PM
11/28/21 11:49 PM
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Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 20,272 PA.
pittsburghracer
"Little"John
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"Little"John
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 20,272
PA.
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I have a stick, Tig, and mig welder but I couldn’t run an aluminum spool gun on anything I owned so I just bought this on. I saved 100.00 joining the harbor freight club and another 10% getting their credit card. You can stick, mig, Tig, and run a spool gun with it. https://www.harborfreight.com/unlim...ess-welder-with-120240v-input-64806.html
1970 Duster Edelbrock headed 408 5.984@112.52 422 Indy headed small block 5.982@112.56 mph 9.38@138.67
Livin and lovin life one day at a time
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Re: Welder Purchase Advice
[Re: pittsburghracer]
#2990044
11/29/21 02:00 AM
11/29/21 02:00 AM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 8,451 Highland, MI.
Sunroofcuda
master
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master
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 8,451
Highland, MI.
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Hmmm - never heard of such a welder. Kinda cool. How does it work? I have a Century MIG that I bought back in the early 90's. It uses shielding gas & has infinite wire speed & heat dials. The wire speed is VERY sensitive (which is good), vs cheaper welder click-click settings. Wire speed is CRITICAL for good non-spatter welds. There are a few great-looking MIGS out there for under $1,000. Look at Hobart & Miller brands.
Last edited by Sunroofcuda; 11/29/21 02:01 AM.
No Man With A Good Car Needs To Be Justified
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Re: Welder Purchase Advice
[Re: A12]
#2990060
11/29/21 06:46 AM
11/29/21 06:46 AM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 8,079 Tulsa OK
Bad340fish
master
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master
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 8,079
Tulsa OK
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I can weld OK but I don't do it a ton. I mainly got a welder so I can have my friends that are good at welding weld things at my house lol. That being said I have become decent at it.
I have a Hobart 135 Mig. It is 110V but for a 110V machine it works very well, it has done some jobs beyond what is was rated for and done well. A friend was just asking me about it yesterday and I realized I have had it 12-14 years now. The biggest thing with a 110V machine is no extension cord and if you do have to have one it better be a good one or you can tell right away.
68 Barracuda Formula S 340
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Re: Welder Purchase Advice
[Re: Bad340fish]
#2990085
11/29/21 09:46 AM
11/29/21 09:46 AM
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Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 9,031 Ontario, Canada
Stanton
Don't question me!
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Don't question me!
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 9,031
Ontario, Canada
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If all you're doing is sheet metal, the Eastwood welders are a good bang for the buck. I have a Miller 252 which is a very nice 220v welder and will weld just about anything BUT I do a lot of thicker welding and didn't want to have to switch wire, rollers and liner every time I do sheet metal. I bought an Eastwood 135 110v machine and it works beautifully. I use a mixed gas and .023 wire and follow the suggested settings on the welder.
In this day and age, unless you're building bridges or fixing tractors in the middle of a corn field, I don't know why you'd want an arc welder. If you want to do thicker metals, buy a bigger mig. These days a quality 220v mig will have the capability to weld everything from tin foil to 1/2" with a change of wire rollers and whip liner. Those accessories are fairly inexpensive.
Last edited by Stanton; 11/29/21 09:54 AM.
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Re: Welder Purchase Advice
[Re: Stanton]
#2990093
11/29/21 10:19 AM
11/29/21 10:19 AM
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Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 18,165 Mass
DAYCLONA
I Live Here
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I Live Here
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 18,165
Mass
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I always say "welders are like garages, never big enough nor equipped fully", do yourself a favor invest in a quality machine, 220V, spool gun, etc, etc....Miller or Hobart, .....I have both mfg's MiG machines (Miller 252 and a Hobart 185), zero issues, as well as an AC/DC Arc welder and Miller Syncrowave 250 TiG.....buy it once, buy it right, buying cheap and underrated you'll kick yourself in the [censored] down the road....
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Re: Welder Purchase Advice
[Re: DAYCLONA]
#2990107
11/29/21 10:58 AM
11/29/21 10:58 AM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,940 Richmond, Indiana
19swinger70
master
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master
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,940
Richmond, Indiana
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I have a Millermatic 251 I bought almost 20 years ago. Still going strong. Buy a good brand name, and get one with more capability than you currently need.
1970 340 swinger. sublime 1967 barracuda fastback BB 55 Plymouth Project
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Re: Welder Purchase Advice
[Re: J_BODY]
#2990358
11/30/21 12:30 AM
11/30/21 12:30 AM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 10,838 Freeport IL USA
poorboy
I Live Here
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I Live Here
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 10,838
Freeport IL USA
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I bought my Miller 252 30 years ago. Other then the whip, which has been changed 3 times, the machine is all original. I opened a one man welding shop about a year after I bought my Miller. It has been welding stuff together daily, Mon-Fri until I retired 32 years ago, Now it only gets used occasionally.
About 20 years ago I bought a Miller 210 because I needed a spool gun for welding aluminum, my 252 didn't have a spool gun attachment, and buying the 210 was about the same cost as having my 252 upgraded to accept the spool gun. When I retired, I sold the 210, and got all of my investment back + free use for 15 years.
Duty cycle isn't as important welding sheet metal as it is when you start welding 1/8" thick metal, but eventually exceeding the duty cycle with sheet metal will still kill the machine. My buddy bought one of those HF welders because he was only going to weld sheet metal. He had to replace that original HF welder after the 1st year. The next HF welder he bought was their top of the line 220v welder. Its about a year and a half old and is also starting to fail. Yes, he has exceeded the 60% duty cycle on it as well. At this point he has spent as much money as it would have cost him to buy a good Miller 220v with a 100% duty cycle.
Buy a good American built welder with a 100% duty cycle. Miller blue would be my choice. Gene
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Re: Welder Purchase Advice
[Re: Stanton]
#2990419
11/30/21 10:31 AM
11/30/21 10:31 AM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 10,931 North Dakota
6PakBee
I Live Here
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I Live Here
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 10,931
North Dakota
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Only two comments, Miller and Auto-Set. I have one and it makes this hack look like I know what I'm doing.
"We live in a time when intelligent people are being silenced so that stupid people won't be offended".
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Re: Welder Purchase Advice
[Re: 6PakBee]
#2990496
11/30/21 02:04 PM
11/30/21 02:04 PM
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 23,269 Here
jcc
If you can't dazzle em with diamonds..
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If you can't dazzle em with diamonds..
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 23,269
Here
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IMO, buy the most powerful machine you can afford, I can't see as a hobbyist that duty cycle matters much, and forget anything flux core I have a hobart 140amp 120V mig (for 20+ years, and exceed the duty cycle all the time) With the cars, I find myself using the Hobart the most often.
" All sorts of things can happen when you are open to new Ideas" Inventor of Kevlar
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Re: Welder Purchase Advice
[Re: jcc]
#2990503
11/30/21 02:23 PM
11/30/21 02:23 PM
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Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 9,112 Rogue River, OR
Jeremiah
master
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master
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 9,112
Rogue River, OR
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A Miller 211 will run on 110 or 220 and can operate a spool gun. The only thing that will hold you back is duty cycle if you are welding 3/16" for a while. Anything bigger than that and you will be looking at a Miller 252 or will go 1/2" however it is 220V only and no Autoset feature which comes in handy. Essentially Autoset allows you to flip a switch and the dial indicating material thickness and proportionately follows the voltage/wire speed table. In my experience it is pretty darn close for most projects if the metal is clean, etc. As with everything the prep and skill of the operator will make or break the performance of the machine.
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Re: Welder Purchase Advice
[Re: Jeremiah]
#2990506
11/30/21 02:37 PM
11/30/21 02:37 PM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 10,931 North Dakota
6PakBee
I Live Here
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I Live Here
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 10,931
North Dakota
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A Miller 211 will run on 110 or 220 and can operate a spool gun. The only thing that will hold you back is duty cycle if you are welding 3/16" for a while. Anything bigger than that and you will be looking at a Miller 252 or will go 1/2" however it is 220V only and no Autoset feature which comes in handy. Essentially Autoset allows you to flip a switch and the dial indicating material thickness and proportionately follows the voltage/wire speed table. In my experience it is pretty darn close for most projects if the metal is clean, etc. As with everything the prep and skill of the operator will make or break the performance of the machine. I think, THINK, Autoset must be more than that. If I manually set the voltage and wire speed, with clean metal I get an acceptable weld. If I go to Autoset, I get a great weld. I have the feeling, FEELING, that Autoset is always varying something while you are welding, wire speed or voltage or both, to obtain the best weld possible. Or I could be full of it.
"We live in a time when intelligent people are being silenced so that stupid people won't be offended".
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