110 or 220 MIG welder, mainly for sheetmetal opinions?

Posted By: NV69B7RR

110 or 220 MIG welder, mainly for sheetmetal opinions? - 04/25/10 01:44 PM

I'm looking at purchasing either the Lincoln 180 or the Lincoln 140 MIG welder. I plan on doing mostly sheetmetal repair & replace work on my Mopars with it. I have access to much larger MIG and TIG welders anytime I want if Ineed to fab cages or anything bigger. I'm looking for something to keep in my garage at home. Which would you choose or have. My brother advises the 140 (110) version as its more verstile and portable for my needs.

Posted By: Dougsmopars

Re: 110 or 220 MIG welder, mainly for sheetmetal opinions? - 04/25/10 01:55 PM

I have the lincoln 110 welder. Very nice unit. It will weld anything on a car. If you need to weld 1/4 inch plate i'd go bigger welder but for auto repair they work very well.

Posted By: flatiron

Re: 110 or 220 MIG welder, mainly for sheetmetal opinions? - 04/25/10 02:19 PM

I just bought a Hobart 140. I think it's a great machine,sister brand to Miller

Posted By: Lefty

Re: 110 or 220 MIG welder, mainly for sheetmetal opinions? - 04/25/10 02:27 PM

I bought the 135 Lincoln thinking I didn't need more. I was wrong. Once you start welding you end up wanting to do more than just sheet metal. I sold the 135 and got a 220 volt unit so I could fabricate anything I wanted. I never needed the portability of the 110 volt unit anyway.

Posted By: tripleblackcuda

Re: 110 or 220 MIG welder, mainly for sheetmetal opinions? - 04/25/10 02:32 PM

You should look into a Miller 211 MVP welder. I bought one almost a year ago and it has been great. The machine can either run on 110 or 220 just by switching the plug end(takes about 30 seconds!). It also has the Auto-Set feature that lets you set the gauge of wire and the thickness of the metal and the machine automatically adjusts to those settings. I have found it to be an easier machine to run than the Hobart or the Lincoln welders. If you want a less expensive one, the Miller 180 is very good too.

Posted By: DaytonaTurbo

Re: 110 or 220 MIG welder, mainly for sheetmetal opinions? - 04/25/10 03:11 PM

I bought a 110v unit for working on the cars. It'll weld basically anything on the car that needs welding. At the time I didn't have 220 in the garage yet so I got the 110v Lincoln unit. I would say go with the 220v unit so if you ever need the capability, you have it, but the 110v jobber gets it done just fine.

Posted By: NITROUSN

Re: 110 or 220 MIG welder, mainly for sheetmetal opinions? - 04/25/10 03:25 PM

Quote:

I'm looking at purchasing either the Lincoln 180 or the Lincoln 140 MIG welder. I plan on doing mostly sheetmetal repair & replace work on my Mopars with it. I have access to much larger MIG and TIG welders anytime I want if Ineed to fab cages or anything bigger. I'm looking for something to keep in my garage at home. Which would you choose or have. My brother advises the 140 (110) version as its more verstile and portable for my needs.

I would look at the overall picture. 110 is fine but most find that they end up needing more and going 220. In my opinion get the 220 with the infinate heat control. One welder that will do everything you will ever need. This is what I would buy today. It has infinate heat control plus the auto set feature. Also it is spool gun adaptable so you could weld aluminum etc. Buy it right to suit all possible needs and it could be the only welder you will ever need to buy.

http://www.millerwelds.com/products/mig/millermatic_180_autoset/

Posted By: Scott Carl

Re: 110 or 220 MIG welder, mainly for sheetmetal opinions? - 04/25/10 04:06 PM

I'm going to put my vote in for the 220v unit as well. You can always use smaller wire and lower amps for sheet and exhaust but with the 110v unit you can only turn it up so high. And as was said previously, one you start it snowballs. You know you'll want to weld up a new set of awesome ramps!!

Posted By: Pacnorthcuda

Re: 110 or 220 MIG welder, mainly for sheetmetal opinions? - 04/25/10 04:20 PM

I have a 110V Lincoln that has served me well. If I had 220V available I would buy a 220V (Same as aircompressor) But I make do just fine with 110V

Posted By: Commando1

Re: 110 or 220 MIG welder, mainly for sheetmetal opinions? - 04/25/10 05:49 PM

"Re: 110 or 220"

220
Do it right the first time.

Posted By: toddd

Re: 110 or 220 MIG welder, mainly for sheetmetal opinions? - 04/25/10 06:18 PM

I was in the same boat as you were.

I went with the Miller 180 with autoset.

I had little welding experience and the autoset made it easier to learn because I didn't have to worry about the heat and wire feed rates.

I'm quite happy with it.

Todd

Posted By: NV69B7RR

Re: 110 or 220 MIG welder, mainly for sheetmetal opinions? - 04/25/10 06:51 PM

Lincolns are 20% off at Lowes right now. I bought the 140. I had a 10% coupon too and got out the door at $400 even

Posted By: Michael

Re: 110 or 220 MIG welder, mainly for sheetmetal opinions? - 04/25/10 07:28 PM

220

Posted By: Fury Fan

Re: 110 or 220 MIG welder, mainly for sheetmetal opinions? - 04/25/10 07:39 PM

Quote:

I'm looking at purchasing either the Lincoln 180 or the Lincoln 140 MIG welder. I plan on doing mostly sheetmetal repair & replace work on my Mopars with it.

I have had a Lincoln 110V fluxcore unit for about 10 years. It has been troublefree except for normal consumable stuff. I also have a 220 unit and I rarely use it.

For just sheetmetal, the 110v is all you need, and as mentioned earlier the portability is great. The lighter weight of the tip and cord is nice for close-quarter jobs, too.

Quote:

I have access to much larger MIG and TIG welders anytime I want if Ineed to fab cages or anything bigger.

If you're sure you can get to a bigger unit whenever you need it (will the people that own these welders always be in your life?), get the little one IMHO.

People will always tell you bigger is better 'cuz it's not their money being spent and they don't know your budget.

If you're not a beginner, and you have an idea of what work you'll do with it, buy what you need based on the work you'll do. Why spend extra money on capacity and bulk if you'll never need it?

Something to consider - both those machines require a MIG conversion kit to run MIG. They come standard to run flux-core wire. Based on my experience, fluxcore makes for a hotter weld, which leads to sheetmetal warpage, and it makes a LOT more spatter. To use fluxcore on body panels requires more patience and time to cool between welds. MIG conversion kits are generally $150 plus you have to get a bottle, and those aren't cheap.

Posted By: Dakota542

Re: 110 or 220 MIG welder, mainly for sheetmetal opinions? - 04/25/10 07:59 PM

If your only ever doing sheetmetal work a 110 is perfect. It can plug into most wall outlets of any garage, so it's very portable.
But if you ever plan do do any type of fab work, you'd be much better off with a 220 machine. The 220 machine is more versatile.

Posted By: Noblewk

Re: 110 or 220 MIG welder, mainly for sheetmetal opinions? - 04/25/10 08:12 PM

Quote:

I have access to much larger MIG and TIG welders anytime I want if I need to fab cages or anything bigger.

You have pretty much answered your own question. If you are just going to do sheet metal and basic brackets around the house, the 110 Unit will provide all the current you will need. I have the little Lincoln 140 unit and I drag it around alot. In the Garage I have the Miller Dynasty 200SD unit, for the heaver things. The 140 is all you will need for anything on a MOPAR....

Posted By: DonnieLawson

Re: 110 or 220 MIG welder, mainly for sheetmetal opinions? - 04/25/10 10:07 PM

I got the Millermatic 211 about a month ago .
Im new to mig and found it easy to use with the autoset feature .
It also will do 120V or 220V just by changing the plug.
good luck.........
I will probably never need a larger welder then this .
Donnie