I'm debating what kind of welder is appropriate for me as I begin to think about doing a restore. An arc welder is a lot cheaper and less expensive (especially if I build one myself), but isn't quite as versatile as a mig. Thoughts?

 

Arc welders have there place but are mostly obsolete. You need to find yourself a nice mig welder. There are allot out there. There is some initial investment but you wont know how to live without it after you have it. I picked up an old Linde 160 for $250 bucks. It is a 220 machine that will run .023 and .030 wire without a problem. At its highest setting I can run .035 through it. If you are not familiar with wire size terms that means I can hit anything from sheet metal up to 1/4 steel.

 

I use a modified 135 amp Lincoln powered by a varrac to fine tune the voltage.
It will weld 1/4'' to 5/16'' steel to its self with gasless flux core wire very well.
With stainless it will weld up to 3/16'' to 3/16'' real well and will also do 1/8'' and 0.100'' to a piece of half inch pretty good.
With aluminum, it can barely to 1/8''.

 

IMO a miller 180 mig is about the best overall welder you can get. Ive used it on anything from sheet metal to 3/16 production work and its never failed. If youre looking for a tig welder though their Diversion series are pretty reliable. We use Dynasty 350s at work but im not spending over 7 grand on a welder lol.


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I've used a Chicago electric dual mig 151 from Harbor frieght for 10 years without an ounce of trouble. It'll do 1/4" steel no problem, and I have on occasion burned some 3/8"-1/2" with excellent results. I mostly use flux core just because gas is so expensive and it'll weld through just about any paint or rust lol.

Never tried Aluminum through it. One day when I've jot $80 to blow on a bottle of argon I'll give it a go.

 

I have an everlast tig. Works pretty good for less than $600.

 

surprised to hear a harbor freight welder has held up for 10 years


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I use a Hobart Handler 190. It's virtually identical to the Miller 180 except that it lacks the infinite current variability (it uses a 7 position ****), but it'sa lot cheaper. I picked up a refurb on Amazon for $500.

 

It all depends on how much you use it. Buddy of mine has a hobart 190 and loves it. But he only uses it every now and then so it works great for him. If you plan on welding every day or often id get a miller. The race teams around here get new miller welders every year so you can pick up a 180 for around 600 bucks.


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Yeah, nowadays I use it 4-5 times a week. There was a time a few years ago when I built a sand rail I used it 5-6 hours a day for a couple of weeks. I couldn't be happier with it. Especially when I paid $180 for it when it was on sale and the let you use multiple coupons.

 

Part of the reason I'm asking is that my bro has notified me of a millermatic 250 that his company is auctioning off. Those go new for about $2k or so, so I'm wondering what kind of bid to throw on it. It sounds like I can get a decent mig for around $700 or so, so perhaps I'll throw in a $300-$500 bid and see what happens.

 

Millermatic 250 is a nice welder, we have two of them at work and they are great. Great for medium to heavy fab. If it was in a clean shop and taken care of 700 would be a good price.

 

a miller "econotig"stick/tig bought new in 1995 and a 1983 Hobart"mig man"75 amp mig welder.

 

get a TIG and never look back, if your doing automotive stuff

 

I use a miller 440. It's a lot more welder than I need, but the price was right

When looking at welders, try to find a gas mig as the flux cores almost always leave ugly welds even in experienced hands

 

I have an Everlast PowerPro 205. It's a combination Stick / Tig / Plasma Cutter that does AC and DC. I've only had it for a few months but I love it. I use the stick for fixturing (building my welding table and rotisserie) and I use the Tig for working on the car. It also has features that normally aren't found in inexpensive machines (pre-flow, post-flow, ramp-up, arc force, etc.)Having the built-in plasma cutter is an awesome benefit since I don't do enough cutting to buy a dedicated plasma. It also came with everything (regulator, pedal, tig torch, etc.) so I didn't need to buy a lot of add-ons.

It was cheaper than a brand name stand-alone machine (Lincoln, Miller) but the reviews were excellent and it's served me well so far.

-Tom

 

Ive heard good things about those Everlast units, never welded with one yet. Where did you get yours from. Tig is awesome if you can pick up on things well. Be prepared to blow holes if you dont though lol.


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I bought this one off craigslist for 200. It does really good except for it's duty cycle. Welds exhaust pretty much and car related thing with ease. Has gas hookups not sure what they go for new though.

 

I threw down a bid of $320 on that millermatic 250 MIG hardly expecting to win, but if I do, I won't complain. It seems like that's a pretty good welder, at least for what I'd be doing with it, which is mostly doing a camaro build in the next few years. Other than that, it'd probably just be random odds and ends here and there, so no need for anything crazy-fancy.

 

I got my Everlast 205 from Amazon. They had the best price and it was prime eligible so I got free shipping too.

 

Lincoln elctric pro mig 140 has a 110v house outlet with a 90 amp duty cycle not bad for the price i paid 524.00 for mine through lowes has heat adjustment ranges an wire speed function **** and can also hook up to gas

 

Well, I ended up winning the auction and got the millermatic 250 for under $300. I'm a little giddy.

 

nice buy man, you got a deal on that one


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Miller Syncrowave 200(I just like showing off). But all our high amp welders at school are millermatics 220's. Great welders, I usaully exceed duty cycle by 2-3 minutes and never have problems with them. I also have welded with the 250's and like them better than our 220's. Very smooth welding.

 

The syncros are nice welders I had a 351 at the last shop I worked at. Older welder but was decent. Nothing beats a Dynasty though

 

I used to have a Lincoln 140t. I used it to weld plenty of things, even this trans fixture for my engine stand......


I just bought a Lincoln 180 dual, because I have been having to travel and do jobs at all different places. I loved the 140 t, but the 180 dual is MUCH BETTER!

 

Hobart 140 mig with shielding gas... you'll weld like a pro in no time!

 

Exactly what I have, Hobarts have Miller torches anyway.

 

Well i have the Miller 250 duel voltage 110 and 220 with the pistol to weld Alum real nice welder.

 

Hobart and Miller come from the same factory, Hobarts have a ton of miller parts, for example, my Hobart has a miller logo on the gun.

For most smaller shops and serious home use I usually recommend the Hobarts 1xx welders, they're similar quality to the comparable millers, just cheaper because they don't have a few features that I think make the millers harder to use (for example, the wire speed tracking, which miller has changed 3x in > the last 10 years, probably because it made the welder harder to use for many people, on the latest ones it works just like on the Hobart). The 135, 140... welders (110VAC input) are the same ones, just different years, as are the 175, 180... (220VAC input)

FWIW- I have:
- Hobart Handler 135 (this one is actually my favorite welder, I'm also thinking about selling it to someone local since I just don't have space)
- MilerMatic 211MVP Autoset + Spoolgun for aluminum (the autoset on this thing is WORTHLESS, and it just doesn't have as nice an arc as the hobart, but it does have a broader operating range- it can lay down a heavier weld in one pass)
- Miller Synchrowave- one big beast of a TIG, I just don't see enough use for a TIG in most automotive fab shops unless they want to show off, have a ton of extra time (TIG typically takes 3-5x as long to do the same weld), or are welding a lot of exotic stuff (4130 that has to pass cert, titanium, some aluminum work...)- I'm honestly suprised when I use mine more than a couple of times a year
- Everlast Power Plasma 50- the import stuff really has gotten much better, I replaced an HTP cut 38 with this and it's not _that_ much bigger but will cut 3-4x the thickness, and will do it cleaner...

 

Yes Sir I sure like my Holbart 140 mig.

 

http://forum.grumpysperformance.com/...p=36661#p36661

this might interest a few of you

 

I have very happy with the Hobart 140 it does everything I need.

 

That's interesting.

I've never had my 230v HF welder cut out after a few minutes. I also don't use it for regularly burning 1/2" plate either. On the lowest setting of 30a, where it normally is set for most automotive applications, it has a 100% duty cycle. I can stitch floor pans, body panels, exhaust pipe, etc, continuously with excellent welds considering I use flux core most of the time.

It's all about how you use it and what you use it for. Also, if you suck at welding, a badass welder won't help ya. I've seen welds that look like chicken poo from $3000 millers too.

 

dido... not had it that long only a year.. but for under $100.and 110 plug in. it did all the rear wheel tub work I wanted... Flux Core.worked Fantastic!

if your looking for one and don't want to drop a lot of cash. and not welding thick stuff (over 1/4" plate) try one out...

I paid $89 new and use the $100 rebate gift card from Weld wheels to get mine. so if ya think about it. it was free!

 

I run with the Snap On MM250SL pro-streeted several cars with it so far never an issue. got the tig attachment as well... kinda an odd set up but works great on roll cages. I used it to weld endcaps on shorten rear ends and most every other phase of the builds.... I know Snap On and their price's but I have a brother that sell it, soooooo I paid actual cost on machine... and wow what a work horse.... 3.5 to 4 years on with no issue.... outstanding just need 220 for a machine this size

 

I started out with a Harbor Freight Chicago electric, and it did the job. But Now I'm going to be upgrading for better quality.

 

I started with a big expensive welder(overkill) now to be honest I went and grabbed a HF 110V arc and mig to do most sheetmetal jobs while I'm fabbing floor pans and tubs in cars....kinda sad I did it in reverse....wife wasn't real happy either....but to do cage welding always mm250

 

Hobart 135/175, mig/flux.Im a hobby welder, so it works great for me.