110v MIG suggestions?

Subject says it all. Suggestions for 110v MIG welder? Hobbyist stuff.

Reply to
George Howell
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Miller 135 or Lincoln 135. Both work well.

Reply to
Ernie Leimkuhler

The small Lincoln has worked very well for me.

Just realize you will spend about the cost of the machine on the rest of the stuff you need to actually use it. You will need a cart, clamps, bottle, regulator, helmet, gloves, leathers, dust masks, ear plugs, safety glasses, fire extinguishers, beer, layout tools and at least one hand grinder. In order to weld heavier work you will need a torch to preheat.

Reply to
frank

Beer........DAMN!!! I knew I was forgetting something important. I am going straight to the fridge. I am quite sure that adult beverages will improve my welding skill.

Reply to
news junky

Frank has the right idea, but he is thinking more on the professional line, working withtis stuff every day. don't let him scare you :-)

I don't know the level of youe experience , but if you just starting out , than read on.

lincln 135 (or Homedepo calls it PRO-MIG 135) is great little unit , so does the millermatic 135 but itis a bit more expensive.

both runs off of 110V. 15 or 20 amp wall socket.

the least expensive way to start will be flux core wire ( no shielding gas bottle needed.)

you shuld be able to buy everything you need at a home improvment store like home depo or Lowes , if you just going at it as a hobby. safety gear is readily available, clamps and grinder as well. standard duty will do just fine for hobby work.

start out with a 1 or 2 Lb. spool of flux core wire, .030 and .035 and experiment with it.

once you like it and want to start investing more in this hobby or trade, then get a bottle of shielding gas , and solid wire.

before you plug the welder in , read the manual that comes with your machine. specially the safety precautions, like arc rays (UV) , fumes , electrical shock and so on. most stores sell welding books that outline nicely the different welding procedures and how to go about it.

good luck.

Reply to
acrobat-ants

I'm going to add my $0.02 worth in here I bought a 110v mig 3 months ago and the most important thing I learned in the buying process was that for what Home Depot and other big box stores charge for a striped down version of a Lincoln mig you can get one with a cart, bottle, regulator and basic sheild from almost any welding supply house. You're going to have to buy your gas from one of your local welding suppliers so you may as well start a good relationship with them by buying from them in the first place. Also some of the welding supply houses amy be able to let you demo before you buy I was able to test the Miller 135, Hobart 125, and Lincoln SP135+ none of them are as nice as the Miller 251 we have at work or the the big green army stick/tig but all are well suited to my application of restoring old cars. The Hobart is the cheapest by a good measure but shares alot of parts with the Miller, it's a 4 postion tap machine where the others are infinently adjustable some beginners find it easier to set uo a tap machine. The one flaw with the Hobart is it has a shorter hose/cable than the other two 6' vs 10'. If you think you are going to do a lot of flux core welding go for a Lincoln they have a different cup for flux welding that is smaller and allows you to better see your work Miller/Hobart don't have a flux core cup. Other wise it's what's your favorite color or who gives you the best price. In the end I stubled across a Century 90GS at a small local hardware store that didn't want to carry welding equipment any more I got it for $10.00 over cost and bought his last bottle of C25 gas at full price all total it was half the best price on any of the other units. So far it works well for sheet metal and exhaust pipes but I wouldn't pay full price for it. Keep in mind I have access to a good machine at work when I need the extra power. Last comment the local Lincoln supplier claims the Lincoln weld-pak and mig-pak machines that Home Depot, etc sell are just a cheap Italian welder in a Lincoln case and are far inferior to the SP135 models.

Doug Hamilton

acrobat-ants wrote:

Reply to
douglasehamilton

I learned in the buying process was that

Hi Doug,

this is a discussion forum, so I like to disagree with the beginning, and the end of your post.

home depo's lincoln migs are exactly the same unit as the welding store sells. if you compare the same units. PROMIG135 to SP135 don't let that salesman "pull one over your eyes".

it is your basic busines practice; -simple volume discount - that home depot get when they buy 1000 pieces at a time and re distribute it across the country in it's stores. the local welding supplyer buys 1-5 at a time or so.

see between the manufacturer and the store there could be 3 or more price range : dealer price, wholesaler price, and reatail price.

I agree we should all support the local guy but the difference in price may buy you that shielding gas bottle.

if the home depo unit would be a chepo , lincoln would not offer 3 year warranty on it.

the salesman would be foolish to tell you " yes sir , it is the same unit... how ever his cost is most likely higher than what H-D sells his............again huge volume discount is the key word.

SP 100 or weld pack 100 , lacks the built in gas slonoid valve hose and regulator , and has a little less juice. it is the very basic

H-D also sells an other lincoln, a smaller one which does not have variable heat a , just 2 togle switches (high and low), this may be the one your suppler reffers to.

i would stay away from those.

check this out: this has been said here before and it is so true: "buy the good one, pay up, and only cry once"

we all know the other scenerio.

Reply to
acrobat-ants

I didn't. I looked at his list, saw that I had about 50% of the stuff from when I took my welding class, 40% already in the garage, and only about

10% of the stuff new.

A couple month comm. coll. course.

That's what I was thinking. Did some of both during class. Actually, the flux core was technically a 'dual shield', so I had to futz with gas as well as chip slag:)

I'll probably get the welder from bandrweldingsupply, or whatever it is. The shop is local to me, and he gave me a student discount on safety equipment.

Thanks.

Reply to
George Howell

My comments were based on actually going out and pricing the machines in January 2004:

-Home Depot Lincoln weld-pak 100 $549.99CAD, hose solenoid and regulator kit $159.99CAD, 20cf bottle $125.99CAD( from a welding supplier ) they didn't stock the pro-mig 135 at that time it's safe to assume it would be more than the Weld-pak 100.

-COSTCO Lincoln weld-pak 100 $499.00CAD no hose kit available.

-BOC Industrial

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Lincoln SP135plus with 20cf bottle and cart $750.00CAD, Hobart 125 with 20cf bottle $642.99CAD, Miller 135 with

20cf bottle $899.00CAD.

-Grainger sale prices Hobart 135 with regulator and hose no bottle $599.00CAD, Miller 135 $849.00CAD with regulator and hose no bottle. You would think that the big box stores should be able to sell for better prices than the welding suppliers but having done the leg work it was not the case once you add up all the costs even when they put them on sale at $100.00 off the SP135plus is a far better value because Home depot etc. only put the sale price on the machine and never the hose kits . BOC's prices were $50-100.00 better than any of the other welding supply places could do. But they have over 70 stores selling welding equipment so I would expect them to have more buying power with the welding manufacturers than even Home Depot does because they moving the the high dollar high profit items as well as the cheap units. One other thing I noticed with Lincoln 110v 100amp units they sell the same box with about 3 or 4 different model numbers and labels on it to depending on what comes with the unit, i.e. regulator, solenoid, hose, gas cup or just the flux core cup for the gun etc. Make sure with the consumer model Lincolns that you carefully read the packaging when comparing prices the machines are bundled differently depending on who is selling them. As far a the salesman trying to pull the wool over my eyes on the different Lincoln models where was his motivation they were already cheaper than Home Depot for a better welder, and he did offer to show me the difference on machines they had in their repair center. I was more interested in a demo of the machines he had, I walked away happy with the demo you can't demo the welder at Home Depot. The bottom line of what I'm saying is don't assume the Big Box stores have the best price it's not always the case.

Doug Hamilton

Reply to
douglasehamilton

Actually, in my experience ear plugs and dust masks are MORE important for an ameture. The distractions are removed so you can concentrate on welding. Similarly for good gloves and good leathers; better quality is important so you will not make mistakes from distraction. The argument carries well to grinders: do not be afraid to make a mistake. With a grinder you can fix it -- most times. As for beer, well I spent about 4 hours running the SP125+ on Saturday, most of it uncomfortable out-of-position stuff. After that I needed a few beers.

Reply to
frank

here is what H-D and lowes sells the lincoln SP 135 or called pro mig

135 or HD3200. =$425 the lincoln 175 is on sale for $595 and has the free cart (Mail in)offer from lincoln printed on the box now that is a deal and a half.

i would not buy a 20 CF bottle it is just simply too small even for hobby use. I would reccomend an 80 CF at least. also sometimes you can get a really good deal searching in local classifieds here a guy was selling a 135 lincoln with a 125 CF bottle for $400. I think I sold mine for $325 after I got the miller 175

Reply to
acrobat-ants

uh oh... here's where the "i need more welding stuff" virus begins. "I'll just get a small mig welder... then a cart... then some clamps, grinders, gloves, welding helmet, steel stock, chop saw, bigger compressor, more assorted air tools, plasma cutter, a sheet metal brake, new bench vise,sandblasting cabinet, tig set up, new wiring... " and before you know it your garage looks like a high school metal shop! PLEASE LISTEN!!! you're going to DO THIS!!!! i suggest you be prepared to go a little nuts. Sounds scarry but i did it and this stuff is addicting! Good Luck, walt ps. I like the millermatic 135 or lincoln 135 plus, hobart handle 135 is nice as well.

Reply to
wallster

This posting would be funnier if it were not so damn true.

Reply to
news junky

Reply to
acrobat-ants

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