newbie baffled

Don't buy a welder at Lowe's! Those are cut-rate welders. For example, Lincoln makes a whole bunch of lower quality MIG welders, the result of them buying up companies like Century, who sold welders at hardware stores and auto parts stores. Don't buy a "pro-mig" or a "weld-pak" or any Lincoln except one that starts with "SP". The SP-140 and SP-180 welders are just great.

You can start out with a 110 volt MIG welder, sure. But surely this is a real good time to find out if your 220 circuit in your garage is live? If you don't have a voltmeter you should - those are dirt cheap these days. The 220 MIG welder isn't much heavier than the 110 if any, and most places you will be welding will have a dryer plug. You can get a lot done with a little 220 MIG welder and a couple of 50 foot extension cords.

GWE

The 120 volt welders will take all that a 120 circuit is rated for. Depending on exactly which unit you are talking about, it may run ok on a 15 amp circuit, need a 20 amp circuit to run at full power, or some of them will want a 25 amp circuit to run at the max setting. But any of them will run on the 15 circuit with the power dialed down.

The 240 volt unit is much heavier duty, more options, higher current, more stable weld, and a higher duty cycle. Whether you need that is up to your needs.

I have a little 120 volt unit that I run with flux core wire (no gas bottle). It works f> well, i've taken a welding night class at the local voc ed school.

If your garage is wired correctly, your 220V. outlet could be used to provide 110V power. Each 220V outlet has two 'hot wires (each separatey at

110 volts to ground) but are 220 volts across each other. Be sure to have a fuse or circuit breaker(s) (20 amp) installed if you tap the 220V outlet for a 110V outlet. I have a Hobart 110V mig 20 Amp, now with gas, and it works fine off my 3.5 KW generator. I could have gotten a 220V Mig cheaper, but my generator has no 220V outlet and it would not be as portable. Using an extension cord (10ga), I can reach anywhere on my lot. Especially nice for my metal fence. *********

--Well considering how addictive welding can be you might want to consider getting a real basic machine that can do it all; i.e. something like the Miller Econotig. It'll do AC, DC and stick; I learned the craft with one. I figure it took me about 5 years to find the limits of the machine; i.e. for my skills to get to the point where I needed a better machine to stretch out a bit. Instead of selling the Econotig I got a ReadyWelder MIG gun and hooked it up to the box: it works pretty good! Being able to do sheetmetal, tube fab and other stuff one-handed and outdoors in a breeze is really nice. All done with one machine; well worth the investment. I *strongly* advise you to stay away from H-F machines and the like; you'll wind up disappointed when you quickly reach the limits of their capabilities.

When I set up folks for the first welder including my own for my ex to do ornamental work I simply had a Miller 135 that was 120vac and it never had any household problems. When I started doing more work at the shop at home and not at my business I went with a Miller 210 and had an electrician drop in a sub-panel. IMHO for learning and developing your skills you will become frustrated with a junk welder. Period. Get yourself a little Lincoln or Miller and a used one would be fine. Just ask the seller to make sure he would not have any objection to having a shop look it over (They may nick you 50 bucks like at an Airgas or somewhere but there is peace of mind there) If you get a hooptie Harbor Fright welder or worse yet a Chicago electric you are off to a bad start. I would recommend a 120vac unit, even see if you can rent one from a rental center to see if it suits your needs. Resale in used welders is hit and miss but it depends on what your final thoughts are. If you plan on building Liberty ships in the driveway or garden lattice only you can decide. but when I started, I was more than satisfied with a 135 and my buddy still owns it today six years later and he would not sell it to save his soul. But if that 220 line is hot- I'd go for a Miller or Lincoln entry level machine. You will not be disappointed. Just stay away from the imports.

Welcome to the group,

Rob

Fraser Competition Engines Chicago, IL.

Grant,

I did not know Century made the cheapo's How long has that been in place? Definite junk if from Century. Even the chargers made after 1990 suck I had one catch fire in the pit at Rt66.

Rob

I don't know when Lincoln acquired Century, but they surely did. I find it very interesting and illuminating that when you go to lincolnelectric.com and click on PRODUCTS and then navigate down to their MIG welders, that their Weld-Pak line isn't even listed, indicating with great certainty that the Weld-Pak stuff isn't made by Lincoln.

I'm less sure about the Pro-MIG line. I do know a couple of guys who bought those and were very disappointed. Every SP I've used though has been great.

Grant

Rob Fraser wrote:

Ah. Lincoln acquired Century and Marquette in 2003. Thus one of the two off-branded Lincolns (Weld-Pak and Pro-MIG) came from Century and the other from Marquette.

ref: http://www.l> I don't know when Lincoln acquired Century, but they surely did. I find it

Ive been quite happy with the Weld-pak 100 that I keep in the big van, but..its only slightly better than a HF machine. As long as I remember its limitations, it does a good job on stuff .25 and thinner. Holding up good, so far.

The only issue I have with it..is operator error..in not tightening up the spool drag all the way when I put it in the van, and a week later finding out its unspooled itself and birdnested beyond repair.

Didnt take too many of those before I got out the permanant marker and put a big REMEMBER on all sides of the machine.

Gunner

I gotta agree with Gunner that the weldpak 100 is a nice machine for 1/4" and under . Might make a difference that mine dates from the late 90's ...I've only had mine cut out on duty cycle twice in 5 years of use . And both times I knew it was going to happen ...

This is not precisely correct. 220V 3-wire circuits cannot provide a 110V leg as there is no grounded (neutral) conductor. 220V 4-wire circuits (e.g. a dryer outlet) have two 110v legs to neutral, but usually only support parasitic 110v loads (such as the light bulb in the dryer), and generally aren't used to derive general purpose 110v circuits (leaving aside so-called edison circuits).

scott

Suggestion: Fabricate a solenoid operated spool brake that requires the solenoid energized to release the brake. If it's in the moving truck, it probably isn't powered so the brake will be applied and all will be well.

I think mine was new in 01. Was sitting unused in a maint shop until last year when I swapped some labor for it. Still in the box....

Gunner

Not a bad idea at all!

Thanks!

Gunner

poking around lowes and HD and the internet as a result of you guys' help, I see that the major difference between weldpak and promig seems to be that if it's in lowes it says promig and if it's in HD it says weldpak. even the illustrations have converged: