Welder Selection

I have the equivalent Hobart machine, and a '65 Triumph chopper, and I would say that the answer is yes. Essentially, the jump to 220v is where you need to be, a 110v welder won't do what you want, in my opinion.

And yes, you can MIG sheet metal with practice...

Buy the 175 SP+ and never look back. It will handle the small stuff, and some of the thicker stuff. Sometimes you will want the extra power to get penetration and fusion on critical items. The 175 isn't a lot more money, but it is a lot more machine. I have one and love it.

Steve

Thanks for the input. I was leaning to the 175 SP+. The difference was $100 over the SP.

Hi Rich,

I too have the SP175+ and it is really a nice machine....as you probably know it has the infinite voltage control which helps to cover a larger range of situations, so to speak. And it will do sheet metal no sweat....

The Miller is a pretty nice machine too, I have a buddy with one. The only thing I had issue with is that on the Miller , when you change the voltage the wirespeed is also changed.....Not a huge thing but it seemed more difficult to dial in than what I was used to. Does that make any sense ???

FWIW, I bought my 175 from Indiana Oxygen (on Ebay)....Good guys to deal with and REAL fast on the shipping.

If nothing else, use their price point to deal with your local welding store....Thats what I did when I bought a Lincoln plasma cutter, got the local Praxair to match the price.....

Jeff

That's the place I'm looking at also. They seem to have the best price with free shipping and no sales tax. I actually have one more question. I don't plan on using this unit all the time. Probably a few times during my bike build and then for some craft work. What size gas tank should suffice for the occational welder? The Ebay seller has 80 and 40 CF tanks. I don't really know how long one lasts. Thanks.

Because Argon and CO2 are inert, I don't mind storing them. Just yesterday I swapped my 40cf tank for an 80cf one, as I had used up the 40cf too quickly. Get the bigger one...

Will do. Thanks.

Ditto on that. And if you start doing much work, you will get two 80s. When you are out of gas, work stops. And it might be Monday before you can get more. Or in the morning. I keep two 80s, so I always have one completely full one.

This is a bit of overkill, but I like that. You never know when you will need it.

Steve

"Never_Enough_Tools" wrote: (clip)Indiana Oxygen (on Ebay)....Good guys to deal with and REAL fast on the shipping. (clip) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I bought my MIG from them, and I agree.

No it doesn't :)

My Millermatic 175 has separate controls for voltage and wire speed.

I routinely weld 22 and 24 gauge sheet for tuned expansion exhaust systems with no problem.

John

Well I'm definitely no professional so I appreciate the insight. But then what are the two separate dials on the control panel for then? The manual labels them as voltage control and wire speed control.

John

Oh I think I understand after reading from Miller's site. The machine makes some automatic adjustment on its own based on the voltage selection? The manual doesn't really get into the feature at all that I could find. The automatic feature must be fairly subtle because the wire speed control dial does alter the speed at any given voltage setting. But again I'm a novice and no doubt lack the experience to notice the feature during use. Fortunately it works great for my needs.

John

It's really just what you're used to. In fact I feel the Miller setup is easier to use overall. On my 135 I usually leave the wire speed pretty close to the same place for most stuff. If it's really thin then the wire speed will get turned down along with a drastic turn down of the voltage.

This is vastly different from my Dimension 400 and S-64 wire feeder. On that machine each adjustment of the voltage requires a similar adjustment of the wire speed. It actually makes it harder to keep up with all the fine adjustment setting needed for different materials.

Wayne Cook Shamrock, TX

Yeah that is what I was joking about. The wire speed tracking, hated by many but doesn't bother me either.

Same here. On my lil mm135, I pretty much leave the WFS at the same spot too. It just causes some problems when using standard tapped/absolute wfs techniques for dialing in the arc. I think it wouldn't be hated so much if the units had an meter showing the true IPM and voltage dialled in.

Yeah, you figured it out before I even read your post. The Miller does have knobs for both adjustments, but they are "linked" somehow.....I did not mean to dis the Miller in any way, just to point out the difference between the two machines. I know from using one that it works well....just a little different than mine ;)

Jeff

CO2 is not inert !!

OK, inert is not the correct word - I guess I meant to say safe, not flammable, not a hazard...