Opinions on Welders

[nitrosport_5]

Well, this weekend i lost my welder. I had a little Miller Cricket 110 Mig flux core welder that was my dads i had when he passed away, but my step mom took it back to give to her new boyfriend.. along with my dads home toolbox, and a signed dale earnheardt sr. hood.... hope hell is nice for her.

Anyways, looking to buy a Mig welder to replce what i had. I am thinking i would rather not have the flux wire, and use gas instead. Gas welders just do so much nicer of a job. I would rather have a 110 setup just for ease of use, plug in anywhere. Ive got 220 in the shop but dont really think i need something that big.

What do you guys recommend? dont have an unlimited budget, but would perfer to get something better than harbor freight quality.

[cableguy0]

Get a miller 140 if your wanting to stay 110v. The thing with welder is if you only have a 110v welder and need something bigger for a certain project you are SOL. If you have a welder too big you can simply turn it down. With something along the lines of a Miller 210 You can go from sheet metal up to 3/8's or thicker steel by turning the knob. The small welders that claim they can do thicker steel is usually some BS claim using flux wire and multiple passes. I have seen used Miller 210s sell for 800 bucks or so. Obviously they are a lot more than that new but the big welders last a long long time. I would buy the biggest you can afford. Buy once,cry once.

[nitrosport_5]

Originally Posted by cableguy0

Get a miller 140 if your wanting to stay 110v. The thing with welder is if you only have a 110v welder and need something bigger for a certain project you are SOL. If you have a welder too big you can simply turn it down. With something along the lines of a Miller 210 You can go from sheet metal up to 3/8's or thicker steel by turning the knob. The small welders that claim they can do thicker steel is usually some BS claim using flux wire and multiple passes. I have seen used Miller 210s sell for 800 bucks or so. Obviously they are a lot more than that new but the big welders last a long long time. I would buy the biggest you can afford. Buy once,cry once.

Thanks for the reply. I have access to a 220v YA212A snapon welder for any large projects. Im mainly wanting this one for my garage to do work on sheetmetal, and smaller welding jobs. If i needed something big, my step dads welder is that snapon i can just go use his. I just dont want to have to haul his welder back and forth every time i want to use it. Plus it is nice to have one in my own shop if i ever need to do a quick repair. You dont realize how much you used something until it is gone!.

[dwcsr]

I think this is about the same amp wise but with the newer technology

http://www.bakersgas.com/MIL907335.html

If I were you I'd give her a flaming bag of poo for Xmas

[nitrosport_5]

Originally Posted by dwcsr

I think this is about the same amp wise but with the newer technology

http://www.bakersgas.com/MIL907335.html

If I were you I'd give her a flaming bag of poo for Xmas

THinking about picking up that 140 tonight. seems like a good deal,

[cableguy0]

Looks like a good price to me.

[brans72]

Looked into Hobart 140 from Northern Tools?

[dwcsr]

Originally Posted by nitrosport_5

THinking about picking up that 140 tonight. seems like a good deal,

I've heard good things about the autoset feature. Takes some of the guessing out of the amp/inches per minute setup.

[mongoose]

autoset only works on 30/35 " wire..

also.. If you're like me autoset is nothing like the settings used to weld..

[ryanroo]

the 140 is a pretty decent 110 machine. if you are using all of it it will duty cycle off and get really annoying. but it does really nice on 10ga and smaller with shielded flux core and can do a little more than that if you need it to. the autoset feature is retarded.

Ryan

[72chevynoob]

The miller 211 autoset ftw! We have it, and it runs on 110 or 220, it has auto set which I have never used, and it will run big or small spools of wire. And it is gas not flux, but yoy can run flux. The thinnest I have welded was 18ga and the thickest was 3/8", which is borderline. I have to say, I hate 110, because it will power down something awful on steel as thin as 1/8"
Justin
Posted via Mobile Device

[Gumby]

Ive gotten around duty cycles by adding a 110ac cooling fan, letting me weld all I want, without the welder shutting off to cool down.

Welded everything from paper thin rusty gas tanks, custom frames, suspension parts, never fails, going on a good 10+ years of almost daily business use.

[sixtyeightchevykid]

i have an eastwood 135, i havent had any issues. and its a great little machine.

[ScottG]

I picked up a RealGear 140, which I guess is a knock off of a Lincoln. I've only run flux core in it, but it works pretty well. I like the infinite adjustment, real good for dialing in the settings. 300 bucks on Ebay.

[nitrosport_5]

Well i ended up with an older 1992 Millermatic 90. Why you ask? It was free. I asked my uncle if he knew of anyone getting rid of a welder and whataya know, he has this one he wasnt using. So i wasnt going to argue at that price. it seems to work nicely. I like it much better than the flux core i was using!

[ryanroo]

Sweet deal! My MM250 is a 90s era machine. i bought it from a co worker who handn't even used an entire 33# roll of wire in it since he got it. it still looked new! and he was generous on the price too.