110 Migs...

Anything I should know before purchasing one? My welding experience is pretty limited, but I've always wanted a little mig for the garage. I'm just wanting one to work on a spare tire rake, new seat brackets, etc. Nothing really major. What should I look for? Any brands to stay away from? What can I expect to play?

Any help you guys have would be great.

 

I had/have a Craftsman that was made by Century. I hate it. I believe that Lincoln is now producing the welders for Craftsman. If you stick with red (Lincoln), white (Hobart), or blue (Miller), you can't go wrong.
I replaced my Craftsman/Century with a Lincoln SP175 and love it!

 

I have the Hobart 140 and like it. I have only had it for a couple of weeks so I'm not sure how valuable my opinion is. I bought mine to build a tire rack and the fact I just had some body work done, and the jeep painted. I told the guy doing the work no Bondo, just cut out the rusted areas and weld in new sheet metal. Needless to say that is the last time I am going to pay for someone to work on my jeep. I got mine from northern tool for 460, included the cart and free shipping.

I think Miller and Hobart have a similar/ almost same products because Miller owns the Hobart brand, my welder came with a miller gun. I could be wrong.

 

I looking into getting a Mig welder too. The Lincoln SP 175 is the one I'm leaning towards. A welder friend offered to teach me and suggested I get something that I could grow into. He says a 220 will extend my limitations for bigger projects as I learn.

 

Hmmm. Something things to think about. The thought of running a dedicated line for the welder didn't cross my mind. I see that most of the specs on the several of the Miller/Hobalt models indicated 14 to 18 amps. You'd pretty much have to keep them the only thing on the circuit. Can I assume that the welders at Harbor Freight are about the same quality as most of their other stuff? Meaning mid to low quality?

 

Dondo, I have a HF MIG welder I bought several years ago and have run well over a couple hundred pounds of wire through it. It has allowed me to do all kinds of things, including 1/4" steel tubing and welding aluminum. (need argon for aluminum) Just did get a bottle of 25%/75% for it, and has really helped getting my welds cleaner looking.

I did have to add a 110v computer fan to it to keep the duty cycle from tripping all the time. (And it did trip....a LOT) But once I mounted the fan (exactly where the designers intended, but where the bean counters left it out) the duty cycle went up to dang near 100%.

If I only had a little money, I might get another one, but if I had a little more money, I'd get one through a local welding supply, at least as good as I could afford. But whatever welder you get, if it does end up being 110v, you definately need 20 amps at a minimum. Any less, and there is noticably less penetration.

 

i have used the lincoln sp175 at the university and like the continuous voltage control rather than the tapped 4 or 5 position switch. helps with thin sheet as well as thicker (even with my crappy skills) nice welder. even though i am mainly a oxy acc welder i a not a particularly good mig welder. so... fwiw. thinking of getting one when $ permit for my art work (and of course jeep fabbing) along with my oxy/acc torches.

i have heard that the new lincoln 175 are now using the same wire transport and guide they use in their professional series.

 

I have a mac tools 140 and it hasnt failed me yet, but i got it for half price $425 instead of $850 which makes me feel better about it.

 

I bought a lincon 220v welder it is almost like the 175 110v but I can weld a little thicker steel. stay with a good brand name then shop arround and you will do fine. If you can have some one give you some help and a few lesson a little peractice you will be a welder.

 

I have the Lincoln weld pak 100 W/ mig option. At the time it was cheaper than the sp135. I've had it several years, but the "tips on welding" thread has helped me immensely. I finally managed a 3inch "stack of dimes" bead. My son looked at me like I was crazy, when I started jumping up and down, and yelling.... but since I'm working on his Jeep..... he was happy too.

Jay

 

I bought my 110 flux core at Walmart some 3 years ago. I used it for everything I needed to on speedy. It never failed. Didn't pay too much for it either. Harbor freight would be a good place to start.

 

I'm wanting one of these migs too.

Anyone looked at the Clarke brand?

Here is a pic

 

Typical household circuits are wired to handle 15 amps. Adding a 30 amp breaker on a 15 amp run of wire is dangerous. 14 gauge wire is used on most household circuits and are designed for 15amps or less. When I wired my garage I went to 12 gauge wire and did 20 amp circuits just for the welder. If you want to run a 30 amp breaker you should run 10 gauge wire. The 110 volt welders are at the very edge of what that 14 guage wire can handle. It will get hot.

 

:iagree:

 

I bought a MM DVI in Jan '06 and love it! The nice thing is it will run on 110 or 220, with just the change of a plug. I've welded up to 1/4" in a single pass in the 110V configuration, with excellent results. Try www.cyberweld.com for some comparison shopping... with the free shipping it may be hard to beat them for a quality machine. HTH!!