Looking to get a welder for the house

-
SRT_DSTRHOLC

SRT_DSTRHOLC

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2008
Messages
6,468
Reaction score
204
Location
USA
What's a good all around welder? I want to be able to weld cages and stuff so max 3/8. I'm looking at millers new 211 mig, I want something that will do it all for around 1300 or under.
 
My harbor freight welder sucks. The Lincoln I have is A LOT easier to use. Sorry I can't be more of a help though.
 
Remember guys, I wanna weld cages, .075 wall and will be getting a tank too to clean welds up
 
Definitely go for a Hobart 140 Handler. It is 120 volts, it will weld anything you need, it is made by Miller, and they are very reasonably priced. I have had a 120 volt Hobart for 10 years now, and it still works great.
 
I'm not an expert - but I picked up a very nice used Miller MIG from my neighbor for $500. 110, welds everything. I do have a 220v Everlast TIG also, very awesome for the price. Lets me do stainless, aluminum and much prettier mild. If you're looking for a TIG I would check them out. Costs less than a blue mig and does more, but MIG is nice and easy by comparison of course.
 
I would like a big welder. I know how to tig weld. I will look for deals, Mig would be faster and allow me to do all but tig is nice too
 
bought a Miller 211 a few years ago....great welder...110 or 220....autoset easy welding...can use flux wire if you want..
 
70aarcuda said:
bought a Miller 211 a few years ago....great welder...110 or 220....autoset easy welding...can use flux wire if you want..
Click to expand...

Thank You! Im looking at this one or the Hobart 210 version. Miller has a deal right now where I can buy 400 dollars more equipment and get a rebate or just buy the welder and get 200 back. Do you use it for your cages and stuff? What do you use yours for?
 
Do NOT get a HF or a 110 only. Either get a 110/ 220 or a 220 box. Buy brand names, with gas. You won't regret it. Even if you have to buy a used one
 
Tweco 211i or Lincoln 210MP. Both about 1000'ish, both dual voltage, both can also do SMAW and lift TIG-DC. The Tweco can run 12" spools, the Lincoln only fits 8" IIRC.

http://www.weldingsuppliesfromioc.c...g-tig-stick-welder-pkg-w1004201-with-w4014603

$1100 with the TIG gear.

Tweco used to be Thermal Dynamics. I had a 181i but sold it to upgrade to a dual voltage 211i for the house. Both it and the Lincoln are inverters. S/F....Ken M
 
I got a Miller 141 with auto wire feed and I love it. All in with tank and gas and a roll of .025 wire and tips it was under $1100 with the rebate.
 
EchoSixMike said:
Tweco 211i or Lincoln 210MP. Both about 1000'ish, both dual voltage, both can also do SMAW and lift TIG-DC. The Tweco can run 12" spools, the Lincoln only fits 8" IIRC.

http://www.weldingsuppliesfromioc.c...g-tig-stick-welder-pkg-w1004201-with-w4014603

$1100 with the TIG gear.

Tweco used to be Thermal Dynamics. I had a 181i but sold it to upgrade to a dual voltage 211i for the house. Both it and the Lincoln are inverters. S/F....Ken M
Click to expand...

That 211i, how thick can you go with it mig and tig? I know the house should be setup for 220v so either way I will have to get a separate plug only for 230 or 240
 
Fst73_410 said:
That 211i, how thick can you go with it mig and tig? I know the house should be setup for 220v so either way I will have to get a separate plug only for 230 or 240
Click to expand...

Well, that depends on the joint and the prep. I'd be perfectly comfortable doing 1/8 and 3/16" lap joints all day long using either process. With a 45degree bevel, doing 3/8" multiple pass is no problem. I put those to a bend test all day long. But being honest, 150-160 amps is all you need for TIG on steel anyways, unless you're talking heavy commercial stuff. TIG's with horsepower are for aluminum where the heat gets sucked up. I've welded commercial 20k pintles with 160 amp TIG, obviously beveled and multiple pass welds.

I use a Miller 211 at one of my jobs, and it welds up crankshaft counterweights with no issues. Plenty of power. I own a Lincoln Power MIG 300 at my other job and I haven't had it over 18.5v on .035 wire that I remember. IMO, anything over 180 amps is frosting unless you're doing commercial/professional welding.

This welder is plenty strong for any automotive work(or the Lincoln 210MP for that matter, but no exp). For serious metal, just go SMAW with 6011 and 7018. But that's not automotive, maybe demo derby.

Being courteous, 115v welders are for sheet metal. For body work w/.024 wire, great but serious welding, notsomuch. You start talking to professional welders and mention 115v MIG or especially flux core and you get looked at funny. 115V MIG is great for auto work because it is low power and you're not melting everything away so quickly. Flux core has it's place, I've said as much on here before, but again, not for serious automotive work. Get back to pavement or home, sure, but I prefer to focus on doing it right the first time.

Another reason why the Tweco and Lincoln are nice, they're inverters and you have complete voltage and wire feed control. You also have inductance control, which is great when you're welding the thin stuff and trying not to burn things away or to crown up the bead too much either. S/F....Ken M
 
Welder at work said he also was looking at tweco, but was told although mig, you can't weld aluminum with it, have you tried?
 
Well, you can get a spoolgun and use that, it does support it, but I do not have one. I have a Python push-pull gun for my PM300 when I need to weld a lot of aluminum, but I usually just AC TIG with my Syncro 250. 210amps with a spoolgun should be good for 3/16" aluminum.

You can weld aluminum on DC using pure helium, that is the original heliarc after all, but that's a specialized field these days and AC TIG is much more common and much more suited to the vast majority of aluminum welds. S/F....Ken M
 
That looks like a good price for the Hobart Handler 210. It has an infinite wire feed speed but 7 output settings. Is there a disadvantage to having voltage presets versus variable voltage settings?
 
The Handler 210 is a good transformer unit. In theory, infinite voltage adjustment is better. In the real world, you'd probably have to work to notice it. If anything, you might want lower settings if you're doing thin sheet metal. Transformer units tend to be more durable than inverter units, but heavier and use more power. S/F....Ken M
 
I use a millermatic 211 every day at work. I liked it so much that i puchased one for at home. awesome machine. it is also very nice because it will use 110v or 220v.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top