Awesome wife!

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BTYM

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I got a burfday coming around the corner. The wife said she'd get me two tools I've been mentioning! I'm gonna get an eastwood dual voltage powder coating kit, and a welder!. Before I go hog wild on the welder, I wanted to get some opinions on the one I've been looking at. I only have 110 in my shop. I found this

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Lincoln-Electric-Handy-MIG-Welder-K2185-1/100596739?keyword=handymig

It's a mig / flux core welder. Plugs into a household outlet. Anyone have any experience with a lincoln 110 welder?
 
you cant go wrong with a Lincoln, miller or hobart. that one looks good, reviews look good also
 
I built my TT 67 Dart with a 140 amp 110 Lincoln machine. This was before I bought my TIG.

An experienced welder can do a whole bunch of projects with that small machine.
 
if it were me i would look for a 110 gas welder. flux core can be a mess and and there are extra steps involved, the gas does all this itself.
I have a MILLERMATIC 140 autoset. have not come across anything it would not weld yet.
 
If you do any heavy 3/16", 1/4" steel welding for any length of time it's best if you have the welder on a separate circuit breaker because it will overheat a breaker if you weld the heavy stuff for more than 3-5 minutes continuous.

treblig
 
Treblig said:
If you do any heavy 3/16", 1/4" steel welding for any length of time it's best if you have the welder on a separate circuit breaker because it will overheat a breaker if you weld the heavy stuff for more than 3-5 minutes continuous.

treblig
Click to expand...

This actually leads to my next question!

When I bought my house, my garage had one light, one 4 plug outlet, and one 2 plug outlet in the rafters for the door opener, all on the same circuit. I am by no means an electrician, but I know enough to tap into other outlets to run more outlets to "spread my power" so to speak. That's what I did. I ran 4 4 plug outlets around the garage. I now have a 33 gallon air compressor, 3 fluorescent lights, and the door opener on one circuit. I have never popped the breaker, but when the lights are on, and I'm sandblasting with the shopvac on as well as the air compressor, I gotta be close. There are 3 extra romex wires coming into the garage, which I assumed were on the same circuit. When my father came for a visit, he tested those wires. They're dead. They are running out the same piece of conduit that my live wire is coming from, so they gotta lead back to the breaker box. How hard would it be to get another circuit out there? And as far as I understand it, all 220 is, is two 110 circuits put together, if I'm correct and it's that simple, then with the 3 extra wires I'll split up my current circuit so there's less draw on that, and use the other 2 wires for 220.
 
My dad had one of the smaller Lincoln welders (gas though, not fluxcore) was a GREAT little machine. There is a HUGE difference between running it off a 30amp 110v circuit and a 20amp circuit. I had a 20 amp in my garage and it never seemed to run as well as at his house. If I forgot and plugged it into one of my 15 amp circuits, it would weld REAL BAD and keep blowing the breaker (also had some lights on that circuit).
I would spring for a welder with gas and also go with a bit bigger one (run 220v out to your garage, yes, 2 separate 110v circuits, as ,long as they are off different legs... get a 220v breaker to put in the box and wire it up!)
 
Both fluxwire and gas do a good job, I wouldn't shy
away from either.
I would buy one that is most suited to your needs and budget.
You should consider the duty cycle of your possible purchase though.
 
I wouldnt recommend the flux core machines, intact I strongly suggest you avoid
them. I have a Lincoln 135 and it is a very good 110 machine that uses gas for shielding.
I have used millers and they weld nice also but didn't have as quite as nice of liner or trigger.
Never tried a Hobart but if you stay with one of these brands with the gas shield you will be happy for decades with your machine.
If you need to weld a thicker part 3/8 or 1/2" thick and it is not a long run (under 8"s or so)
You can pre heat the part with oxy acet. torch to get the penetration and multi pass.
These small welders are very handy for working on our mopars and easy to learn.
You will wonder how you got along without one.
 
Check with Leanna about that powder coater before you buy it. Her knowledge on the coating field is monumental. WOMANumental if you will. haha
 
That harbor freight flux core unit gets the job done, did my whole car with one.
 
I'd say that you have the little woman trained up pretty good!
That welder looks like a good one, just get you a bottle of gas and a spool of mig wire to begin with and you will be in business.
I have a small Lincoln like this one and it does what I need to do. The few times I had a thick piece to weld, I fabricated and tacked the project together and then carried it to a welding shop for a good hot weld.
C
 
you should also consider a welder with both feed and voltage adjustments....I've got three welders and do it for a living,and feed is just as important as voltage.you should look for a machine that you can at least run 90 amps or you will get no penetration when you are welding thicker material.tractor supply has really good Hobarts. and there prices are not bad.
 
Lucky man, gotta love it when the wife does that! I have the Lincoln 140HD, it does gas and was the biggest I could find for 110. If you're not welding super thick stuff you can surely get by with the one you listed, better to do that and have money ready for the accessories, I about fell over when I bought my first gas bottle. My welder came with the regulator. Save money and build your own cart (I did not so I'm a hypocrite here).
 
Most small welders come with the regulator anyway to run gas if you want or not. I have a Hobart Handler 140 and I use Flux core wire in mine at.035 ga. One of the main reasons I prefer flux core is you can weld in a hurricane if you want. If you ever weld with gas and just so happens a puff of air comes along, (say its hot and your near a fan?) Your weld will turn porous, look like crap, and you have to grind it off and reweld. I seem to get better penetration with fluxcore also. Most welders come with a chart on the wire door to give you a good starting point. The only extra steps I can think of is knocking off the slag and brushing it off. There is more spatter due to the nature of the beast, but it will get the job done and done well. Either way you cant go wrong with a welder, gas or fluxcored.
 
She sure sounds like an awesome wife. Mine told me she wanted a plasma cutter for her birthday...she's pretty awesome, too! :)
 
I had one from northern tools. Hated it and sold it. Got a hobart autoarc 130 (same as the Millermatic 130 from what I've read) not bad but surprising my buddy dans Clark 130 seems to weld better and longer duty cycle.
 
dennday67 said:
I had one from northern tools. Hated it and sold it. Got a hobart autoarc 130 (same as the Millermatic 130 from what I've read) not bad but surprising my buddy dans Clark 130 seems to weld better and longer duty cycle.
Click to expand...

Yeah I have a pizzy little 110 flux core welder that I hate too. The splatter is nature of the beast. Just means more cleanup to do.
A dedicated 30 amp circuit solved the breaker popping issue. Then we had to move everything outside under a shed for a time ( about a year ) and dampness ruined that nearly full spool of wire.
 
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