Which Mig welder to buy?

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SGBARRACUDA

SGBARRACUDA

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I going to take the plunge from my old stick welder to Mig.
I'm looking to buy a 140 amp mig welder. Northern Tool sells a brand called Klutch, anyone have knowledge on this machine? I can buy the welder,cart and a argon bottle for about $800.00. Or should I stick with Lincoln, Hobart or a Miller? Thanks for your feedback.
 
SGBARRACUDA said:
I going to take the plunge from my old stick welder to Mig.
I'm looking to buy a 140 amp mig welder. Northern Tool sells a brand called Klutch, anyone have knowledge on this machine? I can buy the welder,cart and a argon bottle for about $800.00. Or should I stick with Lincoln, Hobart or a Miller? Thanks for your feedback.
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My experience, go with a name brand for a couple reasons:

1: Availabilty- Parts are easily found if needed
2: Longevity: not talking about the welder itself, but the company. If company goes away, which happens alot in the off name brand world, so does parts and supplies
3: Customer support and materials are top notch. I've used Lincoln And Hobart, never had any issues and I'd buy one again in a heartbeat


FYI, check out Lowes, I got my 240 volt, 180 Amp Lincoln Mig Welder, cart, wire and bottle for a combined 680 bucks.
 
I picked up a Hobart 140 from Northern Tool a few years back for a really decent price. It is a better welder than I am and I have no regrets on it.
 
dukeboy_318 said:
My experience, go with a name brand for a couple reasons:

1: Availabilty- Parts are easily found if needed
2: Longevity: not talking about the welder itself, but the company. If company goes away, which happens alot in the off name brand world, so does parts and supplies
3: Customer support and materials are top notch. I've used Lincoln And Hobart, never had any issues and I'd buy one again in a heartbeat


FYI, check out Lowes, I got my 240 volt, 180 Amp Lincoln Mig Welder, cart, wire and bottle for a combined 680 bucks.
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Your right, I know better. I thought Klutch might be a generic of a better brand.
 
SGBARRACUDA said:
Your right, I know better. I thought Klutch might be a generic of a better brand.
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Lets put it this way, I had to learn the hard way about buying off name stuff. The company (UK based) got blocked from importing to the US due to something about not meeting safety codes....so then I couldnt buy a replacement welding gun that would fit it when mine went bad.
 
Lots and lots of threads on this

Buy one locally supported. In this area two welding stores support both Lincoln and Miller

Buy one with gas option.

110 vs 220. Do hard thinking about capabilities. If you don't do anything except bodywork, and "light" frame work on these cars, a GOOD 110 will get you buy

RUN GOOD POWER to it. Install a "heavy" wired outlet to minimize voltage drop, and don't make the mistake of using a long, small extension cord.

Consider used. If you can try it out, Estate, garage sale, I've seen some fair buys.

Be leery, tho, of used gas bottles unless the seller and you can run them by the local bottle supplier and OK it
 
I have 110 or 220 in my shop now. I've used and old but good Airco stick welder for many years but decided on making the leap to a mig. A friend of mine uses a 140 Hobart machine and swears this is all I need and that the 110 makes it more versatile to use in different locations. I know he does a lot of fab work with his. I mainley use a welder to repair trailers, exhaust work and other hobby type applications.
 
x2 on the Hobart 140. It's what I use, and it's been great for at least five years now. If I'm not mistaken, it uses Miller parts, and they're easy to find.
 
farm & fleet sells Hobart as well, Home Cheapo sells Lincoln
I picked up a nice Miller from the local welder supply for less than on line prices with the tank and a auto darkening mask. always worth a stop in to ask about deals.
 
found a lincoln at the depot on clearance they said it was used , not a mark on it or in the tip . never had a lick of trouble . used to have a silver beauty brand in the early nineties, had to get a liner for it , come to find out same liner assy that a miller . some of the smaller outfits ive seen use some of the larger outfits internals , besides the liner never had a lick of problems with it either . had 120 and 220 if you have the power go with the 220 , i even made an extension cord for mine works great . ed aka dartman 440
 
I bought a Lincoln 180 on sale for $480 and lease the bottle.Built my race car with it and it will work for any trailer repairs and small stuff.:D
 
Aaron65 said:
x2 on the Hobart 140. It's what I use, and it's been great for at least five years now. If I'm not mistaken, it uses Miller parts, and they're easy to find.
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Another vote for the Hobart 140. My only complaint is that it doesn't seem to do thin sheet metal very well...very easy to burn holes, but on heavier stock it rocks.
 
pettybludart said:
I bought a Lincoln 180 on sale for $480 and lease the bottle.Built my race car with it and it will work for any trailer repairs and small stuff.:D
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How long ago did you buy yours? Cheapest I've found for the Lincoln 180 is $568.00 at Lowes.
 
I had a MAC for many years that was great for steel and aluminum depending on gas. It gave up the ghost finally and I bought a Clark for similar money but it does not weld aluminum like the MAC did. Eastwood is selling a combo with a spool gun that should do great on steel and aluminum and that is what I would buy next.
 
pettybludart said:
I bought a Lincoln 180 on sale for $480 and lease the bottle.Built my race car with it and it will work for any trailer repairs and small stuff.:D
Click to expand...

SMALL STUFF??

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SGBARRACUDA said:
I have 110 or 220 in my shop now. I've used and old but good Airco stick welder for many years but decided on making the leap to a mig. A friend of mine uses a 140 Hobart machine and swears this is all I need and that the 110 makes it more versatile to use in different locations. I know he does a lot of fab work with his. I mainley use a welder to repair trailers, exhaust work and other hobby type applications.
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Buy a 220 machine if you don't plan to move it to remote locations.

I like Miller and Lincoln welders. Buy the biggest you can afford. If you can get a 210-220 class machine, they are really nice. If I could do it again, I'd buy a 250 class machine instead of the Miller 175 machine I currently have.
 
crackedback said:
Buy a 220 machine if you don't plan to move it to remote locations.

I like Miller and Lincoln welders. Buy the biggest you can afford. If you can get a 210-220 class machine, they are really nice. If I could do it again, I'd buy a 250 class machine instead of the Miller 175 machine I currently have.
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I only had 110 in my garage when I got my welder. So I got the best for the money I wanted to spend.

A few months later.....

I had a contractor friend upgrade the wiring to my garage to handle both my compressor and welder at the same time. When he did it, he threw in a couple of 220 plugs for me.... :banghead:
 
Roger that. Hobart and Miller have the exact same machine (except price) in the smaller machines. I prefer Miller tig machines and my Hobart 140 is a champ. came with everything but the cart for under $600.
 
I bought the Hobart 140 a few months ago at Northern Tool they had a online coupon for $50 off. That little machine rocks. Even if your not a great Welder it very friendly to use. After the coupon I paid $450 plus tax.
 
I did a bunch of looking into it when I bought mine about 6 years ago. What I found is that the Hobart is the same design as the equivalent Miller just made with cheaper parts (such as plastic drive gears as opposed to metal in the miller) I also found out that if any parts break, the better Miller part is a direct replacement. Same thing goes with the Home depot lincolns vs their pro models.

I waited until the christmas sales and got a Hobart 140 from Northern tool for $500 + Free shipping + $50 rebate (gift card) + free cart. I have no complaints.
 
Stop by your local welding supply house (you'll be buying gas, wire, and such from them anyhow) and see what they have on the floor in the way of trade-ins or reconditioned (warranty repair) units. Keep in mind that with the lower priced 140 amp models you are usually just getting the transformer and by the time you get a gas regulator you're not too far from the price of a 160 amp which is about all you can typically run 110. The really cheap units don't have an internal gas valve any you're stuck with flux core wire.

FWIW I have a Hobart 187 that I bought from Northern Tool. Got a pretty fair price, but my local shop would have met their price. They still made me a deal on a package of new gloves, wire, gas bottle, spatter gel, a cool auto-dark shield and basic hand tools.

Check you local shop before you pull the trigger online...
 
I have a Miller and it is set up with gas and we love it, especially for body work and it can be turned up for bigger stuff. I also have a huge stick welder also for the big stuff.
 
Miller 211 is a great machine that will run 110 or 220. I bought the 50 ft cord extra and built a cart so I can roll around the shop. Cyber weld has them for $1149
 
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