Welding/Welders

[matt14c]

I have been thinking of trying to learn to weld. I never have before but know it will come in handy with my hobbies. I have been reading some things and watched a couple youtube videos and from it looks like MIG is the easiest to learn. So i have been looking for some welders and found a few. Millermatic 140, Hobart Handler 140 and Lincoln Power Mig 140C. I only have regular 115V in my garage I dont have a 220 so thats why im looking at the smaller ones. Anyone have any expierence with these? Good/Bad? It appears that Lincoln and Miller are the primary units in the industry but the hobart does all about the same things and is about $200 cheaper. There is also a Cambell Hausfield one I seen that was only about $250. Thoughts? Suggestions?

[usp4u]

You most certainly get what you pay for in welders. The 110v Lincoln's are great welders. I've used several over the years and thy've been great. Miller's are fine,I've only ever used one and seemed to be VERY hot.
I've spent alotta time on Solar 220v and loved it, but I know nothing of Solar 110v's.

[smr]

I have a lincoln but I think Miller is the best.

[One_Bad_400]

buying a welder and learning is one of the best investments of your life. Miller is the best brand out there but hobart is practicly miller. i have a little hobart flux core welder in one of my shops and it says miller on the handle. practicly the same thing, but you cant go wrong with any of those brands. PLUS they are fun, it becomes a hobby to build stuff. i build stuff for my four wheeler all the time. have built a little quad trailer just big enough for my 450. built engine stands, tables, gusseted my frame, endless stuff to do with a welder

[TN_cowboy]

i got a lincoln 140C and it is the best 110v i have used. miller is ok i didnt care for it. the adjustments are the easyiest on the linclon. linclon has the best customer service IMO too. I weld for the army and we use miller and the army buys the biggest POS.

[andrew450r]

At my shop they have a miller arc welder. Its nice i like it

[Pipeless416]

ive only used 220v miller's and lincolns, but out of the two brands i very much prefer the miller. somebody said they seem to run hotter.. i like that. i just feel a lot more confident on the penetration of the materials with the millers.

I got a hobart 110v and it hasn't failed me yet, nice welder.

[Ruby Soho]

mig is extremely easy. very useful for smaller projects, unless you get one large enough. stick is also very useful, but its a lot harder for the beginner welder.

[BuB400]

I bought a Hobart 140 for around $300. I don't have the gas set-up on it, I just use the flux core wire. Very happy with it and it will weld up to 3/16th steel. I already made several of these with it already.

[matt14c]

Originally posted by BuB400
I bought a Hobart 140 for around $300. I don't have the gas set-up on it, I just use the flux core wire. Very happy with it and it will weld up to 3/16th steel. I already made several of these with it already.

Thats kinda the one I was leaning towards but the cheapest I have found it was for $450 I think. Where if I may ask did you get it for $300?

[BuB400]

TSC Tractor supply company

[BuB400]

Just went out to the shop and checked, I have the Hobart Handler 125.

[250x_kyle]

personaly i feel that the smaw welding process is the easiest to learn. mig has a few more things that can go wrong such as tensioners and not getting the best penetration due to the fact that the wire speed and voltage must be perfectly in tune. when it comes to thinner metals ill use the gmaw process any day the down fall to tig is that it takes alot of time to learn and you can only weld so thick before having to make cover passes with a 7018.

when it comes to mig the only real possitive about it in my eyes is that u dont have to chip slag; however, if you would happen to switch to flux core you will be chipping slag. stick welders are much cheaper. cant go wrong with lincoln or miller. but im all about blue.

[Ruby Soho]

yeah, but have you ever tried stick welding something small/thin, and have it come out nice? good luck..

[Pipeless416]

stick welding is for things like building structures.. places that its inconvenient to bring an entire welding machine to.. all that needs to reach is the stinger. very nice for high rise stuff as well.

[Ruby Soho]

well put pipeless.

i dont think you can go wrong with mig, and the newer machines they have aren't hard to set up.. compared to older ones atleast

[yfzrider310]

I got a hobart 140 running on gas. Its a good machine. My dad works primarily with hobart and from what ive seen when I go on work trips with him they all seem to be great. Its true they are a part of miller but just more for average joes rather that miller's being for comercial use. Just some useless info I have haha.

[250x_kyle]

Originally posted by Ruby Soho
yeah, but have you ever tried stick welding something small/thin, and have it come out nice? good luck..

its all in electrode size and heat settings. but yes it is very complicated to do thin things. im just not a fan of wire feed just my .02. i have my AWS certifications i just dont like to run wire feed. if i have to weld something thin i just get my hands on a tig or braze. some dont have that luxery.

[mxduner]

When i looked into welders, many say the miller/lincoln thing is just a ford/chevy thing. I bought the lincoln sp 175. it is a 220 though, but my friend used it and was very impressed with its heat output. He has a millermatic 250 and the hobart 140, which he likes for it's price. I think that would be a good machine for you. but try to get one with infinite adjustments on heat and speed. that helps alot for beginners imo

[tri5ron]

I did alot of research on welders before deciding on my Miller 135.
I talked to a few friends who weld for a living, and I visited a few different weldshops.

At the time that I bought it, the Miller had the highest amperage rating for a 120v unit ,as well as the best duty cycle.

Another thing I liked about the Miller over the Lincoln, is that the tensioner on the Miller is constructed completely with cast aluminum and steel, as opposed to the Lincoln had a plastic tensioner with a steel wheel.

and as far as repairs and parts were concerned, the weld shops told me that the Lincolns came in for repairs alot more often than the Millers, AND in most cases, when parts were needed, they would usually need to order the parts for Lincolns, whereas Miller parts are almost always stocked in the weld shops.

This is because Miller keeps their dealers supplied in spare parts at Millers expence, and Lincoln requires the dealers to pay for all parts supplies up front.

I considered this to be important, because when anything ever goes wrong, it is always in the middle of a project, and I can just run to the weld shop for anything it may need, and they will have it in stock, at the weld shop, and I can continue with the project.
Rather than having to stop a weld project and wait for a week to recieve any needed part from Lincoln.

All that being said,.. I've Never had the Miller need a single thing, and it has performed flawlessly on everything I have ever used it for.
A friend of mine ,who is a professional welder, and uses a 220v Lincoln, borrowed my machine for a sidejob he was doing away from his shop.

I practically had to threaten him to give it back to me !
he was in love with it, and told me that he could use that 120v machine for 80% of all the work he does for a living. The only time a 220v or stick welder was necessary, was for large gauge metals, such as large trailer frames and towing hitches that are going to see some serious weight issues.

he also said the duty cycle on the 120v Miller out performed the 120v Lincoln by a long shot.

don't get me wrong,..
They are both good units, and it may just be a matter of "How much welder do you really need?" But after trying out a few cheaper, lower amperage units, and being very disappointed in them,..
I opted for the top of the line in 120v.

I would highly suggest that when you buy any unit, you do get the gas with it. when welding with 75/25 gas and solid wire, the welds are much cleaner with almost zero splatter and no slag.

you will want to have flux core wire in your kit too. If you ever find yourself needing to weld in a windy environment, you will want to use the flux core wire.

one more thing that I was very impressed with the Miller was, there is a optional "Spool Gun", and can be used with 100% argon gas, which will allow you to be capable of welding aluminum also. (I dont have that gun yet, but it is on my wishlist for christmas

:p , I sure hope Santa thinks I've been a good boy this year ! )

anyway, that's just my .02 cents worth

p.s.- make sure to get a auto darkening helmet too, they are the BEST thing since sliced bread !