Help me pick a welder!

[nadogail]

When I was forced to retire from my "Day Job", several years ago, i treated my self to a Hobart AC/DC Stickmate.

I am beginning to become competent with it. Yesterday i ordered another 10 pounds of 1/8" 7014 electrode.

 

[rancherbill]

Curious to where you are finding a Hobart aluminum spool gun for $100 ?

I think this will fit, it's not Hobart.

Welding Spool Gun Aluminium Air Cooled Gas Welder Tool Accessory Professional Aluminum MIG Welding for Manufacture Maintenance 200A CO2 / 180A Mixed Gases : Amazon.ca: Tools & Home Improvement

Welding Spool Gun Aluminium Air Cooled Gas Welder Tool Accessory Professional Aluminum MIG Welding for Manufacture Maintenance 200A CO2 / 180A Mixed Gases : Amazon.ca: Tools & Home Improvement

www.amazon.ca

 

[littleboss]

I have a Hobart 180 at our vacation home's shop. It was several hundred cheaper than the Miller 211 that I had here at the home shop... The only downfall to it is it's heavy. The good thing is no inverter so less electronics to fail.
I sold my 211 here and got the ESAB 205ic. It's $4k now but will do anything you want. I think you should keep your current Mig and save your money for the ESAB. Your current machine will weld what you want for now..

 

[nadogail]

Shortly after I bought my Hobart AC/DC StickMate, one of my tenants who, at the time, was certified to weld Pressure Hulls of Submarines and Nuclear Reactors came to visit and I told him I had just purchased a welder and wanted him to see it; he walked with me to my workshop and said "you could build a ship with that welder".

He later said that he had expected to see a cheap wire feed welder, not such a capable machine. I can weld in the wind, no worry about the gas being blown away. Stick Welding might be "Old School" but i feel it is the most versatile process

 

[c39er]

I still Iove stick welding.
Takes a lot of skill to be good at it too.
Loved welding with an old Lincoln torpedo generator machine in welding school.
If you are good at gas welding and stick welding you have learned the welding skills to be good at all types of welding.

 

[James-W]

When my older brother passed away back in 2012 I got all of his tools. As for welders, he had two oxy-acetylene welders, two stick welders, and a wire feed welder. To be quite honest, I rarely use any of the welders. My brother used them quite a bit since he had projects going on pretty much all the time. As for myself, I do use them, just not very much. They are great to have when you need them, but I don't use them much so I am not sure it would pay for me to buy one. I didn't buy the ones I have, I got them for free when my brother died. I used the oxy-acetylene welder, not as a welder, but I used the cutting torch. I have used the wire feed welder maybe 5 times in the past 10 years. The stick welders I have not used at all.

I took a welding class a long time ago, but I never really pursued it. I was halfway decent at it, not great by any stretch of the imagination, but I could weld reasonably OK. Of course I have not done much welding at all over the years, so I am not all that good at it now. I can get the job done and while the job I do is far from being professional looking, it is a fairly decent weld and holds up very well.

 

[Max78]

I have a Hobart 180 at our vacation home's shop. It was several hundred cheaper than the Miller 211 that I had here at the home shop... The only downfall to it is it's heavy. The good thing is no inverter so less electronics to fail.
I sold my 211 here and got the ESAB 205ic. It's $4k now but will do anything you want. I think you should keep your current Mig and save your money for the ESAB. Your current machine will weld what you want for now..

My current welder is really rough, It has a bunch of broken parts and I have had trouble welding 1/8" steel in my shop. Granted that's with a too long extension cord, but I need to run whatever off an extension cord for welding my porch. I also really want a good excuse to get a new welder . . .

 

[Magnum440d100]

I have a Hobart 210MVP and it’s done everything I’ve asked it to. Everything from broken exhaust studs to 1/4” plate, lawn mower deck, etc etc.

IIRC, I paid right around $1k for it in 2019, and it’s been money well spent.

 

[strutaeng]

My current welder is really rough, It has a bunch of broken parts and I have had trouble welding 1/8" steel in my shop. Granted that's with a too long extension cord, but I need to run whatever off an extension cord for welding my porch. I also really want a good excuse to get a new welder . . .

I was going to suggest a porch is not something to learn welding on, but I see you are expericed.

What kind of porch design will this be? Needs to be rigid enough to handle wind, a guy with a ladder leaning against it and walking on the roof. What about foundations?

Is it going to be all welded in-place? How are you getting the welder up there? Using Mig/tank setup? Maybe use Flux core? Holding the beams up temporarily against the columns is something to think about.


Just few thoughts.


I've got an Ironman 210, which is very similar to your machine. I really like mine. I've got plans to build myself a carport too in this coming year.

 

[nadogail]

My current welder is really rough, It has a bunch of broken parts and I have had trouble welding 1/8" steel in my shop. Granted that's with a too long extension cord, but I need to run whatever off an extension cord for welding my porch. I also really want a good excuse to get a new welder

Are you using an Industrial Strength Extension Cord, minimum 12 Gauge?

 

[Max78]

I was going to suggest a porch is not something to learn welding on, but I see you are expericed.

What kind of porch design will this be? Needs to be rigid enough to handle wind, a guy with a ladder leaning against it and walking on the roof. What about foundations?

Is it going to be all welded in-place? How are you getting the welder up there? Using Mig/tank setup? Maybe use Flux core? Holding the beams up temporarily against the columns is something to think about.


Just few thoughts.


I've got an Ironman 210, which is very similar to your machine. I really like mine. I've got plans to build myself a carport too in this coming year.

I'm definitely not inexperienced, haha.

I can share my design later when I get home. Its 12ft x 60ft long, detached from the house for insurance reasons.

Uprights are 6in square tube .188 wall x8.

Crossbeams are all 3in x 8in .188 wall. Was originally going to go with 14ga wall for the top but the wife wants to hang chairs and benches and stuff. I also have an in so got the material for a good price.

it will all be welded in place and I'm currently debating bolting to piers, or burying 2 or 3ft and concrete in place.

I have a skid steer and will probably rent a lift to hoist stuff up, not sure yet because the crossbeams weigh 293lb per 20ft section. . . . Haha

Are you using an Industrial Strength Extension Cord, minimum 12 Gauge?

I'll be using a 10ga cord minimum, looking for 8ga.

 

[nadogail]

I'm definitely not inexperienced, haha.

I can share my design later when I get home. Its 12ft x 60ft long, detached from the house for insurance reasons.

Uprights are 6in square tube .188 wall x8.

Crossbeams are all 3in x 8in .188 wall. Was originally going to go with 14ga wall for the top but the wife wants to hang chairs and benches and stuff. I also have an in so got the material for a good price.

it will all be welded in place and I'm currently debating bolting to piers, or burying 2 or 3ft and concrete in place.

I have a skid steer and will probably rent a lift to hoist stuff up, not sure yet because the crossbeams weigh 293lb per 20ft section. . . . Haha




I'll be using a 10ga cord minimum, looking for 8ga.

When I need to weld at any appreciable distance from my regular welder power connection I roll my generator to the job site. My generator, compressor and saws are all easily loaded into my van.

 

[IRQVET]

Well I did a thing. . .

I waited for black Friday, I hemmed and hawed, and kept my eye out for a good deal.

I almost,, and I mean almost got the primewled. My buddy has an Everlast that works good to, but. . .

I picked up a Hobart 190 for $750 at tractor supply because it was the only welder that really went on sale. Can't wait to use it!!! I want a unit that I can pass on to my kids, and really wanted to support a made in America brand as well.

Congrads on your new purchase, excellent choice.

 

[Max78]

When I need to weld at any appreciable distance from my regular welder power connection I roll my generator to the job site. My generator, compressor and saws are all easily loaded into my van.

Wish I had a generator!

Congrads on your new purchase, excellent choice.

Thanks!



Rough concept of the porch. 60 x 12, aprox 20ft between columns. Hopefully its stout enough.

 

[CRV500]

I have come to ask for some recommendations for a welder. I'm building a new detached porch and its all going to be out of 3/16 steel tubing. After that I will be using it for all sorts of projects, mostly exhaust/intercooler work. Currently I have an really rough old Lincoln 135 that gets the small jobs done. . .

My budget is $1000 I don't really want to go over that.

I would love to get a mig/tig combo, but I don't think there are any close to my budget.

The one I'm currently looking at is the Hobart 190, It looks like a really nice welder and an aluminum spool gun is only $100 which would be nice for welding intercooler piping. I'm open to some recommendations though! I would also like to stick with a new welder, I have scowered craigslist and FB and there are no real good deals.

Edit:

As I say that I found the Eastwood Elite MP200i for $750.

Eastwood 200 Amp Elite MP200i Multi Process Welder MIG - TIG - Stick

A powerful all-around welder, the Eastwood Elite MP200i lets you MIG, TIG, flux, or stick weld steel or aluminum up to 3/8-in thick with just a single machine.

www.eastwood.com

Does anyone have any experience with this?

I have no experience with it, but it sounds like a good buy in that price range. I'd look into it a bit more to see if there's anything with similar specs that is cheaper. Another option would be to buy a used 220v mig. The Tig would be nice, but you can get by without it for now. I'd get the aluminum spool gun too, it'll be useful for welding aluminum. Make it has machine guarding . I also recommend getting a wire welder if you're planning on making headers, they make header fabrication much easier.

 

[bb29510]

company bought a ESAB 210 multi process, last week, its a nice machine, very smooth

 

[tlinmd]

I have a Lincoln Weld Pak 155 220V welder I purchased 15 years ago when I was starting to do the sheet metal work on my 69 Mustang. I converted it from flux core to gas.

I know this thread is a few months old, but I just HAD to chime in here. THIS is exactly what I did, with my 20-year old Weld Pak 100, and it sits on the same Harbor Freight cart as yours. Looks identical to your setup. Great minds...

Just got done welding replacement exhaust brackets for my old Mercedes last night, and they look great. It's a great setup for anything < 1/4" thick!

 

[bb29510]

want have fun get some 6022