I just impulse bought a welder

[deberly12]

I normally agonize over a 5 dollar purchase for a long time but I couldn't pass this up.

Metal Man 140 multi process welder

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/metal-man-120v-140a-mp-inverter-welder

I currently live in a house owned by my employer and they don't want to put 220 in because I can use the welders in the shop. I would be too embarrassed at my current skill level though so I was trying to decide if I wanted to get a Dual voltage are a cheap 120v to practice with.

I was at TSC and this was on clearance for $180. I figured it would be good enough to learn on and it is even multiprocess. Anyone used these welders before.

I would like recommendations on sticks, wire (flux and solid) and how is the cheapest way to get gas.

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[driz]

Nice score! The reality is these days there’s not so much that is made out of heavy steel anyway and that little **** will do most everything plenty well enough for around the shop. The stick welding function is what will do the framing and such. Also don’t feel you just have to use gas like everyone seems to push lately. There’s a lot to be said for welding flux core and to listen to guys you often think it’s a dirty word. It’s just dirtier and fumier is all so use a 16” box fan if you’re inside and have the door open[emoji849].

When you do decide on a tank you’re probably going to want to buy a deent sized one. AVOID THE TINY Tanks. They cost as much to fill as a big one so BITE THE BULLET AND GET A 125. These days most places won’t sell / fill owner tanks bigger so that’s the limit for many of us small fry. That’s the game lately robbing the small guy. Second and foremost AVOID AIRGAS like they have the plague. Just saying, they are the king of thieves and worse all the time. I topped the gas Gas Price Paid Chart on Welding web in 2017 by paying $100 for 85cF tank fill though now I see several others with me topping the chart. STAY AWAY FROM THOSE GUYS, AIRGAS.

Also when you get your tank take that receipt and LAMINATE IT or put it in a plastic folder then put it in your files. You may well need it later to prove you own a tank so guard it! Which brings me to the second point. Your likely going to want to keep your own rather than letting it disappear into their parts stream and swapping out.
Again on tanks and all your other welding consumables try to find a local Mon N Pop supply. Somebody that will give you decent prices usually and not just pick your pocket. Besides once they are gone chances are Airgas or one of the big outfits will hop right in and take their place while openly stealing you blind and then you’re stuck. Look around the welding forums you’ll see this is all very true and rampant nationwide.
Apologies for the lecture when you just bought the machine. Some of us do want to get right out and set themselves up fully so I thought I’d toss it all out there for you and save you falling into their traps. Treat buying that tank just like shopping for a new car. Go out and ask the ugly questions and hit them all before making any decisions. You’ll be glad you did.
Oh so dont be bashful about grabbing a $40 HF Auto darkening Helmet. They work fine in my experience. Store it inside the house when it’s sub zero and they last many years. Happy welding....





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[Shehzada]

I have been contemplating the HF $90 flux-core for a very long time. I have never welded before. Perhaps soon I will pull the trigger. How does this compare to the HF one?

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[sberry]

They don't know, just got it. But TSC sold Farmhand as well as Hobart. They should have got rid of them. Guy says,,, 5% of our sales, 95% of our problems. Guy buys that, 1 small roll of wire, a cheap hood, never comes back. It would be interesting to see how well a 200$ multi process machine works.
I tried a 100$ stick Forney. It welded ok but heated up so fast that the only usable rod was 3/32 6011.

 

[deberly12]

I am not an expert (just bought my welder lol) but the HF one you mentioned is a 125 amp flux core machine.

The one I bought is 140 amp multiprocess. It will do stick, flux and mig it is also ready for a scratch start Tig torch and a spool gun. Those are the differences.

I could give some thoughts on whether you should buy that one or not. I will wait and see if others with more experience will handle that.

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[djcslice]

I am not an expert (just bought my welder lol) but the HF one you mentioned is a 125 amp flux core machine.

The one I bought is 140 amp multiprocess. It will do stick, flux and mig it is also ready for a scratch start Tig torch and a spool gun. Those are the differences.

I could give some thoughts on whether you should buy that one or not. I will wait and see if others with more experience will handle that.

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I bought one of these on clearance too. It throws down a decent bead for the money.

 

[Kaizen]

If you have access to a professional shop with professional welders(people) you are a fool for passing that up. I assume you are worried they will chastise and make fun of your skill level. They might unless they see you are serious about learning. Go put in a few hours in your lunch break and I bet they will be offering to teach you.
Be humble. Keep your mouth shut and practice. I bet you will be further in one month then I was self teaching myself at two years.




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[deberly12]

If you have access to a professional shop with professional welders(people) you are a fool for passing that up. I assume you are worried they will chastise and make fun of your skill level. They might unless they see you are serious about learning. Go put in a few hours in your lunch break and I bet they will be offering to teach you.
Be humble. Keep your mouth shut and practice. I bet you will be further in one month then I was self teaching myself at two years.




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I agree completely with you but I need some place to put in the required hours of practice where I am not preventing production. I have had a little bit of training but no practice. I want to practice to learn where I need help. I hope this makes sense.

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[djcslice]

I agree completely with you but I need some place to put in the required hours of practice where I am not preventing production. I have had a little bit of training but no practice. I want to practice to learn where I need help. I hope this makes sense.

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This. We have a group of engineers (myself included) who occasionally go out and get some lessons and pointers from our top welders. They are happy to teach, not only because they like sharing their trade but it helps us engineers design better welds through experience.

 

[Iluvbeer]

I love my little Hobart 140. I taught myself to weld using it. Lots of beer, wire, and scrap steel, and I just watched videos and tried over and over and finally started producing good welds. My dad was a welder for a long time so he also gave me some advice and a little instruction to help me.

 

[toplessHO]

just searched around and found one close but they wanted full price
called around found one a little further for the clearance price.
Will go get it tomorrow.

 

[Kaizen]

I agree completely with you but I need some place to put in the required hours of practice where I am not preventing production. I have had a little bit of training but no practice. I want to practice to learn where I need help. I hope this makes sense.

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Yes understood. No off hours you are allowed to just zone out and weld on stuff?
If you just need torch time use the flux core setup and have at it. You can weld some pretty thick stuff running 110 on a little welder. Get a good extension cord.

 

[Ole Slewfoot]

The ground clamp that came with my Miller wasn't as good as whats pictured.

 

[bdbecker]

Another option for weld gas is to see if your Tractor Supply does the Thoroughbred weld gas exchange (some locations do, some don't - Northern Tool is another place that does this). You buy the bottle and then just exchange it like you would a propane tank when its empty.

I think they charge like $60 for a 125 exchange, which is a little more than what you'd probably pay at a weld supply house, but for me the convenience is a big factor. If my gas runs out on a Saturday afternoon, I can head over to the Northern Tool and be back up in running in a half hour versus having to wait until Monday and try to get over to Airgas on my lunch break.

The other nice thing is that if you can buy the small bottle and when you decide to upgrade, you can get full credit of your initial purchase price towards the larger, more expensive bottle. If you do find you're welding a lot, you'll want to get into a bigger bottle. The cost difference between exchanging a 40 cubic foot bottle and a 125 cubic foot bottle is only like $20.

 

[Maui]

I found that there was only one left in stock at the Tractor Supply in my hometown (and none where I currently live), so they put it aside for me. I’ll pick it up this weekend when I head home to visit. Deberly12, let us know how your welder performs.

Maui

 

[toplessHO]

fired mine up tonight
hooked up the bottle and ran some .030.
Did some sheet metal and it amped down real good.
It didnt come with a .035 roller so I called and they are mailing one.
The ground clamp is nice and heavy but needs some teeth,its smooth and doesnt bite into odd shapes. I want to burn some 6010 and 7018 and see how the stick part does

 

[deberly12]

fired mine up tonight
hooked up the bottle and ran some .030.
Did some sheet metal and it amped down real good.
It didnt come with a .035 roller so I called and they are mailing one.
The ground clamp is nice and heavy but needs some teeth,its smooth and doesnt bite into odd shapes. I want to burn some 6010 and 7018 and see how the stick part does

Was it supposed to have a .035? I guess I have to call too. I just picked up a spool of flux core and a few pounds of 6011. A bottle will have to come later. I can't wait to try it out.

I got forney brand. It is what the store I was at had and it will basically just be for practice. what do people think of Forney wire and rods? Is it any good?

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[toplessHO]

they give you a nozzle for .035 in the bag of small parts
I think they just forgot to put the .035 roller in that bag.
the attached roller is a dual,.030 and .023.

 

[pepi]

The ground clamp that came with my Miller wasn't as good as whats pictured.

Buy this it will solve the ground clamp problem for good

 

[driz]

I’m 6000 miles away from it but I’d swear my HH 135 has a both .030 and 035 on one side and .o23 on the other and you just swap sides. I sure don’t have any other drive roller with it and have been using both for years now

Oh yea, My standard welder warning for a new guy��. Don’t be a sap and leave it plugged in for long periods. Lest that stray lightning bolt come by and fry your board. I know this �� first hand��. Don’t be that idiot like I was.

 

[CKS1955]

..Metal Man 140 multi process welder

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/metal-man-120v-140a-mp-inverter-welder

I was at TSC and this was on clearance for $180. I figured it would be good enough to learn on and it is even multiprocess. Anyone used these welders before.

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I bought one of these on clearance too. It throws down a decent bead for the money.

After reading the above posts I went to one of my local TSC stores that still had the Metal Man 120V 140A Inverter Welder in stock and bought it. Seems like a pretty decent price on clearance for $179.99 (about 45% off the $329.99 price). The reviews for this welder and the other Metal Man inverter at TSC appear to be very positive. The ability to mig, flux, stick, tig or spool gun seems very versatile.

Has anyone tried the spot weld feature?

Jay

Stock picture from Metal Man

 

[toplessHO]

all that is,is a timer that cuts off the weld
pretty neat actually for consistency.

Had that on a Lincoln SP200 that was a beast of a machine
nice to see that feature on a small breadbox type.

 

[Kaizen]

I’ve been wanting to get into tig and stick welding so I grabbed one too.
How thick can stick welding do with this machine?


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[toplessHO]

read the manual
says 3/16 mild steel
Mines maxed out at 70amps
so 3/32 rod is max

 

[Maui]

I picked one of these welders up yesterday too. And I bought the additional 1 year warranty offered by Tractor Supply for $19.00. Since the price of the machine had been reduced by about $150, why not? I'll unbox it and give it a try hopefully later on this next weekend.

 

[toplessHO]

I declined the warranty
it already has a 3 yr
are you sure that additional 1 yr was on top of the 3yr warranty?

 

[Maui]

The 1 year warranty they offered allows you to get a completely new machine, not a refurbished one. And you don't have to pay to send your machine back to the manufacturer for repair. Just bring the broken one in to the store and they give you a brand new one in the box. I don't normally buy additional warranties either, but since I was saving about $150 over the normal price I decided to get it. Why not? I'll spend twice that much on a decent dinner.

 

[CKS1955]

Also if you made the purchase with a credit card depending on the benefits it may offer an extended warranty in addition to the factory warranty. The coverage begins once the factory and/or extend warranty expire. This in some cases can offer an additional 24 months of coverage. With this welder you would end up with 5 years (3 years factory + 2 years card).

Jay

 

[toplessHO]

burned a little 7018 3/32 rod
Im in awe that a 120v machine can do this
a little practice and this will do nicely.
I pushed into the puddle hard to see what it was made of,took it rather well.
restarts are easier than I thought too.

 

[jscoggin]

Thanks to this thread, I impulse bought a welder too. I've never welded before but have wanted to learn for awhile. For $180 plus some accessories (HF helmet, gloves, cart), it was too cheap to pass up.

 

[CKS1955]

Thanks to this thread, I impulse bought a welder too...

Ditto. Been looking on Craigslist, but saw this thread and dived in.

Jay

 

[deberly12]

Powered it up and ran a little bit of flux core. It laid a pretty nice bead even though I am not a good...or really even a bad welder lol.

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[2002maniac]

I drove 200 miles round trip today to pick up one of these machines (50mpg VW diesel enables such shenanigans). Luckily their stock matched the website and they had one on the shelf.

I got it home, set it up and burned through some .030 flux core wire. I maxed out the power and attempted to weld some 1/4" plate. Penetration was better than I had anticipated.

I have to say the quality of the machine is better than I expected. The wire feed roller mechanism is very sturdy, the leads and quick disconnects are pretty solid. I do wish the gun and ground leads were longer. The digital display is a nice touch for a budget welder. I also used the adjustable spot timer. kind of a gimmick but I could see myself using it sometimes.

I was also at harbor freight and noticed that the titanium MIG 140 ($399) has a lot of similar features as the metal man. The feed roller mechanism is the same. The leads and recepticals are in the same configuration. 3 knobs with digital display although the 3rd knob on the titanium is inductance adjustment.

Overall, I think this welder would be a great buy for $300+ and at $179 it's an absolute steal. Hopefully it remains relibale, but even if I only got 3 years out of it I wouldn't be upset.

This isn't my first Chinese welder. I've been running an AHP ac/DC Tig machine for 2.5 years and it's been fantastic. I need to pick up a tank and get this thing running MIG. It's been a long time since I've welded with flux core and it is pretty nasty.

 

[toplessHO]

that HF welder looks like a dead ringer for this welder,with one exception,Its MIG only.
For me this welder is win,win. We bought 2 so my son didnt have to borrow mine.Im still amazed that a 120v machine can work as hard as this one. I did some 3/16 to 3/8 plate in a T and it did beautiful with MIG.
My 3/32" 7018s would have done it too.

 

[CKS1955]

What type of helmet are you using?

Jay

 

[mcj115]

I am running across this thread for the firs time. I have to laugh...I also bought one of these on the impulse at $180 there really ins't that much risk, especially since it is multi process.

 

[ptgarcia]

Will this weld 1/8" thick angle iron okay?

My local store shows $379 right now.

 

[toplessHO]

Will this weld 1/8" thick angle iron okay?

My local store shows $379 right now.

yes it will do just fine in stick or MIG

prices will vary
some store in my area normally stock them so list price sticks
stores that got them for a "seasonal" promotion are selling at a closeout price

 

[Kenskip1]

Getting back to the argon/co2 bottles, at Tractor Supply I have exchanged my bottle empty for full. They have a record of the transaction. No receipt required.

 

[CKS1955]

Will this weld 1/8" thick angle iron okay?

My local store shows $379 right now.

Did you check online or call the store? I would probably call the store to verify price, because the online price does not reflect the clearance price.

Jay