jonesg
Well-known member
Buy the best you can afford, youll grow into it in yrs to come.
I was very happy with a cheap lincoln mig used off craigslist, had it for many yrs, went to tig to learn alum.
I like stick too.
Welder
- Thread starter Catadj78
- Start date
Buy the best you can afford, youll grow into it in yrs to come.
I was very happy with a cheap lincoln mig used off craigslist, had it for many yrs, went to tig to learn alum.
I like stick too.
sberry
Banned
Home Depot Lincoln or Hobart.
Marctrees
Well-known member
"Take the advice of your signature "
Ya, I do.. but after reading posts this thread... I'd like opinions from these guys also.
Marc
Ya, I do.. but after reading posts this thread... I'd like opinions from these guys also.
Marc
9/10 times it's the same people that answer the compact feeder threads.
These days I wouldn't go any lower than a 110/220v unit. Hobart to save a few bucks initially. The miller will have better resale value if you decide it's not for you. Best to get a full size machine though IMHO.
These days I wouldn't go any lower than a 110/220v unit. Hobart to save a few bucks initially. The miller will have better resale value if you decide it's not for you. Best to get a full size machine though IMHO.
sberry
Banned
Yes, the Miller has a little higher resale but,,,,,,,,,, it costs more too. There are quite a few real deals to be had on 120V machines, not so much on the larger ones as the people that got them keep them. I have 3 small migs, never sold one. I have a couple machines I should sell but they are not those.
If I was a 1 machine shop and thought I might need to move it would consider a DVI. In the shop it doesn't matter much.
This is a good place to stretch a budget a little and get a 180-200. 2x the machine for 50% more money in single voltage units. Prices stayed so low for so long they had to come up with more features to raise it. I am not sure what a HH190 costs now, around 700, about the same as a box store Lincoln. Not much past a couple hundred, 250 more than a 120V.
They run 030 wire very well, makes for use on quite a bit thicker material. One of the other reasons for a fancier model if you need it is that they are spool gun ready. Lets a guy do a little alum on occasion without a huge investment.
If I was a 1 machine shop and thought I might need to move it would consider a DVI. In the shop it doesn't matter much.
This is a good place to stretch a budget a little and get a 180-200. 2x the machine for 50% more money in single voltage units. Prices stayed so low for so long they had to come up with more features to raise it. I am not sure what a HH190 costs now, around 700, about the same as a box store Lincoln. Not much past a couple hundred, 250 more than a 120V.
They run 030 wire very well, makes for use on quite a bit thicker material. One of the other reasons for a fancier model if you need it is that they are spool gun ready. Lets a guy do a little alum on occasion without a huge investment.
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customh
Well-known member
https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200479230_200479230
That little guy gives you some growing room at a reasonable price.
That little guy gives you some growing room at a reasonable price.
Marctrees
Well-known member
I haven't looked yet.. so asking..
Am I paying more for the dual volt option ?.. cause I don't need it.
Marc
Am I paying more for the dual volt option ?.. cause I don't need it.
Marc
customh
Well-known member
Not really, it's just what the machines at that output have. It's sure been handy for me to have the option. I have a Miller 211 - same class machine, just an inverter vs transformer.
Yes. The HH190 is a better value if you don’t need the dual voltage option.
Marctrees
Well-known member
Ok, thank you Guys.. I will never need the 120 option, nor am I worried about resale.
This will be my last welding machine.
So, If I bump up to the 211, Roughly $500 more ??... do I gain anything besides deeper penetration for thicker stock?
Marc
This will be my last welding machine.
So, If I bump up to the 211, Roughly $500 more ??... do I gain anything besides deeper penetration for thicker stock?
Marc
sberry
Banned
The 210 is only a pinch better and really needs a meter and very experienced operator to notice the difference.
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Personally, I would advise against having one machine that does it all. Been there done that and would never do it again for a couple of reasons. I would also discourage you from getting a 110VAC machine. Get a true 240VAC machine or at least a multi-volt machine. They will at minimum have a higher duty cycle as well as other benefits.
First and most importantly, any of the multi-process machines will do one form of welding better than the other and won't do any as good as a process specific machine. Secondly, IF you ever have a machine failure, you are not dead in the water completely and can still weld.
There are a lot of good welding machines out there but I tend to bleed blue, Miller blue. I have a Miller MM251 which is a very nice MIG (GMAW) machine and I also have a Miller Dynasty DX300 TIG (GTAW) machine with liquid cooled torch setup that I also use for Stick (SMAW) when necessary, which is very little. I recently purchased a Miller MM211 to fill that gap between heavier steel MIG and light, thin gauge steel and it would fit what you are looking for perfectly. I have my 211 setup with .023" wire specifically and run .030" in my MM251 for my work on 1/8" and up material.
strutaeng
Well-known member
I've got the Ironman 210 machine and it is a superb welder. I have use the MIG with argon/CO and it is very nice for sheetmetal and decorative stuff.
I prefer to use fluxcored because I do mostly structural-type of projects. I don't mind the spatter and flux that is left. Fluxcore is a much hotter welding process.
If you are just starting, try fluxcore first. What I would do is weld 2 long pieces of angle or tube from the project I was welding and weld them in an "L," them bend until failure. You want the base metal break to fail. If your welds break, then something is wrong with settings or technique.
After some practice you will know what a good weld looks like from a bad weld.
Practice, practice, practice!
I prefer to use fluxcored because I do mostly structural-type of projects. I don't mind the spatter and flux that is left. Fluxcore is a much hotter welding process.
If you are just starting, try fluxcore first. What I would do is weld 2 long pieces of angle or tube from the project I was welding and weld them in an "L," them bend until failure. You want the base metal break to fail. If your welds break, then something is wrong with settings or technique.
After some practice you will know what a good weld looks like from a bad weld.
Practice, practice, practice!
sberry
Banned
The IM210 is an old model. It welds well. Its biggest benefit over a compact is that it will hold a big spool. Its replacement is now the IM230, they blended 2 models in to one really to simplify the product line and its a really good machine with lots more poop than the 210. It would actually be on my short list if I was looking for a full sized machine for a 1 gas 1 wire shop. Its quite a bit cheaper than top o the lines.
The 251 Mike has is one of the best, it will output near 300A and will spray 045. Its benefit is really on the top end and where time is money as well as some materials when paying men.
To most hobby types there is not as much benefit other than the fact they cant wear it out. Cant wear out a 211 either.
I only used wire a couple times portable but at foil thickness the 023 is a lot easier. I actually have 4 machines, 3 on steel, 023/030 and 035. The 255 is nothing to write home about, its old and not worth a lot except on rare occasions for customer work usually. I built half a dozen trailers a while back, all thin but a guy could really tell the speed difference and tracked some materials, 1/2 the cost, bigger wire, same gas use, 2x as fast and from a bigger bottle. Its really rare I use it but I am a career welder and occasionally contract. Its value is low on the used market, not worth selling.
I have a bunch of machines but I use the little red one 10x for all the rest.
The 251 Mike has is one of the best, it will output near 300A and will spray 045. Its benefit is really on the top end and where time is money as well as some materials when paying men.
To most hobby types there is not as much benefit other than the fact they cant wear it out. Cant wear out a 211 either.
I only used wire a couple times portable but at foil thickness the 023 is a lot easier. I actually have 4 machines, 3 on steel, 023/030 and 035. The 255 is nothing to write home about, its old and not worth a lot except on rare occasions for customer work usually. I built half a dozen trailers a while back, all thin but a guy could really tell the speed difference and tracked some materials, 1/2 the cost, bigger wire, same gas use, 2x as fast and from a bigger bottle. Its really rare I use it but I am a career welder and occasionally contract. Its value is low on the used market, not worth selling.
I have a bunch of machines but I use the little red one 10x for all the rest.
Attachments
sberry
Banned
I figure it had a fixed cost of a little more than a penny or 2 a weld. Probably made north of 50K welds with it. I did a couple repairs to it. Oiled the fan and replaced the voltage switch but ,,,,,, this has a lot of service on it,,, wayyyyyyyyyyy more than any hobby type could ever put on it.
I ended up with a ProTig 200 from HF for Tig/Stick so I could be able to weld aluminum.
I went to the sidewalk sale today and found the Protig for $430 and also found a Mig 170 wire feed welder for $90.
I have been looking on FB/CL for a better machine but I think for the price and as much as I will be welding I hope I did OK.
I also picked up a Cut 50 Plasma cutter the other day off Ebay for $189.
So im over 1k in my welding/cutting cart after the accessories with no cart yet. I like the Vulcan welding cart HF has for $300
I went to the sidewalk sale today and found the Protig for $430 and also found a Mig 170 wire feed welder for $90.
I have been looking on FB/CL for a better machine but I think for the price and as much as I will be welding I hope I did OK.
I also picked up a Cut 50 Plasma cutter the other day off Ebay for $189.
So im over 1k in my welding/cutting cart after the accessories with no cart yet. I like the Vulcan welding cart HF has for $300
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Went to Harbor Freight.
Since my original post I had done tons of research and narrowed down my wants.
I wanted to Tig so I could do aluminum and I wanted Stick because that's about all I have ever done. I didn't care for Flux Core and really didn't want to have to deal with gas with Mig.
I didn't want a HF machine but after going in there and seeing the Vulcan machines I did a little more research on those but I was not going to spend 1k on a HF machine.
Not saying I have an unlimited budget but I was able to afford anything I wanted however I really don't see the sense in spending more money than I need to. This is only a hobby for me.
So I started searching for used machines and planned on waiting on the right deal however after watching review after review on youtube and not finding a decent deal on a used machine I narrowed my plans down to the Everlast or the Vulcan ProTig200.
I only decided on the Vulcan when I came across the machine for $400, I did not plan on the Mig but for $90 I thought I couldn't pass up the opportunity at it for that price to have the ability to do pretty much anything I needed to do.
At the end of the day I'm having to balance out the necessity and the want. The last few years I've had to purchase the land for my shop, the shop itself and every tool in it without going into debt for my wants and I have had 2 kids so yeah I went to Harbor Freight
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byoungblood
Well-known member
Never say never on the dual volt. I have a Miller CST280 (an industrial grade stick/lift TIG) and the only beef I have is that I'm limited to within about ~30' of the outlet in my garage since it is 220 only. I have had a couple of times where it would have been nice to have something that doesn't require bringing the workpiece to the machine. I've been on the lookout for a small 140A MIG that I can tote around for just such work, or for stuff the stick isn't suited for.
Practically anything that is an inverter marketed to the hobby/small shop market is going to be dual voltage. Price difference between the dual volt vs the single voltage ones is really the cost of the inverter electronics and less so that it is dual voltage.
Practically anything that is an inverter marketed to the hobby/small shop market is going to be dual voltage. Price difference between the dual volt vs the single voltage ones is really the cost of the inverter electronics and less so that it is dual voltage.
I have an everlasting imig 230 and it’s been good. I bought the spool gun but haven’t used it. If you plan on welding much aluminum or stainless you’ll want the mig as larger projects are too much with a tig. Machines that are mig tig and stick ar eusually limited on the tig side I believe. I plan on buying a tig later on for small stuff. The spool gun was a cheap upgrade and the dual voltage is nice as I can carry the welder if I need and use where only 110 is.
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Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
Bob2112
Well-known member
Great info in this thread which I need to spend some more time reading in detail. One thing I didn't see a lot was talk about plasma cutters. I've been out of the welding game for about 20 years, but started looking again and see a lot of TIG/Plasma Cutter combo boxes. Any opinions on those?
Ideally I'd like to end up with a dedicated MIG machine and a TIG/stick machine. But if the Plasma cutter combo boxes don't have a lot of downside, that would be great to be able to include the PC functionality in that same box.
I have a 240V/50amp circuit for my welder, and would prefer to get a reliable brand. Not a lot of budget constraints. Although I'm just a hobbyist, I'd like to get the best bang for the power available.
Any suggestions?
Ideally I'd like to end up with a dedicated MIG machine and a TIG/stick machine. But if the Plasma cutter combo boxes don't have a lot of downside, that would be great to be able to include the PC functionality in that same box.
I have a 240V/50amp circuit for my welder, and would prefer to get a reliable brand. Not a lot of budget constraints. Although I'm just a hobbyist, I'd like to get the best bang for the power available.
Any suggestions?
sberry
Banned
The compact 240v mig was refined for people on this forum. They had your pic for a poster child when they designed it. They are economical and have enough power to be work wise. They run 030 well which gives it some punch.
Someday you may want other machines but these are the workhorses of small shops.
Someday you may want other machines but these are the workhorses of small shops.