Welders

[startingout]

Ok so my dad owns a small farm and does EVERYTHING himself. From cars, to fences to computers to plumbing. But he needs a welders. I already know I'm going to get him a Acetylene welder kit. But he needs either a MIG, TIG or ARC welder. Does any one have any opinions as to what would be the best to buy him, as well as a brand?

 

[nissan_crawler]

hh187 will do most anything he needs, look at toolking.com for refurb ones (I know, I sound like a broken record)

I was on a farm for 18 years, I have a hh175, it would have done *almost* everything we needed it to do.

However, since he obviously has been running without one, I'm guess he doesn't do the repairs we did, and the hh187 will probably do everything he needs. If not, a gas rig will do the big stuff when needed.

 

[LoneGunman]

TIG is not a good choice for what you want to do, most people are probably going to say get a MIG, If I had only one welder it would be my Lincoln AC/DC 225. With the stick welder you don't need any tanks, no wire jamming or tip replacing, look at the amount of Lincoln AC225 or AC/DC 225's for sale and for usually $100-$150, mine is probably 20 or 30 years old. IMHO the AC/DC 225 is THE farm welder.

I have a small 120V Lincoln 135 mig that I use for light stuff and I have had a Hobart Handler 175, like Nissan reccomends, it was a great welder and should not have sold it but I got the 135 free.

 

[nissan_crawler]

We had an arc welder on the farm. I got used ONLY when the repair was in the field, because it had a gas engine (miller bobcat). Our century 275 did everything else.

In fact, dad bought an hh 135 to run OFF the miller bobcat for field use. If it was really windy, just slap a spool of flux core in and go. tips last for a really long time, never have had wire jam in any of our welders. I know it happens, we just haven't had the issue.

 

[bayou985]

staringout..... Miller,Miller,Miller,Miller,Miller,.....Ya heard Me??

 

[sberry]

You need 2 machines, an AC/DC stick and a mig.

 

[Stanger]

Refurb Hobart Handler 187, no contest.

 

[JeepsAreBuilt]

startingout: Sounds like my old man.. and it runs in the family too. My dad got by with a stick welder till a couple years ago when he got his mig. I remember he would do a rust patch repair on his old pick up with the stick welder. So, a stick welder can do quite a bit and more than mig welders if you know how to use them. So.. I gotta say a stick welder is the best choice for a farm welder.

 

[Merkava_4]

1. Has your Dad welded before?

2. What kind of material - steel, aluminum?

3. What material thickness is most likely to be welded?

 

[vssjim]

Lincoln buss box in AC/DC would be a great value and a long life tool

 

[speed bump]

Lincoln or Miller engine driven arc welder for almost everything. A decent sized Miller or Lincoln wire feed for shop work.

 

[eschoendorff]

hh187 will do most anything he needs, look at toolking.com for refurb ones (I know, I sound like a broken record)

I was on a farm for 18 years, I have a hh175, it would have done *almost* everything we needed it to do.

However, since he obviously has been running without one, I'm guess he doesn't do the repairs we did, and the hh187 will probably do everything he needs. If not, a gas rig will do the big stuff when needed.

Ditto on the Hobart. I have an HH140... because I do not have 220vac access. I LOVE that little machine. Great quality... and still made in USA!

 

[LeadDoggy]

name brand, you can't go wrong. Get a MIG that runs at least 220Vac....

 

[Paladin]

Ditto on the Hobart. I have an HH140... because I do not have 220vac access. I LOVE that little machine. Great quality... and still made in USA!

Yeah, my last place didn't have 220, so I bought a Lincoln Pro-Mig 140, and I have no regrets. Great machine for most repairs.

 

[hossmwp]

You need 2 machines, an AC/DC stick and a mig.

+1 on this. I also work on the family farm. We have both. Initially it was just the AC/DC stick welder. We do a great deal of repairs. I got a Lincoln 180 as our first Mig welder and its great. It gets alot of use on smaller stuff. The AC/DC stick is a IdealArc 250 I believe.

I would recommend one thing, find a local place that specializes in this equipment it can really help you. I love Miller equipment but the Miller dealers in our area come and go frequently and the Lincoln guys are here to stay and they also take care of all of torch needs aswell. I doubt you will have trouble with either unit. I have heard great things and even tried the Miller and Hobart equivalents to the Lincoln 180 and liked the Miller better. We do a great deal of welding and fabricating. We fabricated our corn planter to plant and spray in a single pass so it has a spray boom and 3 point mounted tank last winter.