Dan4governor

so I recently spent a week on my grandpas farm playing in his metal shop. I learned to torch and weld and fell in love with it! I even made a rear diff guard for my 8.25 rear end (pics when I get it mounted, and a template for anyone who wants it).

Now I have the bug. I want to buy a welder. I need something that can run off home power, and can weld up to 1/4 in thick steel. what should I get?
I used a really nice miller mig gas/wire welder and a lincoln stick welder in my grandpas shop, but I don't think either of those will work on normal garage power. I see those cheap mig welders on ebay for under $200, will that work?
Thanks,
Dan

stumanarama

If you can find a 110 mig that will put out 130-140 amps, you should be in the clear. My POS does 90 amps and I have to work hard to penetrate anything over 1/8" but my buddy's 135 amp does 3/16" relatively easy. My advice would be to not skimp now on a chinese one like I did, you may regret it down the road like myself.

utah_redneck

I got a Lincoln knock-off "Snap-on" brand 110v 135amp mig....it does great for small stuff. I tried to crank it up all the way to see it's limits and blew the circuit breaker in my house (15amp), so if you have the ability, have the welder connected to a 20+ amp breaker. Like mentioned above don't skimp....I paid $1300 for mine that at Lowe's or Home Depo. would cost about $450-500. You can't go wrong with either Lincoln or Miller welders, good warranty and great products. And also, the higher the amp rating the better, it'll weld nicer and can work well for slightly thicker metal (1/4" - 5/16"). Good luck in you hunt and hope this helps.

jusper88

I agree completley with utah and stu...Some of your mig welders are a little pricey tho...it really depends on what kinda cash you can dish out on one...Utah says you can get a mig for $1300...if that kinda cash isn't what your looking at...look up a 110 "cracker box" stick...I personally don't recommend it...but it will be cheaper! Also I've had good luck with Hobart welders...Tractor Supply Co. carries various models...I do prefer Lincoln or Miller over Hobart due to warranties and things like that...but they do weld great.

Swamp Donkey

I have a Hobart 187 i bought at Northern Tool and i have been very satisfied with it. They run about $650. Ive welded numerous things from chassis parts on our 800hp drag cars to putting straight axles under a few Nissan's and beyond to anything you can think of. ive done alot of work on 1/2" steel with this welder and never doubted my welds one bit or had anything break. its all about how you weld, not the size of the welder. Yea Miller is more industrial style welders, but you are basically buying the Name. If you are just a home fabricator who has hobbies and projects, i recommend Hobart.

Rob92XJ

Stay away from the cheap Ebay welders unless you like popcorn cause that's all they are good for is sounding like popcorn.
My 110V welder is a AutoArc 142 which is a mid line Miller welder, basically a MIllermatic 140 with out the auto features and is a step up from the Hobart Handler 140 I paid about 1100 for mine. The 110 welders are not really rated for really heavy materials like the 220 single or 3 phase units are. Mine will weld up to 1/4" but it is not pretty it also takes more then one pass.
The body shop at my job uses the AutoArc 142 for general purpose welding and they are happy with it, but anything like a frame or suspension mount repair they do is done with the 220V MIller 180.
When I replace my control arm mounts on my axle I will be using there 220 welder.

rustface

Anyone hear of equipment rental places that rent welders?

Probably too risky on the liability, eh?

Rob92XJ

Your best bet is to call around and see if any in your area rent them.

http://www.ur.com/index.php/equipmen...Welders&page=1

thsarge

You can buy a Miller 110v, and they will run off standard garage power. If you buy a 110, I recommend the weldpak140. It will work hard welding 1/4", but it can be done if you preheat with Mapp gas.

You could also buy a 220v welder (I recommend this), and you can run it off garage power by tapping into the hot legs on two separate circuits. You would have to modify your electrical circuits, but it can be done easily. Get the miller or lincoln 180. They're the least expensive quality welder out there that will do what you want...you're looking at $500 or so at Home Depot.

If your service box is mounted to the side of the garage, this will be incredibly easy. Buy twenty feet of #10 AWG, 3 conductor (red, black, white, and bare copper) commonly referred to as 10/3. Replace any two side by side circuit breakers with 30 amp breakers, wire into them, run them into your work space, and install a 220v plug in your garage. You're ready to use any 220V welder out there!

PingPong

WHen looking to buy any tool price should not matter. Buy quality and buy once. Just because you dont need to weld 3/8 or thicker at the moment, dont spend hard earned money to buy something that wont suit your needs later. I personally own 2 welders. One is a 110 flux core "mig" welder. I dont even use it anymore cause the duty cycle is only 20%, and it barely welds 1/8, let alone the 1/4 inch stuff I use all the time. MY other welder is an old school Lincoln stick welder. Depending on how high I have the emps turned up, depends on what my duty cycle is. MOst of the time I weld with 1/8 6013 or 1/8 7018. for the thicker stuff (anything over 5/16) I step up to 1/4 rod and burn it in.

I personally think welding with a "stick" welder is better. It is not the cheapest out there due to the waste, but it has the lowest initial investment, and is more flexible then a typical "mig" welder under a 1000 bucks. Also you can buy an ac/dc hobart or lincoln for under 500 and be able to weld just about anything you can think of.

ToyComa

I have used a big millermatic 220 amp? (It might have been a 225 I forget) 220v at work, a linchon 175amp 220v at a shop while building drift cars and such, my brothers linchon 135 amp 110v and a small flux core mig 80 amp 110v craftsman. I did a lot with that craftsman. I learned a lot with it and how to actually weld since it was so limited. You couldn't just turn it up higher to get good penetration. I have welded fender brackets for hugh fiberglass fenders on my brother Peterbilt. All the failures were due to the metal fatiguing from all the boucing around. The steel was 3/16". We redesigned the brackets that came with the fenders after buying the Linchon 135 amp and have not had a failure yet on anything. For the back end of the fender I welded some 1/4" square tube (these are vertical) to 1/4" plate (these are vertical and bolted to the frame) with only one pass. Lets just say,..... the welds are strong enough that instead of welds breaking, the frame has bent. And these are not some over loaded welds. I think this is a good welder for a starter and home use with minimum heavy duty welding. BUT, I do not like this welder. It is limited and like I said, you need to know how to weld to get the most out of it. The linchon 220v welder is ideal for heavy work but not on like a production scale. I could of taken half then time to weld those fender brackets with the 220v welder if I had it at my house but I don't think it would be ideal for 8 - 10 hour a day 5 days a week 53 hours a year type use.
As for the Miller. meh. It was old and beat up by the time I started using it. It seemed like the guy who used it before me really had no clue wtf he was doing. I saw a lot of his welds on equipment and metal tables and racks that were in the production lines (I worked at a window plant) and I was not suprised at how many of his welds failed and I had to fix. I also used this welder to fix 26 - 28 I beams in the building before we closed. It took me a few I beams before I found a good setup on that welder. I was welding 1/2" hot rolled steel to 1/2 thick I beams. I was never really happy with how the welds looked (they looked good but just not what I know I could do with a better working welder) but atleast one I beam ended up getting tested when a fork lift hit it (the reason I was fixing them, ever see a 20 foot tall I beam twisted and bowed in two diffrent directions from the floor to the roof because a fork lift driver hit it?) and none of the welds broke and all the steel I welded and boxed in the I beam with were still in place.
So after all that long winded typing that makes no sense......... I say go with at least the 110v 135 (old one) 140 amp Linchon at HD or Lowe's. If you have $750 and 220v power in your garage, go with the 175 amp Linchon or Miller version.
Also, buy a good working adjustable self tinting mask. I got a $180 self tinting mask with an 11 lens through work and it sucks. I bought an adjustable mask (9 to 13) from Harbor Freight for $40 dollars and it is great for the money. AND READ THE CHART IN THE WELDER. I am not saying to do exactly what it says but at minimum use it as a starting point. Depending on wind conditions (if you have a fan on you or are welding out side) your style of welding, angle, welding over head, you will probably need to tweak the wire feed and voltage. And you might want to get the welding book at Lowe's. I looked through it and I think it might be helpful to someone just starting out.

1990cherokee

So, I am thinking about buying a welder that can weld 24 gauge to 1/4 of inch. i dont really plan on doing frame work, just building a cage and some sliders and bumpers. think this will be good enough. This is the welder i am looking at hobart handler 140.

PingPong

hink you need to get alot more experience even before you think of tackling a cage.

Also just because you dont hae 220 in your garage, I am sure you have a dryer, all you have to do is make a 220 extention cord. You will probrably want that anyways.

I didnt have 220 in my garage when I bought my house... a few yrs after i had it rewired for 100 amp 220 service. Havent looked back since.

COSXJFAN

Any "name brand" welder will do. Try to get the highest amperage output that your garage wiring can handle. DO NOT buy a flux core welder, they are garbage!! The best welds are done with shielding gas...PERIOD!! Flux is for sweating and soldering, not for welding. The key is to have "head room" with your welder. If you are constantly welding at the highest output the welder has to offer, you have too small of a welder. Shop around, you can find package deals that have the welder and a lot of the other things that you would need. I have seen deals that have a helmet, bottle, gloves, and a couple of other little things, but the package comes at a discounted price. Another thing, you should look into an auto darkening helmet, as they are a lot easier to use, and can improve your welding. You will have to have all of the other stuff as well, so this would be the best route. Good luck with your shopping, and keep us posted on what you wind up with.

PingPong

Cos pointed out a few good things about the package deals. As for an auto darkening helmet.... I have mixed feelings about them. Personally I have one, and dont use it, I prefer my old school style full face. No flip up. The reason why I say this is... the auto helmet I have has the tendency to go dark if I have a lot of lights on in the garage. Just my wxperience with them.