Alright guys, I'm finally getting 220v ran into my shop. I'm sick if the little 110. What would y'all recommend without breaking the bank? Hobart 190?

 

yeah, a hobart 190 seems to be a good welder for the price.

get the best welder that you can afford, even if you have to splurge a little, you will be happier in the long run.

keep an eye on craigslist, you might just find a 250a for a good price.

 

Thinking I'm gonna just lay the money down for a Hobart Handler 140 from tractor supply co.

I can't go much higher than that (gonna have to pay insurance and am saving for another vehicle and am only making minimum wage ) but it's a start, right?

Only thing I'm worried about is wire costs, and what types of gasses and how much I'm gonna have to shell out for them.. Any input on it?

 

.030 solid wire. Try different brands, see what kind you like. In .030 I like lincoln but, the Hobart brand stuff us actually pretty decent for the price. As for gas, you are going to want to get at 75/25 mix of Co2 and argon.

 

Knew Lincoln, wasn't sure size and what not though, haha. Thank you.
And, could you point me in a direction for prices on the gas at least?

I have an oxygen and acetylene torch and that wasn't too bad to fill up last year, but I'm not sure if it's gonna cost anything like that though.

 

you have to lease or buy the bottle. up here they are about 300 bux full, whether you buy one or lease one.
i got mine from tsc and just return the empty for a full one.

you get your 300 bux back if you ever want out of their lease program.

i now own all my bottles.

 

Oh damn. That's not horrible, though.

 

it cost about 30 to exchange or fill your own bottle after you empty the first one.

 

Here is a fail. Not a broken weld, but a stupid decision. Radius arms with only 1 upper on an Artec truss with this rickety little mount. An upper link supporting a 4500 lb rig on 60's and 42's and this is the mount you want to use to locate the axle...

 

Just some more stuff from work...some drop chutes I'm building for the post-sort line...

 

So, quick question. This guy sounds kind of... "eeeeehhhhh" at best, but i'm just wondering if there's any credibility to what he's saying.

 

Chucke2009 has some good videos. He's covered that welder.

 

When it comes to welders - splurge. If i were you i'd take the money you're going to spend on the 140 and put it aside and every week set x amount aside until you save up enough cash to buy a 220 welder.

The extra power is worth the extra cash. You won't regret it.

 

I love my lincoln 255 .save the money and get what u want. Not what u settle for. And regret it.

 

Watching his MIG weld trouble-shooting video right now at the moment, haha.
I would, but i don't have 220 ran into my garage, or anywhere reasonable to be welding. I even considered putting the welder downstairs and using the washer/dryer's plug, but my basement is just a mess...

And, i don't necessarily think my mother would like me welding in the kitchen off the stove's plug either, lol.

If i had the money/know-how, or if i knew i was staying in this house for that matter, I'd run 220 on it's own dedicated circuit, but it's just not plausible at this point.