OK guys, give me your opinions. I have the chance to get either a used Solar 2114 MIG welder w/either flux wire or argon hook up for somewhere around 100 - 150.00 or I have a chance at a new Fluxcore 125 MIG welder which I believe is just flux core wire for roughly 160.00. Which would you suggest?

Should I go with the older Solar because of the argon ability. How much will it cost me for the argon tank and argon? It has the guages to hook up. Is it more difficult to set up the argon and regulate it?

Any info would really be appreciated. Thanks

 

Yea the I was pushing it on the the Dmax, that thing is full of computers. I've heard of guys accidentally smoking the TCM hooking up jumper cables.

 

I would go with the argon hookup. I tried welding with the flux core wire and didn't have much luck. So I then bought a Eastwood Mig 135 to weld my body panels because it was recommended to weld with .23 wire. Flux core doesn't come that small. It's just my opinion but i would go with the welder with the argon. You can also run flux core as well with that machine, just don't use the gas with it.

 

Flux-core welders are sorta okay for what they do, but the burning flux inside the wire does not really provide adequate elimination of the contaminating ambient atmosphere (nitrogen, mostly, but oxygen too.) Argon/CO2 mixed 75/25 is a standard "cover gas" for MIG (metallic inert gas) welding. Pure argon works very well, but it's more expensive. Pure CO2 does work, but the weld is "harsh" and there is a lot of weld spatter.

TIG welding (tungsten inert gas-- sometimes called "heli-arc welding", which was a brand name) uses pure helium and sometimes argon or argon-mixed gas, and this technology produces much superior welds. The actual technique is a lot like oxy-acetylene welding (a torch manipulated by one hand and filler metal added with the other), but the problem is that TIG equipment is pretty expensive and you need the expertise to correctly perform it. With MIG, you just hold the "gun" about 1/4" from the weld area and pull the trigger. The weld isn't exactly great, but with practice pretty much anybody can do it.

One safety comment--NEVER weld with MIG in an enclosed space, like inside a garage with the door down, or inside a car body with the doors shut. CO2 and argon mixed gases contain NO OXYGEN, and they are "heavier than air" and will collect in low areas. If you MIG weld in enclosed spaces you will suffocate yourself, and you won't feel it coming. One minute you feel short of breath, the next minute you are dead. You MUST be in "free, open air" to weld with MIG or TIG, so the cover gases can dissipate into the atmosphere, but if you run a fan blowing right on you, the blowing air can disrupt the cover gas on the weld area.

The usual problem with MIG welding is people buy the least expensive machine, which often isn't powerful enough to weld what they want to weld (bumpers, etc.) I think small, inexpensive flux-core welders are a waste of money and aren't really worth fooling with. Big, industrial flux-core welders work very well, but the little ones that have a electrically "hot-tip" design are pretty much a waste of money. Save up your money and buy a good brand-name MIG welder with adequate power (Lincoln, Hobart, etc.) that uses standard compressed welding gas (25/75 argon/CO2) for a cover gas.

 

Thanks guys