Welder Recomendations?

Brent Dowell

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So as not to hijack Darren's thread, I'm just wondering what type and size of welder would you experienced folks recommend?

Let's say that you'd want to do at least 1/4" steel and would have some kind of decent duty cycle.

Not really in the market, just kind of looking to be educated on the subject.
 
That sorta depends on what you plan to do with your welder. I used to teach welding a few years back and we had everything from stick to wire and also tig. Since I've retired from my teaching job I have sold my Lincoln 225 stick welder that I used on the farm and have opted to keep my little Miller 115v wire welder for use in my cabinet shop. It will handle everything I'll do for the shop but if I were still looking to repair bush hogs and other farm equipment I'd want a stick welder back for that task. My little wire welder uses a solid core wire and "dip mix" shielding gas and is great for building shop tables, work flow carts, lumber racks and light repair on machinery.
 
Lots of variables to plug in here. 110 or 220 volt, single phase or 3 phase, wire feed or stick and the biggie......how much do ya wanna spend?

Miller makes a real nice 110 flux core wire welder for a reasonable price. I'm kinda stuck with Miller 'cause that's what we used where I worked. All of those were 240 3-phase MIGs with Argon gas shielding......major production machines with a 100% duty cycle. They do have a home/farm selection that is well respected. You can go the HF route but IMHO you'd be packin' sand in a rat hole.
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Jim beat me by a minute. He's got the same opinion though.
 
110 or 220, doesn't matter. Leave price out of it for a while, more wondering about the type...

Wire feed, Stick, Mig, Tig...

Or is it sort of like wood working, different tools for different jobs...

Definitely not a 'production' machine with 100% duty cycle.

Just wondering would be a 'reasonably' versatile welder.
 
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Reading up on it a bit, I think the best thing I can do is probably to get a tank of shielding gas. I've been using flux core wire and have never been especially happy with, or good at, putting up a good bead with my mig. I've gotten better, but I use a grinder just about as much as I use the welder...

I have to go to town later this week to pick up some parts for the skidsteer, so I'll stop by the local welding shop and get some wire and gas while I'm in the area.
 
For the normal farm/acreage I woulld go for a stick welder. Jim nailed it with the Lincoln 225. These are a very good welder. The Lincoln 180 was also good. The extra amps on the 225 was mainly used when you were using the welder to cut metal. The reason for the stick welder is there a different rods for different things. I used 6011 which is good for metal that may be a bit rusty. It doesn't lay do a great looking bead, but it penatarats very well. 6013 is a good rod for clean metal and has a nice looking bead. There are also rods for dissimeraler metals. It may take a bit of practice if you are use to welding with wire to get use to the stick.
 
Jim and Rex are spot on with their recommendations. For general heavy duty use like rebuilding frames, trailers, etc, a stick welder is hard to beat. I have four Lincoln 215 mig welders and they are very good machines for general duty but best on new metal. Migs don't do well with paint or rust. Here is a nice website with different welders, http://www.asedeals.com/lincoln_mig_welders.html

I have had difficulties getting a little 110 Mig welder lay a good bead if it was a flux cored wire. Basically the flux has to be in the center otherwise running down the liner it would rub and create problems. A 75/25 mix of argon mix and turn it on the bottle, that will make that little welder perform like a whole nother machine. Also pay attention to your buttons and switches, there are generally 3 or 4 different ways to set them up by the way the switches are thrown, one in the wrong position really messes with the performance. Welders are fun machines. Aren't you the one that goes to Chicago from time to time? Just a couple hours away, you come over, we can go through stick welding and MIG welding.
 
For working on Bob and accessories for him, I'd probably go with a 220 stick too. As a matter of fact, I may pick one up on CL sometime soon, see them on there quite often. A 220 Mig will do what you are probably wanting to do (1/4" in single pass), even at a 30% duty cycle I'm sure you'll get the job done eventually.

Ken also ask some questions a while back, here's the thread: http://familywoodworking.org/forums/showthread.php?21772-Welder-and-welding-question/page2
 
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Stick is better for a lot of heavy welding, but is harder to learn and very messy, but you can weld a lot of stuff that the MIG would need a ton of prep work to weld on, yeah, dirty rusty stuff.

I think in a perfect world you would get a 200V MIG with a gas bottle, and a good used stick welder, you can usually pick up the later for cheap used, the sticks cost money and they do NOT last forever, you must keep them dry!!
The MIG welder can run both solid core wire (you need a gas cylinder for this wire) and you can weld with flux core wire, that does not need any shielding gas, this will work better on dirty metal and will work outside if there is a breeze.

The MIG welder is easy to learn and easy to run, dead easy, I tell my friends that I could teach their wives to run a decent bead in 30 minutes, and I'm not joking, yes there is a lot more to it than that, but for basic stuff that most of us do they rock!

Also you don't have to use the argon/CO2 mix gas, I use straight CO2 as I get mostly used cylinders from our draught beer machines :D it burns a bit hotter and has more splatter, but it is way cheaper!
 
I'm all over getting used for this kind of thing.

Great advice guys, exactly what I was looking for.

I'll pick up some of the welding gas this week, and will start checking out CL...
 
As I said after watching a demo for my shop I'd get a Multiplaz, No bottles to store and seems to work great on most materials up to about 3/8 which would take care of most of my work. Currently I have a Lincoln AC stick, a small 115 volt mig with gas and a gas OX acetylene outfit. Own all my bottles. But seems whenever I get in the middle of something I always need gas! There is a good chance acetylene is going to go sky high and maybe tough to get..

Because of safety concerns I have to keep my Ox/Acel stored where it isn't handy...

If I wasn't going to go for the Multiplaz I'd like a bigger mig, a DC stick and an AC tig....

Some of the reviews on the imported multi function machines seem pretty good but like the Multiplaz I always wonder what happens when it breaks....

This is a pretty good site here for tips and tricks...

http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/
And if you have never seen it you really need to watch Amazing Blaze..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLnN-hqgfxY
GArry
 
Brent you aint the only one wanting to get a welder. Its been on my top priority list for some time. Good thread.

I just like to know from all the welders that prefer stick to the gas wire approach why no one has mentioned going for a TIG welder.

I thought maybe incorrectly that TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) was a step up from the ordinary MIG and capable of greater things. I used to try stick welding back in SA with my Dad but we had more bird pooh than welds. Grinder was our best friend and i aint sure we always got a good joint or whether the whole thing was being held together by slag.:rofl:

Jonathan when i get down there to visit you gotta haul me through a crash course. ;):thumb:
 
Rob, TIG completely rocks it is amazing, really it is. I've only done a little bit but I'd love to own a TIG unit, but, and this is important, it is the kind of thing that to do well, you need to do it every day. If you have been TIG welding everyday for years and years, I imagine you could go for a month and not TIG weld, then pick up the machine and in a short time be right back on top of it, but if you only do a few hours here and there, well, you will suck at it. Someone who welds TIG all the time, please tell me I'm wrong! :D but from my experience I'm not :( With a good MIG set up, you can weld almost as nice as TIG and you can do it with a LOT less time on the machine and a lot more consistently.

Most people have a problem with stick welders because their sticks are stored poorly, they have to be dry dry dry from the get go, if they are left out in the open in any kind of humidity, they will absorb water and then when you weld with them, they will splatter and make a mess. I used to work at a shop that did a lot of welding, the sticks were delivered in a sealed container, when they were to be used they were transferred into an oven like unit that was electrically heated and it ran 24/7, so the welding rods could NOT absorb any water. Old wet rods are just about useless.

That Mulitiplaz looks very cool!
 
I'll repeat what Stu said. I'd love to have a TIG, but they are a little more pricey, yet you can weld just about anything with them. They weld using the material itself and filler rod is optional, but usually necessary.

He was correct about the rods, some guys will put the rods in the oven and heat them up prior to use too to get all moisture out.
 
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