sharky47

Hey guys, I need to purchase a mig welder in the next month or so, need advice on what to get.

Here's my requirements:
1. budget of $600 max
2. need to fab exhaust, dune buggy frame, but most important - do bodywork/fab
3. 120 or 240v ok, I have both in the shop.

What brands/models should I look at? What do you have and what do you like/dislike about it? Anyone have one for sale?

nine-44

Miller is pretty much the best out there. xsboost just bought the 125 I beleive it is and it was about 600.

sharky47

I know about the Millers being the best, it's all we have at the shop, I just can't afford them. I was thinking about maybe a Lincoln Electric. Anybody know anything about the Chicago Electric units?

nine-44

Miller is about the best followed by Hobart, really about equal, Lincoln is a little lower, I know they used aluminum in thier transformers a while back making them more prone to failure. Then you get to the other Chicago tool, Campbell Hausfeld etc buzzboxes. If you have it to spend, get the Miller, you won't regret it.

Geo

Go to your local welding supply. They may either have used welders or know of someone wanting to unload one. I bought a Hobart Ironman 250 last year for $700. More welder than I need, but I was worried about buying too small. I was looking at the 180 amp models, but while the amperage is fine, the duty cycle was pretty low. I too had a $600 or so budget I was working with, but decided the extra $100 was more than worth it. Don't even bother with a 110v. If you plan to do much more than exhaust you'll probably be sorry.

nine-44

Hobart is a close runner up tho. I bought a used Campell Hausfeld, it does the job. I wouldn't go with the Chicago man, if anything, I was looking at the Lincoln, for a little more I could have gone with the Hobart. I like the 120V, can use it anywhere too.

sharky47

What about hitting up the local pawn shops? How should I inspect them for abuse?

Geo

BTW, Hobart and Miller are built in the same factories. The biggest functional difference for monkeys like us is the Miller has metal wire feeds and the Hobarts have plastic.

sharky47

Interesting, so for my intents and purposes Hobart would be just as good as Miller.......

nine-44

Yeah, I forgot that, I walked through Miller's factory back when I was in welding school. They had a welding school there and were using the Hobarts in the Miller school, lol.

Now, back to the good stuff, the top 3 are going to have options like only live when you pull the trigger vs always hot on the wire like the cheaper ones. Ever pull an oopsie and hit the work peice with your hood up, then you have that damn white dot for an hour and can't see anything? The better ones also have a gas solenoid insted of in the trigger, giving alot nicer trigger feel not having to pull as hard. Alot better power and feed control vs a couple of 2 way switches for amperage settings. I beleive it was the Hobart Handler 125 that I was looking at and the Millermatic 125, another was the Linclon 5200HD? Dunno, they had it at Home Depot for like 499 bucks.

sharky47

I will have to save up a little more, but I may go with this one, the same one that XS got -

http://store.cyberweld.com/mil135witecc.html

nine-44

Yeah, that is definately a nice welder. My dad has a Miller 300 power supply setup for TIG. That thing is amazing, it has all the controls for water cooled tips, arc, piggyback MIG, high frequency startup, the fine amperage foot pedal, etc. I only wish I had spent more time on a TIG back in school, might be able to get some use out of it now.

Geo

Wow, I just looked on eBay for new ones (thought that price was too high). They have gone up a fair bit just since last year. There are a couple of sellers on eBay (or at least there were last year) that sell new ones drop-shipped from the factory or distribution center.

Do some more research and for sure look around for a used one. Go to your local welding supply places.

Here's one in Waco:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...501058573&rd=1

I'd recommend getting at least a 175 amp. You really want to pay attention to duty cycle. Duty cycle is a percentage of time you can actually be welding at a given amperage. With low duty cycles you'll be waiting for the machine to cool down a lot.

xsboost90

my miller is great and no need to wait for it to cool down, its much more efficient than my last welder was as far as that. Getting the settings is easy because they have the chart on the lid that tells what settings to use for what metals. Makes welding much more enjoyable when it works right! Ive seen the ones on ebay but that price doesnt include shipping. Cyberweld ships for free!

Jay W

I am in the process of buying a welder and my research has resulted in me getting a 220 volt unit rather than a 110. Seems that most people who have gotten 110 machines end up wanting a more versatile machine and wish they had bought a 220. I had to run a 220 circuit to my garage to use it and running that wire was both difficult and kind of expensive because of the gauge of wire necessary. I dont want to be limited by the low duty cycle and other limitations of a 110 machine.