What welder to get.

The piggy bank is getting full and its already been set a side as the welder fund. Maybe by spring I will have enough to buy one. I'm looking for something that will weld 1/4 inch plate that runs on 110 power so I can use it at my shop and at the house. What do you guys like. I know that Bill and Joe have Lincoln welders but not sure what the specs are. Anyone using Millers or a Hobart Welder? advice and tips please. Thanks guys.

lincoln 135 for a 110v. I had a 135 and I think joe, grason and bill have the 135 too. It served me well. A lot of people say a hobart 140 is good but the one we have at work sucks ass, probably has a lot to do with the wiring in the building. 220v welder is the way to go though. and is not hard to run 220 in the house. I have a lincoln 175 now and it is 10x better. but if I were to do it again I would get one that can handle a spool gun like a hobart 187 or a lincoln 215.

Another good thing about lincon is sears, home depot, and lowes all carry lincoln so you can get them cheaper and get tips easily. I was reading the lincoln web site and they have 140 that has better specs then the 135 but it cost a bit more

Yeah its a couple hundred more Thanks Matt

rockdw72 wrote:

Another good thing about lincon is sears, home depot, and lowes all carry lincoln so you can get them cheaper and get tips easily. I was reading the lincoln web site and they have 140 that has better specs then the 135 but it cost a bit more

Yeah its the 135HD and it runs on household 110 current. Thats a really nice feature when you take the welder with you and looking for a place to plug it in. it is rated for 1/4" plate with the .035 flux cored wire. I find it works well and you can get some really nice welds down with the right technique(slow dime sized circles). You can use welding gas and .025 wire for thinner welds and to make it look much better. The flux cored wire spatters quite a bit leaving a mess to clean up. I haven't used the welding gas because its only good for the thinner metals with this welder. I burnt through the 20 guage sheet metal while building the fender flares and it would have come out much better using gas. On a positive note the 135 has done everything I needed it to and never had a weld fail. You've seen me wheel and to have welds that hold through that is saying something. Cost benefit ratio pointed me to this welder. TIG welder would be great, much prettier welds but not worth the cost for what I need. I'd buy it again. by the way it will run the big 5# reel of flux cored wire. the 1# reels don't last that long when building a suspension.

Here it is:
Got some serious welding chores? Then you're going to want a serious welder. Lincoln Electric's Weld-Pak 3200HD handles a huge spectrum of flux-cored or MIG welding jobs -- from auto-body repairs to farm fixes to around the home chores. You just can't buy a 120V welder with a more versatile range! The Weld-Pak 3200HD comes ready to weld mild steel with self-shielded flux-cored wire right out of the box. Also included is virtually everything you need to MIG weld mild steel. Just add a cylinder of shielding gas. Rounding out the package is a welding handshield, instructional video and undercarriage. The convenient mild steel procedure chart inside the wire access door guides you to all the appropriate welder settings for the job at hand. The Weld-Pak 3200HD has a 25-135 amp output and welds up to 5/16 In. steel using flux-cored wire. The unit plugs into a 120V (20 amp) outlet. It comes with a 3 year warranty on parts and labor (90 days warranty on gun and cable).

Welds up to 5/16 In. steel
Output range 25-135 Amps DC
3-year warranty parts and labor (90 days gun and cable assembly)
Input voltage: 115 Volts
MFG Brand Name : Lincoln Electric
MFG Model # : K2190-1
MFG Part # : K2190-1[url]

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100093231

http://cgi.ebay.com/LINCOLN-WELD-PAK-3200HD-WELDER-BRAND-NEW-IN-BOX_W0QQitemZ290186409362QQihZ019QQcategoryZ113743QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
ebay has this one in huntingdon valley, PA

Yeah thats the one that I look every time I go to Home Depot or Lowes. I'm close to getting it. Only a matter of time

you wont be disappointed

Sounds like it. I'm putting it on the wish list maybe I will get lucky.

I'm not telling you what to get. I work for GM and weld everyday. We used both Hobart and Lincoln. We had so many problems with the Hobarts that we went to Lincolns only. They hold up a lot better.
We use .35 gauge wire and sheilded gas.
With some practice the welds look great with very little splatter.
I am looking at getting one for home as well.
Its addictive!!!

Patty

We need to get a MRR garage together.. With all this talent and tools we can have some fun..

I put the twin stick on a backburner because I want get a tubing bender. I was pricing a JD2 today and I might go ahead and order it. It will be a manual unit but you have to start somewhere..

Then I will have to get a welder too and some lessons.. I have a bunch of friends that do it for a living but I have never touched it myself..

chics4jeeps wrote:

I'm not telling you what to get. I work for GM and weld everyday. We used both Hobart and Lincoln. We had so many problems with the Hobarts that we went to Lincolns only. They hold up a lot better.
We use .35 gauge wire and sheilded gas.
With some practice the welds look great with very little splatter.
I am looking at getting one for home as well.
Its addictive!!!

Patty

Thanks Patty I didn't know you weld for a living. That so cool by the way. Thanks for the tip that really makes me comfortable with buying a Lincoln welder. Looks like its everyones favorite.

Matt a MRR shop would be cool but thats something for you guys to do I live to far away to enjoy it unless I spend full weekends up there. Just need to make sure Tico doesn't touch anything with a plug or air line attached to it might get ugly.

can you use a 115 volt welder to do thing such as
skid plates or
axle welding?

sonofsam02 wrote:

can you use a 115 volt welder to do thing such as
skid plates or
axle welding?

My entire suspension including axle brackets were all welded with the lincoln 3200hd "115 volt". I beat the snot out of it and broke some heim joints and some bolts but never had a weld fail. Technique does matter. if you try to go straight line slow and steady it won't be enough. Need to make a "double pass" on the welds using the "stacked dimes" technique or something similar. I practiced a lot before trusting my welds and cut things so I could weld it back together and then cut it in half again to see if I got good penetration etc.

chics4jeeps wrote:

I'm not telling you what to get. I work for GM and weld everyday. We used both Hobart and Lincoln. We had so many problems with the Hobarts that we went to Lincolns only. They hold up a lot better.
We use .35 gauge wire and sheilded gas.
With some practice the welds look great with very little splatter.
I am looking at getting one for home as well.
Its addictive!!!

Patty

Awesome, having a welder in the bunch. It is addicting.

The welder I have works great for the small stuff but I always have some dout about the larger stuff even though the welds have held. I would say if you have the extra money go with the bigger one just because of the options it opens up. Though if moneys tight you cant go wrong with the smaller one.

i welded this with a lincoln 135 with gas......

md4wheelin wrote:

The welder I have works great for the small stuff but I always have some dout about the larger stuff even though the welds have held. I would say if you have the extra money go with the bigger one just because of the options it opens up. Though if moneys tight you cant go wrong with the smaller one.

Money is not tight but I do watch for deals and try not to over do it. My biggest thing with getting a 115V welder is I work on my rigs in a couple of different places. i work on my Jeep mostly at my parents house but at time I work on it at my shop where I plan to do most of the work on the Toyota since I will be doing work that will require it to be on jack stands and not moving for days at a time. but then having a welder that I can keep in the truck when I go wheeling and take to friends houses to help them out will prove to be a good investment even if I get a larger more powerful welder later down the road.

Lincon does put out 210 welders that are only a littile bigger then the 135hd. This was the size I wanted to go with but the 210 plug would of posed a real problem with just using it anywhere.

my 175 is the same size as my old 135. I saw the lincoln 140 for five something at lowes this weekend. which is a lot better then the seven something on lincoln's web site. you can also put a spool gun on the 140 if you want to weld a lot of aluminum in the future.

soon i want to get either the lincoln 175 or 180. they seem to be priced pretty decently right now. then way down the road get the miller

I've been welding for about 5 years. I started on a Miller Thunderbolt 225 (stick) and got a Millermatic 251 MIG 4 years ago. I also have a Miller Spectrum 625 plasma cutter and spend a decent amount of time on my brothers Miller Dynasty 200 TIG.

I was fortunate enough to take a welding course at a CC near Scranton this semester. They use Lincolns in the shop. MIG, TIG, Stick, plasma. I have spent time on a few other Lincoln MIGs too(110 and 220v both) I have never been impressed with the Lincoln machines with any of the procedures. I could never achieve the same appearance or weld quality with the Lincoln units that I can with a Miller.

I am pulling the trigger on a Miller Syncrowave 250DX TIG soon.

No way dude you just like it because it shares your name!

Sponsor??!

Gotta support my relatives

Seriously though, I have just always been happen with Miller machines. Thats all.