Cheapo MIG Welders

[Monkey Butler]

Was at the local Home Depot today and they had their 3200HD marked down from $479 to $355.

I've been wanting a little welder and this looks like a step up from the real bottom of the barrell machines but if anyone here who know about these things has an opinion I'd like to hear it.

In a nutshell it is a 115V 20Amp machine that does MIG of flux core. Says up to 5/16 steel on the box.

[THEFERMANATOR]

I've never heard of that model, and I couldn't find it on there website either. If your going to get one, I would reccomend getting one that can do mig welding with a shielding gas or flux cored wire. You would be better off to get one that can do both than to buy one that only does flux and then want to do some thin stuff later and need to use a shielding gas to do so.

[Skools Out]

buy one once and buy a good one. I have a Miller 425 Great welder i would recommend Miller if you want a wire welder and as ferm said buy one that uses gas. I know Miller makes cheaper ones than my 425 but i do alot of welding plus i use mine with a spool gun as well for aluminum welding.

[Skools Out]

I do have a Lincoln Welder too perfer the Miller. The Lincoln is their 225. I currently am looking for a TIG Welder, the Miller 425 will do TIG but the parts cost $2700+ just to add TIG to it.

Here's a Cheaper but decent Miller

http://www.millerwelds.com/products/mig/millermatic_140_autoset/

[Skools Out]

you might want to look at these

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/category_6970_114+765791

[garagenc]

I think you need to stay away from ANY welder that does not convert over to DC. Most 115V units are AC and are hard to weld with because of the alternating current they fluxuate and the weld doesn't come out as nice and uniformed. . Most welds that are AC aren't as strong either. (The welds used on Submarines are from DC machines because they are more pure with less defects).

Most 220V units convert the AC over to DC.

I'm looking for one also so what ever I buy will be a DC unit with gas.

I looked at those last weekend at Home depot and I wasn't too impressed with any of those. I think with a Lincoln unit you are going to have to spend $800 or more. A Miller will cost more but they are some of the best on the market.

Just my 2 cents worth.

[spareparts]

I've got a small Hobart 110V wire welder that I love. Its set up for gas and I can run flux if I wan't to. The gas makes a much better weld than the flux, but I keep a small roll of flux around in case I run low on gas and need to finish something. By being 110V, I can carry the welder to the job rather than have to bring the job to the welder, I've run it with heavy duty extension cords with out any problem either(old shore power cords). It works great for light duty welding, sheet metal, small repiars, tack welding, etc. If I were doing heavy welding, I'd just use a DC stick welder. I'd love to have a tig, but I don't weld enough to justify the cost of a tig set up

[Skools Out]

i think you are better off with a 220V one, and as said above Miller would be first choice, i think mine cost around $7500 when i bought it but that was 4 or 5 yrs ago.

[spareparts]

I went back and forth on weather or not to get the 220 V Hobart when I bought mine. I know the limitations of what this little welder will do, and teh 220 V version had a better capability, but it still was not a big welder. The main reason I bought a mig was for thin stuff( I use a stick on heavier metal) so I bought the 110 version for the portablilty of it and use it quite often. But like I said, I know the limits of what it can do. I've had no problwm using it to replace rusted panels on body repairs. It does great for fixing small things that break around the house and building a bracket or small project. Its not big enough to use for building a trailer unless you had a lot of time to let it cool between welds. For bigger jobs, I have an old DC stick welder, I prefer the penitration of a stick welder over a mig on heavier stuff

[Skools Out]

I prefer the penitration of a stick welder over a mig on heavier stuff


The Mig will weld up to 1" it just depends on what welder you buy, mine will, i usually use .45 wire on thick stuff and when building trailers.

first of all Monkey what are your plans as in use for the welder?

[Monkey Butler]

I would use it for fixing things mostly, like the handlebars on my kids snowmobile cracked yesterday, and welding up something like a stand for my OB out of angle. Hadn't thought of building a trailer per se but I get what you mean. I have a buddy with a MIG so I can get stuff fixed but I always wanted to try to mess around with welding. I don't think I could justify spending much more for what I'd do. I just had a few extra bucks and saw that one marked down. Oh, and it does do gas too.

Maybe I'll shop for a new GPS for the boat instead?