What can i weld with a Licoln Electric 115v welder?

[crazyal]

I had the same welder and yes you can weld 3/16" steel. A neighbor and I bought our Lincoln from Costco about 20 years ago. It had the infinite wire speed at 4 power settings. The flux core wire doesn't like to make multiple passes without removing the slag between each pass. I bought it for doing sheet metal work but found it to be more than capable for most welding. The biggest project I did with the welder was make a trailer out of 1/8" and 3/16" think steel. Still have the trailer today. It's been modified several times over the years but none of the original welds failed.

 

[Shield Arc]

Can you not run multiple passes with a wire feed welder as is done with a stick welder? If not, why?

In the 1970's for 3-years I worked in a NRC controlled shop. Every 3-months we had to stop production and head to the test booth. We had to re-qualify in every process we had certs in. All AWS unlimited V-butt plates and pipe tests for those of us who had pipe certs. The strange part is with each plate and position we had to run .030, .035, .045 and 1/16-inch wire, so we were qualified in each wire size too. Guess how many passes it will take to fill one of these plates up?

 

[Piston]

I'll have to check what kind of wire I have. I have a few rolls of it stashed in a cabinet, but I'm not sure what thickness it is, or if it is "flux" core that you talk about.

 

[k0ua]

Let me take a stab at the "why can't I just make multiple pass question". and then we will let the pro's correct me if I am wrong. The simple answer is you can.. but if the first past and subsequent passes don't really "burn in" or penetrate properly because the parent metal is too thick and sucks what little heat you can deliver out of the weldment then you can pile up weld until the cows come home but it wont be as strong as if you were using a 220v machine that can have the heat turned up and properly penetrate with each and every pass needed to fill the gap of the weldment. I don't have a MIG, and have done very little MIG welding, but I think this could be a problem with welder that might not be able to get thick metal hot enough to begin with and not be able to handle the larger sizes of wire to deliver the current, and the primary voltage(115) just cannot ever deliver enough. Lets see what the guys that weld for a living say.

James K0UA

 

[Shield Arc]

Let me take a stab at the "why can't I just make multiple pass question". and then we will let the pro's correct me if I am wrong. The simple answer is you can.. but if the first past and subsequent passes don't really "burn in" or penetrate properly because the parent metal is too thick and sucks what little heat you can deliver out of the weldment then you can pile up weld until the cows come home but it wont be as strong as if you were using a 220v machine that can have the heat turned up and properly penetrate with each and every pass needed to fill the gap of the weldment. I don't have a MIG, and have done very little MIG welding, but I think this could be a problem with welder that might not be able to get thick metal hot enough to begin with and not be able to handle the larger sizes of wire to deliver the current, and the primary voltage(115) just cannot ever deliver enough. Lets see what the guys that weld for a living say.

James K0UA

BINGO!:thumbsup:
Personally on the whole I think 120-volt Mig machines should be outlawed! Mig machines are just to darn easy to pickup and run a good looking bead. But that means nothing!

If your Mig welds don't look something like this, back to the drawing board.

 

[Piston]

BINGO!:thumbsup:

If your Mig welds don't look something like this, back to the drawing board.

Uuuummm, weeellll, they don't exactly look like that....:laughing:

 

[ericher69]

BINGO!:thumbsup:
Personally on the whole I think 120-volt Mig machines should be outlawed! Mig machines are just to darn easy to pickup and run a good looking bead. But that means nothing!

If your Mig welds don't look something like this, back to the drawing board.

SA;

That was done in spray transfer mode? With a 250+ amp machine...

I know that every weld in a perfect world given unlimited money,resources, skill should be X-Ray quality but I personally don't believe that it needs to be so!

Having said that you have been rubbing off on me with your saying (paraphrased)"most mig welds look good but are too cold"

I have been turning up the heat more as of late.

 

[stuckmotor]

BINGO!:thumbsup:
Personally on the whole I think 120-volt Mig machines should be outlawed! Mig machines are just to darn easy to pickup and run a good looking bead. But that means nothing!

If your Mig welds don't look something like this, back to the drawing board.

Thanks for the enlightenment. I'm learning a lot from you gentlemen.
Stuck

 

[Piston]

Just out of curiosity, what welder would you guys suggest for a job like this? I'd like something that could weld up to 3/4" thickness. I'd like to spend less than 1k dollars.


There are probably a bunch out there, but are there some good well known "all around" welder s that seem to be more popular than others?

 

[mrmikey]

I'd like something that could weld up to 3/4" thickness.I'd like to spend less than 1k dollars.

That's going to be a good size machine, If you're looking at mig, you're going to be hard pressed to get one under $1K. My own machine at home is a TA 181i that was CAN$949. If I had to do something out of 3/4 plate I'd use stick as the machine just isn't heavy enough for 3/4 even tho it's rated at 180A.
For 3/4 plate you'd be looking at, in the TA Fabricator series, a 252i rated at 250A, a Miller 252 would be another and there's a lot more as well but under $1K....dunno.
Could you do it with the 181, sure but it'd be along the same lines as the 110V mig, it'd work but it's not designed for that.

Personally on the whole I think 120-volt Mig machines should be outlawed! Mig machines are just to darn easy to pickup and run a good looking bead. But that means nothing!

Amen, you get people building trailers and the like to be hauled on the road and the welds are just stuck on there....Mike