Best MIG Welder Advice

[IslandTractor]

Wondering how the Miller Multi 200 does off a engine drive like a Miller Bobcat?

I've never used a Bobcat as a source of power but the Mulitmatic works fine off a 6500watt gas generator either using the 110v plugs or the 220. If I recall correctly the 6500watt generator is not quite enough to deliver full power to the welder but it's pretty close. I've also used a dryer socket with a pigtail. Haven't tried a 20amp 110v source yet but that might be quite handy when 220 is not available and the welder is smart enough to use all the power it can get from 110v.

 

[Sodo]

I weld all the time with a Miller MultiMatic 200, powered by an 8,000W (10,000surge) generator. Call Miller's 800# and ask them. Miller told me the Multi was designed for generators. They said its book number is 7200W, but over the years since produced, many customers are reporting satisfaction with 7,000W generators. Mine is 8,000W and the generator doesn't miss a beat with the welder maxed (at 3/8" thickness settings). If the Bobcat is less than 7,000, well you will just have to cap it at 5/16" settings? Or test and see. What you DON'T want is for the generator to stumble at weld start - weld start is critical, especially for a MIG - you need the generator to be big enough to barely notice weld start.

In this pic, the flatbar and the little angle-bracket at far left next to the receiver is 3/8" thick. Small pieces, but that's the only pic I have of 3/8" welded (on 240v). The rest of the receiver is 3/16" sq tube (and the larger angle gusset is 3/16" too). In the pic (because the lens is so close) the 3/16 appears thicker than it is. Compare the farther hole to the little angle bracket, can see the bracket is 2x thickness of sq tube receiver.

 

[NibbanaFarm]

Thanks for the input. I took it all into consideration. Portability or multi voltage was not of any interest to me. I have some 150 foot cables for my Lincoln tomb stone so I can weld outside my shop that far if I have to. And I already have an excellent Lincoln Square Wave TIG 175. MIG will do as heavy as any, but on the rare occasions that I weld heavy steel, I can stick weld it. I really was looking for something to do sheet metal and light stuff but not be so slow as TIG. And the bottom line was really the bottom line. Keeping it under $1500. I guess you can get a fabulous, really high power, multi purpose machine that will do everything for 4-5K. I wanted to get this in this life though.

Anyway, I got a Hobart Handler 190. With a full 80cf bottle, it came in right around $1000. It tried it briefly on some 1/4 inch plate. It welded beautifully. I haven't MIG welded since high school over 30 years ago. Forgot how nice this is.

 

[roadhunter]

Good choice on the HH 190.

 

[Big Barn]

Good choice on the HH 190.

X 2!! I had the earlier HH 187 model and really liked it. I sold it because it was too costly to add the contactor for the spool gun.

I believe your newer model is 'spool gun ready'.
Terry

 

[4570Man]

I have a Migmaster 250. Some people don't like these machines, but it has served me well. I had a buddy come over to the shop who has a nice Miller machine, and he spent half an hour trash talking it it. He fired it up and welded a couple joints and said "wow this thing welds pretty good". I think he uses flux core wire on DC which could explain why mine welds better. This is a 250 amp machine with plenty of power for your intended use. It is plenty capable of overdoing it on 1/4 inch.

 

[NibbanaFarm]

Yea, it's spool gun ready. The Spoolrunner 100 spool gun is pretty cheap, about $260 at Northern Tool. I think you could buy it together as a package deal and you'd get the spool gun for about $150 more. I'm not sure of that but it was a good deal.

I don't remember ever MIG welding Al. But I talked to a welding forman at Saulsbury in Cortland NY where they manufacture fire trucks. He said that MIG doesn't do a very high quality job on Al like TIG, and they tried it enough to decide on TIG for all their Al work. He said that it was possible to dial in a MIG and get it to work good in some situations, but it generally wasn't very versatile for Al.

I talked to the owner of another welding shop in the same area. They did a fair amount of Al railing work. He said that MIG didn't work well on the railing joints and they used TIG. I don't remember him specifying exactly what was not working well, but I think it just didn't produce a strong weld.

These are the only reasons I didn't get the spool gun. I have no direct experience. If I knew it worked good I would buy one. My Square Wave TIG 175 can only handle about 1/4 inch thick Al and the torch gets very, very hot very quickly at full petal.

Does anybody have experience with the spool guns? How thick Al can you weld with 190 amps?

 

[Shield Arc]

How thick Al can you weld with 190 amps?

Miller has a good calculator for that.
https://www.millerwelds.com/resources/weld-setting-calculators

 

[NibbanaFarm]

That's great. Thanks Shield Arc.