What welder would be best??

[paulharvey]

Keep the stick welder by all means. It's your go-to welder for the big stuff.

Get a wire feed welder that accepts flux core and has the gas fittings already installed for MIG. Mine is a Hobart 140. It's 115V and works fine for the jobs around my 10 acre farm/ranch. Move up to 220V if you need more current for your wire feeder needs.

Good luck.

It will all have to be 240v Aussie stuff.

 

[DXN1EL]

I've welded 4-inch thick steel with 1/16-inch Mig wire, with C-25 gas. 25 + feet of 1 7/8-inch fillet weld. One flat, and one overhead per unit.

With that much juice I'm sure it will make cool sound? About how many AMPS? Just in case someone thinks that can be done with a 120V MIG:laughing:

 

[Sodo]

I've always been here to help. you continually post incorrect information!
Your attacks on me all stem from me hurting your little bitty feelings because I won't suggest to people to buy 120-volt Mig welders. My opinion! Which differs from yours!

Go easy big fella that wasn't an attack. It was merely a request for help (perhaps in another thread) stretching the capability of itty bitty welders.

Are you able to clarify (specifically) what information that I posted was "incorrect"? Some members take your opinion seriously and if you say I wrote something was incorrect; those (if here to learn) want to know what this error was.

Subject of this thread is "which welder" is pertinent, as ferrari99 seems to have other tools to obtain and may prefer to avoid overbuying on the welder.

 

[Arc weld]

You said 3/8" is the max. for a MIG welder. You get a 300 amp+ machine into spray arc and you can weld any thickness you want.

To Ferrari 99, a new welder will be a huge improvement over your current machine but you need to clean anything your welding as much as possible. Welding over paint and slag is never going to produce the best results. You would do yourself a big favor by taking a course or trying to find an experienced welder to help you. You already have the 240 volt power so why not get a 240 volt welder. You could tackle more projects and wouldn't have to push the limits of a small machine if 1/4" and thicker material was involved. Some might disagree but say you have a small repair to weld that's 3/8" thick. Most people would attempt it with their small machine if that's all they had. The problem is that it just won't have the oomph to get proper penetration and fusion. I still think a 160-200 amp machine would be your best option.

 

[Sodo]

You said 3/8" is the max. for a MIG welder. You get a 300 amp+ machine into spray arc and you can weld any thickness you want.

Nope. Heres what I wrote, with regard to the size & class of the machines that the OP was asking about. But I'll quote it for ya.

Keep in mind that any MIG machine will weld down to 1/16" (1.5mm) without too much trouble, and on the upper end, 3/8 (10mm) is reasonable.

If Ferarri99 has 15A at 240v this could be good info, and on-topic too. My Miller specifies 3/8" thickness capability (~10mm) with 230v@20A which is a little more power than 240v@15A but close enough.

 

[Shield Arc]

About how many AMPS? Just in case someone thinks that can be done with a 120V MIG:laughing:

Oh I don't really remember that was in the 1970s. If I had to guess I'd say in the high 300-amp range. It was for the lifting rings on the nuclear waste casks we use to build. Some of the casks had 7-inch thick lead walls.
I'll never forget the 1 7/8-inch fillet weld. Only the NRC would spec a 1 7/8-inch fillet weld! Anybody else would just spec a 2-inch fillet weld.

You said 3/8" is the max. for a MIG welder. You get a 300 amp+ machine into spray arc and you can weld any thickness you want.

As usual, you are spot on Arc weld!:thumbsup:

 

[Sodo]

I'll never forget the 1 7/8-inch fillet weld. Only the NRC would spec a 1 7/8-inch fillet weld! Anybody else would just spec a 2-inch fillet weld.

But did NRC inspect the job to standard MIL-TD-4111? That would take awhile to grind out.

As usual, you are spot on Arc weld!:thumbsup:

You guys have a different meaning of "spot on"!

 

[Shield Arc]

That would take awhile to grind out.

Anybody who has a clue with welding would never grind out a weld of that size. They would use one of these.

 

[paulharvey]

Guys, this has nothing to do with 14 year old aussie welding 1/16" and 1/8" wall rectangular tube. There's at least 3 threads dedicated to your dislike of each other.

 

[MinnesotaDaveChalmers]

At age 14, I still think the kid will like buying a pretty standard mig.
I wouldn't spend a ton of cash on it, just a mid-priced decent one should do for many years.

That 1/16" to 1/8" material will be much much easier to weld