90 Amp wire feed welder vs. 1/4" steel ?

[Tom_Veatch]

... I was wondering if anyone out there could tell me if a smaller unit like this could handle welding 1/4" steel to 3/16" or so...

I'm a little surprised that "thingy" hasn't said anything here, yet.

If you're going to do much work with this or heavier gauge material as a matter of course, you should heed the other advice given - get a higher amperage unit, either mig or stick. You'll be happier in the long run.

But, if most of your work is lighter gauge, no need to waste your money. You could weld a battleship together with the unit you have. You just couldn't do it in a single pass or very fast.

Prepare/bevel/space the joints properly and you'll get all the penetration you need. Weld with multiple passes, cleaning/grinding out the slag between passes.

 

[IslandTractor]

You mentioned you have access to a 220V stick welder that is certainly powerful enough to weld 1/4 inch steel. You can pick up a used Lincoln AC/DC 220v "buzz box" for about $200-250 just about any time by checking out local ad sheets. If you know how to weld with a stick that is certainly all you'd need for a trailer repair.

 

[easygo]

Thank you all for the input. I actually have a fair amount of experience with Oxi-Ac and am decent at using the stick welder as long as it is not upside-down welding. On the other hand I have no experience with the Mig / Tig units at all. I just keep hearing about the ease of use. I have access to the above mentioned welders to use for free (but have to pay for the gas and that is big $$$) and it is a 30 min drive each way. It would just be very nice to be able to do stuff when I think of it instead of having coordinate with my friend all the time. I rarely go as big as 1/4 steel stock but I will look at higher Amp units. You guys are right.
Best regards
Easygo

 

[dirtrod]

If you do decide to go with a low power unit you can push it’s capabilities by pre-heating the material with your gas torch. I would personally suggest saving your money and get the bigger Mig with a CO2 / Argon mix gas. For me the flux core just wasn’t worth much, it’s only use for me was when I had to contend with a breeze that blew the gas from the weld area. On the few occasions when that was an issue I just used the old stick rig.
Happy Welding

 

[Bill_C]

I have a Lincoln Weld-Pak 100 wire-feed which realistically puts out around 90 amps. Within its limitations, a flux-cored welder is quite handy. I have welded 1/4 and thicker many times, though certainly not with a single pass! For example, I made an engine hoist with it (before I bought my stick welder) and the welds have held up fine.

For "regular stuff"--3/16" thick or thinner--it's a lot easier than my stick welder. Sure, you must clean off the slag, so it's not quite as nice as a MIG--but I don't have to mess with gas bottles. And it runs off 110 volts, so it's very handy.

Is it useful for trailer repair? Depends on what the repair is. Welding fenders on, it's fine. Welding miscellaneous non-critical brackets, or even some thin-wall frame members, it's fine. Welding on the tongue or spring mounts, I would use the bigger "Tombstone" stick welder instead, where I would be a little more certain of the penetration...

 

[crbr]

Use the stick and leave the hot glue guns to the craft ladies.

Hard core welder.

I can bet you never flinch when a piece of slag pops and jumps down your collar... Not a flinch....

Now Ladies, that's how it's done...

 

[thingy]

Well,,,well,,,to tell you the truth,I have never tried to weld anything with one of those little things,,BUT,,,if it will burn the wire[whatever size that is],it will weld about any thickness. Just like the guys said,,you make multi passes,,now you got to know how to do this,[its called welding],but for what you want it to do,shouldn't be a problem,[if you know how and if you can make one decent pass than you can multipass],,but don't know about these cheap little welders,,it might not even be able to properly burn the smallest wire you can get for it,,but if it don't than its defective so you could take it back,,[kinda like a baseball glove that won't catch?].Some people don't know how to weld,so this concept of multipass welding blows their minds,,but thats how everthing [pipe,ships,etc,,] is welded,except maybe sheet metal. You say you can stick weld,,well listen to this,,you can weld inch thick steel with 3/32 rods,at about 90 amps or so,,,[just gotta know how],,now is that the best way to do that,no,,very slow if for no other reason and the more passes the more chances to trap slag,,more starts and stops,,which can lead to all kinda things,,but you can do it and do a fine job,,if,,,you know how,,,thingy

 

[bobodu]

Hard core welder.

I can bet you never flinch when a piece of slag pops and jumps down your collar... Not a flinch....

Now Ladies, that's how it's done...

I wish I had taken a picture of what happened when a sparky landed under my wedding ring Sunday...but it's healed beyond being interesting.

 

[LetsRoll]

Low amp welders can be used. I built a road grader with a 100 amp welder (Lincoln Pro 100 mig welder). Mine has the bottle on it cause it just welds better in my opinion. The link below is the thread talking about my road grader.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/build-yourself/74857-road-grader.html

This picture shows one of the welds.
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/build-yourself/51706d1141616374-road-grader-837745-weld.jpg

 

[LetsRoll]

A 90 Amp mig will not penetrate enough for a good weld on the thicker steels even with a lot of passes. It is designed for light materials.

I disagree. Check out my road grader thread. That one picture is a single pass.