I want to learn to mig weld

[zene55]

I need to be able to do welding to repairing my jeep. I have been doing some reading but still feel unprepared to jump in. I have a few questions and TBN has always been my go to resource.

1. What is duty cycle?
2. My garage/shop has 220 available is 110 not worth having?
3. I want to spend less than $500 which brands do you suggest?
4. Is gas a must have?

 

[rankrank1]

I need to be able to do welding to repairing my jeep. I have been doing some reading but still feel unprepared to jump in. I have a few questions and TBN has always been my go to resource.

1. What is duty cycle?
2. My garage/shop has 220 available is 110 not worth having?
3. I want to spend less than $500 which brands do you suggest?
4. Is gas a must have?

1) Duty cycle is the percent of every 10 minutes that you can weld continuous. (e.g. 20% is 2 minutes out of 10 continuous welding. Of course it is hard for a backyard hobbyist to have applications that are one continuous bead like a factory could have. Every time you stop welding the welder will cool so a backyard hobbyist can frequently weld much more than 2 minutes out of 10 when it is an inch bead here and inch bead there and then you reposition to do the next weld, admire your work, etc.)
2) 115 volt welders are okay if you get a good one, but 230 usually works better. 115 volt pretty much limited to 1/8" thick metal and below - You can sqeek 3/16" in a pinch with some mutiple passes and I have even been known to sqeek 1/4" on mine with even more mutiple passes when it was all I had. Most of the quality 230 units can handle 1/4" thick with ease , but you do lose the ease of portability with the 230 volt unit which is their only drawback.
3) I believe TSC has the Hobart 187 (230 volt unit) and possibly the Hobart 140 (115 volt) unit on sale. Might be an additional fathers day discount available today too. These are pretty much considered the best bang for your buck for a quality wire welder. Of course Lincoln and Miller (Hobart is a division of ITW which also owns Miller) have better units but they will cost more.
4) Gas is not a must unless you are planning on doing body work. Gas will not work well if welding outside - the wind blows shielding gas away. Flux core works well outside and you will get increased penetration with fluxcore (helpful if you have a 115 volt unit in some borderline thickness applications) but the increased penetration of fluxcore also means that you can not weld quite as thin of metal with fluxcore as you could when in MIG mode (i.e. using gas). Also, fluxcore wire is not recommended for body work as it will make many paint finishes peel no matter how well you clean it. Myself, I would be comfortable using fluxcore on a beater Jeep, but if this Jeep is to be restored with a quality high dollar paint job then I would use MIG for the body panels.

 

[HCJtractor]

I would up my budget a little and get a Hobart Handler 187. And if you can weld inside your shop, I would use gas. But this will require buying or leasing a tank and regulator, which will also add some more cost, but in my opinion, worth it. But this welder with gas will do all you need beautifully.

These are common on craigslist, so a used one would be about the right price. Don't bother with a 110 V or even a dual voltage if you have 240V. I would only get a 110 or 110/240 if you don't have a good power source.

If you only do sheet metal, you could go smaller, but it seems wise to spend a little more to be able to weld everything in the future.

 

[Cacinok]

First post nailed it.

Definitely check Craigslist - there are some like new in box Migs for $100-$200 less than new price at the box stores.


I'm just starting this same journey myself. A friend loaned me his cheapo 70 amp mig - it works fairly well on thin, clean metal. Add rust and/or thickness and it quickly shows how under powered it is. You hit the 20% duty cycle quickly, which, for a beginner especially, drives you nuts.

 

[Shield Arc]

I don't think you're gonna get very far for $500.00!
If you're going to do body work, you're gonna want gas / Mig. For less splatter and a nice looking bead I'd suggest 75% argon, 25% Co2. Now if you get an underpowered machine you can run 100% Co2 for a little more pep! But you'll get some splatter. Flux core-SS will give you the best bang for the amps. Flux core-GS is the best of both worlds, slag coverage, and gas coverage.

 

[zene55]

Great replys, thanks for the info.

 

[rankrank1]

The Hobart Handler 187 is on sale for $549 at TSC - if you are lucky enough to have an addtional 10% off coupon that are floating around then it will come in close to $500 after sales tax is applied. (Use flux core for now buy gas bottle later).

The Hobart Handler 140 is on sale for $449 at TSC - again if you are lucky enough to have an addtional 10% off coupon you will come in well under $500 and still have enough left to put towards a bottle of gas.

Either of these will make a good welder, but I would go with the 187 over the 140 if you can swing it. Only reason that I would choose the 140 is for the ease of portability that 115 volt input power provides, but the 115 volt unit will be much more limited as the metal gets thicker.

I am a proponent of buying used welders for cost savings, especially in the transformer based arc stick welders where there is so little to go wrong with them. That said, I would buy a new wire feeder as it is worth knowing what you have unless you simply happen upon a used deal where the savings is extremely signifigant and the unit is very clean. It is worth the few dollars extra for new in my opinion on a Mig as you get a wire feeder system with zero wear and a gas regulator that is not likely to leak for quite some time - not to mention a warranty.

Either of these Hobarts is a pretty darn good value for what you get and will be hard to beat in the value department.

 

[Mike476]

I bought a 115V lincoln electric 3 years ago, have used it to repair tractor implements and body work on both my daughters cars. Limited yes but works well, like you I didn't want to go over $500 so I waited for a good sale. Was a smidge over $500 taxes in but am very happy with it.

I did run two 115 V 20 amp circuits in the shop and can sure tell the diference from the 15 amp circuits. Hospitals use receptacles that are identical to the 115V/15 amp plugs but are rated for 20 amps.

That said, I am saving for a 230 V, need to make a few implements.