Stick or wire feed?

[WildWest]

For the average joe hobbyist id say a good 220V ACname brand Stick welder would do fine To use a 7018 you will have to buy 7018AC a regular 7018 wont burn

An AC/DC stick welder has more options as far as burning rods goes and its nice to have both ac and dc


The mig setups are great i dont like the flux core but it does work and burns hot just messy

..

For a mig setup id suggest a Hobart Ironman 210 you can get them for around 1000$

Or keep an eye out for a good used machine

I got a good millermatic 150 for under 300$ its not bad for up to 1/2 But i would like to upgrade to a larger mig when funds allow..

And i run all my mig welders on Gas I also have a Hobart 135 but its a little stuff welder i have used it up to 1/4 1/2 with multiple passes But its not half the welder that the 220V is


Duty cycle is another thing you need to keep in mind the higher the duty cycle the more you can weld without it cooling down

 

[cqaigy2]

I seem to remember using a wire-feed unit that attached to a big lincoln welder-generator. It was a flux core alittle smaller then a pencil and we used it to weld relatively thick metal. I wonder f there is something like that for a smaller stick welder to give you wire-feed capability for cheaper then buying two welders?

 

[J_J]

I seem to remember using a wire-feed unit that attached to a big lincoln welder-generator. It was a flux core alittle smaller then a pencil and we used it to weld relatively thick metal. I wonder f there is something like that for a smaller stick welder to give you wire-feed capability for cheaper then buying two welders?

You must be talking about these units. The LN-25 will handle mig wire up to 5/64. It is an add on to generators. I have a 10,000 watt diesel generator that I would love to add this unit.

The LN-22, Squirt is a smaller add on unit. Ebay has both of these listed.
The second picture is a spool gun, just plugs into the generator.

 

[DavidVT]

I 'learned' some welding at my last job. I have some input from myself, a novice welder at best....

We used small Invertec DC stick welders at a food factory for doing TIG mostly on SS.

They strapped an argon bottle to a hand truck and welded a small bracket on the back to hold the Invertec welder. The cord set was sourced from another vendor but it all worked very well.

It was scratch start TIG but having never welded before, I was not missing anything with regard to foot pedals and such....

Sure they had one of two massive welders for thick structural stuff but more than 90% of the day to day welding was with several of those Invertec TIG setups. We would run those Invertec units for hours and I only recall one going bad while we were outfitting an entire new room of food processing equipment over the course of one summer.

I did try some MIG welding at the same place but never had much success with it. They only had one unit and I don't think it was in very good shape.

This is a good thread, I am trying to make the same decision about what to buy for home use......

 

[wmgeorge]

I seem to remember using a wire-feed unit that attached to a big lincoln welder-generator. It was a flux core alittle smaller then a pencil and we used it to weld relatively thick metal. I wonder f there is something like that for a smaller stick welder to give you wire-feed capability for cheaper then buying two welders?

Don't get me wrong, a MIG using gas as C25 (75/25 CO2 and Argon) or straight CO2 is great to have. You can do a lot with these 230 volt units. I prefer a Miller for commercial use, but the Hobart is a great welder for those of us who only use them as a hobby / home shop / farm use. Hobart is made by the same parent company as Miller and use a lot of the same parts & same warranty. You can get them at Tractor Supply or other outlets sometimes at a sale price. My Hobart 187 was sold for less than $600, plus the tank if you want to use as a true MIG with gas and not run flux core. Tanks are cheaper at a true welding supply house such as Praxair.

I picked up my old Lincoln AC 225 amp stick welder on Craigslist used for $80 with the hood and in very good condition. With the right rods, and I use the Lincoln brand it does a great job. The 7018 AC rod works fine on AC or DC, but takes some learning to get it right on either power source.

I learned to TIG on a very nice Miller unit with high freq, start and foot petal control. But ended up with a Harbor Freight inverter TIG / stick unit for $199 less the the 15% off coupon they used to put out. Its scratch start and no foot control, but for the one stainless job I do a year... it will do!! I hope this helps. I've been welding for over 50 years (as a hobby) and STILL wish I was better!!!