what type of 110V welder to get ac/dc/mig/tig

[johnk]

I had a 110V Lincoln flux mig and welded many projects. It worked but requied many passes on heavier metals. i now have a Hobarrt 220V ac/dc and I know my welds will hold and i didn't give the steel a shot with a glue Gun...

 

[merrickvilleguy]

Ya, my prob with the torch was that the gas was getting costly, and with my hoses being shot, I was looking for an alternative to continuing to exchange tanks and replacing the hoses.

And, while the tool junky in me says why not have all 3, at this point I need one all round welder, be that a 110, 220 or gas. Keeping in mind, I will eventually (probably in the spring) replace the hoses anyways.

If a 110 won't make an effective weld on what I need to do right now (which is weld the coulter arms to the beams on my plow since the bloody bracket broke), and a 220 can be dialed down to do my light duty stuff as it comes around (rare), then I would guess thats the best way to go.



I have to add, while my original question was about 110 welders, the question was in my ignorance of electric welders, and ultimately ... we got a good result.

 

[JakeBrake]

Unfortunately, I bought a Campbell Hausfeld WS0900 (115V 70A). I found it to be a totally useless waste of money. On the bright side it was cheap. Less than $100.

 

[lostcause]

this topic is debated at least once a month on here and usually ends up with the same opinions being voiced - some by people with valid credentials, and others are just flat out preferences or opinions or mere rehashes of promotional literature. certainly, you aren't going to get full penetration in anything with thick - generally, most people are content to agree that around 1/4" is often obtainable with a good quality 120v welder.

the thing that many people still can't get past is that not everything needs full penetration welds. i have seen 1000's of tons of steel up to and over 1" with 5/16" fillet welds. full penetration is something that is generally avoided unless necessary in building construction. on a smaller scale, look at any farm equipment you have. lots of it is made with intermittent welds, and very little of it would be considered full penetration.

also, make sure to understand the difference between mig and wire feed. many people seem to think that if the welding wire is on a spool, then it is a mig. it is only mig if it uses a gas for shielding. every week i see people on craigslist trying to sell a "mig" welder that only works with flux cored wire - that's not a mig. unless it has (or can be retrofitted with) a gas solenoid for shielding, then it's not a mig welder.

every welder and process has its place. i've used a 120v wire feeder with flux core to weld 1/2" plates to farm machinery for a 3ph attachment, and even after lots of thrashing, everything is still working perfectly and hasn't fallen apart. it is certainly more at home welding 1/8" to 1/4" steel, but you can do limited work on much thicker steel as long as you have the heat to get penetration. large wire feeders with flux core wire are used in construction all the time. multiple inch thick steel is welded with them every day. flux core can be used outdoors, along with stick, while mig is susceptible to gas problems due to wind.

as far as what to get, i personally find the 120v wire feeders with mig capability to be the most versatile welder that a novice can get. you can do very thin up to reasonably thick. it all depends on what you need, if you own a skidder or an excavator, then you're probably barking up the wrong tree, but if you own a compact or smaller tractor, and work with small vehicles (light duty truck and smaller) then the bulk of your work should be within the envelope of a 120v wire feeder.

 

[/pine]

this topic is debated at least once a month on here and usually ends up with the same opinions being voiced - some by people with valid credentials, and others are just flat out preferences or opinions or mere rehashes of promotional literature. certainly, you aren't going to get full penetration in anything with thick - generally, most people are content to agree that around 1/4" is often obtainable with a good quality 120v welder.

the thing that many people still can't get past is that not everything needs full penetration welds. i have seen 1000's of tons of steel up to and over 1" with 5/16" fillet welds. full penetration is something that is generally avoided unless necessary in building construction. on a smaller scale, look at any farm equipment you have. lots of it is made with intermittent welds, and very little of it would be considered full penetration.

also, make sure to understand the difference between mig and wire feed. many people seem to think that if the welding wire is on a spool, then it is a mig. it is only mig if it uses a gas for shielding. every week i see people on craigslist trying to sell a "mig" welder that only works with flux cored wire - that's not a mig. unless it has (or can be retrofitted with) a gas solenoid for shielding, then it's not a mig welder.

every welder and process has its place. i've used a 120v wire feeder with flux core to weld 1/2" plates to farm machinery for a 3ph attachment, and even after lots of thrashing, everything is still working perfectly and hasn't fallen apart. it is certainly more at home welding 1/8" to 1/4" steel, but you can do limited work on much thicker steel as long as you have the heat to get penetration. large wire feeders with flux core wire are used in construction all the time. multiple inch thick steel is welded with them every day. flux core can be used outdoors, along with stick, while mig is susceptible to gas problems due to wind.

as far as what to get, i personally find the 120v wire feeders with mig capability to be the most versatile welder that a novice can get. you can do very thin up to reasonably thick. it all depends on what you need, if you own a skidder or an excavator, then you're probably barking up the wrong tree, but if you own a compact or smaller tractor, and work with small vehicles (light duty truck and smaller) then the bulk of your work should be within the envelope of a 120v wire feeder.

finally a sage post...kudos lostcause

 

[Agrantina]

Well- I will also through this out there for you 110v guys. If you have a torch and you can preheat the metal it will weld thick stuff with one pass With all 110 it is heat lacking so just pre heat and your good to go.

AndyG

 

[_RaT_]

I was certified in heavy plate and pipe in the 6G position with stick welding many years ago. We never welded anything in one pass. It was always a 6011 root pass with many 7018 fill passes. All joints were beveled and faced. Bottom line, you don't have to be able to join 2 pieces of 1/2" steel in one pass. I enjoy stick, I enjoy MIG, I just use some judgement as to when I need what. If its got to be nice looking, I always try to do it with MIG, its so clean. If its thick, its dirty, I use my old Lincoln 180 stick welder.

 

[Chilly807]

this topic is debated at least once a month on here and usually ends up with the same opinions being voiced - some by people with valid credentials, and others are just flat out preferences or opinions or mere rehashes of promotional literature. certainly, you aren't going to get full penetration in anything with thick - generally, most people are content to agree that around 1/4" is often obtainable with a good quality 120v welder.

the thing that many people still can't get past is that not everything needs full penetration welds. i have seen 1000's of tons of steel up to and over 1" with 5/16" fillet welds. full penetration is something that is generally avoided unless necessary in building construction. on a smaller scale, look at any farm equipment you have. lots of it is made with intermittent welds, and very little of it would be considered full penetration.

also, make sure to understand the difference between mig and wire feed. many people seem to think that if the welding wire is on a spool, then it is a mig. it is only mig if it uses a gas for shielding. every week i see people on craigslist trying to sell a "mig" welder that only works with flux cored wire - that's not a mig. unless it has (or can be retrofitted with) a gas solenoid for shielding, then it's not a mig welder.

every welder and process has its place. i've used a 120v wire feeder with flux core to weld 1/2" plates to farm machinery for a 3ph attachment, and even after lots of thrashing, everything is still working perfectly and hasn't fallen apart. it is certainly more at home welding 1/8" to 1/4" steel, but you can do limited work on much thicker steel as long as you have the heat to get penetration. large wire feeders with flux core wire are used in construction all the time. multiple inch thick steel is welded with them every day. flux core can be used outdoors, along with stick, while mig is susceptible to gas problems due to wind.

as far as what to get, i personally find the 120v wire feeders with mig capability to be the most versatile welder that a novice can get. you can do very thin up to reasonably thick. it all depends on what you need, if you own a skidder or an excavator, then you're probably barking up the wrong tree, but if you own a compact or smaller tractor, and work with small vehicles (light duty truck and smaller) then the bulk of your work should be within the envelope of a 120v wire feeder.

Ahh.. the voice of reason has made itself heard..

I could say the same thing, but you saved me a pile of typing.

A lot of us aren't set up to run 220 v power to a welder. I wasn't until we built a new house a couple of years ago, a dedicated welder plug in the garage was one of the "must-have" items on the list. I used a 120 v MIG for a few years with good success. You simply have to understand the machine's limitations and work within them.

Most new 120V mig machines are capable of 1/4 inch quality welds with proper surface prep, I trusted mine up to 5/16 under the right conditions. I've since sold mine, some days I wish I still had it. Nothing beats it for portability, will run off a generator if need be out in the field with flux-core wire. We welded up the gateposts for the new driveway with that machine and a Honda 5000 watt generator sitting on a trailer before power was hooked up.

Heat is what produces proper fusion, if you can't get enough heat into heavy plate quickly (during the time the arc is active) you won't get proper fusion, it's as simple as that. Preheating certainly helps. We used to cut submarine hulls in half at time of refit, then heat the area surrounding the cut and re-weld them to be certified for diving again.

If it were me shopping for a new welder, as a novice I'd canvass some opinions here, then visit a few welding supply shops. Explain what you want to do, and see what they recommend. You may get a couple different opinions, but in general most will steer you in the same direction. Once you know what you need, then you can start to budget for it if it's higher than you expected.

If you buy something decent to begin with, it'll pay for itself in ease of use and capability over time. An added bonus is that in 20 years, you'll still have a machine that's attractive to guys like you and me when you have no further use for it.

Like I said earlier, I have both 220v MIG and 220v AC/DC stick. I didn't really need the stick, but it was available at the right price and I wanted one. That's enough reason for me..

And here I thought I was going to get away without typing a novel..

Sean

 

[wroughtn_harv]

The good thing about a 120 volt welder is it introduces one to welding. An introduction is usually all that's needed to make one want to learn more and do better. That usually means picking up a better welding machine later.

 

[_RaT_]

:thumbsup: I started using my Dads brand new Lincoln AC stick 180 welder when I was in 3rd grade (circa 1964). I still use it today.

The good thing about a 120 volt welder is it introduces one to welding. An introduction is usually all that's needed to make one want to learn more and do better. That usually means picking up a better welding machine later.