I’m looking to pick up an entry level mig. I’ll probably use it mostly for welding up exhaust and small odds and ends around the garage. Not looking to spend a million bucks at this point. I’m kinda looking at the Forney 299 ($200 super cheap but decent reviews) and the Hobart 140 amp ($500 also great reviews). Any tips or pointers? The most, absolute most I’d probably ever attempt is some minor frame repair at some point which has me leaning towards a ~140amp unit. I do have 240v in my garage so I could step up to the 190 or 210MVP. Whats the benefit of a spool gun?
Harbor freight has a new line of migs and tigs. I dont recall the prices but I have read they are decent for the price.
Hobart 140 here, if you have 240v service already, how much is it to step up to the bigger welder? Its most likely a lifetime purchase, so what is a $200 difference?
That being said the 140 has held its own, I’ve never really neede more. It will do .25" plate decently well.
Spool gun would be used for alum, as it won’t run through the regular gun/hose combo very well. Sounds like you don’t need it.
Couldn’t be happier with the Hobart. Welded countless SAE Baja cars with it, and have one at home now - it’s a dream.
Do yourself a favor and get a bottle and solid wire. .023 wire works great for body panels and repairing thin metal.
^LOL Lorge.
I have a Hobart Handler 120V, great entry level unit. Picked mine up at tractor supply years ago.
Lincoln 180HD ($650) and Eastwood 175 ($550) are on the top of my list so far.
I have the lincoln 140, got it at Home Depot probably 10 years ago Looks like it’s the same thing as the 180HD but 120v only.
I’d rather have a Miller but I’m not sure why. Maybe because it’s blue and will match my tool box. The Lincoln has served me well, especially with recently getting the gas set up going after dealing with flux core for years. Using gas gives you such a better weld.
I haven’t heard anything on the Eastwood. Is it their welder or a rebranded one? Everlast is a smaller brand that might be worth some research. Afaik, designed in US, built overseas.
eastwood is just a rebrand. not sure if they’re any good.
I looove my millermatic 210 but its above your price range.
Miller and Hobart are made by the same company with Miller being the higher end version. I’ve had 2 Hobart welders and both ran very good. I personally would stick to Hobart/Miller or Lincoln because usually name brand machines are easier to get consumables for (tips etc). Forget about a spool Gun, if you want to weld aluminum I would get a tig welder. I would definitely run the shielding gas instead of using flux core wire (unless you like your welds looking like bird shit). One of the biggest advantages to running a bigger 240v welder is that you get more heat ranges to work with instead of just 4 like on 120v welder. For what you want to do imo a 120v Hobart/Miller/Lincoln will work fine. Occasionally you can find people around selling full used setups locally on Craigslist/Facebook/eBay
Gas is a must, fuck flux core. I have an Everlast TIG and it works great, has never let me down. My machine is actually a combo unit, stick, tig and plasma cut. The cutter worked well for a while and then one day it stopped. After some research is was probably user error, aka dirty air supply. Overall its been solid as hell.
Hmm, good to know. I’ve been thinking the mig/tig/stick combo unit from them in the next year or so but since I already have a mig maybe the tig/stick/plasma makes more sense. I just don’t know if I’d ever really need/want plasma and then I could get rid of the stand alone mig.
I’m hoping they use standard consumables?
My Eastwood has been great and Choko uses it all the time and it hasn’t broke so you know its built tough.
He also has a Eastwood Tig which works great and I had an Eastwood plasma cutter that worked amazing also.
Most of the accessories that come with the welder are metric and not high end. I switched over to a 17H flex head, like this Products Details and upgraded to a nicer cup kit. But I did use the standard torch for a while. Honestly when I had the plasma cutter it was very useful. As far as consumables for that, I haven’t looked. Like I said it stopped working well so I just stopped using it. One day I figure it all out. I bought the small 165 unit, requires a 50 amp breaker per manual, and has plenty of balls. Unless you had a watercooled torch I dont think you could really use more power. I have tigged a new 3/8" flange to an alum intake manifold, welded a vband onto a turbine housing etc.
All these Chinese machines work great for now. And I dont think its surprising. The reason people but Miller stuff, is becasue in 20 years it still probably will not have missed a beat, hell you see 30-40 year old welders on CL all the time still kicking ass. IMO thats the chance you take on one of these newer companies to save a buck.