Anyone have any advice on what kind of welder to look for? Most of you have seen the pictures of my project and that’s primarily what it will be used for, nothing crazy just home hobby stuff. It would have to be gas and I’m hoping to buy used so it would have to be a common welder and a durable one.
alot of guys in my offroad club run the lincoln 140 (110v) or the 180 (220v) with good success. The welder I use (my buddies that i borrow ALOT) is the weldmark knockoff of the 140, but with a variable voltage switch (rather than the 5 set positions most have)
If you can deal with it, get a 220v and it should handle whatever you can come up with.
This is a srs question…what do you expect to do with it? Sheet metal? Or tubing for cages and shit? You will need 220v 180 amp at least if you ever plan to weld 1/8 plate or thicker with ease. The 120v 140 amp units are great for lightweight sheet metal work and general small fab. base plates, sheet metal on cars etc, tubing and box tube d.o.m. all need heavy heat to penetrate properly this is where the 220 comes in… 220v is where it’s at and can still go pretty small as well.
I wouldn’t be doing anything as thick as 1/8 with it and I would prefer to get the 120v for ease of use. Just like you said, for thicker tubing or plate I would expect to use something else.
ME
lol but really.
First off what the supply voltage? Budget? Portability yes/no?
I assume you are asking about a MIG since thats what you have been using on the delsol project.
Tractor Supply has a deal for the Handler 187 for $550 right now and comes with a regulator for gas. (some cheaper ones are flux core only, and need a gas conversion kit so watch out). That 187 is the same power supply as the Miller 180 units (Hobart is a Miller company). Only difference is the Miller Matic180 has the Autoset feature and fully adjustable wirespeed/voltage where as the 187 has 8 preset voltages and fully variable wire speed. Not a big deal, its a easy turn it on, pick a voltage, test it on a piece and adjust the wire speed until it sounds like frying bacon and lessens the spatter shooting off, then your ready to go. Its a 220V machine and light weight.
The next one up is the MillerMatic 180. Thats the one I have. 100% happy with it. Autoset is great, set the wire speed to the thickness wire in the machine, and just adjust the voltage to what ever metal thickness you want to run. It sets the wirespeed just about perfect every time as per the voltage you select. Voltage is fully adjustable too, not just #positions. So is wire speed if you want full manual control. I ran the machine wide open for about 5 minutes straight once and it kicked on the over heat light and went into safe mode (not welding) fans cranked themselves up and cooled it off and I was back in the game. I put a big box fan infront of the air inlet and poped the cover on the side and exceeded the duty cycle BIG TIME and it never kicked off and was fine for 30 mins of alot of use. not good for it, but it didnt sweat it. I can burn up to 1/4 or slightly thicker in a single pass with .30 wire no problem. with thin wire I can zap paper thin shitty sheet metal and body work with great control. If i needed more duty cycle or lots of thicker material, i would go with a Miller 211. I got my 180 for less than $900 out the door.
If you want portability and flexibility the Millermatic 140 is a 110V machine very compact and still burns 3/16th without an issue. Fully adjustable voltage and wire speed, as well as the autoset feature. toss it in the trunk with a small tank and weld anywhere.
Lincolns are about the same. 180 Red Vs Blue, the blue honestly welds better. That coming from a Red owner too. Also I hate the Red torch button… its a hair trigger. Seems like every time I put it down, hit it on something or what ever it spits wire out and I am snipping it all the time.
Stick to the Red or Blue… reliability is key with a welder. Consumables are all found local for them. Replacement parts are easy to get too (feed rollers, flex tube etc) $500 on craigslist will get you my machine, the Miller 180 every once and a while.
unless your welding BIG stuff, or medium material for extended duty cycles, no need to go over a 180 amp unit save the money.
So whats it for then? If you just need a shitty little 120 get a hobart, lincoln or miller.
the thickest I’m welding is 14gauge right now. My project has just crawled to a halt because I can’t rent one down here and I don’t know anyone that I can borrow from.
I assumed hobart, lincoln, or miller would be the suggestion but I was trying to get a feeling for something that would give me a good idea of which particular one.
110v get the millermatic 140
220v get the millermatic 180
/thread
or
Hobart Handler 210MVP 110 & 220 and 200amps for big shit.
or
Hobart Handler 140 110v and do what you want.
thats about all there is for a choice.
got it. Thanks
Hobart has great penetration and simple controls, very little choice on heat range though, the lincoln has rheostats and a finer control of heat and wire speed, same as the miller. It comes down to preference of torch tip mostly. The lincoln and miller are exactly the same and work very similarily, burn time and penetration. The hobart has it’s own set-up and like I said easier to use for someone who doesn’t do alot of welding, but you will outgrow it when you want to fine tune your controls. So get the lincoln…
Not a fan of miller, expensive supply parts and cheaply made.
Lincoln SP-125
its not the end of the world to go 110, it is nice to be able to use it wherever you want.
I built my whole rig using a 140 amp 110 mig (used 220 for a few parts) and after 3 years of abuse and multiple rolls and rock impacts, i havent cracked a weld yet (and I do check them every year). I’ve had success with up to 1/4" thick material, you just need to prep well and take your time.
110 will do alot, 220 will do it easily
i will say, get the biggest tank of argon you can manage. running out mid project BLOWS
i agree with Toms first reply but no the second. and not just because he likes the red machine over my blue one. 
If you buy it new the machines are under warranty, and if you get it from a GOOD local welding shop they will work for you and get you up and running again fast.
If you buy used, look at the fan and if its covered in fur and dust, so is the inside. Dust traps heat and hurts electronics. Get one thats clean and well maintained and it will last a while. But either of them when they break the parts are about 1/3 the price of the machines, red or blue.
Cheaply made I wouldnt say that. They are about equal from what i have personally seen. My miller syncrowave 180 was about 5 years old, dirty as hell, rolled around the shop/stone driveway, in and out of trucks, beat up good and never had an issue. Same with the 180, i throw it around like its my bitch, never an issue.
Anything will break if they want to… The little things I dont care for on the Red boxes, are why I like the blue better.
any of the three are great machines. just get one and start welding… its not a major purchase and its not like you have a big selection to begin with.
THIS I need a 110 machine to weld a dumb thing in my driveway and my 220 doesnt reach and the thing welding doesnt move until I weld it! so its extension cord and 110 to make a few tacks.
I wish they made a good 180 class machine with dual voltage. i would buy that tomorrow.
Clean metal, proper bevel, maybe even a little heat from some torches and you can get good welds with an underrated machine.
All true…i was comparing new miller to old lincoln…hehehehe. He’s right it comes down to what color you like pretty much…at least with miller and lincoln. Everybody else is pretty much hobby shit.
I recently held 2 losing tickets in a raffle for that miller 211. 
Miller has gotten better but agreed they’re nothing like Lincoln. Been welding since early teens and have more welders than one person needs, all lincoln.
Assuming you’re after a MIG you want an SP-140T as Tom mentioned, done deal. Fit’s you’re bill 100% and won’t leave you cursing at the machine with shit controls and poor performance. Can do flux if you have a job you don’t feel like hauling a bottle around to(shit exhaust repair for example).
What size welder would be enough to weld DOM 1.5"x0.095"? Would my Hobart 140 cut it?
yes.