I have a few questions for the welding gurus on this forum.
Many moons ago there was a lot of discussion about the best brand of welder to buy but it does not answer my present questions. I now have to do some arc welding and have not done any for over 20 years. At that time I was good with a stick and MIG. I have borrowed a small cheap AC stick welder and find that I can still make a good weld on anything over say, 3/16". I am battling with thin sheet metal and my welds are lousy. By thin I am talking about 30 or 40 thou. Or even thin rusted stuff. The lowest this machine will go is 75 amps and the thinnest rods I can find is 1/8".
So what is the recommendation for type of general purpose welder? Stick, MIG or TIG? I need something that can weld thin sheet metal plus heavier stuff up to maybe 1/2". Also need to be able to weld sheet metal to heavy steel. Some welds will be vertical and even a few overhead. Do I need an AC or a DC machine? Or a selectable AC/DC machine? When do I use AC and when do I use DC?
Once the above questions are answered I need to then find what is the best brand and bang for my buck. This machine will only occasionally see daily use and most of it's life will be stuck in a corner somewhere. A machine that I can select an input of 110 or 220 is preferable but only 220V is also OK.
I hope to be heading up to San Antonio, Brownville or McAllen, Tx soon and would also appreciate it if anyone can recommend a good place to buy this welder. It does not have to be new.
Your suggestions and comments would be appreciated. Also a guide on what price to pay.

 

I'd go with a MIG. I've found, as you have too, that arc welders aren't very good at welding very thin metals. MIGs are very adjustable and will weld thin metal better than a arc welder. The only problem with MIGs is that they are expensive compared to a arc welder. That cost is hard to justify even more if you're just going to use it every once in a while. To be able to weld 1/2 inch metal, you'll need a 220volt, at least 230 amp mig welder. These run about $1,300-2,000 that i've seen. 210 amp models will run a little cheaper around $1000, but they're only rated to 3/8in metal. In my opinion, the pro's are- adjustability- you can weld very thin to 1/2 in. metal. You can also weld aluminum by changing your gas and wire. Migs are easier to weld with than arcs, and they produce a better weld than arc for a person who's not a professional welder. The only negative for MIG is cost. As to what brand, I really don't know. Most of the major brands are good. Miller, Hobart, Lincoln and others. We've had a Hobart 210amp for 3 or so years and we've had no problems with it.

 

I was going to post a reply but I agree with the previous post 100%. Just what I would have said across the board.

 

Mexstan
see if you can find a Machinery dealer in michigan or one of the big Manufacturing areas of the country. sad as it is there are alot of fabricators going out because of this stupid economy. Look for a miller combanation Mig-Tig , use the tig for the thin stuff with a little practice you will be able to control the burn and you will get some nice welds. You don't need alot of juice to weld 1/2 material Just burn a good root pass with good penitration and then fill it in you can make it pretty with a nice c cap pass. If you can get one out of an auction I have seen them go for very reasonable prices as compared to new. Sometimes it makes me feel a little funny to buy something at the expense of someones failure but someone is going to get the benifit and I hate to think it is going over seas to be used by China.

 

Mexstan, we have a Miller that will do stick and Tig, you can change from AC to DC if welding stick, the Tig is really nice on Bronze and we sometimes use it to weld Stainless onto the Bronze rotors or 99Ni to the smaller iron rotors. We also have a mig that all you have to do to change polarity is swap the leads inside the cover. .030-.040 , I'd use a TIG, you can control the heat better and you don't get the pinholes or worming that you sometimes get with others. ALL TIG is, is brazing with electricity, and besides, you get a GAS pedal to use so you can dream about driving your truck.

 

Thanks guys for the answers so far.
eieio, good suggestion for used stuff. Have just spent the last hour on the internet looking for used stuff.
PumpDaddy, the way you worded your reply almost sounds like you are selling this stuff. Are you, or was that just info?

 

I DO NOT SALE it, I use it every day. The mig is a Hobart. They are not big machines, nor are they the fanciest, but they do they job we need them to do. If you buy a welder, be it stick,tig, or mig, look at the DUTY cycle it's rated at. If you want a good machine, don't buy anything with less than a 40% duty cylce. I have run some that have had 100% duty cycles, and about 12 years ago ran 20lbs. of 99Ni in about 14 hours, the IDIOT I worked for had installed sheet metal on the wall where the positioning table was, I didn't pay any attention to it, but at 4:00 a.m. the next morning, I woke my wife up screaming in pain, after fighting with him and calling OSHA, they determined that the sheet metal had reflected the UV rays back into my hood, and burned both eyes. I was off work for a week, BLIND as a bat. I now have my hood covered on the back with leather to keep out the rays. If the smoke gets too bad, I hook up a air tube for CLEAN fresh air. The same air you'd breath if you where in the hospital taking a breathing treatment. Since these are what we repair, our cost was not much to fix one and pipe it up, but if you need one, let me know, I can fix you up, as I need a new turbo, exhaust, and some more goodies . Bare pump from OEM is over 10,000$ ;D, but does not need ANY type of filters to breath the air coming out, AS LONG as there is CLEAN water coming in. EPA has done test and they found that if the pump had clean water, sucking normal outside air, the air coming OUT is CLEANER than coming in. I have BAD sinus trouble and when it gets too bad, I'll put the hood on and just breath the air for a little while, sinuses get better, and I go back to work ;D. I can get and send you the info on the welders if you want.

 

As a teenager and also later in life have had what we called 'arc eyes' a few times. Never went blind but it felt like I had the entire beach in both eyes.
Years ago did some MIG welding wearing shorts and while squating down. That night I had severe 'sunburn' on the inside of both legs. Man, that was sore.
BTW, did you know that a dog can watch the arc all day and not be bothered? Also if a dog has the mange, take him close to the arc and the rays will cure the problem fast.
Thanks for the offer of the air stuff. Don't need that as hopefully all my welding will be outdoors. But any info you can give me on the welders will be greatfully received.

 

The breathing air compressor we use is rated at 35 cfm @ 80 psi, which is OVERKILL. Really all you need for a helmet is about 10-15 cfm @ 4-5 psi, but you may also need a vortex air cooler to cool the air down to about 35-40*f to eliminate condensation in the helmet, it just depends on the ambient air temp. In most hospitals, they run a 29-30*f dewpoint to remove the water in the air. We can provide from 10 to 300 cfm of CLEAN breathable air at pressures up to 150 psi if needed.
Just FYIF, Mexstan

p.s. Vera Cruz Mexico Nuclear power plant has ordered 3 new vacuum pumps from us to keep your power flowing, So buy a welder

 

I surprised no one has said it, but in my experience TIG can be frustrating for a newbie. I welded mig and stick for 4 years and TIG was always my downfall. I would stick the tungsten a hundred times and give up for a week :. In theory it's like oxy/acetalene brazing, but a tad more difficult . Now with that said, TIG sure does make some pretty welds.-Steve

 

ok ill try this too. I have a lincoln SP170T its a mig welder that will weld up to 1/4 in a single pass it come set up for mig (some of the lesser expensive machine need a kit) it will weld mig format and flux cored. it runs about 550 to 700 bucks and will weld light guage material as well. my arc welder is ajustable down to about 10 amps but all that does is stick the rod to the material. this machine will weld aluminum in a pinch but is really not designed for it. if you think you will be welding aluminum and it will be thinker than 1/4 inch you are going to spend some buck figure around 2500 or so. It can be done with either a mig or tig machine if you get a tig machine make sure its an AC DC machine. If you opt for the larger mig machine buy a spool gun. you can check www.cyberweld.com they probably have the best prices on the net. Hobart is a division of miller. be carefull what machine u purchase I have been doing alot of research lately cause im in the market for a new welder certain models made by certain manufacturers r reportedly unreliable if u need any further info drop me a line. Dan

 

http://www.mylincolnelectric.com/Cat...eet.asp?p=2505

 

norm, at 170 amps that machine will work to weld a 1/4 inch aluminum but u r at its max and slow going. tig welding is slow going compared to mig especially if the machine is maxed

Dan

this is the unit i own http://www.mylincolnelectric.com/Cat...eet.asp?p=2519

 

There are two different types of power supplies. The AC/DC and TIG use a drooper which is voltage controlled. The real MIG uses an amperage controlled power supply. Generally if you get MIG that is all it will run. If you get a TIG machine; you also have AC and DC along with starting control. I have seen the 175 and 300 amp Miller machines which are also packaged as Airco for reasonable prices used. I have an Airco 300 Heliwelder for years, it has up to over 500 amps AC/DC and of course TIG. You can also get a spool gun for it for MIG but it is not as stable as a real MIG. You can look for Millermatic 175 and 300 on Googal for used bargens. As was mentioned, it is harder to conquer TIG and I have not so steady hands any more, makes it even harder. But for rear thin and sheetmetal, TIG is the route. The three hundred unit will handle 1/4 rod easily, will smoke the cables. This unit is 220 single phase, most commercial welders are three phase, something to watch for. I use a lot of 5/32 rod on thinwall tubing, the higher end welders have the start amperage and then the running amperage which helps start small rods. These are big machines though, mine is 1100 pounds.

 

Mexstan, I'll get the models of both our nachines and get back with you on Tuesday. Tig is not hard, IMO, I wasn't trained in it, I learned out of nessecity but learn more each time I weld. As posted before, it produces some BEAUTIFUL welds. I have heard stories of a guy doing a demo on a tig and ripped a aluminum can in have, then put it back together with the tig. We run pure Argon on the tig, 75/25 on the mig along with CO2 at times on the S/S wire we run. If your are going to go with a mig, make sure you get the right gas or gas mixtures for the wire you'll be running. You can also get a solidwire or flux cored. Our nickel 99 wire is solid, splatter isn't real bad, the S/S is flux cored, try some anti splatter to keep the b b's from sticking, and also, on the mig, get the little wiper thing to go on the wire before it goes into the rollers, soak it with wd40, it'll keep the rollers clean and also the liner clean. If you'll be welding outside and using gas on it, don't weld when the wind is blowing, it'll blow the gas away from the wire. We had a guy that thought he could weld, and even weld with a fan blowing on him. He could weld, but not with a fan blowing, first was not so good, second was HORRIBLE.It's a good weight lost program in the summer time . If you spring for the Tig, DO NOT lay your arm on a metal welding table when you push the go pedal , I did the other day, just gonna tig it real quick and go, ZAP, it's QUITE a eye opening thing . If you are going to be welding just mild steel, try the oxy/act brazing, a poor mans trick my daddy taught me years ago, your closet is full of welding rods, coat hangers, just take a piece of sand paper and knock of the laquer coating and braze away, cheap but it works. m2cw