i've got a buddy who wants to buy me a welder as payback for a favor i had done for him. he was talking about this here: http://www.millerwelds.com/products/...atic_passport/

all i have now is an old lincoln 220V stick welder and an oxy/acetylene torch. im not a trained welder or anything but have built and repaired a fair amount of stuff (i learned to weld when i was about 9 or 10). i built some headache racks, steps, tie downs on the trailers, stuff like that. other than that, its fixing stuff (tractors, whatever).

ive welded a little bit with a mig and it was nice. seemed a little easier and def gave some nice looking welds.

i was thinking though, since i already HAVE a welder, maybe i should talk him into a plasma torch instead? http://www.millerwelds.com/products/.../spectrum_375/

first off, i know he really likes that welder and i may not convince him, but should i try for the plasma instead? they sure seem nice, but i have never used one. plus, the benefits of a nice cut might be offset by my ugly welds i do with the stick welder .

any thoughts, insight, etc. y'all could offer?

 

Well there are pros and cons to both. Mig pros; nice clean weld, can switch over to aluminum welding if you get good at it, they hold up nicely. Mig cons; they aren't as strong as arc and never will be, you now have to buy gas and wire for it, the gun can get screwed up if you don't use it right. Plasma gun pros; nice clean cut, depends on witch one you get but the one I used was gasless, can shape cuts easier. Plasma cons; the only one I can think of is they cannot cut thru thicker metal like a blow torch can. Judging from what you would be doing with the welder, it looks to me like I would be talking him into a plasma cutter cause your mig weld won't last as long on those types of things as an arc will. Plus if the weld isn't pretty, you can always grind it down to make it look good.

 

Must be a BIG favor

I would go with the MIG. Would be a definite upgrade from your current welder and it would allow you to do new things with it.

 

The plasma is a nice tool for making stuff. Way better than a torch for cutting. But you need a lot of air to keep up with it. Do you have a big compressor?

You didn't mention if your old welder is DC or not. I've been getting by with AC only from my buzz box for a long time and would really like a DC stick setup for stainless and overhead. So, I guess it depends on what you plan to make. For mild steel fabrication or heavy stainlees parts, you already have the welder but not the plasma to cut it. For cutting your material with saws and welding thin stainless tubing, a new welder might be the ticket. A portable wire feed with stainless wire and gas shield is a very nice setup for the thin stuff. Hmmm. What a problem.

John

 

I'd recommend getting both for the same price as the welder u showed. If he's gonna spend $1500 or so, u can get two nice machines.

For the price of that welder u showed, u should get a New Millermatic 175 (got mine for $700 with a cart u could prolly find them cheaper even still new), it's 220v, and can weld most metal u'll deal with, and mig is so much easier than stick, and so much easier to get dialed in with the infinite voltage and wire speed adjustability . U can get the spool gun for aluminum.

And get a plasma cutter for $6-700 and be good to go.

 

Box5 is right.The machine you are looking at is not that good of a machine and very much over priced. Not only that when you look for a machine look for one that can run .035 or .045 wire and you can go with gasless wire. The new gasless wire has the same qualities that are in stick rods. If you have a DC machine just look for a suitcase welder and hook it up to your stick machine.

 

LOL.....this is a longtime friend and hes been telling me hes gonna do this for me someday...and apparently someday is now.

my current welder is ac only. i would really like a 110V welder as thats part of the problem with my current setup is lack of portability. i made a 220V extension cord and have extension leads but its hard to get far from the garage.

i do not have a large compressor, only a small/medium. i was under the impression they did not need a big air supply so thats good to know. otoh, i am not opposed to upgrading my compressor since its getting up there in age. sounds like the opinion is pretty well split, so keep the ideas coming, hes already said the decision is mine and he wont chime in on what to get

 

can you recommend a plasma in that price range? i dont really know what to look for besides thickness cut-able

 

One of the problems with the 110 volt welders is the extension cord. The longer it is the bigger the circuit breaker has to be. I have a 110 mig for little things I weld. Plugged into the wall I have popped a 40 amp breaker. If you use it to weld aluminum, it takes even more power to run.

 

i was looking at welders a while back. the miller make a DVI (dual voltage) welder, you might want to look in to that option. it will run on 110v or 220v but the passport is a nice machine!

 

mig not as strong as stick? we weld pressure vessels all the time with mig. need the right wire, right gas, right technique, right post weld heat treatment. when we first started weld procedures for mig on pressure vessel we learned you gotta turn the heat up and turn the wire speed up.

I would say go with the one you use the most. either will be an upgrade.
Plasma cutters will have the advantage of using rails for cleaner cuts over the the oxy cet torch.
Mig will give cleaner welds, less clean up, more sensitive using it outside.

 

Esab makes one in the upper 700 range thats a nice machine. Depends what thickness ur gonna really need to cut all the time because the small 110v cutters do great on the thinner metals, but like a welder, 220v is the best choice if ur gonna be dealing with thicker metal most. A bandsaw would be my choice for cutting most metal (wish I had a nice one, lol) and u can get a nice one in the $7-$800 range. But a plasma cutter is somthing that u can get in tight spots and be real helpful. If u get a plasma cutter, make sure u get one of the moisture filters for right before the cutter. Check local places they sometimes have great deals on new older models.

But if u dont have a bandsaw, i'd get the mm175 and a bandsaw, lol.

 

the welding teacher i know said all the weld processes will produce a equaly strong weld, it's just metal preperation, right wire/gas, and technique.

 

Reality is that it is not weld prep or technique. It is what the weldment has in it's properties. The machines other than ac dc have nothing to do with the end product. Now having said that weld prep is important. But to meet high codes it is the properties of the filler material.

 

Oh Oh I just read this thread we are losing focus on the question. To heck with all the filler materials. A 110 machine will work fine on small work. If you want that get it. You can use your ac machine for the bigger jobs. Have fun with your hobby. Good luck on your purchase.