# Recommendations For Mig Welder?



## BigBadBrain (Aug 26, 2004)

I'm finally in the market for a MIG welder. Anyone have ideas on where to get one, what brands are best and what capabilities are best for light welding on mild steel and aluminum?

Thx.


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## Sayonara (Jul 23, 2007)

I have a Sears Craftsman. Nothing fancy but it works great for my needs. I have made many car/utility trailer modifications for a friend and there has not been any problem. no aluminum work yet.


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## HTQM (May 31, 2006)

BBB,

Not sure how many folks on here are welders by profession but if there's more a couple this could turn into a "best generator" thread.

It's really going to boil down to what for and how much your going to use it. If the use is little but the projects are heavy (trailer frames, hitches etc), make sure you get one powered by 220v. 110v set-ups will do the job but require multiple passes and more material prep time due to a lack of penetration. If the use is a lot but the projects are mufflers, car bodies etc then a 110v will work. Look at the "duty cycle", the higher the percentage the better the machine.

Make sure it can run 'flux core" and has gas as well. I prefer linear (bigger spool in the base unit) over the one pound spool hand guns. Linear gives you the ability to get into tighter spots and doesn't wear your wrist out as fast.

Brand... Miller Electric and Hobart make really well built units. There are a several brands that are lower priced and work well if the machine is for hobby projects. My stick machine is a Miller Thunderbolt 225 that I inherited (sp) from my Father, not sure how long before he passed that he bought it and he was building something heavy vertually every weekend (car haul trailer being the biggest I remember).

Not sure of your budget for this but Miller and Hobart both make a set-up that can do TIG/MIG/SMAW. They have a base stick unit that powers the mig and tig units, more versitility. A good friend bought the Hobart over a few years and rented his Oxy/Acet rig (much cheaper to rent bottles over the long run) and ended up with the ability to do anything he wanted.

Hope this helped
Dave


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## Zymurgist (Apr 2, 2007)

From what I've tried the Miller and Hobart lines are great. But it all depends on how much you will use them and your budget.

For now I have a friend that can do my welding and it only costs me beer. He did the welding on the base for our new brewery system last weekend, he does good work, (1000% better than I can splatter) and is quick, and likes beer.


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## Rubrhammer (Nov 27, 2006)

I agree on the Miller, Hobart suggestion. Those are the best for reliability and duty cycle. You do pay the price for that though. As for Airco, highly over rated and over priced. If you are looking at harbor freight and the like be VERY alert to duty cycle!!! Some are as low as 15%. The tip on getting one with gas capability and flux core is the best advice you'll ever get. On that note I have found that gas is better than flux core but it depends on the job as to weather it matters or not. For the exhaust jobs it doesn't matter. 
This is coming from someone who has dabbled with mig but is certified in tig and taught stick, so it isn't my forte but can relate to a beginner in mig.
Hope this helps ya.
Bob


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## Carey (Mar 6, 2012)

Welders.... I have lots of em..

I have a Sears Stick AC/DC 250 amp with infinite controls. A sears 110 v 100 amp mig with .023 wire.. A Century(sears) 250 amp 220 volt mig, set up with .035 wire. A Lincoln 300C 220v, 300 amp, with .045 wire. I weld 3/8 steel with a single pass easy with this one and can for long periods, because the duty cycle is way up there.

Sears has great welders for a home welder, but if you need longer duty cycles get a better name, like Miller or Lincoln.

My Century/Sears 250 amp mig is a dang good lil machine... I think you can pick one up for like 16-1700 at sears. It will easilly weld 3/8 in a single pass, but with .045 wire could do 1/2 inch in a single pass..

Always buy a bigger welder than you think you need.. If you can keep it at 80% capacity it will last a long time.. If you use it at max settings, it wont last as long.

I am old school and prefer a mig with a bottle.. I have never cared for flux core setups on migs.. All my welders have flux capability. The welder will need to have the ability to use reverse polarity, as flux core uses reverse polarity..

I have mine setup with the traditional argon/co2 mix. I use the biggest spool that fits which is like 10 lbs in my 220v. welders.

Carey


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## BigBadBrain (Aug 26, 2004)

Great responses - lots to think about.

Does anyone do a lot of aluminum work or mostly just steel? I have a project that will need to be light so I'm interested in using aluminum - this project will be duplicated many times over so I am interested in durability. Don't want to burn up a welder and have to buy a new one just because I bought one that is too light duty. I suspect the number of heavy projects I do will be pretty limited (but then again, who knows what the neighbors will bring around once they know I have a welding machine.

The other main interest in this welding machine is to hopefully engage my son in something other than computer games and reading. Likely these will be fairly light projects (smaller chassis work for robotic projects in mild steel and aluminum). He's shown a proficiency and interest (through metal shop at school) and isn't interested in woodworking which saddens me - naturally I have a full shop of woodworking tools and 20 years of experience there.

BBB


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## redmonaz (Jul 24, 2006)

I have a Hobart 220V. I don't remember the exact model, but it is the Handler line. 220 is nice for penetration and it works well on rusty, dirty steel with out having to clean it much. 110 would be nice for portability. If I had to do it over I don't know if I would go 110 or 220. They both have there advantages. For thin walled steel I have to turn my power and wire speed all the way down, use a shallow angle and make a fast pass, other wise I will burn through. If you are going to do a lot of thin walled the smaller one may have an advantage.


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## Scott and Jamie (Aug 27, 2006)

If you have 3 phase available I could set you up.. even with a Hobart Mega Mig 650 (650amps @ 100% duty cycle) 800+ amps max..... Any plans on building a trackhoe in the near future or need a instant sun tan / burn booth? Ok I couldn't give that one up but can suggest contacting a large welder rental company in your area here in the NW and see what they have avaliable. I have a $10,000 dollar pulse mig in my shop that I payed $250 for because they needed to make room for the new line of equipment. Nothing like multi process auto wire speed machine that you can crank from 50 amps to 350 in the middle of a weld and won't skip a beat. As far as aluminium you will either need a TIG or a Multi process mig welder with a good spool gun. You can run aluminium wire through the hose from the power plant but can be very messy when the wire sticks to the lining and is hard to control the wire speed through the hose. Any mig welder that can use gas "can" weld aluminium but is a very poor weld compared to a TIG or a multi processs mig.

Do your homework and make sure you buy a quality machine that will do the projects you can imagine. As far as brand I own 1 Hobart, 3 Airco's, and 2 Lincolns and all do a excellent job for the use they are designed for.

Happy welder hunting,

Scott


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## tripphammer (Oct 3, 2006)

A few years ago I purchased a Miller, Millermatic Challenger 172, along with the bottle attachment for Argon,Carbon Dioxide gas. I've used it both in the flux core mode and the gas mode and agree that once you've used the gas mode, it's difficult to go back to the flux core. This uses 0.30 wire and I've welded up to a quarter inch in a single pass. Just recently I bought the rest of the stuff (another gun and aluminum wire and helium bottle) so that I can do heliarc aluminum welding with it. Even that works great! If you only need to do some little things than yes, a 120VAC welder will probably fit the bill. Otherwise look at a 240VAC welder... such as mentioned above. Here's a link for the equivalent machine no days:

http://www.millerwelds.com/products/mig/millermatic_180/

Oh, before getting the heliarc stuff, I had about $1100 into my out fit... including one of those new fancy helmets. The heliarc stuff cost be about $350 more.

Take Care,

Tripp


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## HTQM (May 31, 2006)

BBB,

Scott brings up a good point, not sure of the thickness on the robotics you talked about but I would think TIG would be the way to go. The machine will cost you a bit more due to AC/DC and High Frequency but it will do everything else as well. This will give you a lot more control especially if you get the foot or hand amp control (I really prefer the foot). I would think a water cooled torch would be the way to go also. Like I said though, the machine will cost you more from the kiddy-up, well worth it in the long run.

Carey brought up a machine that took me down memory lane, the Sears. As far back as I can remember Dad had a Sears & Roebuck (sp) 220v machine, even had the "pipe thaw" setting, it lasted him till well after I jopined the Navy.

I'm kinda like Bob, been a certified welder for the Navy since '86. TIG and stick, only qualified for MIG on job specific as we don't do a lot of it. Now I teach the young'ns coming in how to cheat... I mean hide things from.... I mean how to properly pass non-destructive testing.

Dave

Your mileage may vary, batteries not included.


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