best welder

[Pookster]

I wouldn't say AC is useless- though AC stick is kinda.. useless. I dunno, I bought like 5 boxes of sticks, and I've used all of like 2 rods...

Most of my stuff is sheet metal work, so I don't really get to work on the big stuff. If I can get it off the car, I'll just tig it up, since I really don't like splatter and sparks.

 

[blazinzuk]

I have a buddy who just bought this one http://www.harborfreight.com/weldin...0-volt-160-amp-mig-and-flux-welder-93793.html

I have done some welding with it. Its just fine. Who knows if he will have problems but I have welded with some pretty old lookin cheapy welders.

It laid down a bead just fine, feed was fine, etc. No big deal. I typically shy away from HF stuff if anything electricity is going through it. Just sayin I have welded with one and it was fine

 

[folkenheath]

I've decided to seriously look for a welder and learn how to do it. What is the best inexpensive welder for jobs like welding in floor panels and normal types of welding jobs? Brands and prices would be appreciated. I'm not going to become a proffesional welder but I'd like to have it in case I ever need to do something so I don't have to pay through the ass for somebody else to do it for me. Thanks in advance.

RIZ

I have the Millermatic 211 and love it. Use it on 110, 220, whichever, Weld thin sheetmetal or 3/8" thick steel, or attach a spool gun to weld midrange aluminum. Plus, you are from Wisconsion, Miller is made in wisconsion, it's kind of right to buy a Miller!

 

[jekquistk5]

Hobart 140 and Lincoln sp 175 have been great to me.

 

[TexasSilhouette]

Probably more than you want to spend but I love my Miller Passport. It can MIG off of an internal (paintball) bottle of CO2, an external bottle, flux core, and self-shield. I've seam welded 24 ga to 3/8" steel with it. The PLUS will also run a spool gun in the event you decide to try your hand at Aluminum. It will weld better with CO2 than other welders with 75/25. Runs off of 115/230 and has a quick change cord so you can plug in almost anywhere.

 

[prairie]

I have the Millermatic 211 and love it. Use it on 110, 220, whichever, Weld thin sheetmetal or 3/8" thick steel, or attach a spool gun to weld midrange aluminum. Plus, you are from Wisconsion, Miller is made in wisconsion, it's kind of right to buy a Miller!

Ditto!
I bought a Millermatic 211 for my shop a ferw months ago, but I've yet to weld with it. My hired man , who has used several welders of other brands and models, loves it. Says its above and beyond the Lincolns, Hobarts, and Thermal-Arcs he has used. Claims the Auto-Set feature is accurate about 90% of the time.
While he has only used it powered by 220 so far, we will get good use out of the 110 option on our farm.

 

[Blue85]

You guys may disown me, but I use a HF welder. It runs off 220 and will make 120A. Once I put a decent power cord on it and a decent ground cable, it welds pretty good. The dual voltage Millermatic at work is more forgiving because of the continuously variable current, but it doesn't really lay nicer beads. That is more up to the operator. Having a few settings in the really low Amps is useful for sheet metal, but it's really just about being careful. Any MIG is going to provide current, shield gas and wire. Where I see the big difference is in the durability of the equipment - especially the gun construction and how the gas flow is controlled. Getting this rig for $120 (shipped!) made it an easy call. Once I manage to wear out this starter welder I will feel more justified in "investing". I see a lot of guys jump in with a lot of cash and never really use the equipment.

 

[ryoken]

i look at it the opposite... I see way more guys buy a beginner unit and in a couple yrs, they're looking to upgrade....

i think if your young, and committed to having at least "some" welding skill in your career, it's not a bad idea to skip the cheapies and apply that coin to a nicer 220 unit... but obviously budget at that age is always a consideration...

 

[K5-CJ5]

My first welder was a no name brand 130 mig which worked ok for body metal etc, butg I soon found myself needing more, that is when I got my Miller thunderbolt xl stick. I still use my stick more than my Miller mig. The no name brand still works fine but I could have put that 250 towards my thunderbolt initially which was only 549.

 

[Fred_M1010]

My mig-welder is an ESAB LKA 240 (3-phase 380V)
It's a hobby welder but one of the bigger ones.
I love it, I can weld just about anything with it

I see yours run on 110V or 220V, is that 1-phase or 3-phase?
I hope they're 3-phase at least.
Some of the smaller welders over here run on 220V 1-phase,
and they really suck in comparison with a 3-phase machine

But to answer the OP, the "best inexpensive welder" hasn't been made yet
I say save up some cash and get one of the bigger brands.

If you get some crappy welder you'll always question your ability,
when it could be the welder that sucks.
I had a cheap crap mig-welder for many years and hated using it,
I rather used the pin-welder even for sheet metal...
Then I finally bought the ESAB,
and was completely astonished at how easy it was to weld with it,
and how easy it was to adjust it.

And regarding size, if you sense there will be more welding in your future
chose one or two sizes bigger than whatever you where meaning to buy ...
It's really useful to be able to weld thicker material as well.

And stay away from flux-core unless you're gonna weld a lot outside.
Yes it has it's uses, but for a beginner I think it can make it harder to adjust the welder properly, as the weld will look like crap even when it's pretty decent.

But thats just my 2 cents...

 

[jt512]

My mig-welder is an ESAB LKA 240 (3-phase 380V)
It's a hobby welder but one of the bigger ones.
I love it, I can weld just about anything with it

I see yours run on 110V or 220V, is that 1-phase or 3-phase?
I hope they're 3-phase at least.
.

3 phase 380 is a "hobby welder"

Most if not all of the migs mentioned are single phase machines.

 

[Deuling]

Honestly I dont see what the big deal with the flux wire is, I like it, its cheaper than a $180 deposit on a gas tank plus the $40 fill charge for beginning, and Idk if you have a wire brush and chipping hammer it seems to weld decent. I dont mind spending the $2 on a wire brush to clean the slag off compared to the $200+ for the gas setup. If you are only gonna weld a few times a year I say flux wire is the way to go, but if you are gonna be welding alot, go with the gas setup for sure.

 

[folkenheath]

My mig-welder is an ESAB LKA 240 (3-phase 380V)
It's a hobby welder but one of the bigger ones.
I love it, I can weld just about anything with it

I see yours run on 110V or 220V, is that 1-phase or 3-phase?
I hope they're 3-phase at least.
Some of the smaller welders over here run on 220V 1-phase,
and they really suck in comparison with a 3-phase machine

I think the difference may be your 220V, how many amps is your 220V rated at there in Sweden? Our 220V here is actually 2 110V circuits combined together with staggered phasing, and can be 30A - 60A input pretty easily. You rarely ever(I've never seen it myself) see 3 phase electrical ran to a household garage, that's usually only in industrial applications. We have 220V single phase welders that will easily weld 1/2" thick steel. However, most are 1/4" - 3/8". My Miller 211 (210A output) will weld 3/8" thick steel in a single pass on 220V, 3/16" on 110V, and is actually kind of portable except for the argon tank, and it does it rather well I would say. And I am around industrial welding every day, although I have never ran a 3 phase machine, I see them every day. I do however, see a big difference when I plug my welder into 110V, it welds much better and easier on 220V.

Honestly I dont see what the big deal with the flux wire is, I like it, its cheaper than a $180 deposit on a gas tank plus the $40 fill charge for beginning, and Idk if you have a wire brush and chipping hammer it seems to weld decent. I dont mind spending the $2 on a wire brush to clean the slag off compared to the $200+ for the gas setup. If you are only gonna weld a few times a year I say flux wire is the way to go, but if you are gonna be welding alot, go with the gas setup for sure.

The problem with flux core is it sucks! (unless you are welding in the wind) MIG welding is so much more clean and easier than flux core, the welds look better, and no cleanup after. I say it's worth it for the gas setup.

 

[Fred_M1010]

I think the difference may be your 220V, how many amps is your 220V rated at there in Sweden? Our 220V here is actually 2 110V circuits combined together with staggered phasing, and can be 30A - 60A input pretty easily. You rarely ever(I've never seen it myself) see 3 phase electrical ran to a household garage, that's usually only in industrial applications. We have 220V single phase welders that will easily weld 1/2" thick steel. However, most are 1/4" - 3/8". My Miller 211 (210A output) will weld 3/8" thick steel in a single pass on 220V, 3/16" on 110V, and is actually kind of portable except for the argon tank, and it does it rather well I would say. And I am around industrial welding every day, although I have never ran a 3 phase machine, I see them every day. I do however, see a big difference when I plug my welder into 110V, it welds much better and easier on 220V.

Ok, I should have guessed you have higher current to compensate for the lower voltage.
Our 220V outlets are single-phase and normally 15A or lower.
I'm guessing it compares more to your 110V then

Our 380V 3-phase are actually three 220V leads with a 120* phaseshift,
making it 380V between the phases.
An normal 380V outlet like we have in most garages is 16A (or actually 3x16A).
We have larger ones as well like 32A, 63A and 125A but they are mostly for the industry.

 

[cegusman]

my Miller 180 has been flawless...

X2 Love this machine

 

[folkenheath]

Ok, I should have guessed you have higher current to compensate for the lower voltage.
Our 220V outlets are single-phase and normally 15A or lower.
I'm guessing it compares more to your 110V then

Our 380V 3-phase are actually three 220V leads with a 120* phaseshift,
making it 380V between the phases.
An normal 380V outlet like we have in most garages is 16A (or actually 3x16A).
We have larger ones as well like 32A, 63A and 125A but they are mostly for the industry.

Yep, I think your 220 is more like our 110, you're right.

Although I am confused myself on the single phase thing. Because, 220V here is two 110 V (60 Hz) phased 30 Hz apart I believe, so why is it not 2 phase? I don't know. Jekquist, do you know?

 

[Blue85]

!

The problem with flux core is it sucks!

^^ this.

I suppose it's fine for occasional repairs of things around the house, but not really worth it for building with steel. Even if you don't mind all the scrubbing, you are still stuck with the splatter.

 

[Blue85]

Yep, I think your 220 is more like our 110, you're right.

Although I am confused myself on the single phase thing. Because, 220V here is two 110 V (60 Hz) phased 30 Hz apart I believe, so why is it not 2 phase? I don't know. Jekquist, do you know?

It's very simple. Our household 110V is actually just half of the 220V. The transformer on the pole outside of your house gives 220V center-tapped. Usually half of your 110 outlets are on one line and half on the other with only the 220 outlets using the whole thing. So the two lines aren't "phases" at all, but if you want to think of it that way, they are 0 degrees apart, so they add together completely. The line-neutral is 1/2 the line-line.

When we talk about 3-phase, those are actually out-of phase signals generated by machines that are physically built 120 degrees out from each other.

 

[shady]

Flux core welding can produce very nice looking welds if you are a good welder. Its no different than stick really. just watch the metal puddle instead of the slag puddle. If you cant tell the diff, then use a 13 shade and try again.

Also even being an industrial electrician, I dont know why 220v isnt called 2 phase either

 

[Fred_M1010]

I So the two lines aren't "phases" at all, but if you want to think of it that way, they are 0 degrees apart, so they add together completely. The line-neutral is 1/2 the line-line.

I think you've got it wrong, two 110V lines that's 0 degrees apart would give 0 Volt.
They must be 180 degrees apart, that would double the voltage to 220V.
And that would actually make it 2-phase.

I don't know much about the powergrid in the US (as seen earlier)
But I do know a thing or two about electricity.