Need a welder recomendation

[thebluemax]

What would be a good arc welder for a beginer that run on regular household current? I'm limited to the household current since I rent my house and can't put in a 220 outlet. I will be building a bumper for my truck and possibly a few other projects on the truck. I had a harbor freight welder that did okay for awhile before it went south on me. I never did any major fab work with it but it seemed to lack the power for welding up a bumper.

I've never used a mig or gas welder before and Im definetly a novice at arc welding but I took some ag classes in high school.

 

[ryoken]

I'd definitely go Mig.... it's easy and you'll get better results than stick...


if you wanna plan for the future, splurge and get a dual voltage Miller.. i think Lincoln makes one too.... runs on 110 or 220....

 

[longbedder]

If you're absolutely limited to 120 volts AC, your best bet is probably a 140-amp MIG unit. If you run flux-core, the welds won't be as pretty, but you can get enough penetration to do the bumper fab you're talking about. You'll have to pay attention to duty cycle so you don't fry whatever machine you end up with.

I would stick with Lincoln/Miller/Hobart. Hobart is the lowest price of those (and is made by Miller). Also scan craigslist as there's always used welders on there for some good prices.

You could also get a stick welder (buzz box). They're cheap, effective, and penetrate well, but aren't nearly as versatile or easy to use in my opinion. They also don't offer the option of a nice pretty gas-shielded weld like the MIG machines do.

 

[HeavyMetal72]

http://www.millerwelds.com/products/mig/millermatic_211_autoset/

ryoken is right. This is a good welder that will grow with your abilities. A welder is is a large investment, so why make it to or three times.

 

[Desert Rat]

Ryoken, check my comments in the other welding thread about Miller versus Lincoln. I'd be curious to know your thoughts.