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Setting up my welder, opinions? (last post)

blowedupmotor87

blowedupmotor87

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My dad decided that he wants to buy me a MIG welder as a graduation present (super cool!), and I am trying to decide on a model of 220V welder. He sent me a link to the Lincoln 180C which looks like a great little welder BUT, I got looking around and I think I am liking the 216 better. Do y'all think it'd be worth it for me to go halfsies to get the bigger welder?

180C max metal thickness (whilst running gas)= 3/16"
216 max metal thicknes (whilst running gas)= 5/16"

I am really leaning toward the 216 for the extra thickness capacity. (I would like to be able to weld 1/4") The extra price may be worth it for the extra capacity and the extras it comes with. It comes with the cart, which the 180C does not (about $90 or so) Also, right now they have a special offer that includes a $150 helmet. That doesn't make up the difference but, it does sweeten the deal. LOL!


The 180C:
http://www.weldingmart.com/Qstore/p003439.htm

Or the 216:
http://www.weldingmart.com/Qstore/p003809.htm

We used 255 (IIRC) Lincolns at school and I loved those but, they are WAY outta my league price wise! YIKES!

Anybody ever use either of these? Are they good machines?

Linky to Lincoln's website for 216 info:
http://content.lincolnelectric.com/p...ature/e752.pdf

I am looking for a good MIG for doing sliders/bumpers/rollcages/etc. (Looking for one that is overkill for my skill level now so that I won't have to buy another one for a VERY long time, a welder that I can grow into, LOL!) What do y'all think? Thanks in advance!
 
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I'd get the biggest one you could afford. You never know when you'll need it.

Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.
 
Something to consider. You could pickup an arc (stick) welder for larger stuff, and save the money and get the smaller machine. Is arc as easy as mig, no. But for teh cost.......just an idea.
 
blowedupmotor87;2580293[B said:
](Looking for one that is overkill for my skill level now so that I won't have to buy another one for a VERY long time, a welder that I can grow into, LOL!)[/B] What do y'all think? Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

You just answered your own question.

You might want to look into dual shield though.... burns just as deep an gasless flux wire but looks ALOT better and is easier to burn.


X2 on the Arc welder.... it's slow.... harder to learn.... and rod isn't cheap but the machines are VERY cheap when compared to MIG. Arc is GREAT for heavy stuff. Nothing penetrates like it.
 
Thanks for all the input y'all! Well, I looked around at some more welders, now I'm am torn between the Lincoln 216 and the Miller 211 0r 212 now. Any opinions? I am basically looking for the best capacity welder I can get at a reasonable cost that runs off 1 phase 230V.
 
As was said get the biggest you can. I would go halves and pop for the bigger MIG. I personally am a Miller fan, but you will not be unhappy with a Lincoln at all. They are a great machine. Go look at the two comprable machines side by side, have the guy show you the features of each machine then decide.
 
I have the miller 135. It is a great machine for smaller work and runs on 110v so it was good for remote job sites, but I wish I also had a bigger one. I used a miller 250 a few weeks ago and thought it had some great potential. Some of the bigger machines also have a second connection for a spool gun so that you can use the wire feed or spool gun without unhooking either one (This might be a feature that miller only has). A spool gun would be great for the occasional aluminum, stainless, or oddball steel job. Aluminum welding requires a lot of heat, so if your welder will do 1/2" steel it may only do 3/8" aluminum. I don't know what wire was in the 250 that I used, but it worked well on 1/4" and 16ga steel, and I know it wasn't as small as the .023 that I use in my little welder. The price doesn't look bad on the bigger lincoln that you have listed.

I use a miller 330 abp tig welder that is rated at 460 amps. It works well for stick welding also, if I need to do anything real thick, but I would much prefer to use mig, especially for vertical or overhead work. I am not as good with stick as mig and mig is much faster to use. Also, a mig torch is cold until you pull the trigger. You have to be a little more careful with stick when not welding, unless you use a hand or foot controll to remotely turn the contactor on and off. You can't just set your stinger down anywhere while positioning parts like you could with a mig torch.

I like the miller brand, especially the ones with an infinite controll on the voltage and wire speed, but it looks like the lincoln 216 might be a more affordable option.

good luck
have fun with your new toy.
 
CGT80 said:
I have the miller 135. It is a great machine for smaller work and runs on 110v so it was good for remote job sites, but I wish I also had a bigger one. I used a miller 250 a few weeks ago and thought it had some great potential. Some of the bigger machines also have a second connection for a spool gun so that you can use the wire feed or spool gun without unhooking either one (This might be a feature that miller only has). A spool gun would be great for the occasional aluminum, stainless, or oddball steel job. Aluminum welding requires a lot of heat, so if your welder will do 1/2" steel it may only do 3/8" aluminum. I don't know what wire was in the 250 that I used, but it worked well on 1/4" and 16ga steel, and I know it wasn't as small as the .023 that I use in my little welder. The price doesn't look bad on the bigger lincoln that you have listed.

I use a miller 330 abp tig welder that is rated at 460 amps. It works well for stick welding also, if I need to do anything real thick, but I would much prefer to use mig, especially for vertical or overhead work. I am not as good with stick as mig and mig is much faster to use. Also, a mig torch is cold until you pull the trigger. You have to be a little more careful with stick when not welding, unless you use a hand or foot controll to remotely turn the contactor on and off. You can't just set your stinger down anywhere while positioning parts like you could with a mig torch.

I like the miller brand, especially the ones with an infinite controll on the voltage and wire speed, but it looks like the lincoln 216 might be a more affordable option.

good luck
have fun with your new toy.
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Thanks for all the info bro! I just got off the phone with my dad, in a few weeks I will have a Lincoln 216! I can't wait! :pimp::thumb:
 
you suck! J/k

congrats by the way. You will be able to do some awesome stuff with a welder like that.
75% Argon/25% co2 will give great results with ER-70s6 mild steel mig wire. The argon produces a weld with less splatter than straight c02. Co2 can give better penetration, but you should not even have to worry about that with a 250 amp welder. Self shielding wire works ok, especially in the wind, but there is nothing like the speed and cleanliness of a mig bead. I don't know about the lincoln web site, but the miller web site has a ton of good info on all types of welding and cutting. I taught myself the basics to tig welding and was laying beads before I took a tig class in college, just by reading a welding book I had and by using their web site. I am not sure what your skill level is in welding, but it can be helpful and you can learn about the different metals, gasses, fillers, welding positions, etc for free from the net. Sorry, Just saw that you are in a class. If you have not taken a tig or smaw class, it was well worth it for me. I didn't take the mig class, but mig is a bit easier to learn. Tig is addicting.

I wish I had a big mig, and I would almost settle for a Lincoln even though I bleed blue.
 
CGT80- thanks for the info bro! I will be looking at mix gas, that's a good tip! I am probably going to use the gas rather than using flux core wire 'cause I don't really like the welds with flux core wire (I have never used it but, I have seen it used). The max thickness of metal this welder can do with gas is 5/16" (1/2" with flux core!) and I don't think I'll ever be needing to weld anything thicker than 1/4", I just wanted the extra capacity to guarantee I won't need a bigger welder! :D

The only thing I wish it had that it doesn't is I wish it had continuous voltage adjustment instead of the seven voltage taps. But, I don't think it will be a problem (sure hope not!). The only migs that I have ever used have been Lincolns with 7 voltage taps so, it's familiar! :D

I hear ya on the TIG! I freakin love TIG but, those welders are SO expensive! It's such a nice, clean, quiet, non violent (no spatter flying around) welding process! I have only done a little but, I really enjoyed it! So versatile too!

Yup, I went to school for a year at Wyotech, and 6 months of that was welding (3 months of chassis fab and 3 months of streetrod)! But, I had never even touched a welder before attending school so, after I find a job and get some money rolling in, I think I am gonna take night or weekend welding classes to learn more. (Also, once I get my welder setup, I can practice in my garage!) :D Next thing I wanna get will be a tubing notcher of some sort so I can get some more practice welding tube in a roll cage type setup (so I can finish/re-build my cage!)

I was looking at the Miller welders too, it just came down to a combination of price and familiarity, I found a good deal on the Lincoln and I have only ever used Lincolns (I'd not be opposed to using a Miller though by any means!) :D
 
Fabrimacator21 said:
What did you think of wyotech? Worth the money?
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I would say yes, but, it is only as good as the amount of work you put into it. There are plenty of people that just float by and pass whilst not really learning a darn thing (IDK why someone would pay $25+ to go to a school and then make it their goal to do as little learning as possible but, there are plenty that do:rolleyes:). But, there are also people that work their butts off during shop time, pay attention during class time, and study their asses off that get good grades and come outta school with some crazy good abilities, lots of knowledge, and totally prepared to find work!:waytogo:

All the teachers that I had while going to school there were very knowledgeable and very willing to help make sure that every student (that wants to) can understand what they are doing and how to do it! There's class time and a lot of shop time with well equipped shops with all the necessary tools.

The only complaint that I can level against Wyotech is that (in my opinion) there are too many students per instructor (too large of classes). That being said, I still think it is a great school!

There's a few other WyoTech'ers on here, maybe they will chime in, or search WyoTech on here, there are a few threads floating around (I think I even started one before I signed up for school asking for opinions).
 
Regarding flux core, don't write it off just yet. It's been mentioned once by Fabricamator, but I'll re-iterate and expand a little. You now have a machine that is capable of running what is called "dual shield flux core". That means it has a flux within the wire itself and it uses a gas shield. C02 is the most common shield for dual shield wire.

It's perfect for position welding, heavy material, and penetrates extremely well. The best part is it's appearance is better than regular MIG. It has a shiny glass smooth surface after it's chipped...and chipping it takes nothing. The slag pretty much falls off.

Lincoln makes a wonderful dual shield wire called Outershield 71M. ideal as it can be has in 10 lb spools in .035" which is good for a smaller machine. I would use something like that for the heavier stuff like bumpers. Cage work I'd stick with regular MIG.

Rene
 
I love dual shield..... IMO It's probably the most versatile welding setup.

I've welded 1/8" sheet metal with it more then once with little to no undercut.....

That being said your better of with regular hardwire MIG for sheet metal.
 
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