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Welder and gas

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sandawgk5

sandawgk5

3/4 ton status
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Kitsap County PACNORWEST
I checked my local welding supply houses and they are competitive with each other price wise but they cannot compete with the internet. Having said that they had a Miller 140 which it seems is replacing the 135 does anyone have any experience with it? It is more expensive. It is about $10 more than what I was looking at spending on a 135 with a cart and the 140 is just the welder.

Second my local guys want $140 for an empty 40CF bottle and $50 to fill with 75/25 mix. Does this sound about right it seems kinda high for what i have been seeing. If it is normal I will get from one of these guys. I thought I found a bottle for 80 and 22 for a fill but now it has me thinking I read something wrong.

Kinda noobish questions but thanks

Ira
 
I just talked to Stoody Industrial and Welding supply on the phone and if anyone in the San Diego area needs cylinders or Shielding gas they are the guys to go to. I just got a quote for a 50CF cylinder for $90 and a fill of 75/25 is $24. That is before the 10% military discount.

Just thought I would pass it on.

Still looking for info on a Millermatic 135 or 140.

Ira
 
Airgas in Knoxville quoated me $175 for a 80cf tank filed with Argon/Co2 mix and $15 for refills.
 
grimjaw said:
Airgas in Knoxville quoated me $175 for a 80cf tank filed with Argon/Co2 mix and $15 for refills.
Click to expand...

I guess in California they like their ****. They did say they would fill the first time for 1/2 price since I was going to buy a cylinder through them:rolleyes:.

Ira
 
I have a Miller 135. I love it. It is a great welder for the money. It has enough power to weld some pretty heavy stuff but it can be adjusted down to weld some pretty light metal also. Its big plus is it runs of 110v which makes it really nice. The downside to that is if you are doing alot of welding on heavy stuff you can reach its duty cycle. I have only hit the duty cycle a few times with mine though, and that was welding 1/4" plate & not giving it time to cool down between welds.

I love my little Miller 135. It is one of the best all around welders for small time booty fabbers like most of us are. If you are looking to weld real heavy stuff frequently or are looking to production work then get a 220v welder with a bigger duty cycle. If it is just a general purpose welder for fab projects on your truck then a Miller 135 is a good choice.

Harley
 
well actually the 220v is the better investment. Yes the 110v is cheaper and sounds convenient but the 220v is more effiecent and not just on the duty cycle. You will burn out your motor in your 110 a whole lot faster than you would in your 220v. Not saying that your 110 sucks or anything like that, cause I have a lincoln 135. But I learned the hard way that 220 (if you have the money and can wire it properly) is worth the extra dough even if you are doing small-time fabbing or large scale production.
 
I have a Millermatic 135. It's there, I use it sometimes, and thats about the best I can say for it. 110V welders suck, there is basically no way to get around that. The 135 is a decent little welder for sheetmetal and light tubing. The only reason I keep it is for some reason I need a clean MIG weld out in the field I can plug it into one of my portable welders that have 110V AC.

A 135 is nothing like a 175 that uses 220. 110V welders are slow, very slow. I wouldn't buy a 110V welder if it was me, even if I had a single project to do.
 
Where I live a 220 is out of the question. The garage in my Condo does not have 220. 220 is only in the unit for Dryer and stove so unless I am welding in my kitchen or the hallway (which I know "The Boss" aint gonna let happen) I am stuck with getting a 110. Having said that if and when I move and I get an actual house in the this god forsaken county then I will pony up and buy a 220 when the 110 craps out or I will sell the 110 and buy a 220.

My question was pertaining to 110 welders only and was brought about because I had just learned that miller makes a 140 with auto setup. Noone here has heard much about it and spec wise is identical to the 135. The only difference is it has an auto setup feature where you set the thickness and type of material and the welder will adjust wirespeed and voltage accordingly.

I appreciate the opinions and I agree a 220 is a better welder regardless of who makes it but 220 is just not an option for me at this time.

Ira
 
I have heard of the miller auto-set feature, it is supposed to be on the 140 model (which is replacing the 135) I haven't heard anyone who has used it but it sounds good for someone who is doing light work or who is just starting out. DOnt know any details other than what I have "heard" about it. I dont think I would buy it cause I like being able to set how deep the burn is manually, but that is me.

And about your 220v issue, you do have 220v. All residential have 208/220 into your main service panel. If you wanted (and had the know how) you could wire a small subpanel to run your welder with not to much trouble. But if you don't know what you are doing I wouldn't try it.
 
bigblaza said:
I have heard of the miller auto-set feature, it is supposed to be on the 140 model (which is replacing the 135) I haven't heard anyone who has used it but it sounds good for someone who is doing light work or who is just starting out. DOnt know any details other than what I have "heard" about it. I dont think I would buy it cause I like being able to set how deep the burn is manually, but that is me.

And about your 220v issue, you do have 220v. All residential have 208/220 into your main service panel. If you wanted (and had the know how) you could wire a small subpanel to run your welder with not to much trouble. But if you don't know what you are doing I wouldn't try it.
Click to expand...

The main service panel is inside the house. The garage only has 110 routed to it and has its own 110 panel with breakers in the garage. So unless I wanted to tear up my new tile floor (the garage is under my Condo) and run a 220 line down into the garage then no I do not have the ability to run 220.


The question here is not 110 Vs. 220. It is Millermatic 135 Vs. Millermatic 140 with auto set.

On another note the 140 also allows you to manually set voltage and line speed.

I have pretty much decided that I will get the 135 as it has been around awhile and I have not read anything bad other than the 110 aspect. The 140 is brand new and I dont like getting things that are in their first year of sale do to bugs and stuff. That and I can get a 135 with cart for less than a 140 by itself.

Ira



Ira
 
sandawgk5 said:
The main service panel is inside the house. The garage only has 110 routed to it and has its own 110 panel with breakers in the garage. So unless I wanted to tear up my new tile floor (the garage is under my Condo) and run a 220 line down into the garage then no I do not have the ability to run 220.
Click to expand...

Agreed...I wouldn't do it either. And again for the miller 140 vs. 135 I would go for the more established model.
 
walla2k5 said:
83cu. cylinder from local Oxarc $ 145 filled. $17 to refill 75/25.
Click to expand...

83 is kinda big. I like the 50 cause I can take it and put it in the back of my car when I go to work and have it filled. But then again I would not be filling as often.:D

Ira
 
Two questions...

1. Why not just buy a 220v extension cord. You are not welding everyday, when you weld every once and a while, run the cord over the easiest appliance and steal it's wall plug for a couple hours. Tell the wife to deal with it, life could be worse.... if she has a problem with it.

2. What are you going to be welding? I don't think I would try to weld anything over .120 wall tubing with my Millermatic 135. I've tried 1/4" before, but I don't think I got good penetration at all.
 
:confused: No more then 1/8" with a Miller 135? Have you heard of multipass welding? Even without multipass welding if the material is prepped correctly you can weld 1/4" no problem. I have welded 1/4" many times with no problems with my Miller 135. My Miller 135 will swiss cheese 1/8" tubing easily.

It is not ideal to weld 1/4" with but anyone who has had even moderate welding skills should be able to get good solid welds on 1/4".

Harley
 
X2

Also Bobby, I have now seen Ira state, and restate this thread is not about 110 volt versus 220 volt. He couldn't have been more clear...so the point of your reply was????

My 135 will blow holes in 1/8" material if I want it to, 1/4" is fine with that machine, you just need to do a multipass to get the fillet size large enough. It has plenty of heat for the job though.

Rene
 
He simply stated that he couldn't have 220V because the lack of a plug in a conveinent location. I simply asked if he had considered a last ditch option.


Sure, you can do 1/4" with that machine, but I don't like too, it's slow. When I weld I usually run a little on the hot side, mainly due that many times what I have to weld needs to be as strong as possible being it's in a high stress area. Not getting good penetration is a bad thing..:crazy: Now with that, thats my situation. A guy could probably weld some heavier stuff with the 135 than I do that has more time and patience than me.

In a situation where a guy only has a 135, you can make it do a LOT of things for you, but it's not the ideal machine of choice for anything that is more than light duty.

Like I said, it's a fine little machine, I like mine when doing sheet metal and 1/8" to thinner, it works great. I just wouldn't want it for my "everything" welder if I could only have one machine.

For one, he hasn't mentioned what he will be welding, and how often he plans to actually use the machine. :deal:

Don't get me wrong, like I've said a half dozen times, it's a great little machine with Miller quality, just don't expect to do anything heavy with it because it's not designed for that.
 
It is designed to weld up to 1/4", check Miller's website.

Sure, it's slow, but it is a "home/hobby" machine. Ideal is a 350 amp invertor machine running off of 460 volt 3 phase. Maybe Ira should save up and buy that right after re-wirng his townhouse and getting a phase convertor? A 10 ton overhead crane might do well in his garage too...:rolleyes:

95% of what a guy needs to weld on a K5 and related stuff is 3/16" or thinner. The other 5% may be thicker, but there isn't that much of it and it isn't in the "flies, floats or saves lives" catagory.

Rene
 
Rene, don't take this over the top.

I simply said it's a small machine that is designed for light duty, which it is.

I own 7 different welders, from a Millermatic 135, a 220 Lincoln MIG, Miller 220 buzz box, Miller Big 40, Miller Big30 diesel, Miller Trailblazer 5G, and as of tommorrow I'm picking up either a new Hobart or Lincoln 225amp portable

I know a little bit about welders and what they can and can't do.

I suggested that he invest in a slightly more costly machine and run a 220v extension cord. This would provide him with a machine that he could keep for decades and will likely never fall short of nearly any welding job a hobbiest could come across.

If you don't like that Rene, too bad, it's my advise.

Big Blaza,

Enjoy the 135, it's a nice little machine and easy to move around. Rene is right, it will likely be able to do most jobs on a K5.
 
rjfguitar,

I, like you, think 220v is the way togo...I burned my 110v out about a week ago and just ordered a lincoln 175. But I agree with everything you said bro. A smart carpenter once told me the difference between cheap tools and saving up for "good" tools is getting the job done.
Not in anyway am I saying any of the above mentioned welders are cheap crap tools in anyway...but I learned my lesson on trying to save a few dollars on tools. The bottom line is you never know what you could/will run into so I would rather be prepared.
 
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