Welder recomendations

[Cleaverid]

Hi all, I'm looking at adding a mig welder to my weaponry at home and was wondering what others were using.  I'm looking seriously at the Hobart 187 or Lincoln 180 230v single phase. (Depending on how big a pain it will be to wire up the garage.)  I want to be able to weld aluminum.  All the reading I have done says spend the extra money and get a 230v machine rather than a 115v with a short duty cycle.  I won't be welding anything too thick at first but may need to weld material over 1/4 " thick at some point. Any other machines I should look at?  I found the Hobart for $500 with everything but the tank.  The Lincoln 175 or 180 I have found for @$450.  I would like the Miller but it is more money than I want to spend for how much I'll use it.  Also, is argon co2 mix a better gas to use than argon alone?  Thanks for your input.

Cleav

[Mustang]

argon / co2 mix is what works for mig welding but only indoors as any breeze at all will blow the shielding gas away and you won't be welding .
for home use if you don't mind the splatter a good flux core wire works best
as for welders a good home unit is the Hobart 140 it's a 115 v
I have a craftsman mig which is made by clarke and works very well for a 115 volt welder , it has a 80% duty cycle which is real good and you can get very good welds on 1/4 inch with it , but naturally if you are going to be welding thick stuff all the time get a 220 v welder and buy one with the biggest duty cycle you can afford .
It sounds like you will be a newbie to the welding world , and there is nothing wrong with that . but to get professional welds it takes practice practice practice , here's the best tip I can give you , if your welds loke like snakes laid on top of the metal you have too much wire speed and or not enuff heat , and if you are blowing holes in what you are welding , you have too much heat and not enuff speed or you are moving the puddle too slow .
You will find that the speed control pretty much stays the same place all the time once you find the happy spot , no matter what the amp setting is on .
Get yourself a good auto darkening helmet , it helps a lot .
as for welding aluminum with a mig
you will need a special spool gun , not cheap $$$$
you need just plain argon for gas
and you better be a pretty experienced welder to boot .
If you are going to be welding aluminum alot you may want to consider a good TIG welder .....$$$
And don't forget to buy a good right angle grinder with at least a 4 1/2 inch wheel , get some decent clamps to hold stuff while you weld , some good leather welding gloves ,and some magnet jigs are handy too .
And the best thing you can have is a good welding table . Which by the way could be your first project you make to learn how to weld .
It is  awesome to be able to glue steel together at home

[matttys]

I had a 140 Muscle MIG by Snap-On.  It worked well for a low power unit.  I got it cheap(er) off craigslist.  If you have access to a 220v power source, I'd get that in a heart beat.  I wired my new garage for 220v and I have an argon/co2 and argon bottles waiting, now I just need to find a cheap TIG on craigslist.  You will find that if you do buy a new welder that they hold their value fairly well.  Check out http://www.hobartwelders.com/weldtalk/ for some good information.  Like was said above, steels are good for MIG, but once you hit aluminum you will need a TIG.  Good luck!

[Cleaverid]

I did more TIG welding than anything but it has been over 9 years and if you don't use it you loose it.  I may start out with a Miller 140 autoset wirefeed or hobart 140 and then move into something bigger down the road if I get more into building stuff.  My raft trailer deck is the immediate project that needs taken car of and I'm welding on some 14 gauge diamond plate in place of the wood that has rotted away over the last 8 years. (I don't want to have to redeck it again) The 140 sized unit will do for now unless I find a steal on a used unit on Craigslist or Ebay.
Cleaver

[Tigger_rider]

Hi All  Get the largest machine you can afford, You might not want/need it now but in the future you will thank yourself. At the very least, get the highest duty cycle you can. 60% duty cycle means 6 min out of 10 for welding, 100% means you never have to stop to let the machine cool. The higher duty cycle also helps in starting the weld. This is the difference between a 20% DC Sears box and a big 100% machine in ease of striking an arc. Any of the shield gasses can be used for steel, CO2, 75/25 or argon. The main difference is that, with amps, volts, wire speed, etc being the same, argon will give a shallow penetration compared to a hot deep penetration with CO2. Of course there are wires that are specially made for certain gasses and aluminum is always argon. When welding steel, CO2 is much cheaper than argon. Also with a wire gun be careful of kinking the gun lead. The liner that the wire goes thru is just like a speedo cable jacket, kink the jacket and the wire or the speedo needle bucks. For aluminum TIG the cheapest setup is a cheap AC stick box with a high freq add on box.  Have any specific
 questions, message me off list.

Airco aluminum spool gun, 200 amp
Lincoln DC210 AC/DC/CV diesel machine
LN-25 feeder
Airco hi freq box for non ferrous TIG
Too  many years as a Boilermaker/ crane boom repair tech
and of course the silver Tigger

OLY

[Cleaverid]

Thanks for the input OLY. Still looking for a screaming deal. Nothing but time.  Doubt the diesel powered unit would be a go with the wife.....Sure would be nice.


Cleav

[matttys]

matttys just got a TA185 TIG off craigslist for a screaming deal  8)

[Stretch]

Can I borrow it?  I have this high ground-clearance header project, ya see...    

[matttys]

Can I borrow it?  I have this high ground-clearance header project, ya see...    

Haha, I just bought the $25 Miller student welding kit to help me refresh my memory.  Now I just need to do a couple of projects before I start welding motorcycles. . . wine rack w/ stemwear holders and an art piece for above the bed for the mrs and a new super mail box that will never fall apart for me!