Which welder?

[spurly]

Looking for a hobby welder for the shop, thinking of a Lincoln 180, or maybe a Millermatic anybody, got any opinions on these or others, thickest material, I would be using would be about 3/8"
Thanx

[recce43]

the lincoln 180 is a nice little machine and a bit cheaper than the miller but use argon gas . Cleaner weld

[Kurt505]

I've been using a Lincoln 140 110v for the last 7 or 8 years both with and without gas and it's been great. The thickest steel I ever weld is only 1/4" tho.

[Dacotensis]

You will have way more issues with a wire feed welder. More maintenance and operational costs will be ongoing.
If you have a small bottle of shielding gas then no contract.
I don't even know if you can get a small bottle.
If you are on a contract then there is the refill costs, plus a $100 plus a year in environmental fees.

But all that being said and you are sold on a mig, then the 180 will do everything you want it to do.
The first thing though is make sure your rollers are metal. Lots of the c tire stuff comes with plastic rollers. Before you know it you will have plastic in your liner and you will have to replace that as well.
Regardless. You will always be replacing consumables.

If you decide a nice little stick welder is more for you, then I have a miller 225 that I would sell.

Signed,
Fabriqo the fabricator

[TBD]

go with the new millermatic 211 MVP ....

these machines are outstanding - luv mine.

Save an additional 2 -3 hundred for your gas bottle (try to buy one - kijiji), way better than fluxcore.

[FreeLantz]

More money than the 180's but Hobart Ironman 210 is what I've got, the new machines are 230's. Same running gear as Miller, and Bernard whips and contact equipment all fit, which is awesome, but much less money than a Millermatic.

http://www.hobartwelders.com/product...ed/ironman230/

Nothing wrong with Lincoln or Millers at all either. Pick which ever one looks prettier in your shop lol. I did find that I went through whip liners like crazy on the old Lincoln 180, not sure if that is a Lincoln issue or what though.

You can buy small bottles anywhere. Mine was $180 for the bottle, and $75 to fill it or exchange it. Lots and lots and lots of places carry them, from Peavey Mart to any welding equipment shop.

[bhguy]

Originally Posted by FreeLantz

More money than the 180's but Hobart Ironman 210 is what I've got, the new machines are 230's. Same running gear as Miller, and Bernard whips and contact equipment all fit, which is awesome, but much less money than a Millermatic.

http://www.hobartwelders.com/product...ed/ironman230/

Nothing wrong with Lincoln or Millers at all either. Pick which ever one looks prettier in your shop lol. I did find that I went through whip liners like crazy on the old Lincoln 180, not sure if that is a Lincoln issue or what though.

You can buy small bottles anywhere. Mine was $180 for the bottle, and $75 to fill it or exchange it. Lots and lots and lots of places carry them, from Peavey Mart to any welding equipment shop.

the hobarts are the same as the millers...right on the money!!!we run 40+ welders at a time...all millers now, buying hobarts just to save money....I luv miller blue but not at the cost hike.

buy yourself shielding gas....quality and ease of welding is way better

[dmcbride]

I got a Hobart handler 140 (115v)and it works great with gas or without. If you pre-heat the steel and do multiple passes you can weld thicker than 3/8. I think they are around $500.00. I would recommend using shielding gas as there is less cleanup and makes a nicer weld. But if you do need to weld outside and it is windy you will need to use the flux cored wire as the wind will blow away the shielding gas and you will get porosity in the weld.

[jungleboy]

Miller autoset are a sweet machine . I have the 211 but you can get them in a 180 amp. You can also add a spool gun for aluminum .As for bottles ,you can purchase them at Oxypro and KMS I bought from Oxypro but now I get refills at KMS as it is much cheaper.When it comes to the smaller welders I just think the Millers are put together better than the Lincolns. The autoset machines make setting your parameters so simple . You just select the thickness of the material you want to weld on the dial and the machine sets the amps and wire speed for you . You can also set it manually if you want.

Stay away from the Thermadyne I had one and it was a pile .

[albertagamechaser]

if you get one of the Lincolns they have the diamond core technology, which means that you will have a much larger sweet spot than the competition. The boards are all potted and trayed so they will be as clean as when they were manufactured. Look at the drive roll system, all cast and geared to both drive rolls will help feed the wire. 3 year warranty and just a very stand up durable machine. One of the biggest things to look at is the innershield wire, you do not need a gas cylinder with this as it creates it's own atmosphere and the welds look very nice. I welded my whole trailer with this and unless you are going to be welding very thin gauge material I would not worry about the shielding gas.
Hope this helps

[spurly]

Lots of great advice.
Much appreciated
Spurly

[Twisted Canuck]

Hey Spurly, long time no chat....I have the Millermatic 175, small machine with big power. I think the new ones are the '180' but they are great machines (and as mentioned, a Hobart is basically the same thing at a better price point). Either of those will get you welding 3/8", even up to 1/2" with the right gas. jmo

[spurly]

Ended up buying the Lincoln 180, it was on sale for $599 at Crappy Tire. the Hobart was closer to $900. Nice looking machine though, and was capable of running on 110, or 220, which was a nice option, but I thought I would save a few bux.
Another question though. I was looking at Auto darkening helmets, but they all seem to be Solar powered. My helmet is always in the cupboard, so not sure if this will work. I thought they were all battery powered units.

[Alberta83]

I bought one of these at Canadian Tire a few months ago. It works great for me in the garage. Its probably not welding shop quality but for the price, youll love it. I bought a bottle of gas and I used it recently to weld 3/8 steel and it did the job nicely. As far as auto darkening, I also bought one at Canadian Tire. On sale for half price I think. $80? Anyways, its variable shade and it uses one AA battery, not solar. For a once in a while welder, its perfect.

[Taco]

Originally Posted by spurly

Ended up buying the Lincoln 180, it was on sale for $599 at Crappy Tire. the Hobart was closer to $900. Nice looking machine though, and was capable of running on 110, or 220, which was a nice option, but I thought I would save a few bux.
Another question though. I was looking at Auto darkening helmets, but they all seem to be Solar powered. My helmet is always in the cupboard, so not sure if this will work. I thought they were all battery powered units.

I wondered the same thing but if you think about it the UV rays from the welding arc charges the batteries

[rugatika]

Be interested in your review of the 180 after you've used it for awhile. I have been using an old lincoln ac225 for years (got it on sale at Cdn tire 20 years ago probably and I believe Cdn Tire cash factored heavily into it as well...lol). I was looking at the Miller 211 as well.


As an aside, what does an electrician charge (roughly) to bring 240 from your panel into the attached garage. (about a 5m run and through the wall) $500ish??? (house is a new build)

[Alberta83]

I found another forum member that is an electrician and he set me up with power in my attached garage at a very reasonable rate. I would recommend you do the same as what I did, don't run a single circuit for your welder from the house to the garage. Run heavy gauge wire to the garage and add a sub panel instead and then you can put whatever circuits you want in the garage quite easily. The only real cost difference is buying the sub panel and breakers which should be less than $100. We installed about 8 more 110 plugs, a 220 outlet and wired it to add future lights. I purchased all the material. All total including paying the electrician cash it probably cost me about $500

[Steve07]

Originally Posted by Dacotensis

If you decide a nice little stick welder is more for you, then I have a miller 225 that I would sell.

Good rig. Miller Bobcat 225 here. No complaints, other than the older series like mine run Onan engines which are apparently defunct now.

[Tox]

I've never had a problem with solar powered auto shields. I do however prefer a regular shield. Nothing like covering the sensor while welding.

[bhguy]

Originally Posted by Tox

I've never had a problem with solar powered auto shields. I do however prefer a regular shield. Nothing like covering the sensor while welding.

I have the one from pa, thought it was great. Till my new camo Miller one came in last week, a real auto dark is night and day

[bloopbloob]

Originally Posted by Tox

I've never had a problem with solar powered auto shields. I do however prefer a regular shield. Nothing like covering the sensor while welding.

I had a hard time getting used to an autoshade, but I will never go back. I have a Miller Digital Elite, with the XM feature, which is triggered by electromagnetic radiation rather than light, so you can use it outside, or in a bright shop, and the sensors don't care about the bright light. Great feature. Cost me around $400, but welding is my career. As for the battery, I just replaced it for the first time, and it's nearly two years old.

As for a home welder, I'd recommend Miller. Lincolns aren't bad, but I prefer Miller. Portable generators, Lincoln is hard to beat. Just my opinion, I'm a journeyman welder, and have seen and used hundreds of different machines.

[TBD]

Originally Posted by Alberta83

I found another forum member that is an electrician and he set me up with power in my attached garage at a very reasonable rate. I would recommend you do the same as what I did, don't run a single circuit for your welder from the house to the garage. Run heavy gauge wire to the garage and add a sub panel instead and then you can put whatever circuits you want in the garage quite easily. The only real cost difference is buying the sub panel and breakers which should be less than $100. We installed about 8 more 110 plugs, a 220 outlet and wired it to add future lights. I purchased all the material. All total including paying the electrician cash it probably cost me about $500

make sure the electrician gives you a good heavy feed to your 220 circuit from your garage sub-panel, check the electric specs for the welder you plan to buy and be sure this cable feed exceeds those requirements ... ( I think the cable feed on my job was $150 - 200 alone ... )

depending on the room left in your basement panel (the subpanel to the garage will take 4 ckcts) - you may want to make sure the garage sub panel has enough room for a couple AC 220 volt circuits (4 ckcts) and another 220 for a Hottub (2 ckcts) as well .... for down the road, if you haven`t already installed these necessities.

[Tox]

Originally Posted by bhguy

I have the one from pa, thought it was great. Till my new camo Miller one came in last week, a real auto dark is night and day

Couldn't agree more. You pay for quality but it is not always worth it for a hobby welder.
As for welders, you can't go wrong with a miller. rediarc machines are built by miller. Lincolns are good too. Thermalarc is crap. I don't have enough experience with esab machines, or Hobart.

[Tox]

Originally Posted by rugatika

Be interested in your review of the 180 after you've used it for awhile. I have been using an old lincoln ac225 for years (got it on sale at Cdn tire 20 years ago probably and I believe Cdn Tire cash factored heavily into it as well...lol). I was looking at the Miller 211 as well.


As an aside, what does an electrician charge (roughly) to bring 240 from your panel into the attached garage. (about a 5m run and through the wall) $500ish??? (house is a new build)

It doesn't matter which machine you buy anything is better that the ac machines. If you stay with a stick machine the miller maxstar 150 works quite well and will run off both 110 v and 220 v and nearly fits in your pocket.

[Fish*Frenzy*]

I got a millermatic 210 and it's done everything I needed it to.. Welds smooth and have never had a problem with it

[FreeLantz]

Originally Posted by spurly

Another question though. I was looking at Auto darkening helmets, but they all seem to be Solar powered. My helmet is always in the cupboard, so not sure if this will work. I thought they were all battery powered units.

Solar helmets take almost zero energy to recharge. Even your shop lights will charge them, never mind high power welding rays. That's my experience anyway. I've never had a solar helmet not work, even after sitting in a dark shop for a couple weeks.

I hated auto helmets at first, but now I would never go back to the old flip down fibre-metals. The key is a wide viewing area and a narrow helmet. I found the cheaper auto helmets are wide, not allowing you to stick your head in some places to see what you need to see. And the viewing area is tiny. The brand name of mine escapes me, but it's nearly a $600 touch, not exactly for hobby welders, but it's the best I've used. Some German company I think.

[bloopbloob]

Originally Posted by Tox

Couldn't agree more. You pay for quality but it is not always worth it for a hobby welder.
As for welders, you can't go wrong with a miller. rediarc machines are built by miller. Lincolns are good too. Thermalarc is crap. I don't have enough experience with esab machines, or Hobart.

My shop is currently phasing out all of our Esabs with Lincolns, still have probably about 30 of them in use. They are pure junk and have cost more in lost time than the entire purchase price. Lincolns are pretty nice, lower cost than Miller, which is why my shop went with Lincolns, but I'd still recommend a Miller if you can afford it. Not much difference, but when you do it for a living, you notice the subtle differences between them and I like Miller.

What type of work do you plan on doing with your machine?

[spurly]

Well, tried out the Lincoln 180 today.I just ran it with flux core, as I don't have any gas ,yet. All I can say is Wow, I am more than pleased, compared to my old handy core 100. It does splatter a bit, but very easy to use, and am quite happy, with this purchase.
Now just gotta get a helmet, not that fond of the old one.

Thanx for the help, and advice from all of you.

[bhguy]

we have a no esab policy now...well ok I do I do all the maint, amd purchasing. over priced and hard to get parts for. miller is great , good quality, and the best part is kristian elec. has a great stock of parts and fast shipping for what they don't!! linc. is so so on parts. we do run 15 lin ln250 suitcase welders...those are bomb proof!!