Welder advice....

[turbojimmy]

Hi all,

After talking about it with my brother and I for months, my dad has decided he wants a welder for his b-day. I'm not sure what he plans to do with it, I think he wants one in the family so my brother and I can use it. But hey, that's okay with me.

He got some advice from a friend of his that does light repair work and fabrication. He said he has a 120V DC 'tombstone' style Lincoln Electric welder. After looking at the Lincoln web site it looks like a stick welder.

I did a lot of poking around on the web and it seems like a gas/gasless MIG welder would provide the most flexibility. As you got good you could introduce gas for cleaner welds. Obviously they're more expensive but I don't want to buy something that has limited utility.

Also, I'm wondering about amps. I read somewhere that you really want something with at least 150 amps. This pretty much means a 220V unit. Dad would have to do some wiring, but it's not that big a deal because he brought the wiring out to the garage when he built it. Just never wired up the 220V outlet. Lincoln does have a 120V MIG that goes up to 135 amps. It's a wire feed but doesn't say if it's gas/gasless. I'm assuming it is because the regulator kit is sold separately (implying you can add it later).

He also wants an oxy/acetylene torch. That's a bit easier because they're a pretty simple device. The advice his friend gave him is to spring for a Victor torch, but they're expensive. I'm thinking for our limited use we can get away with a cheap kit. Lincoln makes one (tanks, manifold and torch) for $240.

Am I on the right track with this stuff?

Thanks,
Jim

 

[John Larkin]

You should figure 1 amp per .001" of thickness in metal you are going to be welding. You'll need 125 amp for 1/8" and 250 amp for 1/4". You can multipass but those are the basics. Somewhere in the middle will likely do both. 1/4" is some darn thick metal you'd rarely if ever weld; car frames aren't that thick. For the money and being that MIG is cheaper than TIG, I would lean toward Millermatic 175 ($750 ready-to-weld rig less the bottle). Keep in mind that duty cycle (the amount of time you can use it continuously before it overheats) is a variable that can scam you when comparing ratings. Gross amps is not a good comparison; it's the combination of amps and duty cycle you want to maximize. In other words, alot of advertising is misleading. Also look at the construction materials. Cheap welders generally use cheap parts like plastic rollers which break alot. The difference in price is negligible when you buy quality the first time.

http://aaaweldingsupply.com is a good place and in NY near you. Bill is very helpful and will spend time on the phone too; he is patient with folks like us that don't know everything. For oxy/acetylene I would only get it if he plans on cutting or heating with it. Otherwise you just don't get alot of regular usage out of it.

 

[turbojimmy]

Thanks John. He wants the torch for heating and brazing and the welder for welding. I'm pretty sure we're not going to need to weld anything even 1/4" thick. I'll take a look at the Millermatic stuff.

Jim

 

[Blown&Injected]

I have been out of the business for several years but a machine that I had used that was most impressive to me is the Miller Pulser. It looks about the same as the standard Miller MIG machines except that it has space for two bottles, comes with two regulators (1 for steel, 1 for aluminum - usually 75/25 and Argon but there are other mixes for steel and aluminum), and it has two torches on-board always ready to go - the standard MIG torch and a spool gun.

It will MIG super thin aluminum without needing to stop due to burn through and it will also do heavy aluminum too. The spool gun works so well it make aluminum MIG look almost like the metal was TIG welded and the steel is as good as expected from the powerful machine that it is.

Running the 220 is very easy for one that has wired a garage.

It is a mega versatile machine that is easy to use.