Pick a welder

[smash59]

I bought harbor frieghts vulcan multi process welder and am very happy with it. so you can have a stick and wire. you can run flux core wire through it or if decide on gas just add it later. the titanium line is a little cheaper if you want to go that route.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

(quoted from post at 17:07:51 02/23/23) Help me pick out a welder.

First and foremost, don't be tempted by the cheap Harbor Freight flux core welders. They are very limited in capability.

There are a lot of good value priced machines out there, even the Chinese made ones.

Vulcan and Titanium seem to be well-liked. People go in looking to hate them because they're "Chinese junk" and end up being unable to find anything to complain about. The downside is the 17 year old girl at the checkout counter generally won't be able to help you figure out what you're doing wrong.

Everlast, and HTP are all over youtube and seem to be liked by the people that use them. The downside is no local presence.

There are always the old default answers, Lincoln and Miller. The downside here is they're the most expensive option.

 

[Welding man]

I rarely get into these contests, but I feel I must chime in on this one. I have been welding for over 50 years and still do on a daily basis. I have 7 welding machines. The smallest being a Hobart hander which I rarely use. The largest a Miller Big 40 Engine drive. We weld everything from 20 gauge steel and stainless sheet to 2 in thick plate. All types of aluminum and cast iron. No one machine will do it all. But I would never own a gasless MIG. I have never seen anyone make a weld that would be acceptable to me with one of these machines. Think about what you are going to be doing and what you will be using it for. The assortment of stick electrodes for steel, stainless, cast iron and even aluminum is endless. My 2 cents is buy a good AC/DC Stick machine of at least 250 Amps and you will never be sorry. Don't waste your money on Chinese Junk. One of those machines wouldn't last me one week.

 

[Richard G.]

I got my Tombstone welder in 1977 and still use it all the time.
I have repaired and built more things than I can remember or count.
I used a flux core welder once.
Never again.

 

[560Dennis]

Check out Forney industry link
https://www.forneyind.com/

 

[wp6529]

The key reason to not limit yourself to MIG (gas shielded) is outdoor welding where shielding gas will typically get blown away by a breeze.

Perhaps you have a big enclosed shop to always work in, but for those of us with tiny shops who have to work on many things outdoors stick or flux core are really the only viable options.

That said, these days there are plenty of multi-process machines available so getting something that will give you the options for any particular condition is pretty easy.

Some years ago I had a reasonable sized shop and did 99% TIG in the shop, since moving I have a very small shop and 90% is now stick just outside the shop with longer leads from the welder sitting inside.

I don't yet have a MIG/FC machine but I've been looking for a mid sized inverter type that would give reasonable portability to move around the property for fence work and whatnot.

 

[Geo-TH,In]

John,
I have a lincoln tombstone AC buzz box and a 220v mig.
I use Lincoln 99% of the time on rusty metals, 6011 rod.
When I did body work, I used the mig to spot weld body panels.

This is my biggest welding project.

If we have a wet winter the ground will be soft enough to roll it flat.
I'm a self taught welder. Not a professional.

 

[Greenfrog]

Good question. I have my fathers tombstone Forney that I grew up with. Must be 60 years old. I still use it at time for minor repairs.
A couple years ago a I took a welding class, garage welding, as and adult class at a local community college just as a refresher course. It was for the average home workshop guy. We learned what rods to use, which helped me much, and always use fresh rods. Moisture breaks off the coating. Keep them in a container. We learned on the non gas wire welder, as this is most practical for the home workshop. He said most all of those small wire welders are ok. They are basically just a big power source. He said even the harbor freight kind is ok. He emphasized that no matter what brand, and they had off brand, new ones, donated to the school shop, that the secret is to ALWaYS use Lincoln brand wire. They have their own patent and it makes any off brand welder work good. The teacher was experienced and knew the facts.
I noticed recently that Menards had Campbell Hartsfield on sale. Small unit. That supposedly is a good brand. You have to be aware of the amps. I dont have my notes at hand, to comment on that.
Hope this helps.

 

[DRussell]

Look on FB Marketplace for an AC/DC machine preferably one with an high frequency arc starter. I have a Century 295 with a high frequency arc starter. That arc starter makes all the difference on thin materials. I've welded everything from a car fender to 1 steel with it.

 

[Geo-TH,In]

You may want to look at the duty cycle vs price.

 

[Duner Wi]

A your age and the amount of welding you do,refusal to use gas shielded. Stick with stick.

 

[Rgr33]

I have 3 welders, stick, Hobart handler, and my favorite is a Yes brand stick/ mig combo that was less than $400 bucks, and has consigned the other two to the back shelf for the past 2 years.

I am like a lot of the other self taught welders on here, it might not always be pretty, but I am confident it will hold up under daily use.

I am confident the mid to upper Harbor Frt welders would work well for you, but you might take a look at the Yes brand, their customer support is undoubtedly better than HF.

 

[redtom]

I grew up on an old Airco buzz box. Had several welding classes in college. Throughout my career I always had access to to good quality mig welders in the shop. When I retired it was time to buy my own. After research I bought a Lincoln 210. It wasn't cheap, I will have it forever. I sold a tractor from my collection to pay for it. I plan on doing body work as well as fab. I love it so far. Worth every penny. I am not fond of Flux core.i still have my dad's old Airco.

 

[the tractor vet]

Well depends on what you plan on welding . Your comfortable with stick , ok fine as for a stick welder one can not beat a Lincoln 250 A C -DC machine and if ya watch Craigs list or F B market place ya find them from time to time running from 250 bucks to 450 there the sorta tombstone style with the round top. BUT watch and make sure they a 1 Phase as some are 3 phase For me here at the house i have a Lincoln 140 C a little better wire welder then what is sold at the big box stores . I found it on Market place new in the box a guy won at a raffle and he did not know how to weld . I picked it up for his asking price of 500 including the tank . Now i am not going to be doing any truck bed building or trailer building BUT just small jobs around the house like mower deck repair or other patch jobs on stuff up to 1/4 inch . The C model has more heat ranges and better wire feed control over the 140 's sold in the big box stores and the plus factor it runs on a 120 20 amp plug and somewhat easy for and OLD guy to move around . myself i would like to find a Weldinpower Ranger 225-250 for two reasons one is for when i need a portale unit to weld something heavy and for a back up gen set for the house if needed. This also could run the 140 away from the house power . I was told the big killer of the LUNCH BOX welders was line loss in extension cords by the welding supply house where i have dealt with for years . Jay told me that i should run a at least a 10 Ga. from my breaker panel to the plug i plan to use for the welder and to run a 25 amp breaker and IF i were to want to run of and extension cord then make it also a 10 Ga. and nothing over 50 feet from said plug. I USE to have and Airco Dip and stick 160 but i let my younger brother borrow it to weld on his race car and he fired it and to repair it was going to cost more then i paid for it when i bought it new . It was a nice welder as it had the MIG , TIG Spot and stick all in one machine and it would do aluim. I bought that one in 78 so i could do repairs on my Dump trailer with out loosen a day to take it back up to East Mfg. for small repairs as every once in a while i would get the side board gussets knocked off while loading stainless steel scrap. Once the weather breaks and outside temps get closer to my AGE i will be putting the 140 thru her paces on repairing a mower deck for the Cub Cadet i bought as i have some places that need repaired. .

 

[EP]

Remember, miller is for drinking. Lincoln is for welding!

 

[Geo-TH,In]

John,
Help me pick out a welder.
The size of your load center may limit your choice in welders.
Don't forget the duty cycle.
Good luck.

 

[Texasmark]

I have sticks that I have used for years; Miller 130 I think, 200A, 240V, never let me down for farm work. Some years ago I bought a HF 240V Mig 151 I think is the model number. I find that most of my farm requirements are solved by the Mig with gas (TSC has the gas and the swapping refill process) using the .030 Mig wire.....just easier and quicker to use for a cleaner more professional, less cleanup weld. Migs are a lot cheaper than Tigs but for most farm work do a fine enough (aesthetically acceptable) job in my opinion for the difference in cost and frequency of usage.

Some say that they are only for light work but I use mine for 1/4 steel in some cases, just takes time to build up the weld but that's not all bad as the longer you work the material, the hotter it gets and the better the weld looks and integrity.

While there I also opt for their fast response helmets and the visual inserts blowing up objects...I think 2.50X is what works for me using my bifocals in the far vision mode.....using bifocal reading portion of the glasses doesn't work well with the helmet. HF cheap auto helmets are plenty fast to catch the MIg spark......just remember to set them out so that the internal battery can recharge via the solar cells.

 

[fastfarmall]

My old stick is 20% duty cycle, i only kicked it off once,in 50 years,if i weld at 130 degrees, you can weld a lot before it kicks off the temp overload.