Welding 101

[3 Wheel Drive]

I don't even have 220 plug in our house, I just checked & our dryer is a 110...

[barnett468]

I don't even have 220 plug in our house, I just checked & our dryer is a 110...

you can easily make a plug for 220 . . any house has this capability.

[shovelryder]

I have the companion genarator which is supposed to double the power. I'll have to read the manual to find out for sure. It used wires to connect both genarator for more juice. There very quiet, I can run it for nearly 8 hrs on 1 gallon of fuel.

I also have the standard and the companion....... It doubles the wattage not the voltage. Linked up the two are still 110v. Best gens I've ever had.

[loganm]

Buy a buzz box, spend the rest of your money on 100lb of Lincoln murex 6011, and 100 lb of Lincoln Excalibur 7018.

There's nothing that you can't weld with stick for the most part. Check the duty cycle on those machines. Duty cycle is how long a machine can run at a set amperage, for a percentage of ten minutes. (Example: 60% duty cycle @100 amps means it can weld continuously for 6 minutes before cooling off). And then get the one with the highest duty cycle. I would probably run .030 er70s6 on a machine that small. 75/25 mix or whatever the local welding store recommends.

[El Camexican]

There's nothing that you can't weld with stick for the most part.

True, but in this day and age asking someone to learn to weld using sheet metal and a stick is cruel

spend the rest of your money on 100lb of Lincoln murex 6011, and 100 lb of Lincoln Excalibur 7018.

Only to watch 199#'s of pricy rod turn white, or pay to power a massive rod oven 24/7 year round to keep them fresh? He's not in Texas.

[cr480r]

Buy a 240. The 120 volt machines are very handy, but it's just a matter of time before you take on more serious projects. I know lots of guys that make 120 volt units work for everything they do.. No thanks. Its so much easier to make nice welds when you have the proper amperage for the task. I had a handler 140 and currently a lil firepower 160 240v I got for the price of the tank. My next machine will be a ironman 230 unless I find a deal on a used 250amp machine.

[90nut]

I have a Miller 110v at my bosses. Think it's a 135 not sure. Thing is a bad azz sheet welder. Problem is, it cost like 700$ give or take. I bought it.
Be wary of a used tank, not sure of your local laws, regs, or suppliers but you can get a,tank with the machine, but you might not be able to get it filled. They use to require a tank title around here to get one,filled, tanks,can be out,of date but they can update them for a fee. Kind of like a opd 2 propane tank. I got a free tank from a buddy, had a feeling she was a little warm, biggest one u can get on my cart, 6 ' tall. Paid to 25$ for it full. Played hell getting,it exchanged. Hot hot hot. A flux core machine isn't bad but unless you get a fairly pricey one I feel they don't get hot enough to work properly. Don't get a stick I.e. arc welder. They are great but man will you get mad learning how to weld up sheet metal and body panels. Get them hot and they warp big time. All the new age body guys glue the,panels in. Chemical bond is strong as a weld and it doesn't create oxidation on the,inside of the,panels that makes it RUST. What it is what you are trying to repair! If you get into welding in body panels, look into weld through primer. Sell it at most welding shops, it's salty, but it,keeps it from rusting. I wish I would have paid more attention to my old man when he was around. Thought he was old and crotchety. Turns out he was but,he was right!

[loganm]

True, but in this day and age asking someone to learn to weld using sheet metal and a stick is cruel



Only to watch 199#'s of pricy rod turn white, or pay to power a massive rod oven 24/7 year round to keep them fresh? He's not in Texas.

Woah woah hold up, the 100 lbs of 7018 might not be the best idea, but unless he lives in the South American rain forest the 6011 should be alright. And 200lbs of rod isn't THAT space consuming. Just keep it your moms oven bro, she won't mind. -_-

The rule I like to follow is Lincoln for stick, Miller for mig/tig. Although I'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between them if I wasn't told what I was running. I just love the color red.

[El Camexican]

Woah woah hold up, the 100 lbs of 7018 might not be the best idea, but unless he lives in the South American rain forest the 6011 should be alright. And 200lbs of rod isn't THAT space consuming. Just keep it your moms oven bro, she won't mind. -_-

The rule I like to follow is Lincoln for stick, Miller for mig/tig. Although I'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between them if I wasn't told what I was running. I just love the color red.

Miller makes a nice machine, so does Lincoln. I prefer them over all others simply because of their factory policy's towards their employees. Great place to work last I heard. Hobart and a few other brands are customers of ours, so I have nothing bad to say about any brands. Even my BLUE Chinese TIG seems to work pretty well for a fraction of what the Miller decal costs, but I haven't tried to weld a cast iron triple tree with it yet

[Scootertrash]

My only complaints about this one is that it's a little heavy to lug up and down the stairs and its a tad wider than the cheap carts they sell on email, so I had to flip the top shelve over and it could fall off if I'm not careful. I figured the 3/8" thick claim would get me a decent weld on 1/4", but it actually does weld 3/8" pretty decent. It welds SS nice too, but I haven't tried aluminum yet.

Gas and 230V is the way to go as mentioned. There are much smaller tanks than that one in the photo if you plan to be carrying it any distance.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MILLER-MILLE...MAAOSwX~dWlqvW

I picked up a 211 last summer when Miller had their "Build with Blue" promotion, $200.00 rebate on just the machine or $400.00 dollar rebate on the machine + $400.00 worth of Miller or Hobart supplies. I went with the 400 in supplies and got the spool gun, a cover, several different kinds of wire, and some replacement tips.

I got the new model 211 tho, #907614. It weighs half as much and is smaller than the one El posted. I was looking for portability, the 120/230 capability was a great start, then they came out with the new lighter smaller model and I hit the buy button.
Then I bought the welding cabinet from Harbor Freight on sale, as well as their folding welding table. Both the cabinet and table are better quality that I thought they would be coming from HF.

The only bummer is I haven't had a chance to use it yet.

[El Camexican]

I picked up a 211 last summer when Miller had their "Build with Blue" promotion, $200.00 rebate on just the machine or $400.00 dollar rebate on the machine + $400.00 worth of Miller or Hobart supplies. I went with the 400 in supplies and got the spool gun, a cover, several different kinds of wire, and some replacement tips.

I got the new model 211 tho, #907614. It weighs half as much and is smaller than the one El posted. I was looking for portability, the 120/230 capability was a great start, then they came out with the new lighter smaller model and I hit the buy button.
Then I bought the welding cabinet from Harbor Freight on sale, as well as their folding welding table. Both the cabinet and table are better quality that I thought they would be coming from HF.

The only bummer is I haven't had a chance to use it yet.

I did not know the 211 had changed. I did notice that the price is lower thank I paid. I wonder what else changed? I weld SS without the spool gun and plan to try aluminum without it as well. I'm hoping with the whip straight and the roller tension low it will work, that option is not cheap.

[onformula1]

I did not know the 211 had changed. I did notice that the price is lower thank I paid. I wonder what else changed? I weld SS without the spool gun and plan to try aluminum without it as well. I'm hoping with the whip straight and the roller tension low it will work, that option is not cheap.

Good, luck on welding aluminum without a spool, I know many that have tried everything to make it work and it snaps every time, don't forget the pure Argon bottle.

[onformula1]

Buy a buzz box, spend the rest of your money on 100lb of Lincoln murex 6011, and 100 lb of Lincoln Excalibur 7018.

There's nothing that you can't weld with stick for the most part. Check the duty cycle on those machines. Duty cycle is how long a machine can run at a set amperage, for a percentage of ten minutes. (Example: 60% duty cycle @100 amps means it can weld continuously for 6 minutes before cooling off). And then get the one with the highest duty cycle. I would probably run .030 er70s6 on a machine that small. 75/25 mix or whatever the local welding store recommends.

You are a welder? Recommending a arc welder for a trike? 6011?

[6speedthumper]

I have a Miller 211, and it is a fantastic machine. Honestly, unless you intend to weld 1/2" steel, you don't really need anything else. Even with 1/2" steel I think it would be perfectly fine, especially preheating the steel with a torch; wouldn't do 1/2" exclusively though, just when you NEEDED to do it. But, I have found that for just about any job, 110v and .023 wire will weld just about anything. I have been mostly using it for body work and exhaust systems, but, I do use 220v with .035 wire on occasion. On 110v, you can weld ATV frames with ease. Have also done some aluminum with it (have the spool gun) and it does take some getting used to. I do have a small aluminum project that I need to get to that will give me a better handle on it. It gives you the best of three worlds: 110v/220v/aluminum.

[El Camexican]

Good, luck on welding aluminum without a spool, I know many that have tried everything to make it work and it snaps every time, don't forget the pure Argon bottle.

I have the bottle and the wire, just haven't had the need yet. I've never MIG welded aluminum, only TIG. Where does it snap? I assumed the issue would be the wire distorting in the rollers and binding in the tip.