Welding 101

[3 Wheel Drive]

I want to buy a small welder to learn at home. I have never welded anything at all, besides JB weld. There are many Lincoln welders on Craigslist that have my interest.

My primary use will be small projects like working on my cars, welding exhaust, sub frame connectors, basic sheet metal if I can do it myself.

Ive been looking at the Lincoln Mig Welder model 180c:

https://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/tls/5417064013.html
The 180c included the large gas bottle & stand, 1,000 total.

And a few smaller welders for less $$$.

https://seattle.craigslist.org/kit/tls/5422344434.html
This one is $350 & another $100 I will get a full bottle of Mig mix gas & roll of flux core.

https://wenatchee.craigslist.org/tls/5365793349.html
This includes a cart, no bottle, & looks light duty.

Are there any other brands of welders in the 400-1000 price range that I should consider? I like the 180c because it can weld thicker steel. Has anyone here used this model?

I have a Honda generator with an RV output female connection, will the Lincoln plug in my Honda?

[shovelryder]

Your genny is a 120v....That lincoln is I think a 220-240v.......Thats a nice welder. Id get a 240 for sure and use gas.

[RUNMEDOWN]

I just went through a few months of research to choose a garage welder, I ended up with a Hobart Handler 125. Its only a 120v but I read a lot of good reviews. Spend some time looking for your perfect fit, spend a little more than you want to get a good one, Welders hold value so you can always sell it if you don't like it. You can always get a 220v extension cord and run it off the plug for your clothes dryer (NOT wife approved) if you decide on the 220v one.

[3 Wheel Drive]

I'm sorta leaning towards the Lincoln 140, since the price is pretty low.
I offered him 420.00 for his welder & full bottle of gas. He accepted, it seems good to me.
Plus I can be mobile with my genarator.

[90nut]

There's guys that like red welders and guys that like blue ones. (Lincoln and miller) I've been a blue guy, just because it's what my uncle has always used and he's a professional welder and fabricator. But anyways, I have always had a Miller 251, it's old been rebuilt, been thru tons of liners, still works great, probably more than you need. I had a Hobart 165 at my small home shop for a couple of years, 220v gas machine. Used it and abused it, welded things that it wasn't made to do with in a pinch. Sold it to a buddy who has had credit for exactly what I paid for it 2 years back. Upgraded to a Hobart iron man 250( I think might e a 230 they changed the numbers on them and I'm not in my garage now) Only reason I bought the iron man is,because it had a higher duty cycle and will weld half inch with ease, and you can stich body panels on also. Love it! But if I have to weld lots of heavy steel I go to our big shop and use the miller.
Long read I know, but I'm over analytical and picky about tools. And yes I'm picky and still run the Hobart. Uncle won't use it but he's worse than me!!

Long a story short, you can't really go wrong if you buy a 220v wire feed gas welder. Be it a red, blue, or white one. Just don't let someone convince you to buy a Clark or horror freight one.

[90nut]

That will work great for body panels. But do yourself a favor and your family if you have one, and put a cap on that tank every time you haul it please. Things can kill you, they take off like rockets! Now get some scrap steel, a helmet, gloves, and burn some wire man. Maybe pick up a welding book at the used book store. I still have mine from when I was on the high school welding team. Have fun!

[El Camexican]

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

[barnett468]

I'm sorta leaning towards the Lincoln 140, since the price is pretty low.
I offered him 420.00 for his welder & full bottle of gas. He accepted, it seems good to me.
Plus I can be mobile with my genarator.

I can't view your photos.

[3 Wheel Drive]

Photos of the $420.00 welding stuff:

http://s1056.photobucket.com/user/se...=recent&page=1

[3 Wheel Drive]

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-MILLERMATIC-211-AUTO-SET-MIG-WELDER-907422-/252267864784?hash=item3abc5622d0:g:9JMAAOSwX~dWlqv W

That one looks nice, it uses 110 & 220v. I'm not on a budget either so price is not really a factor. I just don't want to spend too much for my basic needs.

[El Camexican]

That one looks nice, it uses 110 & 220v. I'm not on a budget either so price is not really a factor. I just don't want to spend too much for my basic needs.

I'm showing my age here, but I worked with a 110V Miller Cricket way back when they came out. They were light as a feather and were much easier to carry than 100 yards of heavy gauge welding cable, so that was nice, but they were messy (flux core only) and to weld anything over 1/8" required multiple passes and lots of wire brushing between.

I spoke with 2 friends that have this particular Miller before I bought mine and we are all still very happy with them. Saving $500 and getting a free (stolen?) bottle is tempting, but the auto setting and the added juice will make it a lot easier to learn to weld.

[3 Wheel Drive]

I just talked to this guy:

https://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/tls/5417064013.html

He will come down to 900.00, lots of guys selling welders on Craigslist. It comes with lots of wire & full bottle of gas & the cap.

[3 Wheel Drive]

Your genny is a 120v....That lincoln is I think a 220-240v.......Thats a nice welder. Id get a 240 for sure and use gas.

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.

[barnett468]

.
ok, i am no welding afficianado like some others here but heres some info that might be helpful . . if you want it to be easy and hassle free to move around on a cart . . i would buy a smaller bottle but if you buy that unit you can wait until you mount it up and then decide if you would like a smaller bottle . . a 55 or 60 cf bottle is a decent choice.

you can weld without gas but if you are a beginner it will be beyond horrible . . if you use the gas, you will make pro looking welds in very little time.

i have never used flux core in my life and never needed to and don't know why one would.

that exact welder can be bought from home depot with a warranty but it doesn't say if the gauges are included $540.00

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Lincoln-E...14-1/100670934


a 55 - 60 cf cylinder is 24" x 7" and 28 lbs for around $160.00

http://weldingdirect.com/gascyl55cfar.html





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[3 Wheel Drive]

The last link I posted for 900 was the 180c model, includes cart, large bottle - full, rolls of wire.

I guess I'll take more time to shop, yea new ones are not expensive. It's nice to get a deal on stuff slightly used too.