Bought a bear claw bumper for my truck. Thought my old 110 amp mig welder would do the job. Well it doesn't. So my choices are to use my stick welder or invest in a new mig welder. So i'm looking for a decent mig welder either 110 or 220 volts. Need something that i can weld and not have to stop every couple of minutes and what for the unit to cool down. Can be either gas or flux capable
Your going to want a 220v machine in the 200 class. The Miller 211 is a great machine, so is the Hobart and Lincoln equivalents. If you plan on doing more than a little welding a couple times a year, do not waste your money on the import welders, they tend to have a lot of DOA units and customer service can be anywhere from decent to non-existent. All of the name brand machines will run solid wire or flux core and have a good warranty with the ability to drop the unit off at a physical location for service if it needs it.
I bought a Miller 251 almost 10 years ago and it has never had an issue, on 3/16 it will weld for as long as you feel like holding the trigger without overheating and is rated up to 1/2 with proper joint prep.
I have had very good results with a
Hobart 175 240v and gas capable is very nice. Not a fan of flux core but it has it's uses. It's nice to be able to use either one
If you have the bumper pieces on the ground or on a table, burn some 7024. Save your money and get a decent, multi-process setup down the road if you are going to be welding more in the future.
7024 is for burning decking on, works great on the flat but is a pretty runny puddle. 7014 is about as easy a rod as you can find to run a nice looking bead with.
My stick welder is a 25 year old lincoln electric 225 amp arc welder. I did pick up a cheap harbor frieght 170 amp mig welder. for 170. It actualy works rather decent. So far it has done a great job in tacking everything together. I will probably use the stick welder for the seams
I had a Craftman flux core that was decent until the wire broke off the spool. It went inside the unit and grounded itself. I did however find out that welding on circuit boards will short them out....LOL
I bought a Lincoln sp135+ that welds everything from exhaust to 1/4 plate. I have been pretty happy with it
You'll never lose buying a good welder. You win by having a great trouble free welder and again if you decide to sell it. If you can find a good used one that's great. A year ago I bought a 1 yr. old Miller 210 for $900 and sold my 17 year old Esab for $500 that if I remember correctly I only paid $650 for at 6 months old
I would love to buy a quality mig or tig welder. But the fact is i just can't justify that kind of expense. This is the first time in 10 years i had to do some serious welding. The rear bumper is just about done. I'll be ordering the front bumper next month. Then more then likely i'll never have to weld anything again for another decade..lol
Bought a Miller Shopmate 300DX a few years ago and it always has preformed well.I use Miller at work also so im used to them,dont think you could go wrong with them
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