So, I would like to find a machine that I can use on rare occasions. Anyone here have a recommendation?

 

cyber3d, part of what you need to figure out is what sort of material do you plan on welding? The other question that I would have you answer is how thick of material do you plan on welding? The last question that you have to ponder is what sort of outlets do you have available (ie, 115 VAC/15A, 115VAC/20A, 230 VAC/30A, etc)? The outlets are going to be a big deciding factor on what you may or may not be able to do.

Assuming that you are planning on sticking with say 1/4" plate and thinner, a MIG welder rated at say 135 amps will do you fine. That should also allow you to use a 115 VAC/15A outlet (granted, nothing else will be able to be plugged into that circuit or the breaker will open on you as the welder is going to push that circuit to its limits). If you are thinking that you may do something thicker than 1/4", then a 230V outlet is going to be necessitated as the current draw will be more than a 115VAC circuit will handle that you will find people to wire up for you.

As for a welder, I personally have a Lincoln 175 amp MIG unit. That will do up to 1/2" steel plate, but it requires a 230 VAC/30A circuit (ie, electric dryer outlet). The thing I like about this welder is that I can use both gas to weld with (may be a deterent) or I can use flux core wire (no gas required). But, this unit can be easily converted over to do some other welding for say aluminum or other less common metals. Keep in mind that when welding stuff other than your basic steels, a more complex welding setup is required and additional pre-heating requirements may be needed.

Here is a Lincoln 180 amp unit that you might be interested in: Lincoln Easy MIG 180 Welder 180 Amps 230V K2698 1 | eBay

If you don't need something quite as big as that, here is a Lincoln 140 amp unit: Lincoln Easy MIG 140 Welder 120V 140 Amps K2697 1 | eBay

When it comes to welders, I would say to stick with either Lincoln or Miller. Both of these manufacturers build reliable units and will give you years of trouble free use. Hobart is another that is respected in the industry, but LIncoln and Miller are just that little bit better.

If you need more info, let me know. I would also say that you will want to invest in a decent helmet with the auto darkening window. After using one, you will understand why I say this. Also, you WILL want a nice thick leather coat to protect your arms from welding slag and/or welding burn (think sun burn, but much more intense, it hurts like a mother...... TRUST ME!!!!!).

 

Thanks for the info! Don't think I'll need a MIG or TIG. Trailer hitch sort of things. Nothing more than .187 cold roll steel. Brand quality is interesting. I'll keep your advice.

Cheers, Victor

 

cyber3d, I will admit that stick welders are a little cheaper, but having used one, I like the weld that a MIG gives and the clean up after using a MIG is very nice (there really isn't anything). With a stick, you have a fair amount of slag that you need to remove once you are done welding.

You mention TIG and while this is even a bit more, there are some cheap alternatives out there that would also have a plasma torch kit that can be added. THe plasma torch would be a really nice tool to have as it would make metal cutting much easier and if you happen to have a stubborn bolt, if you can cut it off, takes seconds to do.

But, you probably know more about what you plan on doing that I can try and get out of you. I will admit that the benefit to stick is that it will weld through just about anything where MIG/TIG you need some fairly clean metal to weld to. Doesn't need to be perfect, but the cleaner the better. MIG really hates rust.

I wish you lived closer to me. I would bring you over and let you use my MIG to see what you think. HOpefully you have some friends with welders and you can get to try out a few before making a purchase. I know I like the MIG because of the clean welds I am left with and the fact that it is wire fed, so, no having to stop part way to put on a new rod.

Something else you may find of interest and may need to consider is that the smaller units have what is called a "duty cycle". This is a key number to know. This is essentially the amount of time that you can weld in a period of time. A lot of the smaller units may only have a 30% duty cycle. What does that mean to you? Simple, in a 10 minute period (which is a fairly standard period used by welding companies), you can only have the machine hot for 3 minutes of that time. To weld more than that risks damaging the internals as they are not allowed to cool sufficiently. This is one of the benefits of going with a bigger unit (even if you don't need the capacity) as they start getting a bigger duty cycle and like with my unit, I can weld pretty much 100% of the time and not hurt the machine. Only when I start maxing out the machine do I need to start monitoring time (but then it is still up at say 80% duty cycle and I will end up taking breaks in there to reposition metal and whatnot, so, a mute point).

 

Hi Chris,

On the subject of general welding.... (say small tacks with stick)
is there anything electrical or electronic on the car - that needs to be disconnected before welding ?
Of course one would naturally clamp the welding earth lead as close as possible to the weld.

Its just I've heard stuff (elsewhere) about damage to a Cars Battery and/or ECM

What are your thoughts....?

 

I have heard stories of damaged electronics/alternators/batteries but it might be the polarity of the welder????

EN welding requires the grounding clamp be POSITIVE and the Electrode Negative.
That is OPPOSITE of the car's electrical system.

AC or EP welding might not be a problem???

My Miller AC/DC stick/GTAW Dialarc HF has all three settings for polarity as well as High Frequency for GTAW (TIG).

My old Craftsman 30-230 amp 'stick-welder' is just AC.

Just take the battery ground connector off if you are concerned.

bob

 

I had a stick welder for years, it worked well, but I alway spent ages grinding and cleaning the welds up, useless for thin car work. I now have a mig, welds 0.7 - 8mm very very well, would never go back to stick. But gas is a added expense

 

Good points. Which machine did you get? How bad is the RF interference with neighbors and your nearby home electronics?

 

The gas IS an added expense, but the ability to weld much thinner metal, without burning through, makes it a good addition to your welder.

 

Lincoln 140a unit (115V) w/ capabilities for gas welding & aluminum welding...

 

Had to put a 30 amp breaker in to run my Lincoln 140c, but it can weld 1/4" steel. Then down to sheet metal with the mig gas, & polarity reversed. Great machine, that Lincoln 140c!

 

Type of material being welded,
Thickness of the material,
The welding position,
Type of welding power source and the amount of current available, and
Time requirements.
Figure 1 provides an overview of the four common welding processes and their applicability to welding operations common in machine shops. Next we'll look in depth at each welding process

 

The most common welding processes used for fabricating metals are gas metal arc welding (MIG), flux cored welding, gas tungsten arc welding (TIG) and shielded metal arc welding (stick electrode). To make an evaluation of the welding process most appropriate for the job at hand, the following factors should be considered:

• Type of material being welded,
• Thickness of the material,
• The welding position,
• Type of welding power source and the amount of current available, and
• Time requirements.

 

Nobody brought up oxy welding, so I thought I'd mention it. While much harder to use and refilling is a hassle, you can get a portable setup that can weld any metal even while submerged (if you have skills to pull it off), cut anything and requires no electrical power source. The downside is that it is much harder to use well as controlling puddle is all about manual dexterity and eye coordination.

 

T I G welding is the next step in managing multiple tasks.

 

Arc welding is a welding process that is used to join metal to metal by using electricity to create enough heat to melt metal, and the melted metals when cool result in a binding of the metals. It is a type of welding that uses a welding power supply to create an electric arc between a metal stick ("electrode") and the base material to melt the metals at the point of contact. Arc welders can use either direct (DC) or alternating (AC) current, and consumable or non-consumable electrodes.For more information please visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arc_welding

 

i have the same and love it. I also have a lincoln 225 amp a/c stick welder that is nice for bigger stuff. Stay with the major names like lincoln miller and hobart. You be glad you did. I have heard good things about forney but no hands on experience

 

I have this Kemppi MinacMig Evo 200 and I am very satisfied. More information can be found here https://www.kemppi.com/en-US/offerin...minarcmig-evo/

 

Hi,
Considering everything about manual arc welding, it is worth paying special attention to the electrodes, it is these components that help to form a strong and high-quality weld. It is important to note that the marking of the rods defines important functions and qualities:

1. what metals are the rods designed for?;
2. the positions of their retention during the welding process - vertical, horizontal, at an angle;
3. the thickness and composition of the coating.

DEKOPRO 110/220 V MMA Welder,160 A ARC Welder Machine Is one of the best welding machine. Especially this Weld is made for stick weld. You can use this welder for your home, industry, or outdoor anywhere.

Cheers.

 

I had a few questions and I figured this was the best place to ask. I'd love to be self-employed and work at home (or travel). Maybe you guys could help and post why I should or shouldn't approach this path (positives, negatives); how hard it was to start making a decent living (ie. based on years of experience and customer's look on that), how much you currently net a year; cars detailed a week, how much it costs you to detail a car vs how much you charge the customer, ETC. And did you take college classes for this or learn on your own? Looking for any and all feedback...