Welders

Topic: Welders (Read 2147 times) previous topic - next topic

Welders

September 10, 2008, 01:09:42 PM

I think i might start looking into welders, I'm gonna need one at some point in my life, And these shotty welds on this flowmaster exhaust setup i just got are making me want to redo it before i install it.

I just dont know that i really want to spend (or have) a ton of money on one right now.

So any suggestions for a beginners welder? somethings that could get most jobs done but also not break after 2 days... lol.
Gas less would be good for now.

Welders

Reply #1 – September 10, 2008, 01:26:02 PM

I've got a lincoln 140c.
bought it because it does everything and it doesn't have any presets on a 110 line.

Welders

Reply #2 – September 10, 2008, 01:43:56 PM

Yea, the lincolns look pretty nice.
That ones a bit out of my price range though. :hick:

At first i was looking through the $100-200 harbour freight stuff but im iffy on those.
This one looks pretty nice, But again i've never used a welder, lol.
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100031840

Welders

Reply #3 – September 10, 2008, 01:50:51 PM

I've never used a welder that didn't have adjustable settings.
I think there was a miller low end welder that looked pretty nice.
Can't remember the model, but I know it was cheaper then the one I got

Welders

Reply #4 – September 10, 2008, 06:23:16 PM

I've got one of those gasless "Handi-Core" welders from Lincoln. It's great for thicker metal (you'll be OK on an exhaust pipe) but not so great for thin sheet metal. The wire is so thick (.035") that it's hard to weld thin stuff. Other than that I love it and have done a LOT of welding with it. It's got 4 heat settings, infinitely variable wire speed, and most importantly of all, it's got what's called a "cold trigger". This means that the tip is not "live" until you squeeze the trigger, unlike some cheaper welders that are live the whole time the welder is turned on. I returned my first welder to the store because it had a hot trigger (constantly live tip). One other problem I have with it is that when it's hot out (80+ degrees) it seems to blow the circuit breaker in my garage's electrical panel after a few moments' welding. I think that's likely more a problem with my garage's circuit panel, though (and more specifically, the breaker itself), and I will eventually be upgrading to a 20-amp circuit for the welder.

That does bring up one caveat though: Whatever outlet you plug it into must not have anything else on the circuit. The welder will pull every bit of the 15 amps most 110V circuits are breakered at, so anything extra, even shop lights, could result in excessive popping of the breaker.

Welders

Reply #5 – September 10, 2008, 06:26:53 PM

For 110 v you can put a 30amp in,depending who makes the box.
GE, sqaure D you can.

Welders

Reply #6 – September 10, 2008, 07:23:05 PM

I've got a Millermatic 175 230V. I don't think i'd try one of those Harbor Freight welders, it might work for a little while though. You can always upgrade at a later date. Just my .02

Welders

Reply #7 – September 11, 2008, 02:17:44 AM

Lowes sells the welder my son has. It was about 350 but just a wire welder with a cold tip. Hi/low only setting with your standard wire speed control.

From what thunder chicken said,, it sounds to me like that welder was wired and ready for gas as well. when a wire welder is capable of using gas, the polarity of the feed needs to be reversed making the wire feed NEG and the clamp as POS. Has something to do with the science of it all. If i decide to go with gas someday , I will have to reverse the connections inside the welder.

Since the tip was contant hot in his case,, its probably because the trigger is not provisioned for ground leg control due to the way the transformer secondary is wired and if its sourced to chassis, but while it is capable of Positive leg control. If a nozzle slag guard were used on the trigger head, i dont think there is continuity from the slag guard nozzel to the wire tip unless wire gets hooked inside.

Welders

Reply #8 – September 11, 2008, 03:16:43 PM

pretty much everyone i know who has a welder around here uses hobart. usually just like a 125 or a 140. i think they have alot of adjustability and im pretty sure they arent too expensive

Welders

Reply #9 – September 11, 2008, 03:25:14 PM

eastwood has hobart 125's I think