Choosing a Welder

[CrispyBooger]

i was really picky about getting a welder for cheap to was looking towards a hobart cant go wrong with a miller product but since budget didnt allow it i got a northern tool welder after reading this review http://weldingweb.com/showthread.php?t=39524&highlight=northern+tool+mig and ive never had a problem with it ive owned it for over 2 years now.

 

[skanga71]

If your looking for a great place to buy a welder, check out cyberweld.com

Awesome selection, good prices and free shipping!

 

[8MILLSNIPER007]

I have to disagree with anyone stating harbor freight welders are crap and not to buy them.

I have owned the less expensive flux wire welder for 2yrs which uses a standard outlet(they rec. Using a 20amp circuit) . I havnt had one problem with it. If you read the many reviews on their website even guys that weld for a living leave great reviews on them.

The welder makes the same quality weld as any other standard outlet flux wire welder.

The only reason I would spend more money on a welder is for a more powerful unit.

Edit: 22 months into using it the wire feed stopped working. I payed 19.99 for the 2 yr warranty when I bought it . All I had to do is return it at harbor freight and they gave me a new one. Now I have a brand new welder with another 2 yr warranty.

I have had my Miller 120v for 12 years and have probally burned through 3,500 lbs of wire (both fluxed and solid) and I have yet to have a single issue with it. I have replaced the liner once. It is the Milleratic 135. It has infinite wire speed and amp/voltage control. I absolutely love this machine! I use it out in the field and in my garage. I know this machine is out of your price range but you might be able to find a used one in your price range.

 

[redsox985]

The Millermatic 135s I've used were all flawless. I have nothing but good remarks for them. Great 120v machines that can run either gas or fluxed.

I will say this though, they're not idiot proof. When I learned to weld in school, my class was the only class learning and we were all competent. In the later years, as kids who had the mental capacity of your average boulder came through, they screwed these machines up daily... Welding wire to the tip, somehow jamming the feed, knocking the wire off the drive wheel... Stuff you've probably never managed to do.

 

[machinist@large]

The Millermatic 135s I've used were all flawless. I have nothing but good remarks for them. Great 120v machines that can run either gas or fluxed.

I will say this though, they're not idiot proof. When I learned to weld in school, my class was the only class learning and we were all competent. In the later years, as kids who had the mental capacity of your average boulder came through, they screwed these machines up daily... Welding wire to the tip, somehow jamming the feed, knocking the wire off the drive wheel... Stuff you've probably never managed to do.

:toetap05:I've spent a good sized part of my career as a machinist/ machine builder helping to try to make machines/ equipment that are "IDIOT PROOF"; can't be done. What's even scarier, some of the most impressive idiots come with some pretty highfalutin' college degrees.

Is there an actual class "How to be an Idiot" taught at some of these really big schools? The local community college I attended didn't list one. (maybe in one of the non technical dept.'s?)ut:

 

[fowler]

U just gotta look at any earthmoving equment and mining gear

How does someone bent 3/4" plate or roll a $6 million digger as big as a house
Because idiots are everywhere

Iv never used the smaller millers but the larger ones are certainly good
They are pretty reliable

Anoughter good welder is the Uni MIGs
They are inverter type and will do all 3 types of welding
Don't be put off there low price they are just as reliable as the millers
But because they are inverter type and most important in the garage, they are very small and very light

 

[machinist@large]

U just gotta look at any earthmoving equment and mining gear

How does someone bent 3/4" plate or roll a $6 million digger as big as a house
Because idiots are everywhere

Iv never used the smaller millers but the larger ones are certainly good
They are pretty reliable

Anoughter good welder is the Uni MIGs
They are inverter type and will do all 3 types of welding
Don't be put off there low price they are just as reliable as the millers
But because they are inverter type and most important in the garage, they are very small and very light

About idiots, agreed.

Looked up Uni Mig; appear to only be sold under that name in Australia. Any Idea where they are made? Might be sold under a different brand name here in North America.

 

[fowler]

Made in taiwan I think

They are sold by a couple of dealers
Biggest is Gentronics

They are black in colour and about the size of one of those portable sholder strap stock welders

 

[8MILLSNIPER007]

U just gotta look at any earthmoving equment and mining gear

How does someone bent 3/4" plate or roll a $6 million digger as big as a house
Because idiots are everywhere

Iv never used the smaller millers but the larger ones are certainly good
They are pretty reliable

Anoughter good welder is the Uni MIGs
They are inverter type and will do all 3 types of welding
Don't be put off there low price they are just as reliable as the millers
But because they are inverter type and most important in the garage, they are very small and very light

I work in the heavy equipment industry as a mechanic/fabricator, let me tell you some of the calls I go out on I am absolutely facinated as to how the operator did the damage he did to the machine. I was an operator for 5 years before I switched over to my current position and I will admit sometimes you are asked to put your machine into some pretty hairy situations- but you have to know the machines limits and your own skill limits as well. I still run equipment from time to time and I love it. For the most part most operators that I have dealt with in this trade are pretty good, the ones that are idiots seem to weed themselves out. Where I have seen guys get into trouble is when the bossman is asking them to go do something that the machine is not equiped or designed to do and then something breaks or flips and people get hurt, and it's the operators fault everytime! As far as bending 3/4 inch plate until you have ran some of these machines you will never realize just how powerful they are. Just a little love tap from a D-8 Dozer would bend a 1" plate no problem!

 

[8MILLSNIPER007]

The Millermatic 135s I've used were all flawless. I have nothing but good remarks for them. Great 120v machines that can run either gas or fluxed.

I will say this though, they're not idiot proof. When I learned to weld in school, my class was the only class learning and we were all competent. In the later years, as kids who had the mental capacity of your average boulder came through, they screwed these machines up daily... Welding wire to the tip, somehow jamming the feed, knocking the wire off the drive wheel... Stuff you've probably never managed to do.

There is no such thing as idiot proof

 

[fowler]

As far as bending 3/4 inch plate until you have ran some of these machines you will never realize just how powerful they are. Just a little love tap from a D-8 Dozer would bend a 1" plate no problem!

Iv got no dout about the power, I'm also a heavy deisel mechanic
we don't jack dozers, diggers or excavaters up
We use there own hydrolics
U gotta be carful when u shut a dozer down on cement
Its easy to put the inplements down and lift the machine clear off the ground

The 3/4 plate was the sides of a D10T and they are bent by an operator running a 785c into it side on at full speed at midnight, he ran too close to the lighting tower on the waste dump during night shift
The driver was back on the job with in 3 hrs, how long it took us to untangle the truck and patch it up enough to finish the shift

 

[8MILLSNIPER007]

What part of the 785 ran into the D-10? Also whoever made the comment about the cheap mig welders can make as good of a weld as the more expensive migs- I disagree, if for nothing else the fact that most cheap migs only allow you to adjust the current to high med and low where a miller or high end mig allows for infinate adjustments of current, wire speed and voltage polarity. JMO!

 

[8MILLSNIPER007]

I would have to agree with fowler, to a point. O/A is a slow process, as is TIG. Don't get me wrong, They are both great in certain applications & much better than anything else for detail work. I thing O/A is awesome but it also takes a lot to master it & creates more distortion on lighter guage materials if you don't know what you're doing (speaking from experience).

IMHO, MIG/MAG & arc/stick welding is better for "beginners" (& I use that term lightly) whereas O/A & TIG are more for those of us who are slightly more experienced (as you obviously are) or want a bit more of a challenge. If you can master O/A you can do any type of welding.

I disagree, when I went to welding school the first thing they taught us was how to oxy/act. weld If you can master it then the rest is much easier to pick up on! I would'nt say o/a welds are any weaker than any other type of weld. There are way too many factors to say that one is better than the other. Ever tried to mig or arc weld the exhaust tubing ford uses on their diesels? Good luck... Break out the o/a torch and it's a piece of cake. O/A welding has it's place and if it is done correctly with the correct filler rod (not an old wire coat hanger) it will be just as strong as any other style.

 

[pipehack]

Thank you for the back up. Wish everyone knew how to O/A. They would understand what You and I are talking about.

 

[machinist@large]

O/A is really handy for precision soldering or brazing ( more correctly titled braze welding).