New to welding, looking for advice

[oldbeagle]

Looking to buy a welder and learning how to do it but have some questions.

I want to get one for light duty work and farm use, such as welding back together cheap farm gates made of light tubing and perhaps exhaust systems and kart frame + sheet metal repair.

Need something that will work off 110 VAC too and as much as I hate to say it, I'm looking at Harbor Freight products.

Do I need just a plain stick welder or something else like a wire-feed type?
All suggestions appreciated.

 

[KartFab]

90 amp chicago electric flux core welder will do the job, just get good wire for it (hobart/lincoln flux core wire at home depot or local welding shop)

Most fences/gates are made of 14 ga. steel and that little welder is good enough.

Quality stick welders are
lincoln 'tombstone' style
miller thunderbolt
hobart stickmate

quality mig welders are
millermatic 130 and up
hobart handler 125 and up
lincoln easy/handy/power mig

 

[mckutzy]

One thing that make the 120vac welders have a bad wrap, is they need to have a good supply of "clean" uninterrupted power. They 15-20 amps and use all of it.
So no other appliances on that circuit.

For me...
I made a cable to split the drier power of 220vac/30amp into 2- 120vac lines with independent breakers.
So now I'll have two lines of 15amps and I have never blown the fuse, just the machine's overheat shutdown.

 

[supermanotorious]

super dangerous mckutzy, one should never use the dryer 220 for welding, just as you're overheating the welder, you're warming up the wires in the wall, dryer circuits simply do not run heavy enough wire for welding

as for welders, the crappy 70 amp harbor freight arc welder got me by for a while as I was learning, I then upgraded to the Lincoln Tombstone, then to the 90 amp harbor freight flux machine, then to the Lincoln Power MIG 210

If I could start all over again (and afford it back then) I would go straight for the Power MIG, unfortunately for me it wasn't around back then, but it is available for you now...

 

[chancer]

I made a cable to split the drier power of 220vac/30amp into 2- 120vac lines with independent breakers.
So now I'll have two lines of 15amps and I have never blown the fuse, just the machine's overheat shutdown.

You now have two 120vac lines but you still have 30 amps each. On 30 amps you should have at least #10 ga wire.

 

[Poboy kartman]

You now have two 110vac lines but you still have 30 amps each. On 30 amps you should have at least #10 ga wire.

Ummmmm.....not quite.....he will have two 110 volt lines with whatever sized breaker he has used for each line.....and a 220 volt line is made up of two separate 110 volt. circuits of power.and.one neutral and one ground....the two together operating on the same circuit is how you get amperage and why you need 30 amps.....

I have run 150 ' of 220 extension cord and then broke it into two 110 volt circuits with no breakers or problems for 25+ years.....

 

[mckutzy]

Yes it just a split 220vac into, 2- 120vac lines 15amp each. The working end has a redundant breaker of 15 amps(kinda dual protection).

I find it works great. Main breaker is colder than if the drier was running.

How ever the power supply is, make sure you have an full circuit available, they(the welding machine) needs it.