So I broke down & bought a MIG welder...

Xenocide · Post by **Xenocide** » Feb 23, 2011 9:51 PM

I personally have the miller 140. I don't have much to compare it to other than a <$100 cheap Chinese ebay special, but I will say that it's done everything I've asked to it and more. I just used it to fabricate exhaust from the downpipes back, it's air tight and strong as an ox, despite my pitifully limited experience and skill level. Best of all, I picked it up on craigslist for around $200. I've never used the autoset feature, I can't imagine really needing it.

Also I think Northern is having a sale on their welding gear right now, they have a ~$40 auto darkening helmet. I bought the same one about 4 years ago for $60. It's probably garbage by most welder's standards, but it does what I need.

PS: link
It looks like I lied, the sales over, but it's still a pretty good deal.

Post by **mooseheadm5** » Feb 23, 2011 9:52 PM

Cactus wrote: Stick > Mig > Flux core. Tig not included because I've never done it.

What are you smoking?
Stick is great for I beams and rusty plates and such, but for automotive MIG is better than stick (when done properly.) It is also much better for amateurs. What 99% of people weld on cars is steel, so you only need one roll of wire. Most of the time people aren't welding cast iron or stainless. Also, there is no slag and no inclusions in the weld from the stick.

Clean and practice are definitely important, though.

Post by **tsmall07** » Feb 23, 2011 10:57 PM

I think everyone should be proficient stick welding before touching a MIG welder, and OA welding before stick. There is a reason why welding schools teach them in that order. Stick welding and MIG welding both have advantages and disadvantages. Given that a lot automotive welding is vertical or overhead, MIG is probably better. I do prefer stick to MIG in a lot of situations, though.

Cactus · Post by **Cactus** » Feb 23, 2011 11:21 PM

You know what I'm smoking? The fumes off a wide selection of rods. Having access to nickel and stainless rods, as well as highly varied choice of tensile strengths will chane your mind in a hurry. Also the sticks are much smaller than the head of a mig stinger. You can bend them, too, which is good for getting hard to reach angles. You could probably address that in the prep stage, but sticks are pretty cool. Stick welding is a good skill to have. You can weld with some car batteries wired in series. That's extraordinarily useful if your land cruiser snaps a control arm somewhere in the African savanna.

Yeah though, for 99% of automotive work, mig is better. I should have added that my scale was opinion, and not fact.

Post by **Nebraska_e28** » Mar 01, 2011 12:10 AM

Still tossing up my 3 options. I'm kinda leaning towards the Hobart but need to take some time to do a bit more research & pricing.

Mab1957 · Post by **Mab1957** » Oct 29, 2011 11:36 AM

gidgaf wrote:I was a welder for a few decades, and went thru a few machines.
Look at the "duty cycle" in the specs. There's a few Harbor Freight kinda things going around with 15% or 20% duty cycles- that means you don't really weld, you do a lot of tacks. You weld an inch, wait a half minute, weld an inch, wait a half minute. You might not notice doing some sheet metal projects, but for anything bigger it will annoy you beyond belief.

ElGuappo wrote:I work in the credit dept for Airgas NCN, and we sell both Miller & Lincoln.
We also offer in house financing from 10 months to 30 months, and Lincoln has their own 0% financing for 12 months only.
Plus you can get a cylinder(not bottle!), wire, hood, gloves...all in 1 place.

thread resurrection
My 30 yr old cheapo is a POS that needs to go in the trash. What's the risk in buying a used Miller 140 welder?

Gidgaf - Is the 20% duty cycle of the Miller 140 sufficient?

ElGuappo - Any MyE28.com discounts at AirGas?

Xenocide · Post by **Xenocide** » Oct 29, 2011 11:50 AM

I have never run into an issue with the duty cycle of my Millermatic 140. I've only used it for exhaust and some angle iron structural stuff so no tremendously long (time wise) welds, but it's perfectly acceptable for my needs.

Mab1957 · Post by **Mab1957** » Oct 29, 2011 12:27 PM

Didga buy yours new or used? Purchasing used complex tools makes

me nervous.

Xenocide · Post by **Xenocide** » Oct 29, 2011 12:51 PM

I bought mine used, I paid ~$200. The tip needed replacing and the connector for the switch (not the high power line) was cracked. Apart from that it was in good shape and came with 10# of flux core wire and an upgraded gas regulator so I was happy.

Post by **tsmall07** » Oct 30, 2011 2:05 PM

Mab1957 wrote: Gidgaf - Is the 20% duty cycle of the Miller 140 sufficient?

You shouldn't have an issue with a 20% duty cycle outside of a production welding shop. Two minutes out of every ten is a lot of welding for a hobbyist. A 10% duty cycle can be annoying.

Mr Project · Post by **Mr Project** » Oct 31, 2011 8:54 AM

I bought a Hobart Handler 135 some years ago for the Corvair back when it was in the welding stage. 115v and I bought a tank of C25 to go with it.

Over the last 6-7 years that I've had it, I've done a fair amount of exhaust welding (3 whole systems now, IIRC?) and a fair amount of sheet metal work. I've also done some little projects (crib/grill repair, welding cart, GT5 driving rig, etc). It's done everything I could ask, and I've only used the top voltage setting once, so I haven't missed not having a 220v unit. Most of the time it's far more power than I can use on the thin metal I'm working with for automotive stuff and things around the house.

I don't know how I ever lived without it! I'm constantly making a little tool or bracket or something, and it's beyond handy. I don't pretend to know what I'm doing, but I can occasionally get a good-looking weld and so far pretty much everything has stuck together the way it was supposed to.

It has paid for itself 5 times over by now, easily, but it's time to upgrade to an auto-darkening helmet. I feel like that would help improve my weld quality as well, since my current helmet can't be 'bumped' with head movement so I need 3 hands to work it, and then I lose track of where my bead is supposed to be.

Post by **Nebraska_e28** » Nov 01, 2011 8:30 AM

Several months back I returned the Campbell Hausfeld after using it to hack together an exhaust for a full refund.

I figured if I was going to spend $ maybe go ahead with one tha that 'should' be a better brand & since I had heard Hobart was made in the same build as Miller, it was a no brainer. I could've easily leaned to a Lincoln Electric or Miller for an additional $200 but naw... Prior to this purchase I spoke to a guy that owns/runs his own exhaust shop & he's been on a Hobart 140 for like 6years. It's been used daily & never any issues.

My latest purchase.