need to buy a mig, wich one?

Date 09-19-2003 00:07

i am a full time welder... but when at home I use my lincoln 175 plus mig welder. It is in my opinion the best welder on the market for at home work. It will handle just about anything you can throw at it!! only maintenence I have ever had to do was install new filler wire!!!! with flux core this machine can do up to 3/8. for the thin stuff, with mig wire, it is the best.

"stick it in there"

By ScottV

Date 09-22-2003 02:42

I agree completely on the Lincoln SP175 plus.I just love the arc on it.I also have bigger machines but the little Lincoln is a sweet welding unit.

By flanagan Date 09-19-2003 04:55

I haven't bought Lincoln for years so can't help you much there, but I have a fairly new Millermatic 251 - runs great, even welded 1/2 inch with it - you said you do thick stuff - how thick? The thing I like the most is that it starts just awesome - no stutters at all. My advice - check out the Miller before you buy. Hope this helps.

By SouthernWelding (*)

Date 09-20-2003 21:07

A lot of different Wire Welders out there.You looking for a certain brand or just the best welder for the buck?...How thick of material?.The millermatic 251 will weld 1/2 plate in a single pass.What are you welding? Do you worry about the duty cycle? Check em out millerwelds.com lincolnelectric.com hobartwelders.com esabna.com thermadyne.com

BTW....Miller-Lincoln,Go blue-Go red,Coke-Pepsi,Ford-Chevy,Kohler-Onan,Cat-Cummins,Mack-Pete.....

By kid Date 09-22-2003 17:08

thanks for the input guys, the thickest I will prob. run into is 1/4". Just looking for a welder to use for body work, and sometimes mabey some fab work. Sound like the 175 should do the job.

By sparx

Date 09-22-2003 19:54

If all you will be working on is cars, then the SP135 plus or 175 plus from lincoln is all you need. (actually, the 130 to 180 series from any of the top 2 or 3 manufacturers will work)

By dee

Date 09-22-2003 20:48

Kid,
I'm a little slow at the moment so please have some patience and help me get things clear... you have something like a large single phase [there's an oxymoron huh?] GTAW welder in your shop now, and want to supplement it with a GMAW for automotive work up to perhaps 1/4 inch steel... quarter inch steel seems pretty thick next to "gauge material" on fenders &c...

...so my attention gets diverted from the arc characteristics to the wire feed mechanism as I consider how many different sizes of wire I'll be using, how much effort it takes to replace and adjust the drive rollers while I change the wire, and if I can use the same (sorry I can't think of the name of the conduit the filler wire feeds through) liner tube with the smallest wire as for the heaviest wire I would like to run and just verify my suspicion that "it doesn't matter"...
...but it might be easier just to run the TIG for a short bead or three; if all that potential bother is real you might be still setting up the MIG while the TIG weld would have been already cooling off.

If required to push 035 or heavier wire, other machines may claim the ability, but you get versitility from a 250A or larger power supply on those larger wires which a 150 ro 175 cannot match... I'm not sure of my precision here, but those last 5/32 of an inch of so of capacity probably cost about a thousand bucks extra.

I'd respect the experience of a guy who owns one more than my own worries, and I'm a little curious as to how my sensings on the matter stand up to practical reality, but I believe the concerns should be considered whatever size MIG you choose.

Regards
d

By kid Date 09-23-2003 16:29

dee, you bring up some good things I did not think about. Sprax sumed it up pretty good. In reality, I would not bother changing out the mig wire.