need advise on what welder to purchase

By 340mag Date 06-06-2004 21:44

my requirements are these
Ive used mig,tig and stick welders but have not used a newer model,and have some what limited experiance , not being a full time welder but a mechanic and engine builder by trade
I need to weld both aluminum and steel up to 3/8" thick at times but the welder will be used for general auto custom work mostly in a hot rod custom shop and must be reliable

220volt single phase feed

I prefer wire feed for both steel and aluminum if possiable but its sure not mandatory

nice quality welds are mandatory, so im not looking for CHEAP JUNK

your suggestions and questions
please gentelmen
prlangevin@hotmail.com

By pjseaman (**)

Date 06-07-2004 01:42

The Millermatic 210 with a spoolmate3035 comes as apackage deal. It is a solid piece of equipment, I've owned mine since march of '03 and love it. This is the base of the production grade equipment in miller similar setups are available as a milllermatic251 and mm350p but dollar for dollar the mm210 should do all you need. In Aluminum it is rated at 1/4" but in multi pass I have done 1/2" it just takes a bit of getting used to. This is a very capable machine 3/8" steel is no problem so give it a look. By the way it has a feature called gun-on-demand you have a double cylinder rack and double reulators and solonoid valves, both guns are hooked up at the same time so no change over, just dial up the amperage and wire speed and pull the trigger on which ever gun you need.

I can send you some pics of the work I have done if it would help the decision making process.

Here is the link for the machine I have!
http://www.brwelder.com/indextemplate.cfm?file=shop/detail.cfm&ID=380&SubCategory=1
pjseaman