Brandnew to Welding: Shopping for MIG Welder

[Johnnyxray210]

Hello,
Great to have a place where we can find out info and share interest. Technology is a wonderful thing. I work in X-ray, and it's pretty awesome how technology saves lives. On to my question:
I am looking at purchasing a quality mig welder for home and farm use. Preferably in the 110v. My cousin who is a professional welder told me to get a Lincoln or Miller. I found a post on craigslist:

Basic wire welding for projects and repairs around the shop, farm or home...thats where the Weld-Pak 100HD comes in handy! Plug in the Weld-Pak 100HD anywhere common 120 volt input power is available. Set the simple two knob tapped control for your material application and get it done. Right out of the box, the Weld-Pak is set up for gas-less flux-cored welding so its just right for common steel welding, indoors or out. Compare the precise drive, rugged construction and full list of standard accessories...Lincoln Weld-Pak is a top quality tool for anyone with occasional welding needs.
30 - 125 Amp welding output range is perfect for basic wire welding for projects and repairs around the shop, farm or your home
12-gauge single-pass or 1/4 in. multi-pass welding capacity with flux-cored wire
Spool-gun ready for the high-wire speeds of aluminum welding (requires K2526-1 MIG conversion kit, not included)
Compatible with the Magnum 100SG spool gun (not included)
Plugs in wherever 120-volt input power is available for versatility
Forgiving arc makes dialing in your application easy
2-knob tapped control can be set to your material application for easy operation
Preset for gas-less flux-cored welding for steel welding, both indoors and out


I know there is a lot of info there, but what is a Weld pak 100HD? is that the welder itself? It also says "requires K2526-1 MIG conversion kit, not included", does this mean it is or isn't a MIG?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

JohnnyXray

 

[shenion]

It is set up for gasless. The conversion kit includes a regulator and gas solenoid (and some wire IIRC.)

It is an OK welder. Note HD stands for "Home Depot", it is the Lincoln retail line, not the regular line your cousin was probably referring to.

It will do just under 1/8" with a b it of gap. Note, on 120V the best you will get is about 120-130A and 1/8". My Clarke 130A would easily trip a 20A breaker when I pushed it.

The "good" Lincoln is the 180C and is 220V. The Millers are good als0. Either will not be cheap.

Hobart welders are well respected (now owned by Miller.)

What is your budget and what range of materials do you want to weld?

Welcome to the forums

 

[Johnnyxray210]

Brand new to welding

I'm hoping to stay in the $500 range if I could. I don't know a lot about materials and sizes but basically part of car frame, a lawn mower deck, trailer hitch, metal gate and hopefully one day maybe a carport. I would like to stay in the 110 v range also, I am just not set up in my garage to handle 220. I've heard that MIGs are the easiest to learn on. For the most part, most of the metals are light to med weight, nothing to thick. I compare it to perlins of a metal building instead of welding I-beams.

thanks for the help

 

[shenion]

Ok, you will need a dedicated 20A outlet for a 120V MIG. I had to add an outlet as my 130A would trip any circuit i used it on (and reboot any PC/Cable box/modem on the same power.) You do not want to use an extension unless you have to. If so, you need a 20A one.

Luckily, my breaker panel is in the garage; it was trivial to add one underneath it.

The 100HD is ok and will work. I'm not sure about the 125A rating as it is a '100' model. The 3200HD is a bit better in the Lincoln Retail range.

Gasless is messy, i prefer to use gas as it is easier to use. There is the cost of buying a bottle, fills are not bad. One of my bottles I picked up off craigs list.

MIG is easiest to learn and ideal for thin stuff. I started with a 130A MIG but soon wanted more and later got a big 220V one. Then got into TIG and stick welding. It is addictive

Most car frames are under 1/8" so you'lldo fine. Trailer hitch would be heavy and would require careful prep of the joint to guarantee fusion. I'd really want something bigger to make a hitch.

My MIG sits idle as I ended up only using it for thin stuff. Everything else is stick or TIG (TIG for aluminum.) STick is more to learn but cheap to run (no gas). I would use it anyday over a gasless MIG on anything over 1/16" thick.

Edit: BTW, where in the US are you?

 

[Johnnyxray210]

Brand New to welding

I am in San Antonio, Texas. I wasn't aware of the gas issue. My cousin warned me about tanks and the cost. Says to stick with something like flux wire, basically, one without the tank. So looks like I will keep looking to find the right one. Any experience with Northern Tools or Home Depot models or should I try to find a better quality used one online? Hey, thanks for your help again.

 

[shenion]

Northern Tools sells Hobart, the Hobart Handler 140 is a good machine and would be my first choice for an entry level MIG.

Have not heard much about the Northern Tools brand MIGs. I think they are Chinese.

Home Depot has the Lincoln ones. They are good.

I'd get a machine that can do both. FIrst, it gives you more options and second, gassless-only ones tend to be the cheapest with not much range and feed problems.

Flux wire is expensive, about twice that of MIG wire last I checked. For occasional use it is ok. I probably spend $50/year on gas. Usally one refill every 10 months or so.

Check northern Tools for gas, they has a deal you could swap bottles in the stores.

See what Craigs list has, you may get lucky. I have seen some name-brand ones go for reasonable prices. If you see one with a large tank, it is usually a good deal (be sure they demo it works.)

Also, the Hobart Handler 125 looks good also. Just needs a regulator to upgrade to gas.

 

[rtbcomp]

Welcome to the forum Johnny, I've moved this to the "Buying a Welder" section.