Lookin at a welder

[Spook50]

Okay I have no experience welding, but I've done a bit or research and want to try my hand at it with some small projects and build up my skills. I've been eyeballing a Millermatic 140 115V MIG welder. It won't weld anything larger than 3/16" steel, but I don't see myself welding anything thicker than that anyway. Basically I'm wanting to do sheet metal repairs and body work on my car and maybe a project or two around the house.

What's the common opinion of Miller welders?

Miller - MIG Welding - Millermatic® 140 with Auto-Set™

 

[John Smith]

I would only buy a 120V if I was ONLY doing body work with it. With compressors and welders I believe it is good to go big to start with, (read 240V). Because it really sucks when you shelled out hundreds of dollars only to find out what you bought is not up to the task you need to complete later on.

I don't think you will find many people who will bag on a Miller welder. They are considered by many to be the premier company in the industry.

 

[kulangot]

One of the things that you may run into with a 110v welder is that not every 110 outlet in your house is up to the task of running it as 20 amps is required to weld at capacity. Many 110 circuits are 15 amps and if there is anything else on that breaker, it's going to pop the breaker. I was surprised to find a 20 amp circuit in the garage of my house so you may have one in yours as well. I think they ran it because I have two garage door openers and they were planning on both being run at the same time and therefore ran a higher amp circuit.

Check what you have and decide based on that, if your going to have to run a dedicated 20 amp 110v circuit to run the welder, you may as well just run 220 out there instead.

Check out the lower priced Hobart line also made by miller. For a few bucks more, you can get a 220 machine off ebay with free shipping and no tax.

HOBART 500525 HANDLER 187 MIG WELDER - eBay (item 230234168839 end time Mar-27-08 13:00:31 PDT)

 

[Spook50]

One of the things that you may run into with a 110v welder is that not every 110 outlet in your house is up to the task of running it as 20 amps is required to weld at capacity. Many 110 circuits are 15 amps and if there is anything else on that breaker, it's going to pop the breaker. I was surprised to find a 20 amp circuit in the garage of my house so you may have one in yours as well. I think they ran it because I have two garage door openers and they were planning on both being run at the same time and therefore ran a higher amp circuit.

Check what you have and decide based on that, if your going to have to run a dedicated 20 amp 110v circuit to run the welder, you may as well just run 220 out there instead.

Check out the lower priced Hobart line also made by miller. For a few bucks more, you can get a 220 machine off ebay with free shipping and no tax.

HOBART 500525 HANDLER 187 MIG WELDER - eBay (item 230234168839 end time Mar-27-08 13:00:31 PDT)

I had to snicker. Hobart is also the brand name (yes, same Hobart) as the Detroit diesel powered generators we use to power our jets when we don't use the APU.

My problem is that I live in an apartment, so no 240V line to the garage. I'm not sure if the 115V line is 20A or not, but I do know it's on its own breaker, so I could easily find out once I get home what it's rated at. I guess I could just fork up the cash for a generator, but with that extra expense, it'd kinda defeat the purpose of getting a welder with the time it'd take for both the welder and generator to pay for themselves.

 

[yotawheeler]

https://forum.ih8mud.com/workshops-...iller-bobcat-trailblazer-series-overkill.html

 

[ToyLet503]

I just upgraded from a hobart 140 to a MillerMatic 180 and cannot believe the difference in the two machines!

Not only does the MillerMatic 180 have an auto-set feature (which is F'n Sweet!) the quality of the weld it makes is much better. Even though the machines are both made by Miller they definetly built the Big Blue machines better.

I wish i had bought it in the first place as it would have made all of the little projects I started with much easier and with better results.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[fj40charles]

I just upgraded from a hobart 140 to a MillerMatic 180 and cannot believe the difference in the two machines!

Not only does the MillerMatic 180 have an auto-set feature (which is F'n Sweet!) the quality of the weld it makes is much better. Even though the machines are both made by Miller they definetly built the Big Blue machines better.

I wish i had bought it in the first place as it would have made all of the little projects I started with much easier and with better results.

Good luck and have fun!

Not a real fair comparison. HH140 arc is not as good as other 110v welders. If you were to compare the Hobart Handler 187 with the Millermatic 180, I'd think you'll find that they both have very good arc characteristics.

I'm not sold on the auto set. Might be good for someone that welds once a year or someone who does not want to take the time to figure out what setting work best for the particular weld and metal type. Auto set and infinitely variable voltage control doesn't do anything for me. I'll take a tapped voltage machine for ease of setup and use. I can get all of the adjustment I need with the wire speed dial.

Miller and Hobart are owned by ITW (Illinois Tool Works). Hobarts are made in Troy, Ohio. Millers are made in Appleton, Wisconsin. Miller and Hobart have separate engineering and manufacturing. They may share some common parts (gas solenoid for example, fan, etc.,), but the the main guts of the machine are probably different. Miller is marketed towards industrial use. Hobart line (Current Hobart line, not the old Hobarts from the 1980's and early 1990's) is marketed towards the hobbyists.

 

[nat]

I started out with a Lincoln 110v machine. I welded all sorts of things with it, but for bigger more important welds, I let my buddy do it with his big welder.

I now have a Miller 180 220v and love the thing as I can weld thicker metal.

A smaller welder is better for bodywork and is a good way to learn. Get a small one then get a bigger one. I am stoked to have 2.

 

[fj40charles]

A smaller welder is better for bodywork and is a good way to learn. Get a small one then get a bigger one. I am stoked to have 2.

I say skip the small welder. Go big from the start. Buy yourself a 200+ amp welder and don't worry about having to outgrow the small welder.

 

[nat]

I say skip the small welder. Go big from the start. Buy yourself a 200+ amp welder and don't worry about having to outgrow the small welder.

Those still can put out too much power, even dialed down. I know of a couple shops that have bought smaller welders to do smaller jobs.

 

[KLF]

Those still can put out too much power, even dialed down. I know of a couple shops that have bought smaller welders to do smaller jobs.

Agreed. This is the welder I use at the shop, we have 3 of them:

That is one nice welder, it lays down pretty 1/4"-3/8" beads all day. But even turned all the way down, it blows right thru sheet metal. I have a couple of bodywork projects in mind on my truck, I'll have to pickup a small 120V wirefeed unit for that.

 

[fj40charles]

Those still can put out too much power, even dialed down. I know of a couple shops that have bought smaller welders to do smaller jobs.

No disagreement there. Just advocating that I would choose to buy the larger welder as your first. I don't think most people are going to be welding 26 gauge sheet metal with their welder. Many people will want to weld 3/16 and thicker brackets to make sliders and such as their first project with a small 110v welder.

In an ideal situation, you'd own several different welders.

1. 110v welder for small/thin stuff using .023 wire or flux core where you need the portability.
2. 230v welder to 1/8" and thicker material
3. TIG welder for Tig and stick welding
4. Gas powered welder/generator for outside stick welding

If you had to buy just welder and need a good compromise, a 180 amp class would my choice. HH187 is the best from a cost/performance perspective for the home user.

I looked at a Millermatic 251 manual. It is a 250 amp class 230v mig welder. The door chart says it is capable of welding 22 gauge (.8mm, .030 thickness) with .023 wire.

My Millermatic 200 (250 amp class) manual states that is i capable of welding 22-24 gauge (.024 to .032 thickness) using .023 solid wire.

I like using my MM130XP welder for thin sheet metal because it has a small mig gun. Easy to hold, light, and easy to move around. No point in using a 250 amp mig gun for small stuff. Also, I'm lazy and don't like to bother changing mig wire and or switching mig guns from welder to welder. Just easier to reach for a different welder to use.

Your mileage may vary.

 

[fj40charles]

Agreed. This is the welder I use at the shop, we have 3 of them:

That is one nice welder, it lays down pretty 1/4"-3/8" beads all day. But even turned all the way down, it blows right thru sheet metal. I have a couple of bodywork projects in mind on my truck, I'll have to pickup a small 120V wirefeed unit for that.

Is that a Lincoln Idealarc SP250? These are supposed to lay down some nice beads. I guess you have not tried using .023 wire with that machine on real thin sheet metal? I'd say it is easier to just reach for a small 110v to use.

 

[T.U.F.F.]

Lincoln weldpak for sheet metal

Millermatic 251 for big jobs. I treid .023 wire in big machine once was not pleased so I went back to the weldpak for sheet metal

Just my .02