Millermatic 180 welder. Less than $400... act quickly

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Slabsides45 said:
Finally got the call today and went by TSC. True to their word, they gave me the Hobart 187 at the sale price and let me use the (now expired) 10% off coupon. For $529 after tax, I am now in the welding bidness (except for a pair of gloves, mask, bottle, etc etc).
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How often do they send these coupons out? Even without the coupon, TSC is still $30 cheaper for a new HH187 compared to Tool King's refurb unit.
 
What's y'all's opinion on Clarkes and Campbell Hausfelds? I know they don't have the same rep as a Miller/Hobart, Lincoln, ESAB but are they descent?
I can get a Campbell 180 for a little over 400 but it only has 5 temp settings or a Clarke 180 for about 350. I guess what worries me the most about these 2 machines is product support in reference to guns and such.
 
jesterb said:
What's y'all's opinion on Clarkes and Campbell Hausfelds? I know they don't have the same rep as a Miller/Hobart, Lincoln, ESAB but are they descent?
I can get a Campbell 180 for a little over 400 but it only has 5 temp settings or a Clarke 180 for about 350. I guess what worries me the most about these 2 machines is product support in reference to guns and such.
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they're both marginal at best. I worked on a clark 130 EN. It has a very tiny drive motor, 6 ft. mig gun that is very difficult to replace the liner.

If you're going to spend $400 on a welder, save cash and wait for the right deal to come along. Don't buy a welder unless it is Miller, Hobart, Lincoln, or Esab brand.

The HH 187 at Tractor Supply with the coupon was a VERY good deal.

If there is enough interest, I may try to get a group buy on Miller welders. I can ask and see what the cost would be for something like Millermatic 180 Factory refurb.

Don't have any details yet. I should know something in a bout 2 weeks when I talk to my Miller dealer.
 
fj40charles said:
they're both marginal at best. I worked on a clark 130 EN. It has a very tiny drive motor, 6 ft. mig gun that is very difficult to replace the liner.

If you're going to spend $400 on a welder, save cash and wait for the right deal to come along. Don't buy a welder unless it is Miller, Hobart, Lincoln, or Esab brand.

The HH 187 at Tractor Supply with the coupon was a VERY good deal.

If there is enough interest, I may try to get a group buy on Miller welders. I can ask and see what the cost would be for something like Millermatic 180 Factory refurb.

Don't have any details yet. I should know something in a bout 2 weeks when I talk to my Miller dealer.
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Sounds great. I'm talking with a Miller rep now too but he's new so I doubt he has much pull.
 
jesterb said:
Sounds great. I'm talking with a Miller rep now too but he's new so I doubt he has much pull.
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Let me see what I can do. Not making any promises right now. Your local Miller rep most likely will not be able to anything. When I get more details, I'll let someone from the club know. I'm not going to document this deal on the web site for obvious reasons.
 
fj40charles said:
Let me see what I can do. Not making any promises right now. Your local Miller rep most likely will not be able to anything. When I get more details, I'll let someone from the club know. I'm not going to document this deal on the web site for obvious reasons.
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10-4. PM me when you hear something.
 
Got the Handler 187 in, and have been looking over their shielding gas recommendations. Looks like they have several settings, but have a notation reading "Produces less spatter. Better appearance." beside the C25 mixture (apparently C25 means 75% Argon, 25% CO2?). They do have settings in there for 100% CO2 as well as a Tri-Mix.

As I'm reading this, it appears Hobart likes the C25 as the preferential setting. Before I go to get a tank and some gas, I'm looking for input. Anyone use this routinely, and what's been your experience?
 
Slabsides45 said:
Got the Handler 187 in, and have been looking over their shielding gas recommendations. Looks like they have several settings, but have a notation reading "Produces less spatter. Better appearance." beside the C25 mixture (apparently C25 means 75% Argon, 25% CO2?). They do have settings in there for 100% CO2 as well as a Tri-Mix.

As I'm reading this, it appears Hobart likes the C25 as the preferential setting. Before I go to get a tank and some gas, I'm looking for input. Anyone use this routinely, and what's been your experience?
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C25 is what most everyone I know uses.
 
Slabsides45 said:
Got the Handler 187 in, and have been looking over their shielding gas recommendations. Looks like they have several settings, but have a notation reading "Produces less spatter. Better appearance." beside the C25 mixture (apparently C25 means 75% Argon, 25% CO2?). They do have settings in there for 100% CO2 as well as a Tri-Mix.

As I'm reading this, it appears Hobart likes the C25 as the preferential setting. Before I go to get a tank and some gas, I'm looking for input. Anyone use this routinely, and what's been your experience?
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Read what the man says...

fj40charles said:
Yes and no.

Pros:

1. Straight CO2 will provide a hotter arc than C-25. Could be a plus if your welder is near its limit output wise.
2. CO2 has about 4x the density of C-25. An 20# tank is equivalent to 160 CF of C-25 which makes for very economical solution. Many shops still use straight CO2 because it is much cheaper than C-25.

Cons:
1. If your welder is not designed to run optimally on straight CO2, you'll most likely not get the best results. How bad it looks is rather subjective. Many people really don't see much difference when doing short arc welding. Most wire feed welders you buy now are designed to run best on C-25.

example: Miller Passport is designed to run on straight CO2. Older welder like Milleramatic 35 and 200 were also designed to run on straight CO2. Even states in the manual. By design I mean the level of slope/inductance that a welder has built in.

inductance, slope question

2. If you need to do thin sheetmetal, straight CO2 may be too hot.

Best option is to try using 100% CO2 and see what kind of results you get. You'll need to buy an adapter for the regulator (CGA 320 to CGA 580) if you want to use the CGA 580 (argon, c-25, helium, nitrogen) regulator.

If you really want to have fun, get yourself a Smith gas mixer. Get a tank of 100% CO2 and 100% argon and vary the mix to see what you like. This is way overkill and expensive for the average home/hobby welder.

Sorry for the long post.
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If Hobart recommends C25, that's what I'd go with. I run C25 and have not had any desire to stray from that.
 
I'm going to run straight CO2 because
  • It's cheap
  • I can fill it at the fire extenguisher shop with my own bottle
  • It's cheap
  • I'm using a 110V welder
  • It's cheap
  • It's still prettier than flux core
  • It's really friggen cheap
 
But what about the cost....?







Went by TSC today, they have a bottle of C25 for $125 to purchase. Rip off or about right?

How do the welds look when comparing flux core welds (indoors) vs the C25 gas shrouded?
 
Slabsides45 said:
But what about the cost....?

Went by TSC today, they have a bottle of C25 for $125 to purchase. Rip off or about right?

How do the welds look when comparing flux core welds (indoors) vs the C25 gas shrouded?
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Think that is what I paid for mine, got it in olive branch
 
I'd buy the 80 CF owner tank from fleabay and have it filled at you local welding store.

80 CF WELDING CYLINDER tank bottle nitrogen argon mixes | eBay

$119 for 20 CF tank at TSC. This is 4 times smaller than an 80 CF tank. Very expensive and NOT a good deal.
http://www.tractorsupply.com/weldin...ielding-gas-cylinder-1-size-20-cu-ft--3804835

I would not buy a tank/cylinder smaller than 80 CF (cubic foot). 80 CF tank/cylinder is good for 4 hours of continuous welding.

If you buy a small tank, you'll end up paying more in the long run since you'll be frequently refilling the tank. Refill on a 20 CF tank is NOT 4 times cheaper than refill on a 80 CF tank. You're paying for labor to refill + cost of shielding gas.
 
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I have a 40CF and it's honestly pretty small for the amount of welding I do. It lasts a while and costs about $20 to fill up each time. If I had to do it again, I'd go with an 80 or 120.
 
How many CF is the 3 foot tall model tank?
 
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