More Welder Questions (1 Viewer)

[LukeZero]

True. I guess I wasn't suggesting that a home user should get a 3 phase welder, just that there are deals to be had at auctions, rather than new.

 

[Cruiserdrew]

Charles-Thanks for those links. The direct comparison looks pretty even. I'm going to Alaska for 10 days and will part with some cash when I return. Still a tough call. I am so jazzed to weld on my 40, that I can tell I need to weld scrap for a month.

Everyone has a Miller-there is likely a reason for that. I still have my ear to the ground for a used machine, but failing that, I'll get one of these new.

 

[Cube Dweller]

I probably would have bought Lincoln over Miller but just then the Oregon online seller had a sale. I paid $1098. total for my Miller 210. No tax too.

In addition to that seller I can vouch for this one in Indiana: http://stores.ebay.com/Welding-Supplies-from-IOC

I've bought two other welders, three tanks, and several supply or equipment things from the guy and in every case delivery to my door within a few days, awesome pricing, and no tax to pay.

There's a lot to be said for dealing with your local supplier and in most things I do try to do that. But the price differences can be in the hundreds of dollars with welding gear.

Anyway, most everyone in the welding forums swears by IOC

Re. the local supplier- In Norcal, Airgas bought up most of the small local guys, so they are the big machine. I bet Quimby and IOC are smaller in total $ volume.

I buy my gas at Airgas locally.

 

[alia176]

Andy,

I've never had one bit of trouble with my Miller 210. The MIG gun and the spool gun have been awesome and I'm on my second set of tips. I did buy a 40# of .035" wire with the welder purchase and only used up 1/2 of the spool after five years of usage.

Last Saturday I finally did my heaviest amount of welding using 1/2" plates. The unit did great and I did end up running three passes just to overkill everything!

This might be a Chevy vs Ford argument for most folks!

Good luck with your purchase.

Ali

 

[Campfire]

Why? That is the question I am trying to get at.

I honestly think the gun probably is better on the Lincoln, but not in any way that would be meaningful to a home garage welder.

What about differences in the drive mechanism?

I appreciate all the replies. I got most of the old hardware off my frame, so I'll be welding it up soon! I got some kick a$$ stuff from Luke Porter and Roughstuff. Luke's power steering set up is sweet-I can't wait to get it welded on. I also have a growing scrap pile of steel to spend a few hours welding, before I go live.

That's where the difference is, the drives. I shopped around the same as you and wound up with the Miller 175. Wish I had the 210 at times, but for most stuff in the garage it works great, and blows away my friends Lincoln. The Lincoln drives are plastic arms that tension the wire with a wing nut. The Miller has a metal body for the drive assembly and the adjustment is like a micrometer. Open up the cases and compare the spool drives also. And drop in a 100 amp sub panel in the garage.

 

[Cruiserdrew]

Follow up

I did the deed today and purchased the Millermatic 210, a roll of .035 flux core and a roll of .030 wire. I also stopped at the local Harbor Freight and bought an auto darkening helmet for $59. So...I hope to be welding this weekend if my machine gets here (drop shipped from Miller in SoCal). Thanks for all the helpful input in this thread. It worries me that Christo has never steered me wrong and I didn't take his advice, but the $600 price difference with the 251 will go towards other shop items.

Anyone have a good book recomendation for teaching yourself to weld?

 

[Snook]

Anyone have a good book recomendation for teaching yourself to weld?

This will help you to get a good result.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2460645261066190391&q=how+icing+on+cake&hl=en

Cheers,

 

[alia176]

I did the deed today and purchased the Millermatic 210, a roll of .035 flux core and a roll of .030 wire.

Did I read that right? You bought Flux core? If you're using gas, you shouldn't need Flux core wire. Maybe you meant something else.

Couple of things to get if you haven't already:
-Nozzle dip
-Non stick spray (sort of like Pam for welding)
-SS brush to clean the welding area prior to welding. Prepping the area is very important. Kinda like when you do surgery
-chipping hammer (for flux core usually)
-welding cap for your noggin (MMM, burning scalp....)
-leather gloves - don't really need to be super heavy and bulky
-long sleeve leather - just go get the old leasure suit out of your closet .
-Make sure to cover the area around your neck from strong UV rays while welding.
-magnetic ground clamp
-few of those red magnets that look like arrows
-eye protection
-a large steel sheet to go on top of your work table to act as a grounding plate for all of your projects. This will save you from having to move the grounding clamp from metal to metal; which gets annoying quickly.
-might I recommend taking a class at your local welding supply store? They offer very short, hands on courses for new owners. Primarily to sell machines but also to get you to buy consummables in the future.
-Or, pick up the welding class workbook and textbook from the local comm college book store. Then, you can do the class at your own speed.
-various sizes of C clamps to hold your work while you weld.

Set the gas at 25 cfh, speed at 30 and dial at 3 and go at it!

Ali

 

[Cruiserdrew]

Thanks Ali-I bought a small roll of flux core to weld up some scrap and see how messy it really is. I'll buy a cylinder of 75/25 once the welder gets here. Thanks for all the other good tips. I need to get my Co2 tank filled anyway, so I'll look for a jacket and headgear.

One of my collegues is also getting a welder (he is a minitruck/Porsche 356 guy) and we were going to hire someone for the day to give us a hands on tutorial in my garage, since the hospital schedule is too crazy to plan to attened a CC course.

 

[MrMoMo]

I have some overkill for you. Miller 280NT Trailblazer. Way too big for 99% of my welding needs, can't fit it in the cruiser, have to trailer it to where I want to take it, Damn thing drinks more gas than my cruiser, but hey, I can weld at 280Amps 100% duty cycle - and when the power goes out I have an 8000W generator. Got a nice welding sunburn on my left arm yesterday -forgot I had short sleves on.

 

[lavarunner]

you can get hose green welding jackets much better ImO then leathers. not heavey and breathes a lil better.. and you get to wash it when it gets nasty.

 

[ducktapeguy]

I'm kinda looking for a welder also, and pretty much am in the same position in comparing the Lincoln and Millers. For some reason, all of the serious welders I know have the Miller, but I've never really pestered them to find out their specific reasons. Maybe because it's a self continuing legacy, all the people they know probably have Millers. I was looking at the Miller Dynasty line for the TIG applications, but it's too much money for me right now.

I dunno if anyone else mentioned it yet, but get yourself a good pair of wire snips to cut the wire. And taking a few welding classes at the community college was probably the best thing I've done. A book can only teach you what to do, but it can't tell you what you're doing wrong like an experienced teacher can.

 

[Cruiserdrew]

Well-I got the welder today. Millermatic 210. If weight is any indication, this is a great unit. It barely fit in the back of my 60 series, and my son and I together could barely muscle it out of the back. Anyway, it's in the garage, and I hope to be welding by Thursday. I need a tank of C25. Buy or lease the tank?

 

[Cube Dweller]

Does Airgas lease tanks anymore?

I own all mine. They charge a small fee each time I do a tank exchange for recerts rather that charge the owner of a specific tank that's expired.

 

[Cruiserdrew]

Does Airgas lease tanks anymore?

I own all mine. They charge a small fee each time I do a tank exchange for recerts rather that charge the owner of a specific tank that's expired.

Thanks Tony. I ended up just buying a tank rather than pay the $9 per month for rent. They do everything on an exchange basis, so no recerts to pay for (at least directly).

I thought the video that came with the Welder was suprisingly good. They explain things the way the Army does. Simple, to the point, and with lots of pictures.

I did notice that Barnes Welding Supply on Power Inn is $30 cheaper for tank purchase than Airgas, plus they have a very nice store. They give you the first fill for 50% of the usual cost. That's where I got the tank.

 

[sleeoffroad]

Did you get the biggest tank you can own. Fills are not much more for the bigger ones than the smaller tanks.

 

[Snook]

Biggest, you mean the tallest, that's where I have a problem with. It is not like a propane shape, taller and wider. Just same diameter and much taller.

When Amando swapped a short tank for a taller one, oh boy, it's alot more tipsy and very extreme heavy. Perfect for industrail workshop but small garage?

The tall gas tank was too top heavy to fit in Amando's homemade cart w/ wheels. So it ended up tied to two wheel hauler. I just wished it comes in a propane shape.....

Regards,

 

[sleeoffroad]

On the big Millers with the tank tray on the rear it is not a problem.

 

[Cruiserdrew]

I got the biggest tank I could fit in my FJ60. Supposedly it is enough to weld for 8 hours. It's heavy, but I can still pick it up. The next size up was too big for me to handle. The tray on the back of the welder is very sturdy, so moving it around is no big deal. It's a good thing, because the welder plus the tank is over 300 pounds.

 

[honk]

I got the biggest tank I could fit in my FJ60. Supposedly it is enough to weld for 8 hours. It's heavy, but I can still pick it up. The next size up was too big for me to handle. The tray on the back of the welder is very sturdy, so moving it around is no big deal. It's a good thing, because the welder plus the tank is over 300 pounds.

So you got a 130 tank, about four feet tall? I'm suprised at the eight hour thing as mine for C25 lasts a year. Guess the time actually welding isn't so much.

You done good with the 210. Miller, despite their sterling reputation, has had a host of problems with the 250 sizes for some reason. I'm not sure how many versions they've introduced over the years but it's not a small number. Meanwhile the 210 has been steadfast with little if any changes since it first came out. I read a lot in welding forums before deciding on a 210, and even though everyone will always defend whatever welder they have, it became apparent that people asking for advise about this miller 250 size machine or that one were often being warned away from one or another of them. I didn't see it happening when the question of a miller 210 came up.

It's got enough power to do most anything at home a person is likely to try and in most cases more than enough. Get a cheap stick welder if you need to occasionally do repairs on bulldozer blades or something like that.