Mauser
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I have better luck with 1/4 inch stuff with my little 110 Hobart if I run flux core.
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I have better luck with 1/4 inch stuff with my little 110 Hobart if I run flux core.
220 is in the future. I didn't plan on welding 1/4".TBH, I only ever ran flux-core when Miller packed a sample spool in w/ my old Challenger 172 ( was a 220v from late ‘90’s - could single-pass 5/8” with solid wire & beveled butt joint or a lap joint.)
@TYM4FUN - getting to 220 is a huge help, my only experience in 110 was a little Hobart at a job when I was ~19yo.
It was solid wire & all I was doing was 1/8” wall box tube (building work benches for a startup company)
If you can’t jump to 220v before the next 1/4” job, I’d bevel the joint down to generous 1/8” & make a multi-pass to build it up.
Just a suggestion.
Maybe they don't have one for flux. It is for aluminum.what is a flux spool gun?
Maybe they don't have one for flux. It is for aluminum.
Spoolmate™ 100 Series Wire Feeder | MillerWelds
Highly reliable and economical spool gun with excellent feeding to weld aluminum.www.millerwelds.com
Yeah, I really want to get 220 at the home and work. Probably will next year.@TYM4FUN - having used Pops’ 211 on .030 wire & 80/20 (Blueshield 8 trade name) - getting yours on 220v will really amaze you at the ‘on tap’ power.
I’d got my 350p before the 211’s came out - frankly my Bernard gun for .030 steel wire is a PITA & too big to fit in tight spots, plus it’s downright heavy & the gas tube/wire liner is stiff AF.
I’ve been “caught” using his 211
Hindsight I’d have kept my Challenger 172 & just bought the 350 Aluma-pro.
The Challenger had that nice compact / light gun that your 211 shares consumables.
The 211 is alot of machine, and the 215 is a mega-value for people who want to TIG.
I fell into a damaged Hobby Pro (???) Miller TIG, but it’s the old transformer over the inverter for power source - but it AC TIGs too (AL is AC TIG).
IDK if the 215 does AC TIG, but neither the 211 or 215 are anything I look down on - excellent value & you can get parts like buying a used/broken Warn winch.
GREAT value machines on 220v once you get it dialed in!
Nice!Apropos to @Romer's thread title... a noob buying a welder... I finally made my purchase. I was all set on the Millermatic 211. Had the order in the cart on Cyberweld and everything. Then I got to talking with my neighbor. He's a retired electrical contractor who has multiple welding certifications. He told me I'd made a solid choice BUT he had a tip for me. He said "don't take this the wrong way, but Harbor Freight has a great little unit". He recommended a Vulcan MigMax 215. He's personally owned it and used it for some time and he said it worked just as good for him as his Miller's ever did, especially on 220V. My brother-in-law and I were co-purchasing... we discussed it and decided to give it a try, especially with one of the 20% coupons that had no limitations on brand/product. Threw in their welding cart as well.
That same neighbor swapped me labor... I replaced the heater core in his daughter's truck and he installed a sub-panel in my garage and put in 220V outlets at the front of my garage just inside the door AND in my sideyard area.
It honestly works like a champ. I'm just learning and my neighbor has been giving me pointers. But I expected it to be much harder than it has been.
Tanks, gloves, helmet, and other equipment all came from Cyberweld.
I have an 80 bottle as well. You have to find a good way to transport. The thought of having to muscle around a larger bottle makes me say no thanks.My shielding gas bottle is 80 cu ft bottle. It's about 3.5 feet tall and is a good compromise between what you have and the super tall ones. If you only welding on the weekends a fill should last you several months. Check you local welding store...an 80cuft bottle should be about $200+/-. You don't get your bottle re- filled, but rather just take it to the weld store and swap out with another full bottle. That way the weld shop performs the proper safety checks on the valves.
One word of advice on the bottle. Make sure you close the valve each time you are done welding. Why? If you have a tiny leak somewhere, then you will weld one weekend and come out the next weekend to an empty bottle. Of course you will inevitably forget to open the valve when you start welding and wonder why your welds look like complete cr@p. (Yep, I done that many times) My advice is to create a startup routine: I always open the valve and plug the machine in at the same time. Once the machine is running I check the settings and hit the trigger for a couple (2-3) seconds to purge the line of oxygen. Lastly I clip the wire with about 1/2" sticking out and I'm ready to go!
Agreed! After laying down a few respectable beads on scrap metal, mandatory project #1 is supposed to be a welding cart.Am I the only one who feels there is no ideal welding cart that isn’t hand made? I have a simple Harbour Freight one and it is barely adequate. Get on Pinterest and look up custom welding carts and it will blow your mind.