Mauser
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I have better luck with 1/4 inch stuff with my little 110 Hobart if I run flux core.
Noob searches for and buys a welder (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Romer
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LINUS
Waiting for the Great Pumpkin
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.
I think flux core is undervalued by many welders. The main downside besides cost is the spatter, but I'd take that over lack of penetration any day, and can deal with it easily enough if not in a hurry.
220 is in the future. I didn't plan on welding 1/4".
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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.
LINUS
Waiting for the Great Pumpkin
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
IDK of a flux wire gun - just AL like @TYM4FUN posted link (pretty sure that’s the one on Dad’s 211.
I’m on a Miller push-pull gun for AL w/ my 350.
@e9999 - flux core would be my pick if we ever MIG’ed outside, but we stick it for virtue of laying down material faster.
If we need field repairs on SS, we build a hootch & scratch-arc TIG & just try to block wind / shield gas blowoff.
LINUS
Waiting for the Great Pumpkin
@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!
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!
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!
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.
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.
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.
LINUS
Waiting for the Great Pumpkin
@Honger - great buy if it’s something you can get consumables real easy for.
Just a suggestion, but you may take the entire gun-head into you LWS (Central is common here) - make sure the tips are something you can get & buy at minimum of say a dzn that are either sized right or oversized (nothing wrong running a .045 tip w/ .030 wire, big pic) - and a extra gas cup & clip, and if the tip receiver screws into the body like my Miller push-pull (Cobra design ripoff) - get 1 or 2 now.
I always buck up for Miller, but hear Lincoln & ESAB also are great for parts support - like buying a Warn winch.
But if you expect the usage to stay semi-tame, just having consumables on hand will future - proof any inverter machine these days.
There’s alot of hype to Miller where if you don’t know what every damn dial button does, it doesn’t matter what color the machine is.
Nephew has a $300 HF plasma cutter he’s using regularly for over 3yrs now.
Just a suggestion, but you may take the entire gun-head into you LWS (Central is common here) - make sure the tips are something you can get & buy at minimum of say a dzn that are either sized right or oversized (nothing wrong running a .045 tip w/ .030 wire, big pic) - and a extra gas cup & clip, and if the tip receiver screws into the body like my Miller push-pull (Cobra design ripoff) - get 1 or 2 now.
I always buck up for Miller, but hear Lincoln & ESAB also are great for parts support - like buying a Warn winch.
But if you expect the usage to stay semi-tame, just having consumables on hand will future - proof any inverter machine these days.
There’s alot of hype to Miller where if you don’t know what every damn dial button does, it doesn’t matter what color the machine is.
Nephew has a $300 HF plasma cutter he’s using regularly for over 3yrs now.
I'm sure the Vulcans and the other newer line are much better quality than the old HF welders, so that's encouraging. And I have read good reviews about them as far as usability and performance. I will say, however, that my previous experience with buying parts for bigger HF power tools has been pretty much along the lines of "forget it...". Perhaps that is different nowadays, I did read something about them trying to revamp their parts sales recently but I would hesitate to buy a multi $100s complex machine without at least some assurance that parts like circuit boards etc are available. Are they or are those welders pretty much throwaways in case of problems?
LINUS
Waiting for the Great Pumpkin
^^^^ @e9999 -
I ::think:: HF has come a ways from the old “buy / use 8x / toss it” - esp since the new gen of welders / plasma being inverter based.
But to your remark, I also get the concept where you need to hoard consumable gun-tip parts if you don’t find they ‘borrowed’ from lower Miller or Hobart (was Miller owned a decade / 15yrs back, no clue now).
I sold my Challenger 172 for $500 under 48hrs - the guy drove over 500 mi to get it, even put 1/2 into my bank accvia EBT - Miller has intrinsic value likeWarn winches.
I do regret it, like I said - shoulda kept it & bought the 350 Aluma-Pro w/ my push-pull gun.
The Bernard gun (350p multi ) - is a industrial rated unit, but industrial means it’s nowhere near flexible like the Miller 211 mig-gun.
But for the hobby crew who don’t need the Blue or even a Lincoln or ESAB - inverters have a known decade life, so everyone just needs to choose their wire squirter.
If I had 1 hobby vehicle to do in all steel, I could see the advantage of a HF unit if you can buy consumables to feed it like I said before.
If the price is right, you can toss it all once that vehicle is done & you make a few rando small projects after.
I ::think:: HF has come a ways from the old “buy / use 8x / toss it” - esp since the new gen of welders / plasma being inverter based.
But to your remark, I also get the concept where you need to hoard consumable gun-tip parts if you don’t find they ‘borrowed’ from lower Miller or Hobart (was Miller owned a decade / 15yrs back, no clue now).
I sold my Challenger 172 for $500 under 48hrs - the guy drove over 500 mi to get it, even put 1/2 into my bank accvia EBT - Miller has intrinsic value likeWarn winches.
I do regret it, like I said - shoulda kept it & bought the 350 Aluma-Pro w/ my push-pull gun.
The Bernard gun (350p multi ) - is a industrial rated unit, but industrial means it’s nowhere near flexible like the Miller 211 mig-gun.
But for the hobby crew who don’t need the Blue or even a Lincoln or ESAB - inverters have a known decade life, so everyone just needs to choose their wire squirter.
If I had 1 hobby vehicle to do in all steel, I could see the advantage of a HF unit if you can buy consumables to feed it like I said before.
If the price is right, you can toss it all once that vehicle is done & you make a few rando small projects after.
Parts support was definitely a consideration in making this move... and I'm absolutely certain that this machine won't be as well supported as a Miller or Lincoln would be. We have already stocked up on new tips and gas cups... those are readily available at HF, so we've grabbed a stockpile of those.
We are fair-weather hobbyists at this point and that factored into our decision to essentially "go cheap". We didn't want to go cheap if it meant it would be hard to learn and work with... and we satisfied ourself that wasn't going to be an issue. But we accepted the risk in terms of longevity of equipment. We'll see how that pans out...
We are fair-weather hobbyists at this point and that factored into our decision to essentially "go cheap". We didn't want to go cheap if it meant it would be hard to learn and work with... and we satisfied ourself that wasn't going to be an issue. But we accepted the risk in terms of longevity of equipment. We'll see how that pans out...
nothing wrong with making a decision like that while factoring the pros and cons in an informed manner. There is definitely a place for less expensive while less durable goods if budget is an issue. It's easy for enthusiastic DIYers to overshoot and get tools that are overkill for the circumstances.
May be a good idea to get the extended warranty in those former situations then if cheap enough (usually not the case, of course).
May be a good idea to get the extended warranty in those former situations then if cheap enough (usually not the case, of course).
fjwagon
SILVER Star
Nice read, my experience has been get a 220v welder, you will find yourself welding thicker steel than you think you will ever do or you start doing bigger projects that require a stronger welder. Ask me how I found out. So if the welder is capable to weld 3/8 -1/2" that will cover a majority of the projects a hobbies will do in my opinion.
So if the welder is capable to weld 3/8 -1/2" that will cover a majority of the projects a hobbies will do in my opinion.
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.
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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.
BadReligion
SILVER Star
Agreed! After laying down a few respectable beads on scrap metal, mandatory project #1 is supposed to be a welding cart.
