110 Welders - what to buy?

im thinking about getting the lincoln welder at home depot, the one around 480? anybody else have one?

i know this isn't what you're going to want to hear, but unless you only plan on using it for bodywork...don't waste your money & get a 220 & have your shop/garage wired for it. you'll be extremely dissapointed with what you get out of a 110 (limitations), when you could've just got a nice millermatic 175 or 180 for only a little more. you could get a 175 for about 650-700 (i think) or get a used one. you'll grow out of a 110 in a hurry, then you'll have to pony up all that cash all over again to get what you really needed in the first place because you most likely won't get hardly sh*t for a used 110.

now miller or lincoln is 100% your choice because they both make great machines & people will go back & forth forever on which is better, but they're damn near the same so it's only a matter of preferance...

good luck man,

u want flux or mig? they both r good but miller or hobart is best 4 mig, ur choice tho. i have all 3 and a lincoln stick welder

sent you a imOriginally posted by supravan



u want flux or mig? they both r good but miller or hobart is best 4 mig, ur choice tho. i have all 3 and a lincoln stick welder

All my chassis work was done with the 3200HD lincoln.

I suggest save up and get a welder that wont have the limitations a 110v one has. I have the lincoln 3200hd that I bought used at a pawn shop. I have it converted to use mig gas and wire, its a solid good reliable machine, but it has limitations. great for sheet metal work, not so good on frame work. it just does not have the current to make good penetration.

do you think a lot of people go overkill with penetration? do you think a lot of people go overkill with penetration? I have seen welds so hot it weakens the frame around the weld, then metal around the weld cracks and breaks. I believe the 3200 hd will get the job done just fine. for notches and brackets, then to top it off, it will do sheetmetal work awesome.Originally posted by yourbabysdaddy



I suggest save up and get a welder that wont have the limitations a 110v one has. I have the lincoln 3200hd that I bought used at a pawn shop. I have it converted to use mig gas and wire, its a solid good reliable machine, but it has limitations. great for sheet metal work, not so good on frame work. it just does not have the current to make good penetration.

A lot of these guys are right about the 220 welder...but I have had a Millermatic 135 since I was 18 and have done so much with it that it puts to shame all of the "don't get a 110 welder it wont do anything" comments. I've used it in structural steel for buildings in a pinch and to build steel 4x4 decks, boat docks, build complete chassis, sheetmetal, and body work. So yes it can do them all and just fine IMO. Would I rather have a 220...yes, at the time I couldn't afford it and my garage wasn't wired for 220. Now it is and I have a big ass compressor and welder but poor people have poor ways and if that is all you can afford then get it. By ALL means though, do not get that hunk of junk they sell at Home Depot. As far as MIG welders go I like Miller a lot better and haven't seen a Lincoln perform as well as my Millmeratic 135.

Originally posted by stockfloored85



do you think a lot of people go overkill with penetration? do you think a lot of people go overkill with penetration? I have seen welds so hot it weakens the frame around the weld, then metal around the weld cracks and breaks. I believe the 3200 hd will get the job done just fine. for notches and brackets, then to top it off, it will do sheetmetal work awesome.Originally posted by yourbabysdaddy



I suggest save up and get a welder that wont have the limitations a 110v one has. I have the lincoln 3200hd that I bought used at a pawn shop. I have it converted to use mig gas and wire, its a solid good reliable machine, but it has limitations. great for sheet metal work, not so good on frame work. it just does not have the current to make good penetration.



Agreed, a lot of people dont know anything about the Heat Affected Zone...where the steel will actually crack around the weld because of too much heat. Also I think spot welding with a MIG or TIG is absolute junk too...and anybody who tells you otherwise is ignorent. If you need to weld like that you need to have a pulse welder that gives you background current so you don't have hot/cold/hot/cold/hot/cold and cause spidercracking.

i hope i wasn't sounding like i was hating or anything. i was just refering to the limitations. i know it has the capability of doing the job, but with consumables (wire & gas) costing what they do these days, i'd just prefer to make a single pass & be done with it. i can also turn my machine down & do sheetmetal with no problems. i've welded thicker metals with a 110 & i just don't like making double passes or how the machine acts when you're damn near maxxing it out. i also hate waiting for the 20-30 min for it to cool down & reset after the damn overheat protection circuit breaker cuts out.

no offence intended & sorry if i started any type of war...i was just trying to help.