ExpertXViper
New member
Alright my old man and I plan on splitting the cost on a new MIG welder, since the only one we have is a ARC welder that looks like it came off the titanic.....no joke. Which wont cut it for my upcoming project and I dont want to take up all that room at school to use their equip. So as of now its either gunna be a Miller-matic 140 Auto-Set(110V) or Miller-matic 175-180(220V) depends what I get a better deal on. But I just wanted to get some feedback from some TYers what their brand of choice would be. Lets hear em.
I use all millers at work. 3 phase tho. ( 440 ) lol
I have a smaller one here at the house that I use for under .250 thickness. Depends on what your intentions are. How thick of and what kind of material are you welding? Aluminum, 35 and/or 45 steal, SS,???
Personally, I would go with the bigger of the two. You can always turn the heat and WPS down.
-Vince
I have a smaller one here at the house that I use for under .250 thickness. Depends on what your intentions are. How thick of and what kind of material are you welding? Aluminum, 35 and/or 45 steal, SS,???
Personally, I would go with the bigger of the two. You can always turn the heat and WPS down.
-Vince
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i have used a 225ideal arc lincoln for about 15 years now and love it. dont buy a welder too small. the ideal arc i chose because it is partially heat sink cooled. no fan runs untill you use it for long periods, thus less noise and dust inside. some larger welders like this run the fan all the time. the other great thing about it is if you dont weld alot, it takes the guessing out of what to set everything on to start welding. also if your doing something where you need to have two different settings you can switch between them using the button on the handle as well as increase wire speed or heat.
buy the right welder one time or you will be bitching the first time you want to build something and your waiting for the welder to cool down or your having to make multiple passes.
buy the right welder one time or you will be bitching the first time you want to build something and your waiting for the welder to cool down or your having to make multiple passes.
insaneSXR
New member
I would stay with miller. im a welder at a nuclear plant and all our equipment is in the process of being switched to miller. in my experience miller wire feeds are way more reliable that lincon.
I currently own a millermatic 185 and use .023 wire in it for control of the size of weld, if you are doing small work .030 and .035 wire start to make a big bead/mess in a hurry. like stated above depends on what you are going ot weld. If you get the new millermatic 200(Ithink) you will have the capability of adding to your unit and using a spoolgun to do aluminum,and should be more than enough of a mahcine to do home projects. I am actually looking into purchasing the NEW millermatic 252 mig machine as it has infinite heat and wire settings - (most new machines do), plus this machine will have more power than I should need for any project that I need to do. Don't get me wrong The mm185 that I have now hasn't need to be used at full power. T
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yamaha_snopro
New member
Miller 180 mig
Miller and Lincoln . It all depends on what color you like the best .
I have used both and I think they are prity close to equal .
Me I own Miller just becaus it's blue . LOL .
Like Bethviper said get one big enough you won't be disapointed .
Also think about one set up with 2 sets of outlets . if some day
you may want to add a spool gun for Aluminum . Just my .02 .
I have used both and I think they are prity close to equal .
Me I own Miller just becaus it's blue . LOL .
Like Bethviper said get one big enough you won't be disapointed .
Also think about one set up with 2 sets of outlets . if some day
you may want to add a spool gun for Aluminum . Just my .02 .
terret725
New member
all i have ever used have been miller. but id go with the 220 we have a 110 at work and its ok for most stuff but its now 220 also id def get one with a has set up flux core sucks unless u have pretty much super clean metal. i use to be able to make a 4 foot uniform weld on half inch high carbon steel at my old job and with the 110 we have at my new job took me like 20 trys befor i could get a good lookin weld and i cant do more then 6 inches at a time.
change_up
New member
Personally I would either go with a Lincoln PowerMig 255C or a Millermatic 252. They can both weld up to 1/2" in a single pass (with joint preparation obviously) and have respectable duty cycles. My friend has a little 125 amp welder at his shop that i'm using to do a bit of body work on his dodge diesel and you can't even make little tack welds for any decent time or the duty cycle trips. Not that it's a bad welder, just it can't run on that low of power at high output (it's a 110 Volt)
I would look into a TIG welder personally as they are very clean, provide superior weld control and can weld almost any metal. They can also be used as a heat source for brazing but the cost is the biggest factor for a home user.
Like has been said, don't go too small and bigger is not always better either. Something around the 250 amp range with a 0.035" wire would be what I would get depending on the thickness of metal being welded..
Good Luck.
I would look into a TIG welder personally as they are very clean, provide superior weld control and can weld almost any metal. They can also be used as a heat source for brazing but the cost is the biggest factor for a home user.
Like has been said, don't go too small and bigger is not always better either. Something around the 250 amp range with a 0.035" wire would be what I would get depending on the thickness of metal being welded..
Good Luck.
I use a Lincoln 135 plus (I think). Its a little 110 but it will lay down some nice beads for a good amount of time. I've never tripped the duty cycle on this welder even when welding 1/4 inch steel when doing frame work on my Ford Ranger when I lowered it.
ExpertXViper
New member
Some of you guys are talking $1200+ machines. Were only looking to spend $900 max. including a tank and its pretty rare that we ever weld 5/16"+ steel. If I do end up needing a welder of that size Ill drive the 6 miles to school and use there equip. for free. Its not worth spending the extra money when you dont weld 1/2"+ steel on a regular basis. Thanks for all the comments though.
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For what I consider light fabrication(hobby home building projects), like go kart frames, narrowing car frames(tubbing out cars/pickups) basic broken lawnmower frames etc. you cant hardly go wrong with the new lincoln 140c welder, its a 110-115volt input which means you can take it anywhere to fix something, not everyone will have 230volt plug ins in need of a repair. It will weld .135" or 10 guage steel in a single pass. They sell the 140 in 2 differnt set ups, the 140c has the adjustable voltage output control where as the 140t is the tapped voltage welder, the "c" is alot better because your not relying on a set voltage scale. They run between $600-735. I have used this welder on car frames, rollcages etc. and it works flawlessly, has great penetration and has never hicupped. Just my opinion, a bigger welder is great for big stuff, but you have to decide if the big stuff is what your going to use the welder for 80 percent of the time.
Also, the previous welder to this was the sp135 plus, it is now sold at home depot stores as a weldpak set up, they run like $499, still a good welder but wont weld as thick of material in a single pass as the 140. The 140 is the biggest 110-115 welder out.
Also, the previous welder to this was the sp135 plus, it is now sold at home depot stores as a weldpak set up, they run like $499, still a good welder but wont weld as thick of material in a single pass as the 140. The 140 is the biggest 110-115 welder out.
ExpertXViper
New member
Thanks Mrviper, I really like the idea of being able to take the 140 just about anywhere and not worry about using a 220v outlet. For the amount itll get used and the thickness/material we normally weld Im leaning towards the 140. Id rather save the extra money now and buy a Maxstar200(Stick/TIG) later down the road. That would see more use than the MIG welder, but that prolly wont happen cause they run like $2200.
My picks and their prices: Prices dont include tank or shipping
Lincoln Power Mig Welder 140C $620
Millermatic 140 w/ auto set - 115V - Welds 24 guage up to 3/6 inch mild steel $605.00
Millermatic 175 Welds 24 gauge to 1/4 inch with 230v and 30-175 amps $705.00
Millermatic 180 - Smooth Start - 230 V for welding thicker materials- Welds 24 guage up to 5/16 inch mild steel $735.00
My picks and their prices: Prices dont include tank or shipping
Lincoln Power Mig Welder 140C $620
Millermatic 140 w/ auto set - 115V - Welds 24 guage up to 3/6 inch mild steel $605.00
Millermatic 175 Welds 24 gauge to 1/4 inch with 230v and 30-175 amps $705.00
Millermatic 180 - Smooth Start - 230 V for welding thicker materials- Welds 24 guage up to 5/16 inch mild steel $735.00
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JeepTherapy
New member
If your not afraid of refurb units go to a welding shop and ask about the Hobart refurbs. I was quoted $450 for a 175 amp 220V Hobart. They are essentially the same as a miller welder with possibly some lower end parts here and there. I don't think anything that would have a huge effect on a hobby welder. They will also have the spool/alum capability.
I have been using an Italian made 110V wire feed welder for quite a few years now. I have certainly gotten my $$$$ worth out of it. Matco sells it now under their brand name. I have built from roll cages to bumpers to plow mounts with it. I haven't had a weld fail yet. I think the biggest drawback I have with it is the lack of MIG capability. It uses flux core.
The flux core is great for thick metal welding. I welded my plow mounts with it. Had to use multiple passes but it has held up to two UP winters plowing three parking areas.
The 110V welders are a great starter welder. But I would buy a lot bigger if I were to replace. I would get at least a 175 amp 220V just to get into the longer duty cycles. Some of the miller duty cycles at full amperage is only like 20%. That isn't very long. Very frustrating to be on a roll and have the welder kick off because of duty cycle. With a 220V welder you are way down in their given power range and the duty cycle goes up dramatically.
As far as the 220V capability I think it would be more important to me at this point to have something that suits my needs rather than someone else's needs. But I already have a 110V wire feed so my opinions are probably a little biased.
All my welding has been hobby welding so take that into consideration....
I have been using an Italian made 110V wire feed welder for quite a few years now. I have certainly gotten my $$$$ worth out of it. Matco sells it now under their brand name. I have built from roll cages to bumpers to plow mounts with it. I haven't had a weld fail yet. I think the biggest drawback I have with it is the lack of MIG capability. It uses flux core.
The flux core is great for thick metal welding. I welded my plow mounts with it. Had to use multiple passes but it has held up to two UP winters plowing three parking areas.
The 110V welders are a great starter welder. But I would buy a lot bigger if I were to replace. I would get at least a 175 amp 220V just to get into the longer duty cycles. Some of the miller duty cycles at full amperage is only like 20%. That isn't very long. Very frustrating to be on a roll and have the welder kick off because of duty cycle. With a 220V welder you are way down in their given power range and the duty cycle goes up dramatically.
As far as the 220V capability I think it would be more important to me at this point to have something that suits my needs rather than someone else's needs. But I already have a 110V wire feed so my opinions are probably a little biased.
All my welding has been hobby welding so take that into consideration....
taylzee
New member
Lincoln 140C and get the spool gun with it. That way you can do aluminum. I have the 180C with the spool gun. All said and done it cost me $1300.00CDN. I think you will save a couple hundred by going with the 140C. The only reason I went with the 180 is I could.
This is by far the cheapest way to get into good aluminum welding. If you don't need the aluminum feature then it is a toss up between Lincoln/Miller/Hobart for Hobby type welding.
This is by far the cheapest way to get into good aluminum welding. If you don't need the aluminum feature then it is a toss up between Lincoln/Miller/Hobart for Hobby type welding.