Welder help

[1949d100]

Hey guys,

I am looking to pick-up a welder and I an seeing alot of "Fluxcore" welders. they seem to be priced will below the typical MIG. Are they worth anything or an I burning my money? I am mostly going to be welding sheet metal... perhaps a little bit of 1/8" plate but I don't think that I will need to do anything heavier than that.

Thanks for your help!

[Merle Coggins]

Sounds like the cheaper welders don't have the capibility of using shielding gas, so they must use fluxcore wire. I'm not a great welder, but as I understand it the gas gives a better weld, provided you're not welding outside in the wind.

So, if it were me buying a new welder I'd pony up the extra $$$ to get the MIG. That way you could still use fluxcore wire without gas, or switch the wire and use gas. It gives you more options.

Merle

[old woolie]

What Merle said.

[greg g]

I bought a 110 flux core welder from the Chinese Embasy. I have found that the quality of wire is the key to decent welds. I am not a welder by any means, but I have used it on sheet metal, some minor fabrication, some repairs on lawn equipment and some trailer repairs. I am thinking of building a trailer for transporting lawn tractors, motorcycles etc. My plan it to use my welder to tack it together then take it to my friends shop for final welding. There are some better moderate priced ones with more variable controls for heat and wire speed. Take a look at the ones at Tractor Supply or Northern tool.

And what is really important with these, best welds occur on good clean rust free materials.

So for most home owner hobbiest needs, I think the flux core is fine, some of them will have the capability to add a gas bottle down the road if the need desire arrises. Just wouldn't be welding major cassis components with them.

Given another opportunity I would get a 220 instead of the 110. The limiting factor is the work cycle, or the actual welding seconds out of a minute, the higher % rating the better.

Edited May 22, 2009 by greg g

[coW52Dodge]

A couple of years ago I bought a Lincoln 135 plus. You may pay a little more for the name but you do get the advantage of being able to buy parts for it. They sell it at Lowes. I got mine on ebay for $450

It is run off 120VAC. It does a really good job on body work. You can run it with or without shield gas but you'll find that the quality of the welds with gas is a lot better. I don't use flux core anymore for that reason.

They have two models: a "T" and a "Plus". The only difference is that the plus has a fully variable current setting. The "T" has a selection switch, so limited adjustability.

I sprung for the plus because it is nice to fine tweak the current for older, thinner material. You can take about $100 off if you don't need that feature.

[carl b51]

Just my opinion gas shielded wire is cleaner not as much splater . I have used flux core then I bought a Miller !80 it will do everthing you want to do Plus it is made in the USA. Just my opinion. Carl

[old woolie]

There is really no contest between flux core and gas shielded welding. Flux core will do your rough welding just fine, light angle iron, channel iron, etc. lots of spatter as Carl said. You need the gas welder for clean welding of body panels and patches.

[48Dodger]

110 Mig is great for sheet metal. up to 3/16 max wire thickness. Argon mix -75%/25% Argon/Co2. Pure Co2 will splatter to much.

Flux core wire is better for thicker steel. The Flux core wire requires more heat, so it has deeper penatration. Kinda like Arc welding, 1/4-5/16 wire

Get a welder that does both. I like Miller. The Millermatic or a Hobart (miller too)

Most 110's will be 20% DC (Duty Cycle-2 mins of 10 min standard til overheat) But vary depending on wire size amps etc...... My experience is you'll be hard pressed to weld longer than 2 mins straight. You'll develop heat units over the course of the project and lose track of what percentage of DC you're at, so the machine will shut you down when you "get out of hand"......

IMHO.....Arc welding is becoming a lost art. You can do a lot with an Arc welder. Take the time to learn the different rod charteristics (60 series, 70 series) and the relative thicknesses and you might find or rediscover a cool way to burn metal. A cheap Arc welder can do all the things you want to do with the Mig. Again....IMHO

48D

[1949d100]

I thought about an Arc welder, I have used them in the past. I was just unsure of my ability to not blow right through... But a little practice might help...

[wayfarer]

Stick machines and sheet metal do not mix. Yes, on material 1/8" and heavier a stick machine is great, but you will need a good wire feed for gauge material. Don't skimp on the size if you actually plan to use it often, buy the biggest unit you can since you then have more flexibility. You can 'turn down' a big machine to do small work, but you can't 'turn up' a small unit...

My Millermatic 250 may be overkill to some folks, but I have never had a job too big or too small. I also have had a 220v stick machine for over 40 years and a 110v flux core that is handy for certain jobs, but the Miller sees most of the work.

Now, if we're talking outside, in the wind, then the stick machine is king.

My $0.02

[48Dodger]

"Stick machines and sheet metal do not mix."

Told you it was a lost art. Try a 5/32 6013 (DC) on sheet metal. Its not as "hot" as 6010 and lays down a better weld. It's good up to 3/16.

I hardly consider Arc welding "old school", and MIG doesn't stand for "Magic In Gas". Arc welding will give you skills that will make your MIG and TIG welds a whole lot better. Like I said IMHO.

48D

Miller Syncrowave 200- TIG/ARC

Got a 110 MIG too.....

[Guest Dave Claussen]

I bought a 110 V. mig to start and was disappointed with the short duty cycle. My neighbor is/was a pro welder and he had a 220 V. welder that, frankly, welded circles around mine. You could weld basiclly continuously and it had a much better control setup. Sold my 110 and bought one like his. Only thing I had to do was run a 220 outlet in my shop and make up a 220 V. extension cord, but it was absolutely worth it. I run a gas bottle and even for an amateur it makes great welds.

If you want to check out a good welding site try this link. It's got some good tips and tutorials on techinque and equipment. Also good stuff about fine tuning you welder to optimize it's performance. A word of advice though, it's written with metric measurements (note the "UK" in the link). Still very good info. Dave

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/

[George NU]

Well Got to add My .02 worth ! For Sheet metal < I use a torch !! Nu

[Don Coatney]

Well Got to add My .02 worth ! For Sheet metal < I use a torch !! Nu

I also used a torch to do my floor pan repairs and modifications.

[alberts truck o matic]

Just my 2 cents I would shoot for a small 220 machine. Like a Hobart 187 or a Miller 185. Have used those brands for many years with very few mishaps. These offer both shielding gas or flux core. The thing to remember if you are to use flux core wire is to switch the polarity of the machine. I would try to shoot for a 220 machine because once you have a welder you will find that there are a lot of things that could be welded and a 110 machine will not always provide sufficient results.