getting a welder

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Iron 1

Senior Member
It will be a mig due to $$, it won't need to do any "showpiece" work, but it will have to work good, with minimal problems. It will be mainly for exhaust/other misc. work. I will be building a go-cart with it. I like Miller, and Lincoln, because those are 2 brands that I have used. Does anybody have any other suggestions???
 
millermatic 251

Nice welder, has the ability to attach a spool gun for Aluminum at a later date. Comes with everything but the bottle. Welds nice, and it has a handy chart that gives you a nice starting point for the controls. Perfect for a novice, and nice for everyone else. I use one at work all the time, and I'm in my second quarter of welding at the College. Without going overboard, it's a great machine.(won't do stick or TIG)

EDIT: It's a quiet operator compared to the Lincolns. The miller doesn't turn on the cooling fans unless you're using the shit out of it. The Lincolns and others run the fans all the time(which can get annoying).
 
i myself have a hobart 175t 220 mig and i love it its made by miller and it welds great i got it at my local welding and cutting supplystore for 579 with a cart. the aprt i like alot about it is on its lowest setting it works great for sheetmetal ( which is ggod for me cause i do bodywork and thats alot of what i weld) because it wont burn through and on the highest setting it will weld 1/4 atleast
 
Yeah, I don't know what your budget is. The 251 is probably more like 1400-2000, but it'll weld sheetmetal and up to 1/2" or more.
 
Thanks for all the replies!! I think I'll go with a smaller(175)Miller. I can never see myself needing to weld anything over 1/4" thick. I also like the idea of being able to switch guns, and weld aluminum.
 
wledign aluminum is much more complx than just switching guns im afraid....very difficult and nothing like welding steel but good luck none the same
 
I used to weld in high school. I learned both mig and tig, both steel and AL. So that shouldn't be too much of a problem, just a little time to practice. I am just thinking that with the money I would have paid the local exhaust shop to do my exhaust/charge pipes, I could get this welder and do it myself, and still have some $$ left over...
 
Yeah we have a miller here, I like it, pretty solid machine, we have had it for over 20 years, and it has rarly been serviced other than replacing the argon tank.
 
Welding Aluminum with a spool gun is fairly simple, and easy to learn. Tig is much more complex, and fun. A spool gun has it's own drive wheels and attaches to another port on the miller.

Millermatic 251

ESAB Multimaster 260

Lincoln Power Mig 255

Spoolmate 3035 Spoolgun

I'm sure they're all great welders. Also, pay close attention to discounts. Miller runs a lot of specials to students, classes, and institutions. You might be able to pull off a discount somehow. These discounts can be a very noteable percentage. I hope you're happy with whatever you get.
 
ive had my welder for abotu 4 months now, ya its made by miller it actually even says miller in the handle of the gun itself. IMHO its a great welder but so is lincoln and esab ive welded alot with lincoln as well. reason i bought this hobart was because when i went to my local welding cutting supply store i asked which was better betweent he lincoln and the hobart and they said in the 110 the lincoln had a little better gun but as far as 220 went they were almost an identical machine. The hobart was on sale for alomst 200 less with a cart so i bought it
 
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