What kind of welder to get?

[Kernbigo]

I agree the hobart 140 is the way to go ,put it on a 20 amp breaker and you are set to go.

 

[HarryJM]

First piece of advice is to bump your power up. 30 amps for a shop is a bit too light.

I will leave the advice on what welder to get because I am not much good at staying within budgets.

First piece of advice is to bump your power up. 30 amps for a shop is a bit too light.

I will leave the advice on what welder to get because I am not much good at staying within budgets.

Hey Alan H,

First of all I really like your Triumph Bonneville! The first motorcycle shop I worked in was Hawkeye Motorcycle shop in Davenport IA. They sold Honda and Norton motorcycles I fell in love with Norton at that shop. My first Norton was a 750 Interstate which was stolen in Tampa FL and then I bough a wrecked Norton 850 Commando which I sold about about 25 years ago when I gave up riding.

Have been thinking a little more about power and starting to research heating for some of those cold winter days in the Piedmont area of North Carolina. So I plan seeing how much a 100 amp panel will cost as I do not want to be saying “boy I wish I had done that” later on down the road.

Anyway thanks for the feed back.
Harry

 

[HarryJM]

I agree as to your electrical power, 30 amps is too little; better 50, best 100A; that would cover any welding machine(s) that you might want now or in the future. I'd focus first on a MIG machine, then one that could do TIG and stick; acetylene is good to have too. Budgets ?????????? not in my vocabulary.

I agree as to your electrical power, 30 amps is too little; better 50, best 100A; that would cover any welding machine(s) that you might want now or in the future. I'd focus first on a MIG machine, then one that could do TIG and stick; acetylene is good to have too. Budgets ?????????? not in my vocabulary.

Hey benmychree,

Yes I am starting to rethink my electrical power and as my wife keeps telling my, “buy the best you can” when getting something new. Wow I'm a lucky guy! I'm starting to lean more to a MIG machine

Thanks for the feed back.
Harry

 

[HarryJM]

I agree, more power. 240V 30A will run one, maybe two things if I'm lucky. And that doesn't include lighting, climate control, etc.. If I were to run a sub-panel to the shop area, it would be 100A then I would just do branch circuits as needed. I've blown a 40A breaker when I was doing something else and forgot to turn off the compressor.

I own two welding setups. Oxy/Acetylene and MIG. For welding, I only use the MIG. Gas welding is annoying, but it's nice for cutting. My MIG is a Lincoln SP175 I believe, it's a 220V machine. I run it with the common CO2/Argon mix and solid wire. I can do 1/4" steel without issues with it. Much more and I would have to do V-grooves to get good penetration.

If I were buying today, I would still get the MIG. The gas I got mostly for cutting and plasma cutters have come down in cost so much that I would likely skip gas can get plasma. There are some decent stick/TIG machines out there that might be interesting as well. Particularly if I were to want to weld a lot of aluminum.

Hey ttabbal,

The Lincoln SP 175 is on my radar as a potential welder as they seem to have a good reputation. As a matter of fact it was that machine that started me thinking about something more than a 30 amp panel.

Thanks for the feed back.
Harry

 

[HarryJM]

I need TIG for the heat control/small weld capability, and AC/DC so I can weld aluminum. I have my eye on the digital one on the Eastwood site.

If I can ever afford to buy it.

Hey wrmiller,

I have also been reading about the benefits of AC/DC machines.

Thanks for the feed back.
Harry

 

[HarryJM]

Simple answer, I like my Hobart Handler 140. Its 110 volt powered, and is a good quality made in USA mig welder. It’ll run right at 500$. It has a lower duty cycle, but for a hobby guy, you have plenty of time grinding, cutting, and setup, that gives you plenty to do while welding. Good machine. I’d like to add a TIG welder down the line for welding aluminum and maybe someday stainless.

Hey Redmech,

I will keep the Hobart in mind although I'm starting to lean more to the TIG side due to its versatility.

Thanks for the feed back.
Harry

 

[HarryJM]

Since you know how to weld with Oxy/Acetylene that is the first thing I would get. (I have Oxy/Acetylene, mig and tig welders with life experience similar to yours).
You can weld about anything with the Oxy/Acetylene that you can with the others, maybe not as fast or as pretty but it should hold together fine. On top of that you can cut, heat to bend, case harden, temper and anneal,and suck on the oxygen for hang-over relief. You can usually find a good complete set in local buy&trade sites. Be sure to check with your supplier about their policies on tanks (sometimes they make you re-certify which is very expensive). Get a good name brand that your welding supply supports. Victor is hard to beat.

Hey Groundhog,

O/A would probably be my first choice if not for some other considerations such as the tanks and cost. While I am in good shape right now with very few aches and pains, I still have to consider the hauling those things up to my shed, which is an 75' uphill climb and that will not get easier with the coming years.

Thanks for the feed back.
Harry

 

[HarryJM]

At $500 I'd Say the Hobart as mentioned above would fill the bill. I picked one up last year because of the 110v, for portable use. It's a nice little machine, and does pretty much anything my big one will. If you get a spool gun for it later, you will have the option of doing aluminum, and tri-mix gas for stainless. Like Mike said above Oxy/Acetylene would also be an option, but getting setup for $500 is going to be tough. Mike

Hey FOMOGO,

Well the Hobart is now on my list as I was just reading about adding a spool gun as aluminum is defiantly on my list of metals to weld.

Thanks for the feed back.
Harry

 

[HarryJM]

i have several machines but back when i had them at my shop i bought a hobart 185 for the house. great little machine.
the 140 fits your budget but i would still go with the now 190.
everyone should also have o/a in my opinion but it takes a skill set that most today do not want to learn. (the skills transfer to tig and mig tho')
AND if you have the skills you can do A LOT with a henrob 2000

Hey cg285,

I defiantly recognize Hobart as a time honored name in welding and will continue my research on them.

Thanks for the feed back.
Harry

 

[HarryJM]

I agree the hobart 140 is the way to go ,put it on a 20 amp breaker and you are set to go.

Hey Kernbigo,

As I have mentioned above, Hobart is a defiantly on my radar.

Thanks for the feed back.
Harry