EClayton08

Alright I got a cheapo ARC welder for Christmas. It only welds 18gage and 1/8". I am gonan take it back and get my money back, and get a fire feeder. I was searching eBay and came across this wire feeder with a MIG conversion kit hereeBay auction this is gonna be for teaching me and welding on my friends Jeep for a trail rig. Will this be good enough to weld on a rig? I'm sure he will want a full cage and when be buys it might want me to weld it, would that hold? Also for the MIG conversion, how much would that cost for the tank and gas? Would it be better to get the MIG converion or just the electric? Thanks in advance.

Runner4

I'm not a professional welder by any means, but I have used them quite often. I would suggest to take a trip to a local welding supply store )if you have one around) and check out the MIG welders by Miller. They make the best welders, and alot of times they are on sale. I purchased a Miller-matic, 135 Amp, Wire Feed MIG welder for about $270-300, and it is geat. If you are going to go with a wire fed system, you definately need to get a tank of gas in order to keep your welds "clean" and reduce air pockets. A 135 Amp welder should do everything that you would need it to.

Dave

Cebby

I haven't had it out recently, but I have a Lincoln Electric MIG. Not sure of the amps, but I can weld 3/16-1/4" plate with it (Steel). With different wire on the spool, I can do Stainless or Aluminum. BTW, gotta have the gas. For steel, it's an Argon & ? sheilding gas. I really need to break it out and

growinseed

From what I've learned. Standard rod/arc welders are the most vesitle i.e. 'old' metals, over head welding, ackward spaces, non perfect fits, etc. With wire feed you get 'clean' welds and are great for assembley 'on the bench' but you need to air to get strong welds. With practice you get 'clean' welds with an ARC as well. I've beening fixing broken ag. parts for the past 6 years. I've thought about getting a wire feed for awhile but haven't justified the purchace.
Askings around, some of the big time fabricators in my area said if they could only have one type it would be a rod/arc welder because of it usuability.
If you have never welded before, I'd exchange the cheap arc welder for a varible AC/DC ARC and get good at putting iron together. Build some stuff with scrap ( go to a metal fabricators they always have rems.) DC is a very 'clean' ARC weld.
Personally I like using 1/8" rod. It 'fits' into the seam well and holds great on schedule 40-80 pipe. Made some jackstands out of pipe and flat iron (approx 3/8" thick). I'd aggree that yu don't need more than a 135 amp. welder.

Nathan

Shane

"C25" 25% CO2 75% Argon

The alternative is to use flux-core but it's not as easy to work with and there's lots of cleanup to do between passes.

If you have to get a 110v wire feed welder get the biggest (highest amperage) one you can afford and plan to move up to 220v as soon as you can. I personally won't use a 110v on anything that could put my life in danger if it were to fail, including cages and suspension components. Take a class at your local community college or tech school so you can learn how to weld correctly and safely. Don't forget safety equipment like a hood and fire-retardant clothing.