ok ive been looking at the hobart 140 welder. it plugs into 120v thats a plus for me i dont have any oter plug ins. the current range is 25-140 amps and can weld 24gauge to 1/4 inch thick metal. what do you guys think will it be good enough to do work like (roll cage,sas,sliders,bumpers,ext). if not does anybody know of a welder that could do all of that with a 120v hook up thanks for the help.

 

That's a pretty good little welder there. I've used it for many items on my truck. Repaired cracked welds in frame, re-attached frame brackets, welded my front diff, re-shafted my idler arm. Definetely enough for your purposes.

 

U would be much better upgrading to 220. It is a great running welder we have several at work but just for welding thin material such as exhaust pipe. Even though it is rated at 1/4 in that rating is based on ideal conditions which u wont encounter often in the real world. But if 110 is ur only power option i would highly suggest using dual shield wire, basically flux cored wire that also requires a shielding gas. Ive never used it on a 110 but i use it on my miller 180 all the time and itll give you about a third better penetration. Message me if u have any questions i know first hand how overwhelming all the information and opinions can get when ur looking into buying a welder.

 

The Hobart 140 is a great little machine for what you plan on doing. The penetration for a 1/4 inch thick piece of metal you plan on welding wont be as ideal as it would with a higher amp 220 volt machine, but it will do it with decent results.

 

Any opinions on the Hobart Handler 187? The local Tractor Supply has these in stock for less than $600. I'm currently rewiring my garage with a subpanel and a 220v outlet just for the purpose.

It should be plenty powerful for all the suspension mods. I'll have to weld the knuckles back onto a Dana 44. The how-to's on that subject say a 120v MIG is too small and a Millermatic 250 is more than enough. Wonder where the Hobart 180amp falls in that range?

What is the right shielding gas for general steel welding? Do you buy or rent a tank? What's a ballpark cost for that?

 

92% argon 8% co2 where i get my stuff the tank itself was 180 or so for a life time lease. that price is just what poped in my head tho could be way off and cost about 30 to fill but all of this depends on how big of a tank u get as well

 

thats not a bad welder but i would really recommend installing a 220 outlet and stepping up a bit
it will be suitable for your truck's needs

 

the miller Matic Passport Plus is a good machine also. It is really nice to have that little CO2 tank for welding in the field/on the go. Not to mention you can run 110/220 with just the change of the plug. The welds are nice also and it is portable--welds to 3/8 inch i do believe and 1/4 inch Alum.

 

I wouldn't buy a wire welder under 200amps.
I wouldn't buy a wire welder that only has position switches for voltage or heat (wire feed speed / amps)
Run some 220v wiring.
Gas wise, the larger the tank the less expencive. Buying a tank and refilling > leasing a tank. Good cost effective sizes in most aeras that wont simply sell you a 325+^ft tank is 120-150^ft.



Gas types it depends on what you want to weld. A home welder is not going to have the amperage and voltage output for the majority of the weld processes out there. You'll be limiting yourself to short-circuit welding.
For mild steel welding you wont beat C25. 75% argon, 25% co2

For welding stainless you have several choices, most of them only so-so.
Argon with, 5-10% co2, 1-3% o2 general purpose, all transfer
90% helium, 7.5% ar, 2.5% co2 for short circuit transfer
Argon with 1-2% o2 for spray transfer
Helium rocks, but it's both outright expencive and you use ALOT of it
Many people like a It's a 90/8/2 argon co2 o2 mix. Understand that particular gas mix works aight, but is NOT for multi-pass welding.


Aluminum, most non-ferrous, etc you're mostly stuck with straight argon or argon+helium mixes if you need more heat.