I know that you probably feel I am that little devil on your shoulder, but I PROMISE you that you won't regret going with the 220. I believe any welder on this board or any other would back me up on that one. Best of luck dude...

 

Thanks to everyone! I'm about to make a phone call to find out about classes at a locao tech college around here. I'm going to try to find a shop here locally that has both the lincolns and millers, and see if there's much difference. I've heard that Lincolns are harder to get parts and service on, so I'm leaning towards the miller 175, but the miller is also considerably more money too. You can't win for losing!

Chris

 

Well, while trying to decide what welder to get and what classes to take, my buddies dad bought a lincoln 135. So, I went over to see how their welding on their buggy was coming along, and it is much easier to use than his stick welder. They are only using flux-cored wire right now, and it produces a lot better welds than just the stick welder. They are so easy to use. They have the little chart that tells you exactly what temp and wire feed speed to put it on, and you're ready to weld. Pretty neat!

But, here's my question. I noticed that after like 14 or 16 gauge metal, you have to use flux-cored wire with now gas up to 1/4" thick material. What I'm wondering is if I got a 175 or higher welder, could I use the gas up to 1/4" thick material so I could make really nice welds?

Hope that makes sense!

Chris

 

I am a little confused and a whole lot hung over but I think I know what you are asking. With a 220 machine you would not need flux core on 1/4" metal. Welding with flux core sucks and should only be done if absolutely needed. With normal garage use and a nice 220 machine, that will probably be never...

 

Gotcha! That's what I was thinking. I couldn't figure out what the benefit was from going to a 220V other than power, until I discovered that sure the 135 can weld 1/4", but only with flux-cored. I want a welder that can weld 1/4" using gas, so the welds are SWEEEEET!

Thanks man,

Chris

 

Sorry don't meqn to high-jack thhis thread but,

44Runner,

I too am in the market for a 175 mig. I bought a Lincoln 175 from Lowes today but it's not the plus. I did'nt realize it only has a 20% duty cycle until I got home. I was in Roanoke this weekend so I checked out Lowes Depot did'nt even have the 175. So I'm going to return it for a better machine.
I'm leaning towards the MM175. The MM has infinate voltage control and the wire speed adjust automatically to the voltage. My question is, can this feature be overridden? Would there ever be a need to adjust wire speed and voltage independantly?
Ravencr may get some help out of this as well. I really think the MM175 is worth it. I found some on e-bay new for $654.00 free shipping. Thanks,
mike

 

I don't know enough about that machine to give you a definate answer. Seems to me there are definately times were you will need to adjust these settings independently from each other. I am 99.9% sure that you can do that with the MillerMatic 175. The feature you speak about is just a quick helper type thing. Somebody here has to own one of these things. It is a very propular machine. I know I want one bad. This is the machine I have had my beady little eyes on for some time now. I have yet to do any serious looking at it because I don't have the funds, but I know the duty cycle is 30% just because I have seen this machine talked about so many times.

654 is a pretty good price. Most places have them from 660 or so to 700. Just remember to save money for gas and a lease on a tank or a tank purchase

I'm jealous and hate you, but I hope you have fun with your new toy. Peace...

 

Yeah, when I get one, it's going to be either the Miller 175 or 210, but I don't know when I'll have the money. I have been told now by numerous people that it's the only way to go.

Chris

 

Thanks 44,
I'll call Miiler today and ask. I was going to look you up this weekend but I had the wife with me. We ended up spending high dollars on a Surround Sound and 51" wide screen .
I think we met at Paragon in June. Love your Runner!!
mike

 

Making nice welds comes from practice, it's not a matter of it being stick or MIG. I know folks that can stick well enough that you'd swear it was MIG, and they can TIG well enough that you'd think they used epoxy and created a "weld effect" with body putty.

MIG and Stick weld in different ways, but both are operating on the same basic principal. The main difference is where the gas comes from that shields the arc from distroying the metal that's being joined. These may help:

MIG:
http://www.weldingengineer.com/1mig.htm

Stick:
http://www.weldingengineer.com/1stick.htm


Again, you should take that class before you buy a welder - it's the only way to get personal knowledge of what will work best for you. If you get the itch to weld at home while in the class, you obviously have access to welders that you can use/play with/practice with.

 

Nice welds definately come from practice, but flux core definately creates more spatter. For anyone looking to go a little cheaper keep the Hobart 175 in mind. It is almost identical to the Miller but almost 100 bucks cheaper...

 

Well, I just orderd my MM175 from Cyberweld $660.00 shipped. I did ask 'Joe' if you can adjust the voltage and wire speed independantly, and he said yes. There is a switch for that, otherwise the wire speed follows the voltage.
I'm still debating a tank or flux-core for now. Man I spent alot of money this weekend.
mike

 

Bite the bullet and go for a tank. Flux-core sucks. Besides, spending money is like pulling off a bandaid. You gotta do it all at once so it doesn't hurt as bad...

 

Well, I just have to say I might have come across one sweet deal today. Last week I went to a small welding shop that a guy has out behind his house, because it was nearby my house. I talked with him about my bumper plans, welding my limiting strap tabs, rewelding my panhard drop bracket, and sliders, and then said we'd get together this week to start doing some of it.

Well, I met with him tonight, and he's one cool guy. He's been doing it for just under 20 years, and he's awesome! He welded my panhard drop bracket and limiting strap tabs on using a Lincoln 255 welder with 75/25 gas mixture, and the welds look awesome. I was very impressed!

He said the 175 Miller or Lincoln was definitely the smallest size if you plan to weld 1/4" material regularly with gas. A 135 size will not weld 1/4" thick material using gas. The 135's can only do it using flux-cored wire.

So, then this is when it gets real good. He offered to let me learn how to weld, with his guidance, using his equipment!!! All I would have to do is pay for the material that I used. How sweet is that?

At any rate, the next thing we're going to work on is my rear bumper, and he said that he'd let me weld as much of it as I wanted with his help wherever I needed it, which will probably need a lot!

I'm so pumped!

4xJedi, not to steal your thunder on your awesome purchase. I wish I had the money to buy one, because I'd be buying the exact same thing you just bought! Congrats, and I can't wait to see your first creation!

Chris