Which Mig Welder should I buy

[Endangered Species]

I'm looking at Mig Welders... currently I have a Lincoln 175 Tig welder but trying to weld old metal on my car is going to be a pain in the azz with the Tig. To hard to get into position in some cases, not to mention Tigs are not very forgiving if you hit some dirty metal that you didn't see.... spend way too much time griding tungsten.

I was looking at the Lincoln 140C mig with the ifinite heat control. My question is how important is the infinate heat control? Can I get away with a a130T or 140T with the clicker heat control and a $100.00 - $200.00 less?

I just don't want to get into blowing holes in the metal because I can't lower the heat enough when I'm doing 22ga or some of the old not so perfect metal on the car.

I'm trying to stay on budget but I will not by a Chi-Com welder! Made in the USA only.

 

[Meep-Meep]

I know exactly what you mean with the TIG. I used it to do my window repair and it was great because I had good control of the heat but many trips to the grinder!!

I have a Hobart 140 that I got from Northern Tool. It was something like $450.00 to my door and had everything but a gas bottle. For thin stuff I just have to watch the red around the puddle and stop before the hole happens. In other words use my own computer feedback system between my ears!

 

[Propwash]

Lincoln 140's, Millermatic 140, Hobart 140......All pretty good unit's. You'll have no issue's welding down to 22Ga. Had a Lincoln, worked good. Now have a Miller, love it. Myself, I prefer the infinate heat control. Let's you fine tune your settings. When you get down to the 22GA range, you're gonna want the extra flexibility to dial your machine in just right. Not a very good time to figure out you can't dial in your wire diameter and welding technique to accomodate the click dial settings on your welder. You should be able to dial your amps/speed in to accomodate you wire size, welding area and welding technique. Hope that makes sense to ya...All in all, infinate dial just takes one more variable out of trying to make all the aspects of achieving a good weld possible.

Good luck, either way you'll be pretty happy with a Lincoln.

 

[detmatt1]

I agree with Propwash, you will easily burn up a couple hundred dollars worth of your time over the life of the welder wishing you had the infinite controls. Love my Miller 140!

 

[shag766]

I agree with Propwash, you will easily burn up a couple hundred dollars worth of your time over the life of the welder wishing you had the infinite controls. Love my Miller 140!

x2, good luck

 

[hunt2elk]

I just upgraded to a Millermatic 140 and am very glad I went with the infinate heat control option. When welding the thinner metals you can fine tune to the exact heat range, making it much easier to get a perfect bead.

 

[Cranky]

And use .030 wire. It's very easy to use on sheet metal plus you can weld the heavier stuff by varying your heat without changing the spool. Also, to minimize costs over time, use the largest spool you can and go with a large bottle. It costs nearly as much to fill a bottle half the size as it does to fill a full size one and by the time you spend money on several small spools, you could have bought a large one and have more wire to start with.

 

[Pastortom1]

With my Lincoln 135, even on low, I have still burned a few holes where I certainly didn't want'em.

I love the welder otherwise............

 

[Endangered Species]

Thanks all of you for you input, I knew you guys would point me in the right direction. I'm just going to hold out for the infinate heat control.
I'm kind of partial to Lincoln only because they're made 2 hours noth east of me. I would have no problem going with a Miller if I can find one at the right price.
If I'm not mistaking, Miller makes Hobart, it's just every Hobart I've seen has the clicker heat control.

What do you guys use for gas? Can I get away with straight argon or do I have to go with the 75/25 Co2/Argon mix?

 

[74sundance]

I love my Miller 175,when I got it they were $1200.00-$1500.00can but now you can get a Miller 180 for $900.00-$1200can and for an extra $200.00can you can get a spool gun and weld aluminum.My brother in-law is a welder and can't believe how good of a welder it is.And my friend is a auto body guy and he swears by it.And my mechanic friend can't weld to save his life so he calls me and I use his new Miller 180 I talked him into buying lol.......Around here Miller parts are always in stock but Lincoln parts are always a waiting game. The Miller 175-180 are both 220v 40amp but I think the Miller 140 is a 120v welder and I have heard good things about it as well.
Here is a shot of my Miller 175 in action

 

[Cranky]

thanks all of you for you input, i knew you guys would point me in the right direction. I'm just going to hold out for the infinate heat control.
I'm kind of partial to lincoln only because they're made 2 hours noth east of me. I would have no problem going with a miller if i can find one at the right price.
If i'm not mistaking, miller makes hobart, it's just every hobart i've seen has the clicker heat control.

What do you guys use for gas? Can i get away with straight argon or do i have to go with the 75/25 co2/argon mix?

75/25....

 

[darkhorse]

I have two welders at the house a millermatic 175 and a miller 250. Both rock! one for my big stuff and one for my small...personally IMO you cant go wrong with a MIller 175 or that 140 miller. I use 75/25 as well. I also just purchased a hobart 140, its 110v machine from N.Tool damn good price like $320 for machine another $49 for gas set up. I well be using this in our maint.dept at work it hasnt arrived yet, so not sure how good it is. Hobart had a strong name once, but since being purchased by miller I have been hearing there quality went south, I'll see when this welder gets here if it holds up .

 

[Propwash]

Hobart is a toned down Miller, and yes is owned and MFG by Miller. They bought them to be able to streamline in cheaper entry level welders to compete with the other store shelf brand welders being sold at Lowes and Home Depot.

Kind of funny you're sticking with Lincoln cause it's right down the road from you. I bought my most recent Miller because they're made only 30 minutes from my house.

 

[Endangered Species]

Hobart is a toned down Miller, and yes is owned and MFG by Miller. They bought them to be able to streamline in cheaper entry level welders to compete with the other store shelf brand welders being sold at Lowes and Home Depot.

Kind of funny you're sticking with Lincoln cause it's right down the road from you. I bought my most recent Miller because they're made only 30 minutes from my house.

Yha the biggest Hobart outlet is Tractor Supply, so I figured that Hobart was the Mass Merchant brand for Miller.... Which isn't a bad thing. Good for Miller dealers. If I'm not mistaking I think Hobart’s (when they were Hobart) was made in Western Ohio. I remember driving by the plant 13-14 years ago, but can't remember what town I was in.

You're right, that's why I'm leaning towards Lincoln.... Got to feed the locals if you can. Miller is in Appleton right?

The bottom line is Made in the USA!

 

[moparpoor]

I use the miller 140 110volt unit in the collision field for exterior panel replacement for the last 6 years.Love it,works great,and easy to get parts.The other mig welder I use is the HTP 160 inverter welder $900.00 to purchase new.It has been beat,used,abused,pushed to its limits for the last 12 years in the production field with no problems.Its one of the best welders I have ever owned or used.Hell I used it to resurface the cutting edge on a case wd14b loader bucket.If I remember correctly I paid $450 for the miller.

 

[YY1]

I just bought a used Hobart 140 with regulator and bottle for $270, which is a smoking deal down here. Sure didn't see any new ones for $320. What was shipping? Tractor supply has them for $500+

Anyway, there was flux core loaded, and I haven't welded anything for over 20 years, but damn if my very first bead on a scrap of 1/8 steel (using the factory reccomended settings) didn't look good.

BTW, the gun says Miller right on it.

I think I'm gonna be REAL happy with this welder, although I did shop around for a variable heat setting, just couldn't find one for less than $500 without a bottle, although I did find a Miller 170 with bottle for $500. Now THAT's a smokin deal. If only I had 220 in my shop.....

 

[scotts74birds]

I bought a Hobart Handler 175 a year ago on Craigs for $350. Had the cart, Jackson auto-dark hood, gloves. Most of the work I do is sheetmetal. It has the 4 position current switch. Wish it was variable. But folks have been welding great with that stuff for 50 years! The big thing on the new cheaper Hobarts is more plastic in the wire drive system. BTW!! Great site for Hobart issues, or welding help!!http://www.hobartwelders.com/weldtalk/index.php

 

[Propwash]

You're Right KD......Miller's based in Appleton, WI!

 

[Endangered Species]

I bought a Hobart Handler 175 a year ago on Craigs for $350. Had the cart, Jackson auto-dark hood, gloves. Most of the work I do is sheetmetal. It has the 4 position current switch. Wish it was variable. But folks have been welding great with that stuff for 50 years! The big thing on the new cheaper Hobarts is more plastic in the wire drive system. BTW!! Great site for Hobart issues, or welding help!!http://www.hobartwelders.com/weldtalk/index.php

Scotts74, that's a great web site.... it's the FBBO of welding. Thanks!

 

[YY1]

Awesome site. It even looks and feels like FBBO. I did notice that there was a lot of plasic under the cover. BTW that Miller 170 had the "adaptive" wire feed, and my research indicated it could be a bear for an inexperienced user to operate. That welder did sell in less than 2 days. I was one call away from buying it anyway, even though I couldn't use it until I do my electric, but then the guy listed the Hobart about 10 min before I was going to call, so I called him instead His listing didn't even last a day. Decent MIG units usually don't last a week down here, if they are reasonably priced.