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hansie Premium Member
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 18, 2014 9:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Guys
I have a chance to pick up a Snap On 125 wire feed welder. Any pro or cons ?
Thanks for any input
Karl
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modok
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 20, 2014 3:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ten years late as usual but may be helpful to add........
Did a bunch of research on smaller transformer type mig welders and learned some neat stuff.
The number in the name does not necessarily reflect how powerful they really are.
The MM135 is still my favorite little mig welder, and now I know why.
Turns out most all the miller 130,135,175,180 AND hobart machines of same era used the same transformers and basic design. The transformer is a center tapped output thus uses half the rectifiers VS full wave, this accounts for why the miller is MORE POWERFUL than other 110V welders. More efficient.
They all had 4 or 7 power settings which were taps on the input side of transformer.

The newer miller machines had basically a dimmer switch with "infinite" power control. When these came out there were some complaints, I bought a used one just to avoid them. Dodged a bullet there. Supposedly the transformers weren't as good, and wire feed wasn't fully worked out, but is fixed now on the new ones sold today. The "auto-set" is partly to make up for the fact that infinite settings make it hard to set right, while with the 4 or 7 taps you learn each one well.

Hobart dodged the whole "dimmer switch" thing and used tap power control the whole time, and still does. the hobart 140, 187, 190 are still the same design as millers of 15 years ago.

The design of transformer on these is more efficient, but less steady power than a full wave rectifier. I find this to be PREFERABLE welding 14 gauge and thicker, but it may be a drawback to good control welding thinner materials.
The little 110 volt Lincoln transformer machines were not as powerful, but with the full wave power supply do have a smoother arc. Been told by muffler shops and pro welders that they are better for sheetmetal. Makes sense.

So now, IMO
the Lincon 110v transformer machines are very good for thin sheetmetal, marginal above 14 gauge

Miller 130,135,140....hobart 140 are the most powerful 110v machines, portable and useful up to 1/8 thickness and stretchable to some thicker stuff

miller 175,180, hobart180, 187, 190 are the same design but 230 volt,
Which makes them cheap, light, but very powerful!

So in retrospect I might be better off to have a small 110volt Lincoln and a 180 hobart and then no need for the 135 miller.......... but I'll keep it anyhow.
Of the small affordable machines you cannot expect a big one size to fit all. The MM180 does not weld thin stuff as well as the MM130, and one size wire does not fit all either. This is because the choke coil and capacitor aren't adjustable, at least not in the affordable models. Put small .023 wire in the small one and big .035 wire in the big one!

At work we have a new Lincoln 180, not a transformer machine. it works ok but WEAK compared to the 180 miller/hobart, I'll re-name it a 150 Laughing I would not pay 300$ for it. No point in having a WEAK 230 volt machine.

Transformer type MIG welders have not really improved in 20 years, keep an eye out for good deals Very Happy
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grey60
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 06, 2014 2:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Eastwood's MIG 135 rig:

<http://www.eastwood.com/mig-welder-110vac-135a-output.html>

Opinions? For a MIG newb doing major body work.

Thanks
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Busbodger
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 11, 2014 8:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hey, just thought I'd jump in here and leave my nickel's worth.

As for the cheap welders: ask to test drive it or make sure you can return it. Years ago I was given one of those little four temp flux core 110V welders. Nobody could get it to work but I was determined. It was a tough machine for an amateur like me to use b/c I had trouble deciding if I was making mistakes or the machine was a mess. Turns out it was a little of both.

I was restricted to flux core wire with no gas bottle or regulator. Flux core wire is just not well suited for thin materials such as 20ga steel. If I turned the machine down low, the wire wouldn't burn and flow right. If I turned it up higher then I burned through. When i finally got some thicker scrap to practice on I discovered that the duty cycle was so low that the machine would overheat in a short time and I'd spend minutes waiting for this welder to cool down. It did not have a fan. My solution (albeit a little dangerous) was to take the housing apart and expose everything to the atmosphere and aim a box fan at it. That helped. Next problem: the wire feeder was made of plastic and cheap metal parts and the rollers would slip leading to unreliable wire feed rates. A wooden (carpenter's) clamp helped that but the little bugger (welder) was a problem. I did get a few good welds out of it but the thickness of the material - the range of material I could weld successfully with flux core wire was very limited. Too thin and I'd burn holes. Very thick (like thicker than 16ga perhaps) and I'd start bumping into the duty cycle limitations. I gave itto a friend. Good riddens.

I bought a pair of Lincoln 180 (220V) MIGs for our shop at work. They are only doing maintenance and project work, not production of course. I set one up with a aluminum spoolgun and the other runs .030 MIG wire with 25/75 Ar/CO2 gas. Occasionally it runs the bigger wire and occasionally it runs .023 wire. It has never let us down and we have never run into it's duty cycle. These are the infinite heat adjustment welders (180C) version.

A buddy has one that he builds custom cars with. Also a 180C. Loves it. I have since bought a 180T for my home shop. This is the 180 version with discrete heat ranges (click-click, not infinite heat adjustment). You make up for the lack of inifinite heat adjustment with changes in your welding pace and the wire speed. I love it too. Never let me down. I've welded on my '97 VW Cabrio (22 ga steel?). I've welded brackets. Welded on a small utility trailer. I have welded on my bus, etc. My father also bought a Lincoln 180T and welds brackets and all sorts of stuff on his hot rod. He also has an oxy-acetlyene torch and an ancient Craftsman stick welder. He defaults to the MIG.

All of the better welders (and I suspect most of the cheaper welders too) have a chart inside the door on the side where the wire is installed that explains the heat and wire speeds based on MIG wire size and steel thickness. Generally on the Lincolns it is mostly right. For an important weld, practice on a similar thickness piece of scrap witht he machine set to the chart specs on the welder's sticker chart. Have a friend twist the heat (continuous adjustment machines) or wire speed (other MIG welders) a little each way until you find the exact setting you want. I've seen situations where I wanted to run the heat a half tick higher or lower than the chart called for. On my tapped machine I make these adjustments with the wire speed or the speed of my hand.

I set my gas flow at about 30 cfm based on the chart recommendations.

Lastly there are all sorts of welding videos on YouTube to watch and learn from. I like the MIGwelding UK website. I also like the Welding Tips and Tricks videos.
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 11, 2014 9:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Oh and I wanted to add that I keep a $150 Miller auto dark helmet in my toolbox at work. It's worth it. Neve failed me and i like being able to adjust the shade. On a big project here at home I'll bring the helmet home.

For little stuff I have a very cheap fixed shade, big window helmet. For the lowest power welds I use a shade #7 glass and then bump it up to a #10 or #11 for high powered welding such as on a trailer. I can't even begin to see what I am doing with a #10 and the lowest temp setting. These lens I have purchased from Airgas, Tractor supply or Holston's Welding supply. Not expensive. AVOID the plastic lens. I have a plastic lens in a handheld welding shield that I never ever use. I let my visitors watch through that sometimes. The plastic is easily pitted, burned or scratched where the glass lenses are much tougher that I have in my helmet. I think I paid about $2 for each glass lense shade. Helmet came with a #9 and I added a #7, #8 and #10.
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Busbodger
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 12, 2014 7:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

My Lincoln (and so do the Millers and Hobarts for sure) have a chart like this inside the door:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_nJDavGdQhBE/TU2uZRbmHbI/AAAAAAAAAac/jtgJSyCMjxo/s1600/100_3794.JPG

The left column helps you find the gauge of steel that you are welding so you can make the chart useful.

The column under the gas bottom with the red X over it shows that they do not recommend welding with flux core wire on thin materials like body panels. Even with .030" fluxcore wire they don't recommend welding on anything thinner than 16GA. You have to use fluxcore wire to weld the max thicknesses the machine can do like 1/4" and 1/2" materials.

The next column is for welding with Ar/CO2. Notice at the top of the column that the polarity on your leads have to be reversed and the gas cup has to be installed on the gun. It says you can weld all the way down to 24GA. I did 22GA this week. That takes some practice but the results were very good. In fact my repair required almost no filler, just some spot putty. The fix was a line of rust about 3/16" wide and 4" long near a side window on our VW Cabrio. Made a patch, started the weld on the patch and took the puddle over onto the car's steel to minimize burn through.

Lastly along the bottom of the chart and the right most column shows the recommended gun movements and positioning, wire stick out (3/8") gas flow (30-40 CFM), etc. I'll throw in there that if you are welding on really thin stuff, go ahead and clip off the end of the MIG wire (1/8") before each weld is started. You don't have to do that if you are welding and stop (stitch welding), just each time the wire gets cold. Less resistance when you start a new weld when the welder amperage s turned down real low and the weld looks better. If I was welding on something thick enough that the welder was turned up hotter, I don't worry about it then.

I don't know whether any of this information (on the Lincoln sticker) would apply to a HF or Northern Tool welder. If the welder you look at doesn't offer a good chart or some good guidance on how to set the machine - I say just keep looking. The company is selling you a welder without telling you how to get the most out of it.

Lastly - went to a trade show (FabTech) several years ago in Atlanta. Disovered Everlast and Longevity welders and plasma cutters. NICE machines. Better warranty these days. They are Chinese built machines and at the time cheaper than the mainstream American machines. If I was going to buy a TIG machine (and I'd love to have one at home) I'd look at those two brands too. At work I purchased a Lincoln 275 TIG/stick welder so on the rare occasion that I need a TIG or stick can take my parts there and use it. Also have access to an inverter TIG (older Miller of some sort) which is much more portable.

Fwiw Fabtech will be in Atlanta again in NOV. It free and I recommend it as a neat little field trip to see all the machines. I'll be there with a couple van loads of guys.
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modok
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 27, 2014 6:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My eastwood 135 shocks me as I try to use it. I found the problem and fixed it........... but it does not excuse........... a basic failure of common sense.

IMO eastwood can go electrocute themselves. Literally. Morons.
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MMW
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 28, 2014 8:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

modok wrote:
My eastwood 135 shocks me as I try to use it. I found the problem and fixed it........... but it does not excuse........... a basic failure of common sense.

IMO eastwood can go electrocute themselves. Literally. Morons.


Care to explain what you found & how you fixed it so it may help someone else out in the future?
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Busbodger
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 29, 2014 2:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

modok wrote:
My eastwood 135 shocks me as I try to use it.


I've been shocked by a welder when i was resting my bare hand on the part being welded (or the steel welding table). This happened when i forgot to attach the ground clamp to the work table or the part being welded.

Alternatively this can happen if your ground clamp has been damaged by arcing on a rust piece of metal. The clamp faces (the parts that touch the metal) needed to be cleaned up. Sandpaper or file works. A 2" or 3" air grinder with a Scotchbrite disc on it is my favorite.

I'd love to here how your welder shocked you. You aren't welding barefoot are you? Wink
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 08, 2014 11:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I had a fully adjustable Lincoln SP-135 Plus. Good welder, but didn't think I used it enough so I sold it (I'm still kicking myself for that one). I bought a tapped Hobart H140 and lice it better that my 'old' Lincoln. It has a softer arc so great for sheet metal -- and more power for the heavier stuff.
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modok
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 02, 2014 6:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Busbodger wrote:


I'd love to here how your welder shocked you. You aren't welding barefoot are you? Wink


Because the rubber insulation on the welding gun was conductive. Really!
I fixed it later that day by prying the rubber off and replacing with silicone tape, and it is working quite well.

Sorry for the delay in further explanation, I was in a bad mood.
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 02, 2014 8:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks!
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 26, 2014 8:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Miller is running a year end promotional special on some stuff, I just took delivery of this unit
http://www.millerwelds.com/products/multiprocess/product.php?model=M00361
I ended up getting the tig torch and pedal included as a free promotional item, and then there is a $250 dollar rebate that covers the spool gun. The local shop let me test weld on one for a while, running on 110 volt, the arc is really steady and controllable for small stuff. When you switch it to a 220 volt source it welds like my 260 amp mig machine. No affiliation, just a good deal, for $2099 till years end ($1850 after the rebate!)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Miller-Multimatic-200-MIG-...540d6d3486
Mod feel free to delete this if you want, or after years end and the promotion is up..
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 27, 2014 9:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sweet machine!!! And buy a good helmet! Loaned my Miller auto helmet ($150 about three years ago) to my fixed shade helmet using father. He ordered one same day. Hard to believe as he's had negative things to say about them since the 1970s when he sold them. Wink

Look at the response times of the imported budget solar-only helmets and the "good" name brand battery/solar helmets. Big difference.

As it is safety gear, its worth it. Protect those eyes. My wife had very serious vision problems a few years ago unrelated to welding or garage stuff. It was scary pondering her being blind. 35 trips and multiple surgeries and she's good for now. (Vandy Eye Clinic is the best...)
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 27, 2014 8:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Busbodger wrote:
Sweet machine!!! And buy a good helmet! Loaned my Miller auto helmet ($150 about three years ago) to my fixed shade helmet using father. He ordered one same day. Hard to believe as he's had negative things to say about them since the 1970s when he sold them. Wink

Look at the response times of the imported budget solar-only helmets and the "good" name brand battery/solar helmets. Big difference.

As it is safety gear, its worth it. Protect those eyes. My wife had very serious vision problems a few years ago unrelated to welding or garage stuff. It was scary pondering her being blind. 35 trips and multiple surgeries and she's good for now. (Vandy Eye Clinic is the best...)


I bought a speedglas adjustable shade helmet the same day I first tried one 18 years ago. Not only has it made me a better welder, there is very limited chance of flashing my eyes now, as I'm always starting behind the shade. Now I have a few of them, it makes it easier to teach someone how to weld.
SD
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 29, 2015 5:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just bought a torchweld.com Cant wait to use it. It welds anything up to 3/8 and cuts steel up to 1"...better cuts than a plasma. He demonstated every weld possiable , stainless, aluniman, cast, rusty metal, etc. Welds as good as a tig, but no electricity, and uses 70 percent less gas. You can see his work on youtube......
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 18, 2015 6:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

i use this one
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


I also have a snapon welding helmet that has a grinding feature, works like a charm. a lot faster response time to my harbor freight special Cool
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 26, 2015 10:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I love my miller. Runs on 110 or 220v. Will do up to 3/8" steel and is just plain kick ass. I have the miller auto darkening helmet as well that was definitely worth the money.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

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PostPosted: Sun Jun 28, 2015 10:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Anyone have any experience with Longevity welders? More specifically the migweld 140 model.
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 30, 2015 12:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Looking at picking up the below Lincoln 120 MIG Flux Core package. Looks like a good buy for a little under $500, plus I can stretch out the financing for no additional cost if I get it at Lowe's (I know, big box stores are garbage) Laughing . I will be using it for floor pans, luggage parcel tray and maybe some body panels. No frame or chassis work though.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_256722-1703-K2480-1_1z0wcia__?productId=1072945&pl=1

Looked at local craigslist and can't find anything comparable in price that isn't beat up or hella old. Plus I like the idea of knowing it's still within factory warranty for a couple years (as opposed to buying used). Any thoughts?

bugger101, looks to be close to the model you posted, minus the cart????
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