Any Opinions on this MIG Welder?

Mark,

You are right, it is rare I handle amything over 1/2, but I collect junk and there is some heavy crap in there, like rail road track and boiler plate, old furnaces, that kind of stuff. I am thinking of a slide on over the teeth / chain bind blade for my excavator so I can use it for cleanup more efficiently, and that will need to be well put together. I am thinking of tacking it and then bringing it to a buddy who is a pro welder to fininsh it off but I like your glow technique.

Xpos,

I see the guage now so if it comes with it all the better. I rented bottles for a few years at "only $9" a month until I woke up and relized I had already bought the damn things $$ wise, but I was still paying rent. MIght be prudent to rent oxy / acetylene until you decide it is your thing, but go ahead and get a welder bottle when you buy it so you dont have a rolls of flux core / referse polarity all that . Start with gas. It is cheaper in the not so long run and easier/cleaner

It is a minor inconvineince now since the outfit I bought my bottles from in Oregon used a different size bottle than the outfit I am dealing with now, I have to get my bottles filled rather than roll in a simpy swap out, but they will come out to my house and pick them up an return them a week later on there run if I want them too, but I am not using the gas like I used to now that I am building my house
 
shinnlinger said:
Dougster, I will throw in one final plug for this. Rather than spend $1000 plus on that welder (and proably another couple hundred at least on a helmet, grinder, torch, metal saw etc) and then mess with figuring it out, Why not spend $275 and 10 mondays learning how to use the welder you already own? The $$$ saved will more than cover that couple of hundred for the hemet grinder etc and you can spend the rest on Starbucks or a snowshovel or something

I only say this because it seems like the obvious choice for a cash starved individual, but also you will learn how to properly join metal in that class which is essential regardless of welder used. Literally someones life (probably yours) can be endangered if you lay a nice looking over amped hot blob from that mig on a bucket hook only to have it pull loose because you didn't bevel grind the hook before attaching and build up the weld on the proper settings. As they say "It aint the wand it is the magiacian" 3 months from now you could be that magician.
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Shinn - I appreciate you trying yet again to drill this obvious dollars & cents logic into my thick skull... but as things continue to evolve here toward the start of my second (and very possibly last) digging season, the two issues are becoming somewhat independent of each other. Fact is that it is entirely possible that I will take the stick welding class but still purchase the MIG welder anyway. Don't look for it to necessarily make economic sense. There are too many other factors at play here. :o

Dougster
 
Mark777 said:
Dougster,

Back to your original post about opinions…I have the Miller 210 and believe it to be the exact same model as the Hobart you’ve pictured above. In fact it looks the same other than the Logo and the color. I’m at the end of my third year, use an average of 90 pounds of .023 and .035 wire per year, use 75/25 argon-CO2 gas and the welder has performed flawlessly. I seldom endorse any product or tool using that term (flawless) but after 20 years and using and owning a Lincoln, Marquette and two Solar welders the Miller is just superior in performance and durability.

Shinnlinger’s suggestion to attend a class (welding 101) is an excellent idea. Having gone through an I-CAR class which is similar to the ones most JC’s offer…led me to discover all the tricks, tips and techniques that only enhances the equipment and operators performance. Even though I thought I knew it all and was taught by masters in the trade, I was so wrong concerning controlled deformation, structural strengths and weaknesses and setup. It’s well worth the money spent and should be budgeted along with the initial price of your welder.

Mark
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Lots of good info here in this thread. Dougster, I'm in agreement with some of the others. My unsolicited advise would be to learn to use the stick machine you have, first. Take a class and burn the $275. You will never regret it because you will learn a lot more than just welding a couple chunks of steel togather. However if you still want to buy a MIG machine I think the Hobart, Miller, or Lincoln would all be good machines. Kinda like tractors, depends on the color. I'm a welder. It's been my hobby since I was in high school and took shop classes. Before I retired I was on the tech school advisory board for their welding program and took classes at the same time because I like to weld so much. I'm no expert for sure, but have a lot of time booked holding a welding handle of some sort. I am very blessed to have a Millermatic 250X and the Miller Spoolmatic 30A, a Lincoln 175 combination stick/tig, Miller Bobcat 225 NT comb welder/generaror with the S-32P in the field wire feed attachment, and a Lincoln Pro-Cut 55 plasma cutter. What do I use the most.......the Miller MIG unit. But, I learned to weld stick first, years back and I've always been glad I did. It's just the foundation of welding, and once you get trained to stick weld everything else becomes almost like second nature and much more understandable in a welding kinda way. However, a welding class will not teach you to spell 'winch' correctly.:pat: (three point WENCH attachment thread):eek: Best of luck, whatever your outcome is.
 
Mark777 said:
Dougster, Back to your original post about opinions…I have the Miller 210 and believe it to be the exact same model as the Hobart you’ve pictured above. In fact it looks the same other than the Logo and the color. I’m at the end of my third year, use an average of 90 pounds of .023 and .035 wire per year, use 75/25 argon-CO2 gas and the welder has performed flawlessly. I seldom endorse any product or tool using that term (flawless) but after 20 years and using and owning a Lincoln, Marquette and two Solar welders the Miller is just superior in performance and durability.

Shinnlinger’s suggestion to attend a class (welding 101) is an excellent idea. Having gone through an I-CAR class which is similar to the ones most JC’s offer…led me to discover all the tricks, tips and techniques that only enhances the equipment and operators performance. Even though I thought I knew it all and was taught by masters in the trade, I was so wrong concerning controlled deformation, structural strengths and weaknesses and setup. It’s well worth the money spent and should be budgeted along with the initial price of your welder.

Mark
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Hi Mark - I don't believe the Miller 210 is the same machine (internally) as the Hobart Ironman 210. Check me out on this. I believe the Miller 210 has much beefier components, has higher duty cycles... and is significantly more expensive.

Dougster
 
NIca,

I just thought it was the welding fumes that were effecting your spelling. Actually around here, Wench seems to be the spelling (or at least the pronuncation) of choice when to refering to winches AND significant others. Serously, at least every other 4x4 is advertised with a wench.

It seems like you are our resident welding expert....Doc, might be time for a new forum....Welding 101.
 
xPosTech said:
Doug does that H210 have a two stage trigger? I mean, will it kick on the gas before you start the arc/wire feed? I'm wrong a lot lately, but I believe the spool gun will allow you to do that.

It's like a 'purge' to insure you have gas at the tip when you strike the arc. You can do it manually and cut off the wire that spews out until gas fills the line. Most migs turn on juice, wire feed and gas at the same time.

You might only need to purge for the first weld if you are organized more than moi. Weld, weld, weld rather than weld, stop, align, clamp, light cig, weld, etc. :rolleyes:

Ted
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Hi Ted - It comes with the Miller M-10 MIG welding gun. I can't find the answer to your question re: two stage trigger anywhere. :o

Dougster
 
Dougster said:
Hi Mark - I don't believe the Miller 210 is the same machine (internally) as the Hobart Ironman 210. Check me out on this. I believe the Miller 210 has much beefier components, has higher duty cycles... and is significantly more expensive.
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Mark - Here are the two sets of detailed specs.

http://www.hobartwelders.com/pdf/spec_sheets/IronMan_210.pdf

http://www.millerwelds.com/products/replacement_guide/pdf/DC12-46.pdf

You can see that the Miller 210 is a significantly beefier machine just by the weight difference and duty cycle charts. Price is also more than 50% higher. My particular attraction to the Ironman 210 is that it can achieve 210 amps even if for short periods only. Seems like a plus for a ~$1K machine. Should be better than just getting a 175 amp machine... yes?

Dougster
 
MtnViewRanch said:
I would like to contribute to this thread, but Doug doesn't listen to me.:rolleyes:
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After that nifty Starbucks :starbucks: Coffee gift card you sent, I will listen to you 'til the cows come home... :D ...PROVIDED it is for advice on the purchase and/or use of a suitable MIG welder and not just another post urging paid lessons and the use of my "still-in-its-unopened-box" stick welder. There are already enough of those posts, here and in another thread, to fill Gillette Stadium!!! :(

Dougster
 
Nicahawk said:
Lots of good info here in this thread. Dougster, I'm in agreement with some of the others. My unsolicited advise would be to learn to use the stick machine you have, first. Take a class and burn the $275. You will never regret it because you will learn a lot more than just welding a couple chunks of steel togather. However if you still want to buy a MIG machine I think the Hobart, Miller, or Lincoln would all be good machines. Kinda like tractors, depends on the color. I'm a welder. It's been my hobby since I was in high school and took shop classes. Before I retired I was on the tech school advisory board for their welding program and took classes at the same time because I like to weld so much. I'm no expert for sure, but have a lot of time booked holding a welding handle of some sort. I am very blessed to have a Millermatic 250X and the Miller Spoolmatic 30A, a Lincoln 175 combination stick/tig, Miller Bobcat 225 NT comb welder/generaror with the S-32P in the field wire feed attachment, and a Lincoln Pro-Cut 55 plasma cutter. What do I use the most.......the Miller MIG unit. But, I learned to weld stick first, years back and I've always been glad I did. It's just the foundation of welding, and once you get trained to stick weld everything else becomes almost like second nature and much more understandable in a welding kinda way. However, a welding class will not teach you to spell 'winch' correctly.:pat: (three point WENCH attachment thread):eek: Best of luck, whatever your outcome is.
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Yes, as a correct spelling, punctuation and usage fanatic, I go nutty over every spelling error I see on-line... here and elsewhere (even though I still make plenty of errors myself!). I am hoping that Jay can treat me someday to alleviate that particular mental disorder (among my 4 or 5 other mental disorders). :)

That being said, your advice carries a lot of weight given your extensive credentials. In an ideal world, I'd be following all the advice posted here by nearly everyone and getting mucho training and all first class machinery before attacking even my first real world welding project. But the ideal may not be achievable in the short time I've got before digging season gets underway. There are many often conflicting factors to be balanced here. Other than during those rare and very brief visits to the local Starbucks :starbucks: Coffee shop... the old Dougster does not live in a perfect world. :o

Dougster
 
I've welded a lot of aluminum with standard MIG guns, but the trick is to keep the work as far as possible from the welder, so as to keep the wire in a straight line. Otherwise you're asking for a quick "birdnesting" of the al. wire.
Century also makes great welders. What I have now is a Clarke 180EN, made in italy & is a good welder. If I'm not badly mistaken, Clarke makes the Sears Craftsman welders. My 180 cost me $450 and came with regulator.
 
This is my unit
https://www.mythermadyne.com/thc/en/US/adirect/thc?cmd=catProductDetail&showAddButton=true&productID=100051A-001&returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mythermadyne.com%2Fthc%2Fen%2FUS%2Fadirect%2Fthc%3Fcmd%3DcatDisplayStyle%26OP%3D_bcc_%26catKey%3D600937%26_bcs_%3D-1%2508%2523%2523%2508%2523%2523%2508https%253A%252F%252Fwww.mythermadyne.com%252Fthc%252Fen%252FUS%252Fadirect%252Fthc%253Fcmd%253DcatLanding%2508%2523%2523%2508true%2508%25070%2508600500*%2508Thermal%2BArc%2508https%253A%252F%252Fwww.mythermadyne.com%252Fthc%252Fen%252FUS%252Fadirect%252Fthc%253Fcmd%253DcatDisplayStyle%2526DispStyle%253DcatLanding%2526catKey%253D600500%2508%2523%2523%2508false%2508%25070%2508600500%252F600937%252F**%2508Conventional%2BMIG%2BPower%2BSources%2508https%253A%252F%252Fwww.mythermadyne.com%252Fthc%252Fen%252FUS%252Fadirect%252Fthc%253Fcmd%253DcatDisplayStyle%2526DispStyle%253DSingleLevelCategory%2526catKey%253D600937%2508%2523%2523%2508false%2508
I went into my welding shop all set to buy a Lincoln or miller mig unit and the salesman, desptite having both of those brands on the shelf talked me into the Thermal arc. It was comprable to those name brand units, but $150 less. It uses a tweco gun that I can get tips for at my local hardware store and it is built in Ohio I think but they have a service center 20 minutes from me.

The only trouble I have had with it is that sitting in an unheated barn, the wire can rust due to condensation. I have thought of dessicants from a gun shop or sticking a 40 watt bulb in it, but have done neither.
 
olcowhand said:
I've welded a lot of aluminum with standard MIG guns, but the trick is to keep the work as far as possible from the welder, so as to keep the wire in a straight line. Otherwise you're asking for a quick "birdnesting" of the al. wire.
Century also makes great welders. What I have now is a Clarke 180EN, made in italy & is a good welder. If I'm not badly mistaken, Clarke makes the Sears Craftsman welders. My 180 cost me $450 and came with regulator.
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olcowhand said:
Looked up on ebay...was right, they do make Craftsman welders. Here is one like mine on ebay now. Buy it now WITH shipping is $420. Good warranty also. BTW...220V.
http://cgi.ebay.com/CLARKE-220V-180...yZ113743QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
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One of the key things that attracted me to the Ironman 210 was its ability to weld at 210 amps for short periods of time... supposedly meaning much beefier guts and allowing me to weld thicker metals (up to 3/8" thick) in a single pass. In fact, this is the cheapest name-brand 210 amp machine out there. That was pointed out in a number of the on-line reviews I read as a big advantage over the nominal 175-180 amp class machines.

Am I on the right track here or am I putting too much weight on that feature??? :confused:

Dougster
 
shinnlinger said:
This is my unit. {snip mega-long URL} I went into my welding shop all set to buy a Lincoln or miller mig unit and the salesman, desptite having both of those brands on the shelf talked me into the Thermal arc. It was comprable to those name brand units, but $150 less. It uses a tweco gun that I can get tips for at my local hardware store and it is built in Ohio I think but they have a service center 20 minutes from me. The only trouble I have had with it is that sitting in an unheated barn, the wire can rust due to condensation. I have thought of dessicants from a gun shop or sticking a 40 watt bulb in it, but have done neither.
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Ditto the same comment & question on nominal 210 amp class machines (albeit low duty factor in the case of the Ironman 210) vs. 175/180 amp class machines. Is this a place to try to save money? Or is a 210 amp class machine worth the extra money? :confused:

You do raise an interesting point in that maybe I should go visit my local welding & gas supply guys and have a little chat with them. Might be nice to have service & spare parts available right around the corner instead of God-only-knows how far away. :rolleyes:

Dougster
 
Dougster,

I have been impressed with the shops both in Oregon and especially here, even if I walk i there once every 6 months they know my name and are willing to help and they really dont push sales on me.

I like to suppport the local guys, and I dont think I paid to much more to do it, especially if you consider support, convienience and shipping into that equation. You probably have more than one local shop in your area, and they might even have a bigger used machine at a better price.

As for amperage, I think Mark 77 hit it on the head earlier, realistically, we only weld 3/8 thick stuff. How thick is the steel on your heavy duty loader / backhoe bucket? Is time such a factor that you need to weld it all in one pass? You can bevel it with a grinder and build up your weld if you have to. I dont think CUT tractor welding would require big amps very often, and when it does you can always pull out yout stick machine.
 
shinnlinger said:
Dougster, I have been impressed with the shops both in Oregon and especially here, even if I walk i there once every 6 months they know my name and are willing to help and they really dont push sales on me.

I like to suppport the local guys, and I dont think I paid to much more to do it, especially if you consider support, convienience and shipping into that equation. You probably have more than one local shop in your area, and they might even have a bigger used machine at a better price.

As for amperage, I think Mark 77 hit it on the head earlier, realistically, we only weld 3/8 thick stuff. How thick is the steel on your heavy duty loader / backhoe bucket? Is time such a factor that you need to weld it all in one pass? You can bevel it with a grinder and build up your weld if you have to. I dont think CUT tractor welding would require big amps very often, and when it does you can always pull out yout stick machine.
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Well, first off, they remember your name 'cause there are only 16 people in your entire town! ;)

Just kidding, of course... and yes, some of the projects on the books involve welding 1/4" and 3/8" thick steel... and even some 1/2" thick steel.

And yes, it's very likely I will be keeping the stick welder anyway.

Dougster
 
shinnlinger said:
.....................

The only trouble I have had with it is that sitting in an unheated barn, the wire can rust due to condensation. I have thought of dessicants from a gun shop or sticking a 40 watt bulb in it, but have done neither.
Click to expand...

I fought with that problem for over a year as I live in a high humidity area...even removed the 30# roll and wraped it in plastic garbage bags when the welder would sit idle for more than a few days.

My dealer told me about this stuff and I'm currently using it on the wire and felt wipers. I forgot the name, but comes in a can about the size of Zippo lighter fluid. I'll get the name when I go out to the shop in the am. and pass it along if you're interested. And oh yeah, it works great and a single, liberal dose last for months.

Mark
 
Dougster,

There are only 16 people in my town(and they all seem to know who I am ), but the welding shop is in Lebanon, a veritable metroplis of at least 8,000 souls.

Mark,

I would be very intersted in your goop. I did get a felt wiper treated with somthing but it didn't do much. Is you wiper before the wire feed? I would think a lubed wire would make it tough to get enough traction to push it through.
 
Hobart now has a new smaller Handler in 210 which is around $830 on eBay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/HOBART-HANDLER-...Z004QQcategoryZ113743QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem

A spool gun can be added later but they sure are nice. You can get some annoying wire feeding issues with the standard mig gun. Also, if you are never going to use a big spool of wire then the spool gun is pretty convenient. It is pretty much a "must have" for aluminum MIG. Whatever model you buy you should research what it is going to cost to add the spool gun to it later. For my MM175, adding a Spool Gun will end up costing my $600-800 - which is about what I paid for the welder.
 
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