110 volt welder... Good or junk?

[Lone Ranger]

I've been looking at welders for a while now to assist me in my truck restoration. It would be used for filling in trim holes, fixing floor pans and some heavier stuff as well. I'd like to fab up some heavy bumpers maybe a headache rack, rock sliders, possibly a flatbed when my bed rusts out. The kicker is I do not have 220 in my garage. Does anyone out there use 110 volt welders for these things? I've been looking at a Lincoln 140 hd mig. It says it can supposedly weld up to 5/16 inch thick steel. Miller 140 and Hobart 140 look very comparable as well. Also what is duty cycle ?

[Nitekruizer]

I'll be following along on this thread.

I've been considering a 120 Volt MIG, as I only have 120 volts in my garage too. One thing I've noticed though is that all of the welders I've looked at so far call for a 20 Amp outlet, not a 15 Amp outlet.

[hazelnut]

It is better to have a 110 mig welder than a 220 for light sheet metal. The 220 will blow holes into light sheet metal because it get to hot to fast for the metal and it just melts away.

A friend has the same cheap mig welder that I do but he bought the 110. It's a lot better for doing body work than the 220 is IMO.

[Ren]

'Duty cycle' is an indication of how long the welder can be used for a given time before it needs to rest and cool down.
The 115 welders are somewhat limited in power. For maximum power and user-friendliness, flux cored wire (which is how most of these machines are set up from the factory) is recommended.
Check out the welders from Harbor Freight. For hobby use, it's hard to go wrong.
Do not buy Harbor Freight welding wire. Quality is very inconsistent.

[HIO Silver]

Hire an electrician to install a 220v circuit.

I have a Miller 140 and a Miller 211 because of multiple projects in different phases of construction and it is inconvenient to change wire. If I were to have only one, I would definitely get the 211 because it can run off of 120v circuit using its multi voltage plug for light duty work like floor and body panels. You'll want a 220v for sliders and bumpers due to the much better heat penetration.

A well made welder is a tool that can last a lifetime so consider it an investment because it can pay for itself quickly.... it offsets the money you would end up spending for off the shelf bumpers, sliders, racks, etc.

[Lone Ranger]

Thanks for the quick reply guys. What's the thickest metal You can weld with a 140? If you preheat the metal can you just do a few passes and weld 1/4 inch plate?
I guess I'll check out the cost to put in 220 but until then I could maybe tack stuff together with a 140 then take it over to my dad's farm and burn it all together for good.

[Lone Ranger]

HIO how think can you weld with your 211? I just found a millermatic auto set on CL for 650$. Looks like 110v and 220v. Guy said it's almost brand new, used it a few times for a class. Comes with goodies and a cart. I'm more of a "red" fan but I'm also a "money saving" fan as well and don't want a good deal to get by. Any info on this machine would be great

[TNIceWolf]

From my experience a 115V is a good compromise for most general use projects. The drawback being that when you get into plate type material it requires a lot of prep grinding and beveling and multiple passes and cleanup. A 230V offers less passes and prep. The duty cycle on a 115V is low.....meaning it needs time to rest between passes on heavier jobs. Not exactly good if you are joining plates. It boils down to your budget and how much patience you have really.

[Ranchero50]

I have an old Lincoln Weld Pak 100 120 VAC machine. It'll run 1/4 - 5/16 single pass with .023" solid wire. It ain't fast and you're going to be pushing it hard but it will do it. Running a bigger wire really kills the performance on a small machine. The biggest problem it you are in $200+ for the 80CF bottle / gas kit on top of the basic $390 welder. I extended the axles on my first trailer with this setup and it did well. It loves 3/16" material and smaller. I've spot welded fatigue cracks together in Fox mustang floors with it. Small wire is the key for a small welder. I've also ran it off a 5k genset to repair my buddies combine at the farm.

I also have a Miller 210 mig and it's another breed of horse. It'll melt through 1/2" plate with .035 wire at 1/2 power and it'll also weld 16 ga steel with the same wire. I have a spool gun on it and it'll do a mean bead of aluminum. The 210 was around $1200 a couple years ago and needed a 2nd regulator / argon 80cf bottle for the $350 spool gun. Costs about $40 to fill a 80 right now

My Tig is a Miller Syncrowave 351 and I'm Amp limited in the garage so I haven't pushed it beyond 1/16" tungsten's.

[HIO Silver]

HIO how think can you weld with your 211? I just found a millermatic auto set on CL for 650$. Looks like 110v and 220v. Guy said it's almost brand new, used it a few times for a class. Comes with goodies and a cart. I'm more of a "red" fan but I'm also a "money saving" fan as well and don't want a good deal to get by. Any info on this machine would be great

3/8th with proper prep.. prolly 1/2-inch with more detailed prep. For automotive use, the 211 is more than enough.

I found a spool gun for aluminum very awkward so a Miller Diversion 180 now takes care of those duties.

[Lone Ranger]

I hope this isn't a dumb question but can I make an extension cord that goes from my dryer out to my garage for 220v it's probably 50 ft of extension cord length. Would that create some serious heat, or throw my breaker?

[HIO Silver]

I hope this isn't a dumb question but can I make an extension cord that goes from my dryer out to my garage for 220v it's probably 50 ft of extension cord length. Would that create some serious heat, or throw my breaker?

Not a dumb question... that's what I do. I have a 25-foot lead connected directly to a 50-amp breaker in a 200-amp panel so the machine can be moved around in the garage. Then I have a 75-foot extension cord for when I want to work on the back patio.

All the wiring needs to be sized to handle the load. My pal, an electrician, coached me on what to get.

[Lone Ranger]

Awesome thanks bud! I'm hoping to be able to pick up that millermatic today. And I might spend the rest of the day playing with it. I need to start a thread on here on my Truck. I just use my phone as my computer though so it's tougher to do. Can you post pictures with your phones on here?

[HIO Silver]

No joy ... you'll need to load your images on a photo hosting site like Photobucket or Tinypic and paste IMG link in your post.