Seeking the group's collective wisdom

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Hello the forum...I've been through most of the posts and am trying to make an educated decision on a welder to buy. I've just completed a welding course offered to adults through the local high school. The course took us through O/A welding, brazing, DC arc and a short introduction to MIG. Needless to say, I'm very excited to now have a rudimentary knowledge of welding and am eager to start my own projects. My girlfriend signed us both up for the course and she's excited to start some projects as well. The instructor complimented me on the quality of my welds, so I'm thinking I have some kind of future in welding.We plan to make a wide variety of things: garden arbors, candle holders, various decorative "home furnishing" type projects, trailer hitches for our motorcycles, trailers (both for tow behind an auto/truck and behind motorcycles), hard facing on my friend's Bobcat bucket teeth, various welding and repairs to a 10 wheel dump-truck, and hopefully someday a motorcycle (frame and all) from the ground up, shop shelving, welding table, bench grinder stand, etc...etc...So...it comes to having to decide on a welding unit for us. One will be an O/A setup. The hardest decision is that of the arc model. I have narrowed it down to one of three models/makes:ESAB Multimaster 160Miller Maxstar 150 (either STH or STL...not sure of the differences between them)Hobart Stickmate 235AC/160DCThere is a considerable price difference between the three, but I'd rather just buy one welder that's will be able to do everything we want, instead of having to get one or two more down the road.So, it brings me to ask for the group's collective opinion and wisdom. What say ye? Would I be better off with the Maxstar as I can plug it into a standard household outlet? Would the ESAB Multimaster be a better choice, even though I'd have to run it on 220V? If so, would I be able to just plug it into the plug for our electric clothes dryer? (if it won't directly plug in, is it easy to make an adapter to do so?) Should I save the $500-1000 and go for the Stickmate instead? (same question here...if so, can I plug it into a standard clothes dryer outlet or can I make an adapter so that I can?)Bear in mind I am looking for good performance on all fronts: stick and MIG, up to 1/4" stick and 3/16" MIG I'd say...and TIG on aluminum and maybe stainless someday.I apologize for the lengthy post. I wanted to get it all out in one shot.Dave
Reply:Buying anything that will plug directly into 110 is not going to give you much of a welder especially one that would handle many of the prodjects you talk about doing. If you are looking to buy a welder buy the biggest you can afford and justify. Many here have bought small welders the first time just to find out in a little while that it is not capable of doing what they really want to do. You might be able to go to a welding store that both sells and services welders and test drive a few welders or ask the guys there what they recommend and what ones they don't. Making an adaptor cord to plug in to  your dryer plug in is no big problem. All it takes is a  male plug- in that will go to you dryer and a short piece of wire 10-3 or better 8-3 and then the female socket to go to your  welder. Your owners manual on any welder should describe what type or size of cord can be used. It will probably also recommend the longest length of extention cord you can use properly.  Which if you are making an adaptor plug-in you might as well make the cord long enough on it to use as the extention cord so that you can move the welder around some.Most of the new welders only come with a cord that is about5-6feet long. If you already have 220 volts it wouldn't take much to run you some wiring to your garage etc. so you would have a socket there to plug into.
Reply:I have not used a Maxstar 150 but I have a multimaster 160.I would probably get a Lincoln sp 175 plus and a maxstar 150 before I would buy the esab.You could buy the cheaper maxstar with lift-arc and a hobart 180 and be farther ahead in the long run. The Hobart or Lincoln will run ..023 wire much better then the esab 160., and the Maxstar will tig much better because you can hook up a remote control to the Maxstar. The esab's tig arc is very nice but you have no way to hook up a remote unless you did some surgery to the unit. Out on the farm the little esab will do a good job with stick,  flux-core wire and tig in a pinch.I like the little esab, but I wanted you to know some of the downside to that unit.
Reply:If your plan is to wrok with SMAW, GMAW and GTAW, there is not a single machine solution unless you step up to a multi-process (CC/CV) power supply and buy a wire feeder.  You will have a significant investment in that arrangement.  If you want to do any significant GMAW on aluminum, you'll want a high-end unit like the MM210.  I own a 210, and it is a formidible machine.  My ideal setup will be to add a Synchrowave 180SD this spring.  As you may guess, I'm a Miller fan.An HH180/MM175 and the Maxstar 150 will give you all three processes also, but you'll be limited as to the thickness of your GMAW work with aluminum, and you would have no aluminum GTAW capapilities.Whatever you decide, good luck, and ENJOY!Hank
Reply:I own a Miller Maxstar 150. I am very pleased with this little powerhouse but I will say that you will not have aluminum welding capabilities with this machine. You can't beat the compact size vs power output. As for the 120 volt hook up you still need a 20 amp receptacle for the welder. I would recommend hooking up to the 220 volt dryer outlet with an adapter if you don't feel like running a new circuit. I would use the 120 volt in a pinch but 220 is much better.
Reply:You may want to read up on duty load of a machine prior to purchase. http://www.kemppi.com/internet/prone...en_sivu13.html
Reply:Miller also has a section on their web site to help you decide.  It describes the following: Welding/Cutting processesProcess advantagematch your metalKnow your electrodeWhat's duty cycle. http://www.millerwelds.com/products/...nts/index.htmlI don't feel qualified to give any advise as I am a first year welding student.
Reply:Personally, I would start out with a small mig welder- arent there some that will run on either 220 or 110? this would be best, as even with a real 20 amp breaker, you just cant get that much heat out of a 110 welder, so you are limited in the size of material you can work.A mig welder will not do everything, but it is a good place to start. It will do maybe 75% of the stuff you list. And a used 100 dollar lincoln tombstone, or an old miller thunderbolt, will enable you to stick weld, and that will handle your hardfacing, and your heavier welding jobs. Then, as you save more money, you can get a tig welder. No one welder will do everything. And a decent tig welder is expensive, and cheap ones get very frustrating.So I say, realize that eventually you will want 3 separate machines- a stick welder, a tig welder, and a mig welder. (although if you get a $2000 to $3000 tig welder, like a syncrowave or an inverter, you can stick weld with that, making it two machines)Get a decent mig machine first, then pick up a cheap stick welder, and you will be able to do a lot. Not everything, but a lot.
Reply:I started with a Linclon ac/dc stick 125/225 welder 20 years ago and still use it as my main welder. It will adjust low enough to weld auto sheet metal and hot enough for hard faceing bucket teeth. I bought a used Hobart 125 wire welder a few years ago and use it now mostly for fabricating, trailers and such. I am happy with the setup for my use. If I was doing lots of fabricating I would probably spend the extra for a Miller 250 just because it will handle the thicker metals better than the little hobart. I have about $500 in both of my machines, certainly less than the cost of a new Miller 250. The hobart has its limitations, such as short duty cycle and thinner metal capacities but the linclon  is available when I need it. Neither will do alummium  but in 20 some odd years I have never needed to weld it anyways.
Reply:HTP has an MTS 160 which will allow you to MIG, DC tig (without remote) and Stick.  But if you want to work on a dump truck, and hardface bucket teeth, you should be able to find a used stick welder cheap.  You will probably need more than 160 amps to do that work.  Then get a good MIG, and if you still like welding, invest in a tig for the aluminum work.