Need advice on purchasing a new welder

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I just posted this on the support page - I think it should be on this forum.I would like to buy a small TIG/Stick welder that I can use in my shop for light steel repairs (and perhaps to occasionally weld aluminum) and load (by hand) in the back of my pickup for hay equipment repairs in the field (stick weldling). I have a 3500 120v gas AC generator (3KW output, 3.5KW max output). Is this a big enough generator to run a welder? I would probably only use it once or twice a year for field repairs. If so, what welder(s) would anyone recommend? If this AC generator is not big enough, what shop/field welder would anyone recommend? I've welded for general repairs with a 225 AC Lincoln welder for several years, but have never TIG welded, although I think I can learn. I would greatly appreciate any advice or help. Thanks.
Reply:Don't know of any stick welder that will run on that small generator.  Somebody might.  Offhand I'd guess that you might be limited to a small wire welder, and only if the peak wattage on the generator will stand surges.  I use my little wire welder on a 15amp circuit, sometimes with up to a 100' 12ga extension cord and it hasn't kicked the breaker yet.I'd be afraid to weld hay equipment in the field, maybe when you're cutting and it's green, but not anytime during baling unless I could get the damn thing off the field to a safe place, it's just too dry  So far I've never been forced to.  I can usually find some way to get the equipment back to the house to do the work.  Maybe I've just been lucky."Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Thanks for the advice. You're right about the danger of fire from welding in the field when making hay. My hay field is about 4 miles from my house. I don't like towing a broken baler all the way to the house (where my shop is) to weld it. I've got a barn at the hayfield with 110 power. The bare ground there would be fine to weld on. I guess what I should be looking for is a welder that is portable enough just to take down and plug into the 110 power at the barn. I'd also like a TIG welder for the shop at home. My thought was to maybe get one welder for both jops (something like a Lincoln invertec 160 or 205. Or maybe a Miller Max Star 150. I think they can use either 110 or 220 power. Any advice?Thanks.
Reply:I've never done TIG, and probably never will.Any small Lincoln/Miller capable of putting out the amps on 110 sufficient to run a 1/8 rod should be good for you.  I think Lincoln does, or used to, make a small maintenance 110 stick welder.Don't rule out a small wire machine.  They can be used on heavier plate with multiple pass welds, and their about as portable as anything you can get.  I've found mine indispensable on the sheet metal common to hay equipment also.  Lot of sheet metal on the damn stuff.I run the Lincoln 125/225 AC/DC crackerbox, and a little Hobart 135 wire machine, and haven't really, as of yet, found anything I couldn't handle on my place, and I do some pretty extensive repair and fab work for just being a farm guy.  Any threads I've started in the projects forum have been done with these machines.  A baler pickup rebuild is somewhere in the mechanics forum(100% wire machine on that one)I don't do work on alooooooooooominum because nothing I own is made from aluminum.  From what I understand, aluminum takes so much heat capability to weld that it just about rules out smaller TIG machines for any kind of meaningful work.  But I'm not too sure.I'm lobbyin' ya hard on this one"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Thanks for the great advice! I'm starting to lean more and more toward a small/medium wire feed machine. I talked with a Lincoln guy this morning from the factory and he advised in that direction as well. The reason I've not considered a wire machine is because I do own one and haven't had stellar experience with it. But I think it's mainly the machine's limitations that I've had problems with. It's an old 90 amp Century wire feed welder that I bought back in the late 1980's. I've never really been able to use it effectively. The feed is inconsistent, etc. The "only" successful welds that I've had with it has been on very thin steel and then getting the right balance between wire feed speed and heat is inconsistent. The aluminum option has been very problematic. And it really isn't portable as it's rather bulky. However, there have been steady improvements since the late 80's!! The Lincoln rep suggested I look at a 140 wire feed machine. There are several styles of the 140 depending upon who sells them. He suggested  a Power Mig 140 C.  He says it's portable and can run off of 110 power and can weld up to 5/16 inch thick steel with a couple of passes. Do you know anything about that model? My only question would be that it's big enough. I do have the 225 Lincoln AC buzzbox in my shop (I wish it were AC/DC but it's not) so I can do larger and thicker weld jobs when I need to and can take the time to bring the machine that requires more welding power up to my shop. I'm also beginning to think that I really don't need to TIG weld. I just don't do that much welding. Thanks!!
Reply:I will second the small portable 110v welder, set up with a good self shielding wire for just about all practical welding in the field, up to about 1/2" steel.As long as you get a good model from someone like Lincoln or Miller!I had a Lincoln 135 amp max 110v welder that seemed to work best with .030 self shielding wire, I could load a 10lb roll in that thing and it seemed to last forever!I used that welder for just about everything for several years, I made 4 utility trailers using it, a complete cat-0 3 point hitch from rock shaft to 1/2" thick lower lift arms and an A-frame for my JD 318 "See pics" as well as did all my own repairs to you name it!Ken.Here's my 3 point and one of the trailers I built using that welder! Attached Images#1. If you don't like what I wrote, or if it offends you, then don't read it!#2. I am living life the way I see fit, if you don't like the way I'M living, tough sh**!
Reply:That's a nice looking  hitch.You didn't sell the trailer did you?Last edited by farmersamm; 01-21-2009 at 09:03 PM.Reason: trailer"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Nice work on the 3 point hitch and the trailer.Co-Own CNC shop:Miller :1251 plasma cutter, MaxStar 700 TIG/Stick, & XMT 456 Multiprocess Welder.&  2 Hypertherm HPR260's Plasma CutterSorry I had a bad stroke but now I am back.
Reply:Thanks Guy's!Yup, sold it!Just part of my make it and make some money off of it!I sell those hitches and A-frames too, as well as a slew of other piece parts for JD's and some other garden tractors, as long as they use cat-0 hitches.Cat-0 is one category of hitch that not much is made for them!Ken.#1. If you don't like what I wrote, or if it offends you, then don't read it!#2. I am living life the way I see fit, if you don't like the way I'M living, tough sh**!
Reply:Originally Posted by scotts I would probably only use it once or twice a year for field repairs..