Need help on which machine to buy

admin

Hello Im very new to welding... most of my experiance is from my Grandfather when he would stick weld to fix farm equipment, he used a generator hooked up to an old tractor belt driven, when he needed more power he just increased the RPM on the tractor, really simple and cool looking back. Well he is gone now,  So I can't ask him So heres my Q...... The wife just gave me permission to purchase a generator  for when the power at the home goes out,  and I own a construction buisness and could really use a welder every so often to fix stuff,    I have a utility trailer that needs some items done, and I have construction equip that could use some welding from time to time + In the future I plan on building and repairing a off road vehical "Unimog" as needed. So here is what my list looks like so far.....So must be Gas or diesel powered...... perfer diesel for simplisity of fuel storage seeing as I cary it all the time for equipment... but Diesel is really $$$$ big enough generator to power a home..Options? steel, and maybe aluminum 1/4 maybe somewhat often and 1/2 in rare situations.Tig ? Mig ? CCA? DC? AC ? Im lost of what I really need.... remember im new to all this stuff. Brands? hobart, miller, lincon ? are they the same? ....Engine recomandation to get and ones to stay away from.... ?ThanksDavid
Reply:first of all, before Mac or Zap blast ya one, just post the question in one forum. we read all of them and we will find the question. now, to your question.i am partial to miller brand welders, but you didn't give price range. the diesel model you refered to, are more pricey. alot more pricey. http://www.toolking.com has decent prices on welders. i am looking at their hobart brand, same quality as the miller and lincoln's, just a little on the cheaper side(price ways). the average generator/weelder will run the house, but you gotta be selective about what you run. can't run the fridge, stove and ac. you will have lights and maybe ac. the tig guys on here can tell you what you need for aluminum. but a scratch start tig rig with a bottle of your preferred gas (staying out of the gas mixer issue) is what we use very infrequently for the little ali stuff we do. i'm sure someone else will pipe in, so just take in everything everyone says. there is alot of brand loyalty going on."Retreat hell, were just fighting in the other direction"Miller Trailblazer 302, Extreme 12 VS, Dimension 400, Spectrum 375, HF 251D-1, Milermatic 251 w/ spoolgun  Hypertherm 1000Lincoln sp 1702000 F-450 to haul it
Reply:Sorry for the dual post...... after the miller location I thought maybe this might be a better location for the Q.....  As to price, I would love to spend 10K and have the badest gizmo on the block, but I can't so in reality deisel would be a used unit only option, as far as I can tell. 3K would be tops that I could get past the wife 2-2.5K is more realalistic I think of what I would like to spend. Are brands important? Reason I ask is Miller seems to really emphisis all there cool stuff, and they seem to have about 20 different modles were the hobarts web page only list 2 .... Thanks again to everybody for helpDavid
Reply:where are you located? my first thought would be to browse ebay/craigslist/classifieds, and the sort to see whats available used in your area used (what brands, what models, what prices!) and from there i would research them to see if the generator was sufficient for your nonwelding needs.if the generator is indeed sufficient, then please post make/model of the units your considering, and im sure someone will chime in to give unbiased oppinions/experience and such on whats available to you. most likely you can find a diesel engine driven in your area around your price range, i wish i could help more however i dont have the knowledge to really sugest anything that would work for you.are there any details that would disqualify an engine driven welder for use as a home backup power supply? is ac or dc prefered, are either not usable? Dave if you get the chance i would suggest a unit that is both CC and CV, (constant current, and constant voltage) as this will allow you to install a wire feeder later on and be able to run fluxcore and mig (yes itll be a nice addition down the road). this is however not manditory if youll only be using it occasionally, and on larger material (not to mention building your "Unimog" if plans are to build the frame for it, or ANY sheetmetal work). also a good option would be AC and DC capable, again not needed but a nice feature.
Reply:I should add that in powering a home I'm refering as a back up for when the power goes out, "winter time mostly" not often, but often enough for the wife to hate it and for me to get a genset and welder out of the deal.  10 KW is plenty as far as I can tell, Gas heat, and no AC yet.  Fridge, frezzer, microwave.... lights.   Work wise, welding construction equip, offroad hobbies, trailer repairs, etc...
Reply:Hobart basically makes the equivilents of Miller's lower-featured units.  For example, the Hobart Champion 10000 is basically a Miller Bobcat 225, but without an AC welding capability, which you rarely want anyway.  Since your needs are for the lower-featured units anyway, there is nothing wrong with going with a Hobart.  Now decide if you need the big one or if one of the little 6000W units will work.The other nice thing about diesel is most of them are much quieter.If I were to do it again, I'd probably go LP instead of gasoline, assuming I still couldn't afford the preferred diesel.  LP can be stored wothout going bad, and you only lose 5-10% of your maximum output power.
Reply:Hobart champion is a good machine and most farm/ranch stores like Big-R or  Tractor Supply Company will have one in stock. $2600-$2800 price range
Reply:Check out Cyberweld.com, I bought a Bobcat 250 over the summer and it was delivered in 3 business days FREE Shipping. I thought a reasonable price too.
Reply:I've never bought a machine from Cyberweld, but I've had very good service from them buying parts and consumables.