a little help ?

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hey guys I could use a little guidance, I've taken the first step in signing up for schooling to get my certifications I haven't really decided what I want to do yet, traveling welder etc I know I want aws certs and as many as I could get would be better. a lot of the stuff in this area I live in is big steel or stainless. I want to learn tig as its the only type of welding I have never honestly done. and mig i'm so so at I've welded on handful of times. stick to a degree I feel i'm ok at. id like to get in as much practice as I can. would it be wiser to just buy a mig welder become more proficient with it then learn from someone whom can teach me right with no bad habits or start bad habits that might hurt me in school...and then the price with school I don't have a lot of cash for a dynasty im looking a maxstar 150stl or a Hobart 140 st. any thoughts?
Reply:The Hobart is really to small if you are serious about learning to weld heavy stuff. You can learn the basics, but you really don't have enough output to do more than sheet metal under real world conditions. You probably want to be practicing on at least a 200 amp mig if you are planning to go out and get a job doing more than body repairs.The Maxstar is a decent machine if run on 230v power. On 110v it will work fine, but you will be limited to 3/32" rods with stick, and thin material with tig. I'd recommend learning tig on 1/8" steel, and for that you will want to be running on 230v power. You really won't get enough output on 110v power otherwise on average.The tech school uses XMT 304's to teach mig, DC tig and stick. For the kind of money you are looking to drop on the Maxstar and the Hobart, you can probably find yourself a nice used XMT and add any extras you need later. On a budget I'd be looking at an XMT or possibly one of the new multi process TA's..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:yea that just my problem I only have 120 max outlet so im really limited not by choice I want a 220v plug but I just don't have any I have a super old garage so it don't have 220 only thing I could do is run a geney but that brings a host of problems with it..should've specified that sorry.
Reply:110v power is very limiting. Problem with 110v migs is that they lay down "pretty" beads that are cold on heavier material. I see quite a few guys who think they know how to weld that have been running 110v migs, that all of a sudden realize they can't weld for cr@p as soon as they start running a machine with enough output. Same goes for mig and stick somewhat.If you have a home with an electric dryer, I'd recommend that you build yourself a  230v extension cord and run off that. A 30 amp 230v dryer circuit will run most 200 amp migs no problem and 30 amps of 230v is more than enough to do whatever you want with a Maxstar..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:I actually just looked good call I did not even think I live in a double wide so we have both electric and gas and it looks like I have a electric dryer outlet not being used now I don't know how I'm going to get it from my house to my garage its a solid 30ft or more and its a on a double breaker 25 and 30 amp. just figure out how to run it through a door and everything.thanks dsw im been freaking out about going with 110 v
Reply:Well guys I tried this with my neighbors multimatic 250 and this wont work coming out of the dryer, the double pole keeps triping check his specs on his welder will run 230v 30amps at like 100 duty capacity if I remember right. the breaker tripped 5 times. in 1 hr and a friend actually began to smell some charring from my wiring. so he's going to pull some strings and see if he can help run a 230/240 50 amp  sigh o well hopefully this wont hurt much... says he got some stuff laying around his shop..
Reply:Yeah, everybody's right - for "real welding" (i.e. anything over 1/8") you need a 220/50 plug. Check around and see if somebody can run one to your shop for you cheap - prices vary a lot for that kind of thing.-RuarkLincoln 3200HDHobart Stickmate LX235TWECO Fabricator 211i
Reply:could someone maybe help educate me with duty cycles im so confused what this is, I understand at this point it is a measurement of what your machine can or will do but much more im confused I don't want to over power the machine.
Reply:My local CC is a PITA the way they have their courses set up. They have no contemplation that one might take individual courses to learn to weld as a hobby.  It's all dedicated to certification so you have prereq's and have to enroll in a full blown program.Hey~!! It's a hobby. It's not supposed to make sense~!!
Reply:It's the amount of on time VS off time needed for it to keep cool and not overheat. If it has a 25% duty cycle, you can weld for 25% of the time. I.E. 2 minutes laying bead, 8 minutes letting the machine cool. A higher duty cycle is better, but costs more (and usually denotes a more professional machine).
Reply:thanks deuce this makes a lot more sense and I've been reading the best I could here kind of been figuring this out.raul, this is how my school is with school needing to be a certified welder before you graduate.
Reply:Realized I made a mistake in the math there...it should be 2 mins welding, 6 minutes resting, for a 25% duty cycle.