1 Mig for Shop and mobile??

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Ok, I've been searching a lot on here and reading miller/lincoln catalogs, but havent really come up with much.  I am trying to decide if there is a Good  '1/2" class' Mig welder that I can use in my shop most of the time, but could go mobile with me as well...  I've had a small lincoln for years, I just sold it and a MM250 I had to get something newer/heavier.  I also sold a wore-out Bobcat 250 I had about a year ago, and have missed it, and been thinking of replacing it.  A 305G is in my near future,...  Question is, is there 1 Mig machine that can be run in the shop 90% of the time, but will work well with full capability when we have mobile jobs to Mig??  I know for sure we'll have about a mile of pipe fence to do, I'd like to stick with 1 mig machine for now, but is this a pipe dream??  BTW I would rather buy Lincoln, but I'm open to any suggestions...Greg
Reply:Don't know of too many 250A mig's that I'd call portable.If you're going portable/shop, sounds like your best bet may be the 305G with a suitcase wirefeeder for portable and a multifunction power supply (XMT304) for the shop.Use the wirefeeder on both power supplies.Not really a 1/2" machine, but the Passport Plus (by Miller) is one of the "most capable" portable migs out there.Syncro 250 DX Dynasty 200 DXMM 251 w/30A SG XMT 304 w/714 Feeder & Optima PulserHH187Dialarc 250 AC/DCHypertherm PM 1250Smith, Harris, Victor O/ASmith and Thermco Gas MixersAccess to a full fab shop with CNC Plasma, Water Jet, etc.
Reply:Consider renting a small gas power stick welder. Or get the fantasy MIG of choice and rent a generator that will power it. Only really practical if you can trailer it along the fence path though. Mind you, these days, for the $ of renting the gen. to run the big MIG, you could buy the sm. gas stick welder, I'd bet. Then your good to go for future jobs. OR....... redesign and pre-fab panels in the shop with your shiny new MIG and bolt together on sight. Cheaper and faster, if possible, and more profit due to time saved not welding on site and lugging around equipment, plus no rental/buying portable equipment.Just thinking out loud......Had to lug a 220v up 6 flights of stairs and take off the plug and hard wire it to the dryer wall receptacle as the socket wasn't installed yet. That sucked.....Last edited by bert the welder; 12-19-2011 at 01:15 PM.200amp Air Liquide MIG, Hypertherm Plasma, Harris torches, Optrel helmet, Makita angle grinders, Pre-China Delta chop saw and belt sander, Miller leathers, shop made jigs etc, North- welders backpack.
Reply:I have been drooling over the new Thermal Arc 252I.   Portable and does all 3 processes.    I can do the same with my Avatar picture welders but requires taking 2 units instrad of one.  Basically the power source and the suitcase feeder.  I could also do steel wire in the spoolgun for small mobile jobs.    That said I do have 400amps of DC welding current with that setup.   Plus can do TIG and SMAW too.  If you got an inverter cc/cv power source and a suitcase welder u would be able to do the same thingTiger Sales:  AHP Distributor    www.tigersalesco.comAHP200x; AHP 160ST; MM350P,  Spoolmatic 30A; Everlast PowerTig 185; Thermal Dynamics 60i plasma.  For Sale:  Cobra Mig 250 w/ Push-pull gun.  Lincoln Wirematic 250
Reply:How bout a Miller Trailblazer, Multi-process machines that you could do just about anything. Wouldnt be practical around the shop though. You could get a CC/CV engine driven machine for the truck and put a wire feeder on it but it might be cheaper to buy 2 machines if you think about saving setup/takedown costs and not being able to weld in the field and the shop at the same time
Reply:I run a miller suitcase feeder off of my big 40d or trailblazer in the field, and off an xmt304 in the shop and have no complaints.... besides initial cost of course.IW Local 580 NY, NY
Reply:Originally Posted by BlueArcI run a miller suitcase feeder off of my big 40d or trailblazer in the field, and off an xmt304 in the shop and have no complaints.... besides initial cost of course.
Reply:For years ALL I had was a Lincoln weldmanpower G7 and LN-25.   I did a lot with it.  When I lived in the city I tacked bigger stuff in my driveway with an SP100 then welded them using the gas welder  and LN-25   I had a passport  for a year now and its a great little welder.  The last field  job we did we took the V155-S and 150' 12 gauge  extension cord to secure a door;  We ran 1/8 6013.    Used the 220 from my Ranger 250.   Only a couple of times did I wish the 250 was a 305.   DavidReal world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:Originally Posted by tbone550I do this as well - I run a Miller Suitcase 12RC in the shop or in the field, powered by either a Trailblazer 302 or an XMT-304.  It's been a great setup, and I like the wire always being under cover inside the suitcase.
Reply:Yeah, I just got rid of a little SP100, It wasnt a bad little welder, and Ive done a lot of the same - tack with it, and then stick the rest or take to the shop when I had a bigger welder...  Ive even been half-a$$ thinking about just getting a 180 lincoln and a 305g for now.  Thats within my budget and allows me to do the majority of what I need to do right now.  I only NEED a big Mig about 10% of the time, so I'd just be stuck with the stick in those situations...  bad idea??
Reply:Or I may get a a 256 and a 305 for now, and just pony up for the ln25 when its time to do the specific fence job I brought up....  Its a pretty lucrative job, that certainly warrants buying the LN, I'd just like to put some $$ in my pocket, but I suppose being better outfitted never hurts either!!  Thanks for the advice
Reply:You will be better off on the pipe fence to use stick instead of lugging a suitcase around. Lugging the suit case will flat wear you out.
Reply:Stick if its windy no matter what.  OR self shielding wire in the LN-25.  David   Real world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:I know it does not get as much press cuz its not red or blue, but I sold my LN-25 after I got the ESAB 300AVShttp://products.esabna.com/EN/home/a...ilefeed_300avs because I like it bettter.  IT has a standard 4 roll feeder insead of 2 and has digital readout of the Wirespeed which is real nice if you are going to use it as your primary feeder in the shop too.   The only mods I did were solder 4 wires onto the circuit board so I could move the CC/CV switch to the front panel and the heavy duty carry handle...   For mobile stuff I like the Euro connection too as there are no external wires or gas hoses to get caught on anything..Last edited by soutthpaw; 12-19-2011 at 09:41 PM.Tiger Sales:  AHP Distributor    www.tigersalesco.comAHP200x; AHP 160ST; MM350P,  Spoolmatic 30A; Everlast PowerTig 185; Thermal Dynamics 60i plasma.  For Sale:  Cobra Mig 250 w/ Push-pull gun.  Lincoln Wirematic 250
Reply:All good suggestions.  As for lugging the suitcase, that wont be an issue as the fence job will give us use of a JD Gator, or if dry I can drive a truck to 85% of it.  Obviously, I'd stick if weather presents an issue, though this job is 2 miles from home, and on the previous sections there was no strict time frame, so if the weather aint right - do something else for the day.  I do like that ESAB, gonna have to look into it a bit more.
Reply:I know I'm late for the party, and pretty much all has been said, but I ran for a couple of years with an LN-25 suitcase - Had an Invertec V-350 Pro in the shop and either a Ranger 8 or Ranger 250 on the truck.  Worked fine for me.Later,Jason
Reply:Another decent suitcase is an old Hobart Hefty. I've got the  Super S-32P like Stickman has and it's a nice older suitcase. Used you can usually find an older suitcase around $600 or so if you look a bit..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:Originally Posted by tbone550I do this as well - I run a Miller Suitcase 12RC in the shop or in the field, powered by either a Trailblazer 302 or an XMT-304.  It's been a great setup, and I like the wire always being under cover inside the suitcase.
Reply:To the OP, unless you are going to use it all really quick, DO NOT buy 45lb rolls of wire to put in a suitcase! I got a deal once and bought a 45lb of .035 & .045. It was nice until I had to carry it up a ladder and into a semi trailer."Where's Stick man????????" - 7A749"SHHHHHH!! I sent him over to snag that MIC-4 while tbone wasn't looking!" - duaneb55"I have bought a few of Tbone's things unlike Stick-Man who helps himself" - TozziWelding"Stick-man"