Welder Recommendations

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Hello friends at Welding Web,Need help selecting a welder.  Would like 115V AC light duty welder for repairing automotive sheetmetal and occasional heavier weld maybe from 3/16" to 1/4" steel.  No heavy constant work, just spot welds and short seams.  I have the Hobart model 500521 under consideration.  Looking for a welder that starts easily and won't stick (had trouble in the past with light weight 115V arc welders that were hard to start and the rod stuck too much).  Welder won't see much use, looking for something in the $250 to $500 range, with ease of operation the key.  Any help would be appreciated.Thanks,Steve
Reply:A 115v MIG will do 3/16 with flux core...and not solid wire. It will do it with solid, but the weld is way too cold and should not be used in a critical situation regardless of what the off road types say.. Ask any CWI and you will see what I mean. 1/8 is the limit for solid wire on these units.The Hobart HH140 is a good one. Lincoln just came out with a 140C that has gotten some good reviews as well. Miller will be coming out with a MM140 very soon as well. Either of those three will do what you want within their power limitations. 1/4?? Not with a 120v. That is pushing the envelope with a 175/180, 230v unit, but can be done much more comfortably. A steady diet of 1/4 would dictate a jump to a 210 class machine, fwiw.Edit...I now know which welder you are talking about. The HH125EZ. It is a flux core only machine. It really isn't a good one for autobody and thin sheetmetal work. It will do 18 ga at the lowest point. Most body work will be thinner than that. For that type of welding, MIG, solid wire and gas works a lot better and will be much neater. If all you want is an all around thin metal fluxcore machine, then I suppose it is the one....BUT a HH140 would be that and much more. Lots more bang for the buck, IMO. FWIW, these units are not 115v stick welders. They will all start very easily and quickly. The small MIGS are a totally different animal. If you get hard starts with these, it will be due to bad wire or low input voltage.Last edited by DDA52; 11-05-2006 at 12:18 PM.
Reply:I would never recommend a 120V machine except an inverter for 1/4" steel, unless it's just because you want it to stick together for an art project or something.For your budget, that's not an option, so I'd recommend a reconditioned Hobart Handler 135 or 140 from here; I know them by the product names, not the part numbers:http://www.toolking.com/category/pro...roductid=10932
Reply:You're asking for a lot more than you're going to get for the money you want to spend.Do you want to do any aluminum?  If you do, you will need an AC/DC machine, and the cost will go up to $1000+.for mild steel, on a 115v machine, I'd say 1/8" is about the limit that I'd want to stake my life on.  Welding 1/4" is just a bit much for them.  I know the manufacturers will say they can do it, but it's really at the upper limit.  The machines just don't quite put out enough power to get good fusion on metal that heavy.  Will it work for most things?  Sure, but I'm not risking my life or anybody else's on it.
Reply:It sounds like  your question is referring to an arc/stick welder rather than MIG or flux core.   A stick-arc welder in your price range will weld the thicker metal fine but will be alot harder to weld with on sheetmetal.   You'll need a 220-volt hookup to power a stick welder with enough balls to weld 1/4" in one pass.  One can do both thin and thick with a good MIG that has a small low end and a strong top end, but those machines new are well above your price range.   TIG is out of your price range too.   You may find a deal on a used 200+ amp MIG and that would be good for what you want to do.   My neighbor got a sweet deal on an old 250 Linde MIG that looks a little rough but welds good.   Spend some time searching in your local Equipment Trader  (kinda like Auto Trader but for equipment, tractors, auto parts and commercial trucks) and you may find one.If you choose a 110-volt wire-feed (or stick) welder in your price range, you can do 1/4" on these low-power machines if you prep the joint by beveling both edges so you have a v-groove, gapping the pieces apart and welding it up in multiple passes, cleaning it up good after each pass.   Make sure your first pass penetrates to the other side and then fill up the rest untill all the gap is full.   Or you can bevel both sides of both edges and weld one side, then flip it over and weld the other.  You'll want to watch for porosity in any of the welds before you move on and grind out any bad weld before you do the next one.  You'll need to weld slow and deliberately and make sure each weld has plenty of penetration, weaving the torch as you weld to get flatter hotter welds.
Reply:Good advice, I can add to that a little by saying I heard you when you said you would be using it occasionally for body work, and even then nothing heavier than sheet metal for the most part. If that's the case, and taking into account the good advice on attempting using it for heavier welds, feel free to get yourself a 115v unit. EBay has some decent deals, here's a link:http://search.ebay.com/search/search...trypage=search  I've also seen the unit you are referring to sold as factory reconditioned (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=hobart+500521) for around $300, and it does look like the kind of machine you are looking for, one knob power adjustment. I would go as high on the amperage as my budget would allow. And no, there should be no problems sticking to the work, mig machines are a pleasure.   Additionally, when welding in auto body, which I have done enough of, you can tend to burn through very easily, especially on the newer cars (they make 'em so darned thin!) or older cars (they make 'em so darned rusty!) If you find yourself burning through on the machines lowest setting you can cool your arc further by increasing the wire stickout, which preheats the wire, lessening the amount of current required to melt it at the work. And I can assume you are probably not looking to do much if any aluminum, so don't even worry about it. If it comes up, farm it out and save on the headache. Good luck, and don't forget the safety equiptment you will need to get. Protect yourself!Last edited by Clanweld; 11-05-2006 at 03:14 PM.If you don't have the time to do it right, then you definitely don't have the time to do it over.