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Hi!I am newbie here (just found this site), but was welding with stick welder for quite some time (no name cheap 180 amps AC/DC, but still does the job, Harbour Freight?). I own some machines and some heavy equipment, and you know how it is: sh!@ happens...and have to fix it.Making long story short, it may be the time to upgade soon and want to get in to mig. Since welding shop is not that close to me, I figure to stop by the orange warehouse and looked at Lincoln 170/220 and 130/110(3200? model). The power matters to me sometimes and looks like 170 can do up to 1/2", but 130 I can plug anywere....even to my generator. So, my main q? is: can I use 130 and make multipass and have strong weld or I have to go bigger..? $ is bit tight (no snow-no$, this winter suck!), but i have coupon for the Depot and it should bring cost down, plus they have tips and other parts also for Lincoln. One more: how's the wire feeder on those models, just want to compare?I'm in NJ, if someone has budget/used working one, let me know also.Thanx!
Reply:The power matters to me sometimes and looks like 170 can do up to 1/2", but 130 I can plug anywere....even to my generator. So, my main q? is: can I use 130 and make multipass and have strong weld or I have to go bigger..?
Reply:Do you think weld from 170 mig will be stronger than from my ark? Assuming that I will use their coated wire and do multi-pass.Thanx for your replay!
Reply:Well 170 amps is 170 amps, and assuming we've matched the wire vs rod type, a mig using flux core wire can do quite a range of tasks. But you're going to find it difficult to find the same variety of filler materials readily available in the wire as you have available to you in the stick world. One other issue will be the gun itself. Ten foot lead that shouldn't be kinked or bent or stuffed into places that you might be able to get with a stick and a short rod. I've had two sticks in the past and now have a mm175. In my mind neither one is a direct replacement for the other. With time you can learn to do what you need to get done with a mig but you'll find yourself thinking that the stick sure would be handy "here". In the equipment world where you can't always control the environment as well as in the shop the stick is sorta one up. Also in the equipment world a 175 class is going to be bare minimum. Unfortunately the 210 class is a huge leap in bucks.Whatever you do, keep the stick machine. The two will compliment each other.
Reply:That sounds pretty dubious to me too. Miller's equivalent machine (Challenger 172) only claims 3/8". Keep your stick. Mig is great for thin material, but unless you're spending $$$ you'll need a stick machine for the thicker stuff. Originally Posted by SandyIn the equipment world where you don't get any choice on what breaks, where and when, a 110 volt machine just won't do you any justice at all. None at all. If budget is a real problem, which it usually is for most of us, then too small a machine is experience you can't afford to gain on your own. Wait for more input from here.As to the 170 class, no matter how fine a machine the lincolns might be their marketing folks should be slapped upside the head. Doing 1/2 inch material with a 170 class wire machine is shaky at best. Some things can be done, some can't.
Reply:If the majority of your work is going to be repair work, i would suggest sticking with smaw (stick) machine. Stick welding is much more versatile when you need to get into tight places or have to do tricky out-of-position welding.Another issue with a mig welder is whats called cold start/cold lap. Especially if your welding short circuit, what that means is when you start welding, the first bit of wire is cold and simply piles up on top of the parent metal until everything warms up and penetration begins. this can be a major issue when doing repair work.As mentioned earlier you also have filler metal options that are more convenient to work with/switch out and more easily available.I work with a miller 185 mig everyday, for fabricating. When im required to do any sort of repair job I will unhook it and use my miller ST250 stick/tig everytime.
Reply:I think, I got some answers here, THANKS!Looks like the best thing to do is keep my stick and get small mig for small thin stuff and aluminum...The question now, if I were to keep my 180 stick, what should I get to compliment it. would any 110vAC(so I can plug anywere) 100AMP+ do the job? Just want to have all around type welder and keep my stick for heavy stuff. Thanx again!
Reply:you can weld light metal with a big welder you just need to adjust it for what you are welding on a small welder can run bigger metal but you will need to preheat first and run a lot of passes it verry time comsuming you well be maxing the duty cycle the hole time on thick metal so it not recamended multipassis better than one big weld but with a larger thoese passes can be bigger and mig welders dont like the out side unless you run fluxcoreChuckASME Pressure Vessel welder
Reply:definetly stick with your stick welder then get a millermatic 135 mig which is portable and runs on 110volts for small stuff up to 3/16 single pass.They are only 500-700 new.Nobody moves nobody gets hurt(safety first)millematic passportmiller 375 plasmacutter
Reply:Thanx, Gents'!Should I just get Harbour's 180 amps ( mod#151?) or mod#130?(110V), UNDER $200! or Lincoln- another $150 or so more for 110v. Miller about 30 mi away, parts, service? Sounds like I will keep my stick, I have no problem with it "yet", even it's getting old... Just remember, I'm not doing this for living, but want to get bit better weld without dumping big buck and save my as!@# from my "better half" before she weld me with it to my other toys. Sorry for being a pain in..Thanx!
Reply:Howdy Howdy! The Miller 130's are really awesome, so are the lincolns in the 175 class. The Miller in the 210 class kicks a$$. The Hobarts in the 175-180 class are very economical, and do alot for the $$. All Harbor freight migs really suck. Sometimes they can work. sometimes they won't. I would not recomend anything less then a 130 amp class mig machine. The reason is at 130 amps, it is the max output. the 20% or so rated duty cycle output is usally around 90 amps or so. That's the minimum I would ever suggest anyone getting for the machines (rated duty). It is allways highly highly advised to spend a few extra $$ and get the 240 volt input machines. I can not stress this enough. But, you DO have an oldie but a goodie stick machine (they last forever!!), and i would suggest a miller 130 machine to compliment your stick. You can always add a nice 175+ class machine later. Welders keep their value if taken care of. Brian Lee Sparkeee27
Reply:I'm not a welder per say but have done considerable work some time ago in a factory repairing heavy machinery. As other have suggested do not get rid of your stick machine by any means. Well unless you expect to need portability. So It might be usefull to give up the stick welder for an engine driven machine that has a generator output. If it is the right size machine you should be able to connect a mig to the unit also. This would give you the ability to handle almost all field repairs that you are likely to come by. The right generator will also support a 220 volt mig unit. Thus you get the "portability" to work on just about anything broken in the field.Dave
Reply:I totaly agree with keeping the stick because when welding on one of my pcs. of equipment i have yet been able to bend the neck of my mig gun to get into tight spots like i can a stick rod. Also you said you might want to weld aluminum with the mig. Well don't expect to much if you don't have a spool gun. you can set the mig up to weld with the gun it comes with but its marginal at best, but it can be done. And just my thoughts that a 135 class machine won't handle aluminum very well over 1/8" max. Good luck.225NT bobcatAEAD200LEScott 125mm175, mm252 w 30A, PT225mm211, TA 181iHyper Therm 380, cut master 529100X & XX, Digital Elite6 Victor setssmith little torch, meco midget kalamazoo band sawsteel max saw evoulution circular saw
Reply:i got a 200 amp airco here posted for 275.00 i'm in nj and its cheap would be what your looking for at a great pricelook for my post
Reply:Could you just buy a wire feeder off ebay and use your stick welder as a power supply? I don't recall what MIG units are, CC or CV.
Reply:Howdy Howdy! I believe you can use a stick type machine with an external wire feeder for SOME dualshield fluxcore and thats about it. BUT, dualshield makes awesome awesome exterior welds, though not so good for thinner materials. Not sure about this, but it's an idea. Brian Lee Sparkeee27 |
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发表于 2021-9-1 01:00:31