Mig Welding what should I go with... a question for the welding buffs.

[shadow]

I am trying to decide what I should buy in the way of a mig welder. What I need to use it for is a fair bit of piping such as intercooler piping and some custom work with intake. I may use it in the future for other things such as exhaust work.

For now I am thinking of going with a gasless system although I am not incredibly picky. The problem is that a lot of the welders give you confusing numbers on the thickness you can weld. If possible I would like to stay with the standard 120 volt input just because I do not have my garage wired for higher... but if a 120 volt will not be enough for this application I am willing to rewire.

The real question is... will a 120 amp wire flux welder be good enough to run a bead around exhaust or basic piping. Some avertise that they can do a 1/4 inch thick but I am not sure if that will just do a spot weld or run a complete bead.

I am just looking for your input into what welder to look at.. I do not need a incredibly expensive one 1000 + is just too much.

What do you guys think?

[78si]

A decent 120v mig will weld exhaust with no problems.. I highly recommend going with a gas shielding system they yield cleaner welds!

[Dr. Lightspeed]

Shielding gas does a couple things the most important tho in my book is a good mig mix will give you some penetration in your weld. Meaning less amps needed to get the same penetration. I would definately go with a gasshielding over a gasless flux wire.

[shadow]

Yeah gas shielding would make it a lot nicer.. although I am not sure about the bottles is it expensive to maintain or is it the better way to go?

[Dr. Lightspeed]

The bottles are more expensive but totally worth it

[legendboy]

I'll tell you the same thing i tell everybody. Don't waste your money on a 110v gas (or flux) welder. Go buy your self a used 220v 200+ amp miller mig. Gas is cheap, nobody buys bottles. You lease them from liquid air or praix air.

[Gonthro]

yeah the bottles should be fairly cheap, when i was considering leasing bottles from air liquide for oxy/acet cutting torches they said it'd be approx $150 a year for a pair of decent sized bottles, and about $60 to fill them both.



edit:
theres a local guy selling a miller 220V 200A

http://www.4wheeler.ca/index.php?showtopic=9230

[shadow]

Welll I have never welded before... I think I might buy a smaller one and for the jobs I cannot do I will simply tack it and bring it to someone to weld. I do not know how far I am gonna get into welding so I am not sure if I wanna lay down a couple thousand from the start.. =P

Thanks for all the input though.

[pressure_ratio]

A 110 welder is fine if you're going to do piping and other small jobs.Welding takes practice above all so don't expect to see beautifull welds your fist few times around.What legendboy is saying is absolutly true if you want to get into more serious stuff,nothing beats a nice 220 welder.Don't even waste you're time on the flux cores migs they're horible,you'll spend so much time cleaning the splatter,the wire is more expensive and for the cost of the gas you'll be waaay happier,i rented a 80 cu ft bottle for about 70 a year and a fill is a little over 60.

[Ichigo]

Definately go gas.. I've done both.. And without the gas your welds look like........ just plain gross... The shielding gas it makes it go on with no spatter.

[rio_rex]

I know alot of ppl say that the 110 volt welders can't do much more than weld charge piping...but i disagree

Lincoln electric mig pak 10 110 volt fluxcore on my homemade log style manifold...

[rio_rex]

2 1/2 downpipe....

[rio_rex]

note, that flange on the downpipe is the stock cast iron flange (chopped it off) welded to normal carbon steel exaust piping, i ran the manifold, no leaks, and the downpipe with no cracking or leaking. So i would recomend the mig/fluxcore welders, if ur on a budget...the welds may not look all pretty, but hey if it works then its good right?? Practice is the key

[civic_stylez]

i use a millermatic 185 everyday at my work and i find it to be an excellent, easy to use tool... its not very large and puts out some fairly good heat when you crank up the amps and the gas... just my 2 cents..

[Maxt]

The most economical with semi decent results is a gonna be a mig welder, migs range from cheap to fairly pricey, the more money you spend the better they are..
There are very few good 110v machines, I own a hobart(miller) mig thats 110, and its probably the only 110 volt machine worth having, the 220 volt migs with stitch and delay are nice machines , about 1500.00 + for a really good mig..
If you want welds that look decent for show quality piping etc, especially intercooler pipes, A tig with frequency control is the only way to fly, I use my tig more than any of my other machines now , the mig still has its place on mild steel quicky jobs, but the tig is the machine for neat strong welds.. Price tag though, 3000.00 + for a good machine with ac/dc power supply and frequency control, beware of the dc only machines, you can't weld aluminium with them..Maxt

[T5Bird]

I have a Lincoln 110V MIG. It's the biggest 110V they make SP135 maybe? Anyways I've welded 3/16" and 1/4" plate no problem with it, definatley all you need if it's just going to be a hobby welder. As for gas, why waste your money renting a bottle? I bought my bottle and fill it one or two times a year, usually 75-80 a fill. I agree that you will not be happy with a fluxcore welder.