with these specs will this welder work up to 3/16" metal or is it gonna be 1/8?

For mild steel, stainless steel, and aluminum. Weld with gas or perform flux cored gasless operations.
Welding current range: 25 to 87 amps
Input: single phase 115 volts, 60 Hz
Open voltage: 19 to 30
Duty cycle: 20% @ 75 amps, 45% @ 50 amps
Draws 21 amps @ 120 volts
Weldable wires: 0.023'' to 0.035'' steel and stainless steel, 0.030'' to 0.035'' aluminum, 0.030'' flux-cored

 

For 3/16 steel I woudn't get less than a 130 amp welder. I have a Miller 130 and for a solid weld 3/16 is about it's limit.

 

i was actually looking to get this today.
it says it goes to 3/16. i wanted to weld like exhaust piping, lca's brackets, subframes.

this is my first welder and dont want to spend too much since im a beginner. ill upgrade to a better one later.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...&s=hi&v=glance

 

85 amps is definitely not enough to weld subframes, sorry. Look into something at least double that output for welding 1/4" or more subframes properly.

I know you're a beginner - the rule with welding equipment is to buy as much as you can possibly afford, for a few reasons:
- the name brand stuff (miller, hobart, esab, lincoln) will hold its value better when you want to sell
- the name brand stuff will usually lay nicer beads and have more controllable arcs
- name brand stuff usually has better parts availability and more techs know them if something breaks

I highly recommend miller as my experiences with their products have been 100% positive, you might want to look into their millermatic MIG line.

I started out with a lincoln weld-pak 100 (total crap, don't buy it, if you go lincoln get at least the 3200HD) and later bought a lincoln ranger 10-LX, 250A multiprocess that will do mig, tig & stick, accessorized with a miller HF box, weldcraft tig torch, lincoln LN-8 mig feeder, tweco 250A mig torch & bernard stick cables. I've got about $2500 into the setup and trailer currently, having scrounged ebay a lot looking for deals.

 

well i saw that SFC had 3/16 weldable plates. and lca brackets were 3/16. so i thought since this one said it would do 3/16, that it would be fine.

 

do i need mig weldablitiy now? i wasn't goin to use gas at this moment.

would this one work. says up to 1/4. and its upgradable to mig.

"Versatility, value and dependable performance are the hallmarks of this terrific wire feed welder from Lincoln Electric. You'll be welding with gasless, flux-cored wire on light gauge mild steel in no time - everything you need is right in the box! The Weld-Pak 100HD has 30-100 amps welding output and welds up to 1/4 In. steel. The welder plugs into a 115V (15 amp) outlet. The unit is compact, portable, lightweight and easy to use. The Weld-Pak 100HD comes with a 3 year warranty on parts and labor. (90 days warranty on the gun and cable).

• Easily upgrades to MIG
• Welds up to 1/4 In.
• 3-year parts and labor warranty
• 90-day gun and cable assembly warranty"

 

For quick reference for you guys for every .001" you need 1 amp. This is a general rule. It depends what type of weld you are performing...i.e. butt weld, lap weld etc.

So for mathematically challenged (not you but just in general for someone reading this)…for your 3/16" material you have .1875*1000 ...you need ~180amp welder for correct penetration.

If your welder is smaller, you can pre-heat the material. The welder limits are also dependant on the duty cycle. If the welder is rated at 100 amps with a duty cycle of 20%...this means you can only weld at the max amperage for 2 minutes out of 10 without damage to your welding unit.

This is very basic guidelines…but maybe it will help you (or others) a bit making a better educated decision on your purchase.

Steve

 

I was looking for that info but couldn't find it, thanks for pointing it out.

When I was still using my weld-pak 100 (not the HD, can't speak for it, but the regular weld-pak 100 laid shitty beads) when you'd hit the duty cycle it was a thermal overload circuit, and you'd get a "time out" for 10-15 minutes before you could start welding again, which was really annoying, and I assume that was so that people who didn't understand the concept of a duty cycle wouldn't damage their machine.

My lincoln ranger and LN-8 feeder have 100% duty cycles, so that isn't a concern any more.

Using flux-core won't work for bodywork, arc is too hot and bead is too dirty. As per Steve10's general recommendation, 100A is not enough to do 3/16", much less 1/4" in a single pass, and you may not have enough space to do multiple passes (or not want the additional weight) and multiple passes of course require more time.

When I looked at converting my weld-pak to mig, the best price I could find online was over $100 for a regulator, solenoid, hose, and different tips/cap, in addition to the price of a bottle (cost me $126 for a 40 cubic foot bottle of 75/25 ARCO2). And it still left shitty beads even after the mig conversion was finished. For the price of the bottle + conversion kit, I could have almost purchased another weld-pak 100, and for the price of conversion kit + weld-pak 100, I could have bought a nicer welder already set up for mig.

I will vouch that the weld-pak 100 was easy to get parts for, you could get tips and nozzles at the local napa, fleet farm or menards, but thats where the positive qualities stopped.

I realize that you don't want to spend too much money (I'm a college kit with an automotive hobby, I understand that problem well) but I'm telling you, having taken the "longer path" to get a good setup, that you're going to cause yourself nothing but headaches and cost yourself more money (long-term) than just buying the proper equipment from the start.

 

i actually bought the 3200HD today. worked pretty well.

 

Check out the Clarke gas,nogas 130EN for like $270, very high quality.