whats the best MIG welder to get for under $500. Preferably one that can be run off a standard house outlet (110).

thanks
adam

 

You can get a refurbed Hobart 140 for around $427 shipped to your door from www.toolking.com. Runs off standard 110v.

There are other welders out there that are cheaper. Just make sure you read the fine print to make sure the welder comes with everything you need for MIG welding. Usually the cheaper welders are just wire welders and they require additional equipment to be purchased for using gas.

 

LINCOLN!! I have one of these that we take with us on the trailer and it has never failed. It's been in the rain and knocked over tons of times and has never let me down. I would recommend it to anyone. Brand new less than $500 at home depot.


http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS...gki.0&MID=9876

 

Millermatic 135

Variable, not preset, voltage and wire speed. Also look at the duty cycle.

 

Miller 135 would have been my first choice but he said he wanted to stay under $500. Unless you can get a good deal off a used model on Ebay the MM135 is generally in the $560-600 range.

Hobart is actually owned by Miller. The HH140 has the same duty cycle as the Miller or Lincoln 135's and you can get it cheaper too.

Lincoln makes an excellent product. My only complaint is that I don't care for their wire feed assembly. You might want to check your local Sears store. Over the weekend I saw 2 of the Lincoln SP-135T welders on clearance for $389.

 

Like everything else, they must've gone up.

I paid $475 for mine a couple years ago.

 

Yep, prices have risen. I paid $1100 for a MM210 about 3 yrs ago. Now they are selling for over $1300.

 

I love my little Hobart…

 

Lincoln Electric 135T

 

This is what I use, too. That price rises a bit after you buy a tank, gas, gloves, and a good mask, though.

 

+1 for the Lincoln Electric 135 Great welder for all your basic fabrication and repair. Ive had mine for 3 years now and use it often, never had any problems.

 

i have a lincoln also. cost $450 i think. i think its a 4500HD?

 

+2 great welder for the price.

 

I picked up a MIG 140 brand new at the Tractor Supply Company for $420. It does pretty good, wished it had a little bit more ***** but for the price and the fact that it can be plugged into a standard wall outlet it works pretty good. Oh, and like the guy I quoted states, make sure it can do gas welding. Don't mess around with flux core, it sucks the big one!

Like somebody has said before when I was looking around for welders, Hobart's are pretty much a lower priced Miller. (has parts made overseas as well I think) The handle that you hold onto when you are welding says Miller right on it!

HTH!

 

For something that runs off of 110 your only choices that are any good would be a millermatic 135 or lincoln sp135, you can get a hobart which is basically a base version of a millermatic 135. Either one is gonna cost you between $550-$600, or thats what I sell them for at my store anyway. Good luck!

 

well I've narrowed it to the millermatic 135 or the lincoln 135. Anything I should know to make the decision? they seem to be pretty much the same welder.

 

lincoln 3500hd...it comes with everything to run a gas mig except the tank all for like $450

 

Why not the Hobart handler 140?

Hobart and miller are the same company, so the hardware is largely the same (my handler came with a miller gun…), but there is a difference in how they work.

The Lincoln has no wire speed tracking, and the miller has the most wire speed tracking, the Hobart is right in between. Honestly, I can deal with either the Lincoln or the Hobart there, where the miller gets somewhat confusing. With the Lincoln if things are set about right when you turn up the power you have to turn up the wire speed, with the Hobart usually you can turn up the power and the wire speed speeds up about right, with the miller… well I’ve run across situations where when you turn up the power the wire speed actually ends up a little too fast and you end up fidgeting to get it right again.

The Lincoln has a crappy wire feed… it’s like something that someone slapped together out of spare hardware that they found under their workbench.

The only argument that I’ve seen against the Hobart is the fact that it has 4 power taps vs the lincoln’s and miller’s infinite setting… well, I’d suggest trying it before you base your decision on it. Honestly, for most people I think that the infinite voltage settings don’t do anything but confuse them, just giving them something to fidget when they have a problem rather then really figuring out what is wrong. Changing the angle that you’re holding the gun at a few degrees or distance from the weld 1/16” will make a bigger difference than being able to take a half step between one of the 4 voltage settings, and until you get really experienced your technique varriing slightly will have a bigger impact on your end results then going from say D to G on lincoln’s power scale, and then when you do get that feel for it you won’t care (I tend to leave my handler set at 3 or 4 90% of the time and adjust my technique for the weld, on my friend’s Lincoln SP135 I think I leave it around I or J and adjust my technique from there). Secondly, the 4 positions are actual taps on the transformer, meaning that you’re connecting to a different point in the transformer so there are no electronics to fail/burnout WRT to that part of the welder. Lastly, I haven’t seen this with the miller but I believe that that part of the circuit causes a “bounce” in the power supply on the Lincoln, when you first pull the trigger you get a lot of power, then for a split second it bounces before you get to a smooth weld.

 

aw, just splurge a little...

the dynasty 700 is only a few dollars more..

 

I was out fartin' around looking at tools and welders today, and I noticed that Lincoln has three different models in their 120v range depending on the store you happen to be standing in...

the Lincoln 135, the Pro Mig 140, and the 3200 HD. They all seem to have a 20% duty cycle at 90 amps.... are there any other "real world" differences in these three machines?