Need welder recommendations

[Troutsqueezer]

TIG takes a heck of a lot more practice. I'd stay away from it until you get your feet wet. Then if you have the money and have the time to learn it, go for it.

Asking about which type of welder to buy is like asking which type of car should you buy. 10 people will give you 11 different opinions.

Here's my suggestion (because it's what I own): Millermatic 180 (220V, MIG), H.F. auto-darkening helmet, 80cf cylinder with 75% Argon and 25% C02. You can weld aluminum at extra cost, just change the gas to 100% Argon and get a spool gun which fits at the end of the umbilical (aluminum is too soft to push down the entire length of the umbilical).

-Trout

 

[Tin Falcon]

Brian check the local vocational technical schools jr colleges and see if they offer evening welding courses.
it will cost a few bucks but you can get some hands on experience before taking the plunge.
Tin

 

[Hilmar]

I see Amp mentioned here from 20 to 450. I can only think those are at the tip of the welding Arc. How will that translate to the Amps at the Line outlet of 120 or 220 VAC ?
Hilmar

 

[shred]

FWIW, that goofy converter box you posted isn't a good idea-- it relies on being connected to 110v circuits on 'both halves' of the (US) household 220. If you have both halves of your 220 handy, it's easy enough to put in another wire and get proper 220. If you only have 110 in the remote shop, there won't be two separate circuits on either side to plug it into...

I hacked one up to test some 220v equipment from a couple extension cords and a socket (that's all it is), but it's a scary thing and I replaced it asap.

 

[Ken I]

Hilmar, For a "quick and dirty" conversion, assume the welding occurs at 50V then a "modest" 120A weld requires 50x120=6000W

Off a 120V supply that is going to require 6000/120 = 50 Amps even off a 220V supply it is going to require 27A which is typically (just over) the limit for domestic outputs at those voltages.

For a 200A MIG weld off a 400V three phase that is still going to come to (200x50)/400/(3^0.5) = ±15A

Please - I did say this was "quick and dirty".

Whilst you can teach yourself welding, Tin's comment's on doing some course work first is a good one - plus you can get some first hand advice from your lecturer WRT equipment.

My own training went something like this - soldering, hard (silver) soldering, brazing, gas welding, stick welding, TIG welding then Stainless (stick, MIG, TIG) and then Aluminium (TIG, MIG) in that order.
Each teaches you something usefull for the next step and its a lot easier with someone showing you how.

Regards,
Ken

 

[Tin Falcon]

I see Amp mentioned here from 20 to 450. I can only think those are at the tip of the welding Arc. How will that translate to the Amps at the Line outlet of 120 or 220 VAC ?
Hilmar

There is no cut and dry answer here other than look at the welder specs and that will not always be dead on more of an estimate. or calculation. Power used is volts at the stinger times amps. stinger volts will vary depending on the welder and process.
The other factor of draw at the wall. is efficiency of energy conversion the old coil transformer mufti hundred pound units used a lot of power .The new inverters use much less power they are much more efficient. The same small inverter made to take whatever it is fed will draw half the amperage off a 220 circuit as if it was plugged into 110 assuming all other conditions the same.
Tin

 

[Maryak]

I'm not sure if it's been mentioned but for me one thing that is important is "The Duty Cycle." If whatever you buy only welds for 5-10 mins before shutting down it's a real pain. The biggest volts you can safely use and the best duty cycle from the machine. As our standard house power in Oz is 240V 1 phase. I can't comment on the lower voltage welders.

Hope this helps

Best Regards
Bob

 

[Mosey]

My Home Shop Machinist mag came today, and it has a big article on "welding in the Home Shop". Pretty good timing.

 

[ShopShoe]

Second what everyone has said. I was lucky in that I had access to a very helpful professional welding-supply business that was not too busy to help me if I did not bother them when they were really busy. If you can take a course that is good and any contacts you can make for advice will be extra helpful.

I was never sorry to carefully save money to buy based on professional advice.

--ShopShoe