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110v welder choices

herm0016

herm0016

Diamond Member
i am looking to get a 110v mig welder for doing small projects. I do not have access to 220v. I was looking at the northern industrial branded one because it is cheap but i am wondering if it is worth paying nearly twice as much for the hobart or some other model.

what are you recomendations? I will be using this to make new steering parts for my jeep, and for other small projects for the jeep, my truck and my camper. anything large I will hire the machine shop to make for me, but i want to make the rest at home hopefully saving a bit of money.
 
If you are going to use it as a pro or do a lot of welding for long periods then the higher end ones are worth it.

If more a DIY type thing then the Northern/Harbor freight type ones work fine. I have a basic flux one I got from harbor freight and it works fine aftre 5+ years now.
 
I would spend the extra cash on the Hobart. I have a Harbor Freight 110V flux core welder that I got for ~$70 and had to add ~$30-40 of diodes/capacitors/inductor to make it work well.


If I was buying one now cheap, I'd probably get a Hobart 125 ( not 125EZ, you apparently can't add the gas solenoid kit for some reason ). I've seen refurbs on ToolKing for $250. If you go to gas ( for higher quality welds in steel and to do aluminum ) you'll have to add the solenoid kit - $80 and a tank of gas - anywhere from $75-$200 not including refills.
 
I don't know if I'd trust my life to a steering part I'd welded with a 110v welder. Just saying.

I don't have any specific experience with the welder you mention, but you might consider something used instead of new. It'll probably be easier to find parts for a Lincoln or Miller down the road than some off brand sold at Harbor Freight. I imagine in the long run you'd have fewer regrets if you pony up for a top tier welder now.
 
making new tie-rods with tubing and new heim joints. the old stuff is rusty and i need a longer arm from the Pittman to the spindle because of the lift. also, everyone wants 50+ dollars a piece for the TRE's and i cant even find all of them.

i want to do some other projects, like finishing my wind turbine and welding a few brackets to the frame of the jeep, filling in a few holes, new seat brackets for different seats....
 
http://www.eastwood.com/mig-135-welder-cart-helmet-kit.html

how about this? i know that it is not a well known welder brand, but it is most likly made by one of the big brands ( miller, lincoln, etc...) and it is sort of in the middle of the road cost wise. $299 or $399 w/ stand and auto darkening helmet

the hobart 140 is the other one i am looking at, but it is a few hundred more. $479 no stand or helmet
http://www.amazon.com/Hobart-500500-...?tag=amaz98-20


as far as used or refurb i have not found many resources.

the Lincoln weld pak 140 is about $ 500 with a cheap hand held shield and no stand

the similar miller is just over $700, and out of my budget range.
 
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that's some good research ltc8k6. thanks. seems like the hobart has a good rep from the ifsj forums. probably going to pick that up.
 
Century/Lincoln K2787-2 140 Amp 110 Volt MIG Welder
Century/Lincoln 140 Amp Flux core wire feed welder with welding cart and gas kit. Welds both gasless flux core and MIG. includes: Welding Cart 1 lb spool of .035 NR-211-MP flux-cored wire Gun and cable assembly 10 ft. work cable and clamp 10 ft hose gas regulator Spare contact tips Flux-cored nozzle Instruction manual 10 ft input cable and attached plug Three year warranty parts and labor 90 days on gun and cable assembly.
Century/Lincoln K2787-2 140 Amp 110 Volt MIG Welder
$317.43
FREE SHIPPING 88lb. K2787-2_FS
condition: new

http://weldingsupplyusa.com/index.p...&category_id=8&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1
 
herm0016 said:
that's some good research ltc8k6. thanks. seems like the hobart has a good rep from the ifsj forums. probably going to pick that up.
Click to expand...

Make sure you get an autodarkening helmet. It's a bitch to position your gun with one hand and the visor up then flip the visor down and start welding only to discover you're not welding where you wanted. Harbor Freight has one for $35 I think now.
 
The Hobart is a good choice for your light duty work. My dad and my father-in-law both have 110V gas shielded ones.

I'd definitely recommend the auto darkening helmet. I don't know how I ever did any welding work without one.
 
kornphlake said:
I don't know if I'd trust my life to a steering part I'd welded with a 110v welder. Just saying.
[...]
I imagine in the long run you'd have fewer regrets if you pony up for a top tier welder now.
Click to expand...

+1 to not trusting low-power MIG welds.

+1 to spending the extra money to get a solid, name-brand welder. In 20 years when you're still using the same welder the extra few hundred bucks will have been well worth it.

My personal preference would be for a TIG welder/Plasma cutter combo unit. I just prefer TIG over MIG, and it would be nice to have a plasma cutter too.
 
If you want it for a job or two, get the cheapie. Otherwise pay the extra for a good one, you won't regret it. I had a cheap one from harbor freight and it did the couple jobs I needed it to do but I would never get one again.
 
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