What welder to buy?

[AEA]

You guys who are welders, do you like Lincolns or Miller. Is there a difference or is it Ford - Chevy kinda thing?

 

[jordy]

I don't think you can go wrong with either one. Personally, I've always liked Miller and have a Millermatic 185 wire-feed that have never had any problems with. Most of the companies that I have worked for have all run Millers on their field service trucks, as well as in the shops.

Again, six of one, half a dozen of the other. :beer

 

[OCMerrill]

I have a Lincoln. Fine quality. Jordy's right they are both good. There is also Hobart.

What is it your looking to weld?

 

[jordy]

. There is also Hobart.

And Hobart is great in marine applications... Take the worthless piece of shit and tie a rope to it and use it for an anchor. Unless they really upped their program, you couldn't give me one of those shitty welders. :swear

I worked for a major highway construction company and they outfitted everything with Millers, other than a Hobart they bought. Notice I said "A" Hobart. It was a gas powered stick welder that would run hot when the sun was out, so you'd turn it down a bit and get the temp right, then the sun would go behind the clouds and it would run cold. Biggest piece of shit ever.

I know this has been covered before, and I recall something about Miller purchasing Hobart, so perhaps they've turned it around, but I stand by my original Miller or Lincoln comment.

Then again, what do I know, I'm just an internet bully.

~all the best!! :beer

 

[OCMerrill]

And Hobart is great in marine applications... Take the worthless piece of shit and tie a rope to it and use it for an anchor. Unless they really upped their program, you couldn't give me one of those shitty welders. :swear

I worked for a major highway construction company and they outfitted everything with Millers, other than a Hobart they bought. Notice I said "A" Hobart. It was a gas powered stick welder that would run hot when the sun was out, so you'd turn it down a bit and get the temp right, then the sun would go behind the clouds and it would run cold. Biggest piece of shit ever.

I know this has been covered before, and I recall something about Miller purchasing Hobart, so perhaps they've turned it around, but I stand by my original Miller or Lincoln comment.

Then again, what do I know, I'm just an internet bully.

~all the best!! :beer

Oh sure just cut me at the knees why don't you? Bully.:thumbsup

I had a small Hobart Mig and it worked fine. It took off on me parked at a Home Depot (little focker) so I replaced it with a Lincoln. I have a little trouble with hot and cold not remaining consistent but I am used to it now.

That line about Marine Applications made me laugh "out loud" not just a measly LOL. You crack me up.

So there you go AEA skip the Hobart. One thing I know for sure is they are spendy compared to the other two anyway.

 

[snake321]

The millermatics and older lincolns never die. Buy a big welder used and run it for the rest of your life.

 

[Flyinbowtie]

As stated, Lincoln and Miller are on par for quality. You really can't go wrong with either. I recently bought a Lincoln Powermig 255c. I really like it. The things that made the Lincoln more appealing for me were minor; the Lincoln still has the top storage area for gloves, grease pencil, etc.
The new Miller does not. It has a hokey little slide compartment on the front that is tough for me (bad back) to get to.
The Lincoln also has a 110v plug on the back so you can plug in a grinder, etc. right into the welder, without dragging another extenison cord around. Just minor stuff, but it mattered to me. I have an old Hobart 120 Handler mini-welder loaded with fluxcore wire that has saved the day more than once for folks at Sand Mountain. It has never given me any problems, and I am on my 3rd large spool of wire.
I can actually run that little thing on a Honda EU2000 generator!

 

[TITTIES AND BEER]

i have the linclon buzz box stickwelder,works great for around ranch,i not the best welder in the world but i can make metal stick together

 

[leviman]

Not sure what you plan on welding or how heavy duty you need. I'm a miller fan myself. I have a trailblazer at home (told the wife we needed a generator, just didn't tell her it was attatched to a welder). We also use them at work, but if you are looking for something small Miller has a Maxstar series of "buzzboxes" that will do stick and tig. They are small and lightweight and can be run by 110 220 or 480. No special adapters or converters needed, its all built in. Good luck

 

[Boobybouncer]

we have a millermatic 200 at work that's probably 10 - 15 years old by now and never had any problems with it.. i have a small miller 220v at my house and my pops has a small 220v lincold at his.. neither have ever given any problems that i can remember.. as flyinbowtie said, it just comes down to what extra features your looking for, both are great welders in any size:thumbsup

 

[Baja Big Dog]

I have 6 Millers, Trailblazers, Bobcats, and powered wire feeds, they are the bomb, have one Lincoln, a small 155 wire feed, and no problems. The warranty is the same on both of them, 3 years, and I know that Miller is very good on warranty claims, according to the shop I buy from.

Some of the Hobart's used aluminum transformers, hence the problems described with the ambient heat thing. Stay away from ANY aluminum transformer welders.

You need to decide what you are going to weld before you buy a welder, I would avoid any 110 volt welder, as you will always be kicking yourself, if you do make sure you run a dedicated line with 40 amps, and dont use an extension cord, unless they are sized for the distance you will be running, #8 or #6 ext cords are hard to come by, (you will have to make it).

Spend the money and buy the bottle (argon and Co2), and use unshielded wire (you can use shielded, and reverse the polarity for dual shield welding) but the price of shielded wire is rather high. The end results are well worth the gas.

If your around Anaheim come by and play with some.

 

[76ANTHONY]

had both, been great and i had a harbor frieght cheapy, really makes me want my miller or licoln back
so i bought another miller:thumbsup

 

[Racey]

I've always been a miller guy over lincoln, I have a Millermatic 200 wire feed, and a syncrowave 350 tig. both are great machines, never once had a single problem with either, I also have a Lincoln Plasma cutter, it is nice but it freaks out sometimes and has to be reset.

Used machines are a great deal if you know they are coming from a reputable source. both of my machines are probably close to 20 years old.

 

[Wheeler]

I believe Miller now owns the Hobart name.

 

[jordy]

I believe Miller now owns the Hobart name.

Echo... echo...echo... echo.... :beer

 

[AEA]

I will be welding mostly mild steel from 1/8 to 3/8". Maybe alum. once in a while. Started out thinking about a Lincoln 140c, but it sounds too small. The sales guy at Airgas says a Miller 212 sounds like what I should be considering. He likes the Miller a little better than Lincoln. They sell both. It looks like I have to get a 220 volt machine for the power to do much.

 

[OCMerrill]

I will be welding mostly mild steel from 1/8 to 3/8". Maybe alum. once in a while. Started out thinking about a Lincoln 140c, but it sounds too small. The sales guy at Airgas says a Miller 212 sounds like what I should be considering. He likes the Miller a little better than Lincoln. They sell both. It looks like I have to get a 220 volt machine for the power to do much.

I have both a 110 "Mig Pak" and a 220V. I run .035 wire in both. We use the crap out of the 110v but we repair Wrought Iron (mild tube steel) with it all the time. We use flux core wire only in this unit as we are welding outside and besides the flux wire actually helps the machine work better. We will preheat the metal with a map torch if I am over .156 wall. The unit works like shit running off a generator.

The 220v unit is in my garage and I have mig mix running through it. This is what I use to work on my boat trailer, jeep, etc.

I have never tried welding Alum? :hmm

 

[jordy]

Any of you guys run 240 volt?

 

[Deleted Account]

Any of you guys run 240 volt?

Off an MQ45...

 

[jordy]

Off an MQ45...

Put a meter on your house power... should be 120/240 as well.

Unless you're running 3 phase, in which case your high side would be 208v.

p.s. MQ SUX!!! :beer

 

[Deleted Account]

MQ's and the diesel is free... Meter power costs. have a Miler 185, 200 and 250, plus 3 old Lincolns and 2 plasmas cutters...

Customer says to exercise their generators. They didn't say how...

Shasta...:thumbsup

MW is better than Cat and Generac...

 

[jordy]

MW is better than Cat and Generac...

Preaching to the choir on that one.

 

[Universal Elements]

I will be welding mostly mild steel from 1/8 to 3/8". Maybe alum. once in a while. Started out thinking about a Lincoln 140c, but it sounds too small. The sales guy at Airgas says a Miller 212 sounds like what I should be considering. He likes the Miller a little better than Lincoln. They sell both. It looks like I have to get a 220 volt machine for the power to do much.

I bought my welder and plasma cutter from here:


http://cyberweld.com/


Good prices and service. If you are going to spend that kind of money, get the Miller 252 for an extra $500. You'll be able to weld up to 1/2" and a lot of new features.

 

[Yellowboat]

I would also like to point out... buy the bigest one you can aford.

 

[Baja Big Dog]

I will be welding mostly mild steel from 1/8 to 3/8". Maybe alum. once in a while. Started out thinking about a Lincoln 140c, but it sounds too small. The sales guy at Airgas says a Miller 212 sounds like what I should be considering. He likes the Miller a little better than Lincoln. They sell both. It looks like I have to get a 220 volt machine for the power to do much.

I weld aluminum with the wire feed, using the spool gun and argon, a little pre heat before you start and it welds just fine, we weld semi trailer frames. Cleaning is a must, must, must!!! Once its cleaned, re-clean it! You can weld "through the handle" with alum, but its an art!