Best welder for the money?

[wa4x4]

What is the best welder for the money? I am just getting started in welding and need something to learn on and learn to fab on. Thanks for anything.

[reklund5]

Miller 175.  The best entry level 220V wire feed, in my opinion.  I've used one several times and have been impressed.  My miller 210 has a little more poop, but the 175 will do most any fab work you'd need to do on a truck...

Ryan

[toybuilt]

I also have a millermatic 210, its great. A millermatic 175 will weld up to quarter inch in one pass and runs under $800.

[To The Floor]

I as well have a millermatic 210.  have not had a chance to weld with a 175 miller but i hav a 135 and that thing kicked ass in the 110V welder world.  so ideally id want a millermatic 210 which is what i have but since the millermatic 175 is a 220V also i'd probly say it'd be the best bang for your buck.  good luck and buy a miller dude!

[wa4x4]

Yeah dude...Ill get a job... I hate working but its all good. Hopefully I can get the folks to pick up some of the tab on this one and maybe I can find one used! Well at least its an american brand and the price and all this support shows reliability! Thank god for american tools

[toybuilt]

I'm glade that there is still a few American products.

[Suprarunner]

I just sold my Miller 175 for a smoking deal! Wish I coulda hooked you up with it. Get a 175. Perfect entry level welder. I sold mine to get the 210 but had no complaints outta the 175.

[wa4x4]

How much did you sell the 175 from. They are a little out of my budget new. 

[Suprarunner]

I sold mine for 600 with a big bottle, cart, and self shading hood. It was only like a year and a half old.

[wa4x4]

gotta find myself a good deal...

[yotaboy79]

for wire feed and stick welding i love lincolns and for tigs id have to go whith a miller, if you can find an older airco welder those are great welders too i have a 10 year old airco wire feed and that thing is still going strong and i actualy prefer it over the brand new lincolns at my work but thats probably cus i learned how to weld on it, i just wish the airco in infinant ajustment like the newer welders lincoln and miller are like ford and chevy does your school have a welding class if so you should inroll in it lots of times  high schools have great welding shops


edit: only thing you have to watch for is that some of the small lincolns are cheapo china made pieses of garbage its just the lincoln shell with chinies innerds the dead givaway is if its a genuene american made lincoln it will have a threaded fitting in the back of the welder for the shielding gas and the cheapo ones will have a press on fitting we got one of the good 110's at work for welding smaller stuff and that thing is an awsome little welder i dont know if id trust in with 1/4 inch but that this is great on any thing thinner good luck and happy welding

[wa4x4]

my hs welding shop got shut down due to budget shortages last year....right after i signed up for the class..

[yotaboy79]

that sucks ass i feel for ya and i think thet that tipe of thing is bull , every HS should have a good welding class and a good mechanics class i feel for you cus thats just retarted those classes where the only ones i could pass for christs sake!!!

[wa4x4]

I transferred to a tech school and the state pays 900 bucks a quarter for me to work on cars!

[WV4runner]

Miller 175 is what I have.  If you don't want to go 220 volt, look into the Hobart 140.

[red]

i've used millers and lincolns, gotta say i prefer millers. if u need a low price welder then you should get an ark welder from miller, requires more skill, but not as much as tig or oxy/aceteline does.

[wa4x4]

Will arc weld plate well?

[red]

ark will weld anything that a mig can. ur cover gas is contained in the rod, instead of in a tank. so if u want a solid weld then DONT BREAK THE FLUX around the rod. took welding 2 years ago, my teacher had us build a buch of trailers, usually 45-52 feet long gooseneck flatbeds/horse trailers. used ark welders usually, sometimes mig. ark will weld on any steel, welded diamond plate 1/4" on the flatbeds.

[wa4x4]

How is an ark different? like how does it work differently?

[PAToyota]

I'm pretty pleased with the MM250X that I picked up for $900 used! 

For an extra $1100, it even came with a Hypertherm 1100! 

Now just have to get to the 

[toybuilt]

go to millermatic.com it will tell you everything

[yotaboy79]

wire feed (mig) feeds wire into the weld  on arc or stick welding you get a welding rod and put in the electrode holder and you weld with that when you run out of welding rod you stick another one in

[red]

exactly right yotaboy. ur cover gas in a mig is released all around ur wire by the gun. in an ark the gas is the coating on ur rod, known as the flux. 7018 rod should work great for strong welds, high penetration, not brittle.

[wa4x4]

Yeah, I had a long discussion about it last night with the guys in the shout box last night/this morning. Now I'm startign to look for a used arc welder. Thanks guys!

[Duffil]

exactly right yotaboy. ur cover gas in a mig is released all around ur wire by the gun. in an ark the gas is the coating on ur rod, known as the flux. 7018 rod should work great for strong welds, high penetration, not brittle.

If you plan on using 7018, you either have to get a welder that does DC as well, or try to fing the new 7018 that will run on AC...

[wa4x4]

Yeah, I heard about 4 different types or wire you can run through it all with different strengths.

[red]

if u get an ark MAKE SURE ITS DC. its a whole lot easier to get ur ark started with dc, doesnt stick as much and usually a better weld.

[wa4x4]

So a DC arc welder ?

[red]

cheaper than a mig. dont have to buy a bottle or refill it, just have to buy rods(next to nothin) i've found some cheap as 210, new, that are very reliable and produce great welds.