Technical The finer points of MiG welding machines.

I need a new MiG welder, small one for just sheet metal, that’s all. Tack tack tack trigger trigger trigger . Contacts go on off on off on off, wire feed has pull relax pull relax pull relax. My old RED unit worked well ( from 96) till a few years ago. Then it just gradually got to where I’m fixing it more than I’m using it now. 27 years and probably close to 1000lbs of wire is pretty good.

I’ve got a welder for everything else I’d ever need around here so I just need it for light gauge body work. My big Blue MiG welder doesn’t like to work correctly down on the low end. My Tig works perfectly for those high end quality panel jobs.

Struck my first arc as a kid in 1976 and have been at it everyday in some fashion or form ever since. Quite the resume and qualifications. Lots of new stuff out there now, especially with this “inverter” technology. Not sure what some of these features are, what they do, and how it’s going to help me.

Here’s what I want and don’t want.
Don’t want anything that delays, soft start, ramps up to my settings.
I bought a unit yesterday, (it’s going back) there’s a 3/4 second delay before the wire feed goes. (WTF is that for). The wire gets hot, burns back or balls up and then feeds. The cool part is after 5 tacks in a row it moves up to immediately feeding wire. Not 4 tacks, not first tack but 5 tacks only if you don’t let it time out. I can’t deal with a machine that’s got that feature.
Just for shits and giggles, should you ever need to run continuous beads in the middle of 19 or 20 gauge, even 24ga (NEVER) after 3 seconds it’s right in its groove and welds damn near perfect. Those first 3 seconds? Who know what it’s doing. Won’t tack a seem for shit. Can’t outsmart the dials either.

I want my tacks Fast, hot, flat, bitting on not like gentle spit balls and consistent every time especially for fitting up butt joints, many times without the hood while you’re attempting perfect alignment.

(My buddies ancient red machine can have its dials out smarted. It tacks perfectly consistent for 6 triggers then goes to the machine’s actual settings. 6 perfect dots and 7 blows a hole. 6 and let it time out.)

I know exactly what I want but I don’t know what the features are called in todays technology. Not sure if it’s inherently in the inverter or just asinine by design.

 

wish I could help...my MIG is over 30 years old and lets me tack as if I were the guy at the controls.

 

Exactly
Don’t get me started on my “smart” battery charger

 

I have a 1970s battery charger for when they need to actually get charged...

 

anyways, if you told us what kind of welder you bought that is not working right, maybe we could download the instructions and try to figure out what it's doing, and if that feature has a name, that you could avoid in future.

 

I like the Hobart Handler 140. With .023 steel wire, it does a good job of a flat bead at low amp settings. I also have an older red machine- 200 amp (but mine is a PowCon), not good for thin stuff. The Hobart for some reason does not like .023 SS as it bird nests from time to time.

 

I would actually like a gun that could pre and post purge for a few seconds if I wanted.
I have an old Miller spool gun that has that feature.

 

Titanium Unlimited 140

 

Broken record here, but Primeweld.

 

With all those years of experience, do you not have a welding supply company where you can ask them for guidance?
The welding supply company I dealt with for 30 years had a store where you could actually go in and test weld with a few different machines in order to get the features you wanted. That company was a family owned shop, and the old guard is retiring out, but there are still guys there that were capable of translating what you want into the new tech talk. I could probably buy the same stuff they sell on line someplace for cheaper, but having someplace to get real info is worth a few extra bucks to me.

 

Had to run my Hohn Deere 325 mower out and use the jumper cables to put enough of a charge in a battery fir the smart charger to recognoze it.
Can't help on the mig. I'll be there after my shoulder heals up but i havent done a lot of tacking with my red 175.

 

This is more of a PSA for first time buyers than for seasoned weldors ( not that I consider myself one).
As I've said on previous threads of this nature, over and above satifying the need at hand, an important sales pitch should include the local availability of repair parts and consumables, this is the value in dealing with an actual "storefront".
The problem with online sales, for instance Am@yawn is that customer service people might be advising on sewing machines one minute and welders the next, it's like a box of chocolates..................
Now, if one has a backup welder then the sense of urgency might not be an issue.
Have you considered asking over at
vvvvvvvv
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/welding-equipment.494334/

 

I have used a Millermatic 130 that works great. Not sure they make that machine anymore.

 

I have used a Hobart 180 for 25 years with gas.No problems!

 

At home its all old school Miller machines. At work,I've got a two near new Miller units. The new inverter welders are really slick and run so smooth. The little 215 works damn well for its size. I'd bet the 142 would probably be fine for sheet metal.

 

Got a 20-25 year old Hobart handler. 220v machine. Does great. Ive welded 22 gauge to 3/8 with it.
We have a Lincoln 125 at school. 110v.
Does great with thin sheet metal.

 

I have had 2 Hobart Handler welders. The first was a 115 and it did great on sheet metal. I traded up for a 187 (240v) several years back so that I could weld 1/4 - 5/16" when needed. It handles .030 and .023 wire and will turn down for thin metal and turn up when you want more heat. Wire feed is instantaneous. Most of my welding is sheet metal. I highly recommend the Hobarts I have used and consumables are readily available.

 

Just buy an old used non inverter machine, that sounds like what you want. Just find one with low hours and burn away. I have a Miller Matic 185 working great since the 90s (I bought it new).

 

I have one of those new Millers at work like you’re talking about . Pisses me and the other techs off as it’s “too smart to do its job” most of the time .

$4000 grand and it’s a pain in my ass .

we got two shops in different buildings at my work , the other shop has a “ no name “ 110/220v welder that’s a miller knock off welds good on 110 welds amazing on 220 .

uses all miler consumables . It’s a perfect welder reminds me of my miller cricket . Just a simple old school mig .

 

I'll be interested in today's equivalent 110V machine for light sheet metal to 1/4". This 140 Millermatic has been doing it well for 20 years using mostly .023 wire. When it goes tits up, I'll be looking to Miller for the closest to it available today. I have others but this is my favorite that is so easy to regulate with just the basic wire speed and heat dials. Very predictable and reliable.

 

I use my big Miller 252 for sheet metal. Run .035 as it came with a giant roll. I tried .023 but it will not feed it consistently over the long lead I have .030 might be a better choice that will still feed. It has amazing control. Amps to the 0.1 increment and wire speed infinite and pre and post gas flow settings. It does stuff I do not understand in the settings menu but I just use it "straight up". Fast, consistent, blazing hot tacks with full penetration and not too much material build up. Id previously been using a flux machine for 20 years and I was afraid to turn this new machine up. But after getting used to it I can stack rows of tacks to look like dimes now. No more pin holes or craters. Its overkill, I got it second hand hardly used for an amazing price. My LWS tried to get me to trade it in on a small machine for sheet metal + cash back when I told them what I use it for and I told them no thanks. I'm a total novice but it makes me look pretty good.

 

user manual

 

I think Miller vs. Lincoln is kinda like Ford vs. Chevy.

I'd recommend getting the brand that your LOCAL welding supply store supports.

I have a Lincoln 140 C MIG. Specs are about the same as the Miller 140 but the Lincoln was a few $ cheaper. I like it alot- it's PERFECT for welding sheetmetal but nothing thicker than 3/8".
But it's my first (and only welder I've ever used), so I have no basis for comparison.

Hope this helps.

 

I've got an old used Lincoln 175 sp and it's been used alot... a whole lot and works great although I haven't ran .023 thru it but I've used it a lot on sheet metal and have been tempted to run .023 thru it but I use it too much on thicker metal to make it feasible.

Thought about a second machine just for sheet metal and .023.

Now we have a Hobart 140 at work that I just despise, shop bought it new and after using it for about a year I refused to even turn the switch on. Later we bought a small Lincoln 140 and I used the crap out of it. We also have the big 200 Lincoln.

If they'd come up for sale I'd buy the small Lincoln over the Hobart and gladly give a few more dollars for it.

And I've burnt a lot of wire thru all the machines at work.. .


...

 

I'm another lincoln 175sp user.
20 yrs. thousands of hrs. .023 or .030 works great and never needed anything other than gas,tips and wire.

 

You guys telling me about your welders lasting longer than most marriages,,, well I get it because mine has worked it freaking ass off for 20 something years needing nothing. We’re talking about 3-4 10lb spools a year for 27 years. A few years ago it started acting up needing small stuff. Most anything it’s needed has been considered obsolete and not available. And over the past few years it’s just been one thing after another, now lacking its umph and consistency.

Anyone have a NOS still in the box 20-30 year old little MiG welding machine, I’m on it !!! Probably be the last one I need if it goes for 20 plus years

 

I have a Lincoln SP 135. I taught auto mechanics in a prison here in California before I retired and wanted a 110 mig. I asked the welding Instructor what he recommended. He had 6 SP 135 mig units being used by inmates 6 hours a day 5 days a week. He told me that they never broke, even with the incompetent and mischievous intentions of some of his inmates. On his recommendation, I purchased an SP 135 some 15 years ago. I still use it regularly and it always works quite well, sometimes better than my welding abilities! It has been a good investment and consumables are readily available at Lowe's, Home Depot and other big box stores 7 days a week!

 

I still have my first MIG machine. It is well over 40 years old, one of the first made for Mastercraft and sold by Canadian Tire. It is a 110V unit that only has a high/low heat range on it. It is spooled with .030 and great for 16 gauge or heavier. I have been able to keep it in operation simply by testing and replacing individual diodes in the two banks. The first time I cooked a diode (exceeding the duty cycle), I wrote the manufacturer and they sent me a lifetime supply free of charge. Another simple machine that is like the EverReady Bunny.
The first stick welder I ever used was built by my Dad from 4 fluorescent ballasts. Technology is great but there is something to be said about old & simple.

 

[QUOTE="31Vicky with a hemi, post:
My big Blue MiG welder doesn’t like to work correctly down on the low end.
[/QUOTE]

I had the same problem with my Miller 250....
Just recently picked up a Lincoln 135 for $100..... Got it just for .023 wire on sheet metal.....

LynnW

 

We have a miller 210.
Can weld great with sheet metal.
.023 wire, switch the spool drive to that size wire.