I'm 70 and starting to downsize, scale down project. AND I have NO ROOM. I've been focusing on upgrading equipment and it occurred to me I might be ideal for a multifunction welder: I don't do much anymore, only smaller projects (although vehicle rustout projects are still happening), I never use two welder types at the same time. Rarely use the plasma, but theoretically might need to "cut" and "weld" for the same project. I see 2 multifunction scenarios: Everything: Plasma/Stick/MIG/TIG, or Plasma + Multifunction Stick/MIG/TIG Either way, I would have everything on a single dolly, I could keep the ESAB and put the Multi on top of it. WHAT I HAVE: I have 2 premium machines: TIG: Kemppi PS2800 & TU20 (have yet to use it, no good place in shop for it) PLASMA: ESAB PCM 875 (rarely use it, not pilot arc, no good for hand slow precision template cutting) 1 good entry level: STICK: Miller: Thunderbolt 225 & TC-150 DC Converter for Thunderbolt 225 (use it only when MIG is to weak) and 1 crappy one: MIG: Astro PowerMIG 110 (use it a lot for auto body and frame [marginal on frame] ) UPGRADE LIST: (LOL - some more like Wish List ) Pulse & Spray MIG (fancy MIG tech sounds like fun) Then simply smaller units/multifunction - NO SPACE. PICTURES: (what I'm trying to consolidate: (3) towers of boxes:
I wasn’t aware there was machines with 4 functions, I’ve an older Airco, that’s mig, Tig and stick. I only use the Tig function on thicker material though, it’s “scratch start” and no foot pedal. It does have an HF box, so I turn it on and I don’t have to actually touch the material with it. Well, I guess it is a 4 function machine, I can put some holes in sheet metal
Ummm.... from one 70 year old to another, when I read that you want to upgrade your stuff, all I'm seeing is that you need to add on to your garage. Downsizing is an odd concept to me. After I hit the lottery, my new garage is gonna make Rick Childress and all the F1 teams jealous. Sorry if that isn't helpful.
I'm still wet behind the ears (68) compared to you guys, but I also have been thinking about down sizing. In 2018 we had a new house built, single story, and my only request was a little bit larger garage (24×30). It's now full, and that was after doing a purge before moving. I also have been thinking about getting one machine to replace my older tig/stick welder and my mig. Just haven't pulled the trigger yet... Would have to sell the old machines first. Maybe this spring or summer.
The only thing that "needs" upgrading is the Astro MIG - while not a Chicago Electric, it is a "solid" Italian Job (LOL). I'd really like a new unit with the "big cap stabilization" and perhaps Pulse - anything that would facilitate auto body sheet metal. I do not like the fact that a multi machine if it fails, I'm totally out of welding capability not to mention big hit on finances since all I could afford to begin with is some Chinese unit. During the past 10 years, MIG is all I've done so if my MIG goes down it's the same as a Multi going down. FYI: My TIG is not operational yet - placement problems: no room whatsoever in my "welding area" and being on the other side of the garage, a real PITA to walk around car every time I need something. NOTE: It is possible once I get some "TIG legs" I may prefer to TIG everything since my real skill is oxy-acetylene sheet metal welding w/o distortion. What is frustrating is that it is possible in many situations to o/a weld with zero distortion because of proper preheat of surrounding - this is something you cannot do with arc welding where you can only minimize/manage distortion.
I am a year away from 70. I own an oxy/acetylene torch, a small Hobart wire welder and a sawzall. I wish I owned a machine shop with one of everything, but I don't. I get by just fine with what I got. I cannot give advice on what to buy all I can say is that i am happy with what i got.
I hate selling tools so my advice is build a portable cart that has "shelves" to stack everything on that goes up and not sideways, this way your not losing floor space, your just losing head space. A portable "bookcase" if you will but for welding/cutting equipment. This is my summer project for my 230v mig, 110v mig, thunderbolt 225, ac/dc tig and soon to have plasma cutter. .
I could definitely live with that since that since the MIG and Sawzall are used THE MOST. Here are my 3 stacks of welders: TENTATIVE SOLUTION: (!) SELL EVERYTHING REPLACE Plasma with metal cutting circular saw (actually want one, they are amazing, metal doesn't even get hot) NOTE: Regarding Plasma: it is useless for cutting precision irregular highly curved patches from templates. Cannot manually cut right up to a scribed line. BUY: $1500 250amp Multi Unit: Everlast Power MTX 255Si Stick, MIG, TIG https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agvUUpADAUM&ab_channel=KevinCaron,Artist It has DC Stick, DC Tig, and MIG PLUS Pulse on TIG, MIG, and Spool Gun AND HF TIG 5 year warranty NO AC TIG or Stick: who cares, don't need, unit can run a spool gun if it would ever come to that which it won't. $1600 and lower on eBay new and lower still used.
Sell everything you have. Go to a real welding store and buy a traded in welder. When many guys buy a new welder, they often will trade in the old one. The welding store I used to deal with would go through the used machines and make sure they worked properly, and often sold them at bargain prices (inventory always changed). You usually get a better machine that functions (you can often try them out), at better prices then you can buy the china junk. Buy a good mig (you are used to them) and replace the plasma cutter with a cutting machine of your choice. I used a sawzall, and a die grinder with deburr wheels and cut off wheels. A 220 volt mig will do the same job a stick welder would do and can be turned down low enough to weld sheet metal. Of course, if all your interested in is playing, buy a fits all machine that won't any of it very good, but it can do all of it, sort of. I'm 4 years retired at age 66 now, but owned a welding shop for 30 years. When my 35 yo Miller mig dies, I'm done welding. Same deal with my plasma. My torch went away a few months ago. My son uses this stuff more then I do these days. The welding business was good to me, but it wasn't very good for me. I'm enjoying retirement.
I totally forgot about buying used from a welding shop that does repairs. I had purchased an Airco TIG and a Hobart gasoline welder which was a beast with Wisconsin motor. But that was from Ed @ Weber Welding in Pittsburgh. That was decades ago and that whole operation is gone. I'm not optimistic these days about getting any kind of good deal because welders in this area sell for insane amounts of money - and I have no idea if there are any shops around that do repairs. Nonetheless, I'll look into this - I'm real good at finding stuff on the phone. Only "issue" is that darn Everlast 251Si was the first multi welder on the market that had Pulse in MIG, TIG and Spool and also had HF for the TIG. Those are some nice options. I know I have a great DC TIG in the Kemppi but I haven't tried TIG yet. Since very skilled with oxy-acet sheet welding, I might really like TIG. I could see myself ditching MIG for TIG because o-a is still my favorite process although managing the flame heat around autos is a PITA - too many things melt and start fires. Humm... since the Kemppi PS2800 is actually a Stick/TIG unit, I could retire the Miller Thunderbolt - however the reclaimed space couldn't be used by any of my remaining welders. The ESAB Plasma is as good as gone NOW (this is a no-brainer.)
I think you'll find the Kemppi to be easily as good, if not better than the blue and red ones, so I'd suggest your effort should be to getting on with the tig and you'll never look back, especially already having OA skills. I never switched my mig on again after I got a tig! ( not that there isn't a place for might sometimes). Ymmv! Chris
Maybe I'm a dinosaur. For years I got along with oxy-acetylene and an AC buzz box until I found that there were better electrodes out there than "E6011 and E7014 farmer's rod". Then, I bought a copper cored Lincoln 250 AC/DC tombstone because not only could I stick weld with it, I could TIG. On the rare occasions when I needed aluminum welded, it was cheaper to take it to someone who had the equipment and skill and let them do it. Buying a whole bunch of welding gear that would get used rarely just didn't make sense. When I was in business, I only bought the equipment that I would use specifically for the types of jobs we took in. My current welder inventory consists of a gas powered Miller Bobcat, a Millermatic 250 MIG that I can run either off house current or the Bobcat, a spool gun for aluminum that I can run off the Millermatic and a Lincoln LN 25 suitcase that I keep around to remind me of how much I dislike welding Innershield. I truly believe I'd be better off if I were to just go back to an AC/DC machine and get rid of all the others. I don't have anything against anyone trying to expand their knowledge but, after looking at pictures of some of the welding attempts that have been posted in some of the threads, I believe it would benefit some on here to practice the basics more before jumping onto something that requires more skill than they currently have. If some are offended by my comments, too bad. Those who make, or have made a living looking at that puddle, know I'm right.
Let do the pro's and cons. Back in the day, if it broke it could be fixed. Pro Back in the day, it was built for a purpose. Pro Back in the day, it was taught, something you learned, developed a skill for. Pro Back in the day you opened a book and read some shit yo learn some stuff. Pro Today, if it breaks you throw it out buy a new one. Con Today, it does everything and not one of those things really well. Con Today, anyone can, anyone is, it takes little experience or understanding just need a willingness to spend and you are in the crowd. Con Today, all the expertise is on the internet and everyone is a expert content provider. Yup, you have old, big and bulky. Me to. My Miller Syncrowave carries a boot print. The foot print is the Millermatic 250, add in a couple more small Migs, assorted gas cylinders, space is at a premium and I get what you are thinking about. As far as downsizing it to make space, sounds like they convinced you ya need a Tesla. See how those are working out. Judging from the copper you have wrapped up an hanging you could sell it and buy all new equipment. How far do you need to stretch cable from home base, down the block? Mostly new and multi process is going to be inverter based. It is pretty cool stuff, way past the Beta and VHS, Windows 7 units of days gone by. It will be stackable like lunch kits in a preschool class, as easy to carry out the door to the next job as it would be to smash and grab cleaning out the garage of equipment in the dark of night. My broke ass is hanging on and will make do but if you got it, spend it, you don't somebody else will after your gone.
Yes, you are saying what I suspect: Once I start TIGing, I'll never look back Plus the fact that the Kemppi is a real keeper and not that terribly big either. I'll have to rethink my thinking. Doing nothing yet has its merits. But if I can pull off a MIG upgrade for cheap, I'll do it. I really miss the OA. Spent decades with turbulent flow Victor aviation J27 (I think), only went to Smiths not even a decade ago and was really impressed. Have a Henrob that I never really used because of Victor habit/familiarity. Still would like to try a MECO AviatorJet. Old German mentor had this old torch he used so much the markings were worn out. You could weld in the corner of a box and the flame was stable. It had a hex nest for the tip and NO o-rings - just metal seats (super heat conduction out of tip) He set the regulator by opening the torch valve and opened the regulator until there was just a little more flow coming out the torch than was needed - SUPER LOW pressures. "Bad" torches were the ones that needed loud, strong turbulent flow to be stable which produced way too much heat. I've tried over the years to identify that old torch he had, probably from the 40's. The valves were 180* from each other and the knurled knobs were small thin "disks."
I understand your dilemma, because I have limited space as well, so I have to make the best use of it. I have a Miller SynchroWave TIG/Stick machine as well as a Lincoln 110v input MIG (Piece of crap that won't even weld 1/8" steel. Works just OK on sheet metal). The most useful is the TIG/Stick machine. For heavy structural welding such as trailer frames, the stick gets used. For everything else, TIG. With TIG you can weld anything pretty much, so that makes it versatile. My suggestion would be the same as a couple others have mentioned. Learn to TIG weld. Clean welds too. From paper thin to thick structural stuff if needed. Plenty of instructional videos out there.
I needed to buy a welder .... never welded before so 0 experience. I saw a Forney MP 190 floor model on sale, normally $1300 on sale for $700. Tig, mig, fluxcore, stick. I grabbed it on a impulse buy .... knowing what I know now, not sure I would buy a MP again. Just my opinion after owning my first welder for 3 years. I do not have the tig setup, is another $500 for torch & pedal. I only use mig or fluxcore for all my welding. You have the usual 2 knobs for amps & wire speed, a 3rd knob for synergy or manual. Also a setting for the trigger .... pull the trigger once & will weld continually until you pull the trigger a 2nd time. Synergy mode suppose to automagically select amps & wire speed from the metal thickness it detects? I dunno I never tried it yet .... still trying to figure out manual mode Just saying whatever setting the 3rd knob is on, affects the settings on the other 2 knobs. Just way more complicated then I need to mig weld. It is nice to be able to fluxcore weld without gas. I usually have it setup for fluxcore for basic welding and save my argon gas for when I need it. When you setup for fluxcore you reverse the polarity of the welder .... Now the settings on the knobs are reversed and work differently .... Just all to complicated for basic welding. I'm seriously considering picking up a cheap fluxcore welder from harbor freight for $100. Then just leave my multi process welder alone for mig only. I really would rather it be a miller or Lincon mig welder with 2 knobs and dead simple to setup.
Yes, I'm starting to come to the same conclusion - especially since I have a really good Kemppi TIG/stick. I think the multi purchase is off the table. Might do a super cheap MIG deal if I stumble across one, but I need to get that TIG up and running. My OA skills should make it a fast learning curve.
You need a flowmeter and an air cooled torch that powers off your DC welding lead. Reverse your polarity, set the ball on your flowmeter at 20, sharpen your tungsten to a needle point for carbon or stainless steel, strike an arc and practice, practice, practice until your eyes and muscles memorize what they are supposed to do. I'm speaking from thousands of boiler tube welds and thousands of linear feet of stainless welds on nuclear powerhouse containment vessels, all welded with basic tig equipment and x-rayed. There's no magic to it. It's constant speed, constant motion. Forget about "stacking dimes" and make your welds as smooth as you can. After a while, your weld caps will look like glass and you, or your helper, will be complaining about not having any grinding to do.
I'm 78 with a defibrillator and pacemaker and for some strange reason can only weld with my Tig. The Plasma and Mig are off limits. I really miss using those 2 tools. Enjoy what you've got now while you can.
Regarding a few mentions of running a TIG right off a stick welder.... I have one of these too (!) and all the kit (!!)
LOL, I have the Kemppi TIG, I posted that for some people saying you can run TIG on your stick welder. Of course that would be scratch start, but Wards had this HF unit w/TIG torch that you grip like a stick with your electrode holder (!)
I taught auto mechanics to inmates in a prison here in California for 15 years. When I set up my garage 15 years ago, I wanted all 4 processes for welding available in my garage. I already had a good gas outfit and I spoke at length with the welding Instructor to get his opinions on what I should buy. For a mig, he recommended a 110 volt Lincoln SP 135. He had 8 of them in his shop that were used by inmates 6 hours a day, some who were as sharp as a marble, and they never failed no matter how badly the inmates abused them. I bought one and use Flux core wire so I can go anywhere and not worry about the wind blowing out my envelope. For a tig, I chose a Miller SD 180 runner. It does both tig and stick very well. I am NOT a professional welder by any means, but these units along with my gas outfit have proven to to do everything I have asked of them, and made me look far more competent than I actually am. I do some fabrication and weld on my hot rods. When I haven't used a particular machine for a while, get some scrap and practice until I am comfortable again. My son will get these when I croak and his sons will take over some day, from him. They already have learned a lot about welding. So, I think my purchases have been good and long lasting. I just go slow , be careful, and when I look like I may be in trouble, I call the now retired welding instructor to guide me through. There are other nicer and more expensive units out there, but these units meet att my expectations and then some.
I was looking up the SP135 and found the SP135T and the SP135 Plus. Was it one of these or just a plain SP135? (Was reading that all the muffler shops use the SP135 Plus which blows thru aluminized exhaust tubing better than the Miller or any other.) There was a lot of suggestions for people buying a 110v machine to try them before buying - there is a big difference between Lincoln, Miller and Hobart - so they say. Could be whether there is a big, expensive arc stabilizing capacitor across the electrode and ground which is supposed to help a lot. (That cap costs over $100)
The only multifunction welders that I have experienced that work really well, and do not have a history of field failures (coupled with a lack of support) are the new ones from Miller and ESAB.
I'm in the middle of a rust jub on a 2010 Escape and have decided I need to get my Kemppi TIG up and running to see how I feel then - some never look back to MIG. However, it's a MIG job right now. If I can find a cheap upgrade, I'll do it. That Lincoln SP135 PLUS sounds like a BIG improvement over my Astro PowerMIG 110 (Italian Cebera unit) and would gladly make that upgrade if an attractive price since I may sell that if I fall in love with TIG on my Killer Kemppi. But the ESAB PCM 875 plasma will be sold when I get this job done. I just have no use for it since can't do slow, precision cutting and shaving.
VERY GOOD TO KNOW! There are actually a couple Everlast multi's for sale near Pittsburgh, but part of getting an Everlast would be the 5 year warranty. They are asking "new" price but complete kits w/tank, cart, torches etc. I'd price a used Everlast with a prorate of retail price to half that at the end of 5 years - and then take half that since used. So a $2000 unit that is 5 years old would be worth $500. But this is academic since I have to get crakin' on my Kemppi TIG to see how that effects my decision(s). But if I can score a Lincoln PLUS MIG, even the SP135, I'd do it even knowing I might be selling that one off too.
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