I've had a stick welder for ages, and use it infrequently (you know, when the neighbor need some railroad tracks welded together). I 've got about 10 minutes of time on a wornout little lincoln that a friend owns, and i found out a relative out east has a Lincoln SP135T MIG/Flux Welder with cart/bottle/working regulator with one bad gauge/and some other miscelaneous clamps/stuff. He wants $400, and can bring it to town next month for the family reunion. A. I think $400 is a pretty good price, but wanted to check with you guys B. Supposedly this will do 3/16" mig and 5/16flux 20% duty cycle @90 amps and can go 25-135 amps. 110 machine. My main question: Would you recommend this welder to put a cage and front down tubes in my g***er? I can learn to use a new tool but need to know if this guy can put enough heat into to pieces of .120 wall at a 90*angle. I didn't know that flux core can weld thicker metal than gas, but i think i've heard that flux has more spatter, less clean. any thoughts?- If i absolutely HAVE to spend more than this on a welder than it will have to wait for some other time (Christmas, or 2011 tax season, lol). I need to build headers, a cage, and lesser items. --Rick
Im using a little 110 Lincoln to put together my whole car, body and ch***is. Everything for my ch***is/suspension/framework right now is tacked though. Im taking it over to my shop to use one of our bigger Millermatic 251s to weld everything out. I would use your welder to get your front end set up, squared and tacked together, then weld it out with something bigger. Flux burns hotter than gas from what I know, but leaves alot of slag/spatter for a dirty weld. I picked my welder up brand new (the little Lincoln) for a hair under 500 dollars at Home Depot. Hope this helps
The ch***is is built, but i want a cage, along with an under dash bar to attach the column drop to, need to build headers, and i'd like to run some down bars through the firewall to reinforce the frame horns. I've done some research and think that even though it's got only the 4 heat settings (not infinite) that it should be a good deal at this price because of the bottle, cart, and extras. i think lol.
New there around $620.00 - $650.00. If it's i nice shape $400.00 is a decent price (that's about the price of a refuebished one. You can weld your roll cage together with it, but with the 20% duty cycle at 90amps you would have to take your time welding your cage up, a 220V machine would be better.
Don't buy any 110 powered machine!---Step up & buy a 220 powered one (Miller or Lincoln 250)---Then you will have a sufficient range for anything car related!!----Don
Like Deuce Don says. DO NOT BUY A 110 Welder unless you are only ever going to weld 18 guage steel.... You can turn down a 220 welder but cannot turn up a 110 hot enough to do frames or descent repairs on thicker metal.. Many will argue this but they probably havent run a 220/230 welder before.. but I actually gave my 110v to a friend who had nothing...I now have a miller matic 175... Here is a Lincoln on ebay for $740 new Lincoln K2689-1 Sp-180T 230V Compact Mig Welder Remember its cheaper to but it the first time than to buy it a second 230v welder when you figure out you cannot get penetration into steel with the 110..Call a welding store and they will tell you the same. Location: Minnesota
I agree. Not what you wanted to hear I'm sure but you have to weld a cage like you plan on crashing it. I would not trust a cage welded with a 110v welder. You can turn a big welder down, but you can only turn a small one up so far.
Man, posts like this always attract so many different opinions that I usually stay out but gonna throw my 2cents in here. I don't think you want to use flux core with a small machine like the 135. On the other hand if you can mig weld with gas with it, I think you'll be fine with that tubing (and all the sheet metal in the world). The bigger 220 machines will weld heavier material but if you don't have 220, or want to go portable, I would certainly recommend a 110 mig. I have Miller Tig and stick but i've had my Hobart 120 mig since about 1985 and would never give it up.
They have these reconditioned SP180's for $570 on ebay free shipping. What is wrong with them that they are being reconditioned? Is it better to buy new and send it back in a short time, get another, send it back, or get a recond one for less with a 3 yr warranty? http://cgi.ebay.com/LINCOLN-SP180T-...dZViewItemQQptZBI_Welders?hash=item3ca40f8dd0 Theres a new one for just a little more than $100 extra as well. I'm looking for a welder too, and might go for one of these.
most of the time they have cosmetic flaws from being mishandled. they have the same 3 year warranty as new machines. if they have been sold and damaged in route they have to be sold as reconditioned. call lincoln and inquire about them as that ebay seller might be the direct outlet for lincoln to sell them. lincoln has always been good backing their warranty's
the 110 welders are toys nothing more. you want to weld suspenstion and a cage? don't do it !! not even on a bet.
I have the same Lincoln welder . I really works great for the sheet metal work and things like that , BUT I would never use a 110 to weld up a frame , front end or a roll cage ! If you have a 220v in your garage save up $200 more and get yourself a 220v welder . You can find some good deals on C/list . I see them all the time Now that Lincoln with the bottle and all is a good price but is not what you will need to do the heaver metal ! I also have a 220v Lincoln stick welder so I can use that for the heavier welding . Just my opinion ! RetroJim
Even your old stick will get in there deeper than a 110, if you have the room. You can always cut the rods down for tight areas.
While I am in the camp that 110 welders can do a great deal more than sheetmetal I still wouldn't do a cage with it - honestly I wouldn't do a cage with some of the recommended 220's on here either. A 110 welder is a great thing to have to all sorts of DIY and everybody should have one, from repairs to light fabrication and that sounds like a good fair deal. You will have no issues doing some of the stuff you have mentioned - save for cage & frame. If you are concerned about what you and your welder can do, whether it's a 110, 220, 330, whatever you should do a little dissecting of your work. Every now & then sit down and do a few s**** pieces on different thicknesses. Cut them apart right on the weld and see what you are really doing, check penetration, check cut, flow, etc. There is alot to read in the work you produce. For something that crucial, it's big Millers for me. I have a serious trust issue with safety items and even after welding for years I still would not build a cage or any part of it with any welder. I simply do not know enough about metals, fatigue and heat to competently build a cage.
all i can say is i have welded over 1/4'' with my sp145 lincoln 110 v welder.i have made snow plow frames trailer hitches and dump truck frames with the piston welded to it.i do agree that the 220 ones are WAYYYY faster and you can put down a huge bead of weld with them but i like the fact that i can weld using my gennerator if i have to.for those people who say its not hot enough i was welding last week{5/16}plate together and a friend wanted to play so i let him and he did ok but there was alot of burn through.just my 2 c.{i did have a friend tig my cage though}
I would buy it just to have around for panel replacement or light work. But you never know when your life is going to depend on those cage welds. You would hate to have your last thought being "will it hold" together if you start into a roll, and I would hate the thought that it didn't. my 2c Remember this bumper sticker? "Good welders have better penetration and hotter rods".
If a 110v welder will do 3/16" wall thickness & a roll bar is .120"; why won't a 100v welder do a cage? Inquiring minds want to know
110 will be great on sheetmetal ,You already have an arc welder for frames ,400 is a descent price Especially with bottle ,The only problem I see ,Is getting the bottle filled ,You will probably have to replace it ,Where I get my gas they only fill or exchange there own tanks ,But use his gas up first .But beware he is family ,Make sure it works first ,
i have to say i'm surprised by the responses here. I ***umed the serious fabricators would say to get more welder (which i Will NOT be able to afford) but i didn't think there would be so many to say that they think it wont penetrate .120wall cage tubing. I'm sure it would be fine to build headers with. Anyone care to elaborate about this welder's gas setup handling 3/16" but not handling the cage? In your opinion, is it the the doubled up thickness of the 90* angle causing the penetration issue? (meaning it will do 3/16 **** welded but not at a 90* angle?) Hadn't even thought of using my old buzz box for the cage due to space issues (and the fact that i'd never heard of anyone stick welding a frame in the past 20 years). Maybe if i were to mock up, tack, then weld the under dash parts outside, then drop it in.... It is an older Lincoln stick that has the big transformer in it- nothing digital at all so she does pretty darned good.
If someone you never met told you they made chocolate mousse out of pig **** would you eat it? Not knocking anyone but as someone that has built drag cars and full tube ch***is cars for the last 18 years, I'm saying that I wouldnt weld a cage with a 110 welder. EVER. 110v welders can be very handy to have, and are perfectly safe for some things, cages, frames and heavy structural items arent on that list.
I have a Hobart 110 and I love it. I found myself building small projects and really enjoying it. To me it makes artwork out of projects that I probably wouldn’t have done without it. I bought it to install a firewall in my 40 coupe. A local shop wanted $500 to do it, so I bought a used Hobart for $300 and did it myself. When I was done I was $200 to the good and owned the wire feed. I use it constantly for small projects and wouldn't give it up. When I was fabricating the frame for my 40 pickup, I used it to tack all the brackets etc in place. Then I took the frame over to a friend and we welded it up proper with his 220 unit.
Saying an 110V welder can't weld .120 wall is like saying a 110V drill press can't drill a big hole... Amperage is what you need... and if an SP 135 can put out 135 amps it will do the job. the duty cycle will be pretty low... probably 15 or 20% but it will weld .120 wall safely... just not very fast. Try it and see if you have good penetration (look at the back side of a test piece... if you see can "see" the weld thru the backside of the piece you have enough penetration).
I have and use both a 110 and 220v Lincoln. I will generally use the 220 in the shop because 1. It has a much higher % duty cycle and 2. Because I can use a longer electrical extension cord with it. The only issues I have with the 110 unit is that it is very sensitive to input power. You need to have the machine as close as possible to the source without using extension cords to get the best results. And, it is slower than the 220 due to duty cycle. I have built several (stock type) low budget road race cages for friends using mild steel tubing and I find I can do just as good of a job with the 110 as I can with the 220 welder. I have cut several joints apart and find the penetration is great. The one difference however is that the HAZ appears to be smaller using the 110 and the discoloration is less. I happen to think that is a good thing? I do not use Flux wire at all so I don't have any comments about it. I have the ESAB easy grind wire in both machines and I use the 25/75 gas on both units. Just another opinion. Scott...
Remember welders are only as good as the hands that are using them, no matter what voltage or type, but when it comes to safety, don't play a guessing game. As far as stick welders, thats all that was availble for years, until the price of migs came down. If your going to put that cage in a car that needs to be certified then see what the requirments are.
http://www.zena.net/htdocs/FAQ/dutycycle.shtml [FONT=Times, Times New Roman, Bookman, Schoolbook, Century Schoolbook]Duty cycle is a welding equipment specification which defines the number of minutes, within a 10 minute period, during which a given welder can safely produce a particular welding current.[/FONT] [FONT=Times, Times New Roman, Bookman, Schoolbook, Century Schoolbook]For example, a 150 amp. welder with a 30% duty cycle must be "rested" for at least 7 minutes after 3 minutes of continuous welding. (When you are paying an employee for welding, anything less than 100% duty wastes money.)[/FONT] [FONT=Times, Times New Roman, Bookman, Schoolbook, Century Schoolbook]Failure to carefully observe duty cycle limitations can easily over stress a welder's power generation system contributing to premature welder failure. Many welders do not have internal protection systems that prevent this sort of over stress -- leaving the task to the owner or operator.[/FONT] Using this as a basis for my explaination,, the lower duty cycle will cause you to have many start and stop points. Each of these is a cold spot with less penetration than the surrounding weld. Each of these cold spots is point at which failure can start. Failure of a cage during a wreck can and will be hazardous to your health. You can take your life in your owns hands, but as a pro builder, I cannot take your life in my hands so again I offer this advice, I would not use a 110 welder for anything other than light duty welding. EVER.
da tinman hit it right on the head. as far as cutting the pices apart that is not the way to test a weld. to test it right you cut a section and bend it to 180 deg. or a u shape if it shows any cracks then it fails. ove rthe past 30 + years i have pasted this cert test and x-ray many times. and never once used a 110 welder.
Wait for a deal or til you can afford a 220/230 volt welder. You don't want to find out hard way that there wasn't enough penetration. Safety factor also. I use a Lincoln SP135 at work to weld handrails & misc NON-STRUCTURAL members & sure wouldn't use it to weld frame or front end mods.
I love my 110 wirefeed for exhaust work but would trust my life to it. The numbers say it should work on .120 wall. Before you buy maybe you can test it on 1/8th inch plate. If its got the power you should be able to burn through the plate. It doesn't need to be a hole, but you should see the melt thru (not just discoloration) on the back side. If not, your not getting the penetration you want for a cage. Don't use flux core for the cage. Straight co2 will give the best penetration for mild steel. Most important practice. Get some extra material mock up the type of joint you plan to use, then destroy them. Bf hammer, hydrolic press, whatever. Keep practicing until the weld will not fail even after the tubing has. Personally I'd still feel better using a 220 machine.
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