I plan on doing some welding soon, for example: welding exhaust pipes, and welding fenders. i dont want to spend too much cause i wouldnt use it much anyways. what type of welder would work best for butt welding... mig,tig...?

 

mig. google hobart. avoid harbour freight.

 

always buy bigger than you need. a millermatic 135 would do what you need but a 175 would be better but more money. don't buy generic it's just a waste of money. miller's have infinite voltage control which most to all generic one's don't. this gives you way better control for the various thickness of metal you want to weld.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 19civic93 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">always buy bigger than you need. a millermatic 135 would do what you need but a 175 would be better but more money. don't buy generic it's just a waste of money. miller's have infinite voltage control which most to all generic one's don't. this gives you way better control for the various thickness of metal you want to weld. </TD></TR></TABLE>

I agree with everything above. I have a Hobart Handler 135, I love it but when I bought it I didnt know about infinite settings etc... I will always have a welder that runs on 110 for sheer convenience but after a year or so of having it I would really like a bigger one but I think a tig will come next.

I dont know if 175's are run on 110 or 220 (cant afford one so no need to know about them lol. Unless I want to let my "I wants" to get out of control).

Will all of your welding be done in the area where the 220 is available? If not you may be stuck to something that runs on 110, which I think would do what you need it to do now. Who knows what the future holds though.


<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by I4sillypwr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">mig. google hobart. avoid harbour freight. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Some Hobarts are actually sold at the Harbor Freight in SLC.

 

the hobarts ive seen at HF are reconditioned ones but should still be good. i bought a millermatic 135. i figured it was enough of a compromise to do the 110V that i wanted more adjustability.

also, don't forget the overall cost with a cart, bottle, etc. going another $100 on the welder is not that much more % wise.

but i have friends that are real satisfied with hobarts, etc.

 

Miller Mig

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by blue_hatch &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I plan on doing some welding soon, for example: welding exhaust pipes, and welding fenders. i dont want to spend too much cause i wouldnt use it much anyways. what type of welder would work best for butt welding... mig,tig...? </TD></TR></TABLE>

And you didn't get flamed for asking those questions? What has HT come to these days?

Edit: If you want something cheap, reliable, and something your not gonna use very often, look into a Clarke 130EN. It runs on 110/115/120 volts and supplies 130 amp and does a fairly good job imho, oh course you don't get the infitine-whatever crap, but my machine works fine.

 

Infinite settings is hardly crap.

Sure my Hobart works fine but in hind site I sure would love to have infinite settings, especially after using many other machines with infinite settings.

I wish I would have known in advance.

 

^^^ the user himself said it won't be using it very much, so what's the point in investing in a expensive machine that he'll never use much of?