Im looking to buy both mig and tig welders and wanted to get some recommendations from you guys. I have 115v in my garage so Im restricted to welders that run on 115v. I wont be doing anything major, mostly steel, nothing thicker than .250, I amticipat maybe 3-4 small projects a year.

What would you guys recommend? Best price/quality/value?

Any opinions on Lincoln Electric? hobart? Miller? I dont want to end up spending an arm a leg and both feet. A mid priced mig and tig would be what im looking for.

 

Dont you hate it when people reply without answer your question? lol

I have no personal experience with tig welders so I'll keep my assumptions to myself.

I know this doesnt answer you question but is it at all possible to send some 240vac to your garage?

I was in the same situation as you and ultimately ended up building a 240vac 'extension chord' that goes from the dryer plug (4 prong) to the garage (3 prong). The wiring was easy and there's lots of help on HT if you aren't 100% sure about something.

Renting a welder might be a good way to see what works for you. I rented a 115vac lincoln welder a couple of times and it ended up being a mega PITA and regret not going to 240 from the beginning.

 

First off, there isn't much in the way of 120v TIG's. There are plently of MIGs, but if you want a Tig, go 240v. If you own your house, you can pretty easily install a new 30 or 40 amp breaker, and run some 8-3 Romex to the garage. Read up about the local/state electrical code, and just do it.

AND, there isn't much in the way of inexpensive TIGs other than the Harbor Freight inverter, which sells for 260, and 200 occasionally on sale. It won't do AC, so no aluminum, and its not a MIG.