Santa is shopping for a welder

[Crosley.In.AZ]

as some folks here know I work at a shop where a few items are welded daily.

All of our mig welders are Miller.  5 of them

The tig machines are both Lincoln. 2 of them

I have a SP 110 Lincoln 110 volt mig with gas conversion, never a lick of trouble. Probalby 10 years old now.  I bought a new gun with cord since my OE unit was out dated style, hard to find parts.  Goofy twist in tips on the gun, not the  threaded type

My Miller 210 mig machine , 230 volt , never a bit of trouble.

My Tig is an old Linde machine.  Don't use it much since I don't know how to tig worth the crap or the machine is junk.  I vote on the operator ability.

Any of the big 3 Hobart, Miller or Lincoln should serve you well  and parts are availble in most weld supply shops

[Sean]

The Lincolns and Hobarts are probably decent Welders, but from the Standpoint of pure Quality, I would spend the extra money and get a Miller.

While we are on the subject of Welders, one of the guys on the HAMB was asking what Welder I use. I had it in the Truck so I went and took a picture of it for anybody that might be interested in a totally portable TIG/Stick Welder.

Miller Maxstar 150stl. Comes in a Tuff "Suitcase" with Regulator, & TIG and Stick Leads. Has "Touch Start" and the gas automatically turns itself on when the arc starts. Even has a place to plug in an optional foot pedal. Automatically switches itself internally for 110v or 220v.

You can carry it right into your living room and weld your recliner back together.(yes,I have done this).

[Bruce Dorsi]

Well, George, I don't know if this will help you, or confuse the issue further!

I had the opportunity at a show to view comparable models of the Hobart and Miller MIG's.  ....The vendor sold both, and the salesman I spoke to was very candid, and did not appear to have any reason to deceive me.

When I asked about the differences, he expained that Miller bought Hobart, and intended to market the Hobart brand as a slightly less-expensive line, although it was made by Miller.

Although there were a lot of parts common to both machines, there were also differences, which made the Hobart less-expensive.  .....The Hobart unit used plastic drive parts, while the Miller unit used metal parts.  .....I can't say for sure, but I think he also said there were slight differences in the circuitry.

The specs and capabilities of the two units were the same, but the Miller weighed a few pounds more.

I can't recall if the warranty was the same for both brands.

The Miller unit was $75-$100 more than the Hobart, at that time.
....As Sum said, if the price difference is spread over 10-15 years, it becomes less significant.

BTW, I didn't buy either.  ....I have a 180 amp Lincoln AC stick welder that is approx 46 years old, a Henrob, and a set of Oxweld torches.  .....So far, I have not needed a MIG, but I've been looking, just in case!

I'd probably buy the Miller MIG, but I have emotional ties to Lincoln.  So to be fair, I'd  choose the Lincoln SquareWave TIG over the small Miller TIG. ....All I need is money and more space!          

[phat rat]

One thing I've always found is that I've never been sorry buying bigger  than I figured I needed. Seems like something always comes up that requires it

[purplepickup]

I really appreciate everybody's comments.   For me it came down to a Miller or a Hobart and I think some of you knew I probably wouldn't spend more to get the Miller but you definitely had some convincing comments.   I got the Hobart Handler 180 combo that I mentioned earlier for $620.  It has over $250 worth of neat things thrown in.  The tank is only a 20 cu ft but it will make a good backup for times when my other tank runs out.  It always seems to run out on weekends or evenings.    I can really use the money on other things that I saved and I'm betting this one will do all I need it to.

I just need a hobby quality welder and the Hobart has a pretty good reputation for quality & service.   It should perform good enough for me.  I think I understand the differences between Miller and Hobart pretty well and I'm willing to take the risk that the Hobart will work well for my purposes for at least the next 20 years (I'll be 76 then).  That's one advantage to being older...lasting a "lifetime" has a little different meaning.   It's kind of like buying the Harbor Freight spray gun instead of the Sata that it's copied from.   I guess we'll see what my opinion of Hobart is a few years from now.  

I'm going to put the receptacle right next to the breaker box and I want to make a 20' extension cord.  Should I use the same gauge wire for both?  What gauge should I use?





________________________

George

.....a man and his new welder.....it's a beautiful thing   ....zzzztttttt.....zzzzttttttt

[Crosley.In.AZ]

KOOL,

I will probably pull the trigger on a plasma cutter next week and the computer too.


merry christmas

[enjenjo]

I have 8-3 wire on the cord for my welder, never had a problem with it. Used the same on my plasma cutter. I have one of the small bottles too. It makes a good backup, and is also good if you have to take the welder to a job. Actually I have two small bottles, one with MIG mix, and the second with Argon for welding aluminum. I use a spool gun for the aluminum, and stainless steel welding.

[1FATGMC]

I have 8-3 wire on the cord for my welder, never had a problem with it. Used the same on my plasma cutter. I have one of the small bottles too. It makes a good backup, and is also good if you have to take the welder to a job. Actually I have two small bottles, one with MIG mix, and the second with Argon for welding aluminum. I use a spool gun for the aluminum, and stainless steel welding.

Likewise I also use 8-3 on my extension cord and yep I knew which one you would buy.

It will work good for you and Merry Christmas,

Sum

[river1]

NICE you'll get your money worth and more out of it. the 180 has only been out about 6/9 months and i've heard good things about them.

later jim