A question for all you welders out there.

I'm relatively new to welding. I welded a bit in college with an arc welder for some art class..basically just welded steel panels/rods together. I don't know that much terminology yet, however I guess it could have been called a stick welder. It worked OK I guess...It made metal attach to metal woohoo.

I have been getting into some sheet metal work on my car and figured some of the new panels will need some welding (roof etc), and have been looking at mig welders. Seems the general consensus here that mig welding is the way to go cost/ease of use wise.

I have two questions.

Will a stick welder be fine for my needs? Or should I go for a mig welder. The reason I ask is cost. I will not be using the welder on a regular basis (right now), and don't want to blow $600.00 on a tool I use a few times, and then put in the closet. However if quality is going to suffer THAT much then mig is the way to go. I may find I use the tool more than I thought.(I did just buy $1000+ in compressor and accessories which is why I ask:))

Another question is about a 3 phase hobart mig welder for sale in my area. The business is closing and they don't need the machine anymore. Can 3 phase be run in a garage at home. I'm no electrician, but 3 phase units are used for industrial/production lines correct? The unit has 100% duty cycle on 250 amp output, with an input voltage of 230/460 volts. 33/16.5 amps.

I know what the output means, but as far as input can that be used to run on my
240V outlet I had installed for the my compressor, or is that machine just too much? The reason I ask because the price seems like a steal for such a nice, yet older model. Thanks guys for any input.

Hope I didn't sound stupid with these questions. But I'm not too familar with this subject.

You need three phase power to run a three phase welder. Your home only has single phase. The cost of a phase converter would outweigh any savings you are getting in my opinion.

Don

I have two questions.

Will a stick welder be fine for my needs? Or should I go for a mig welder.

Another question is about a 3 phase hobart mig welder for sale in my area.




Alright, I know a little about welding so I am going to hope that if I am wrong that someone here will correct me!
Anyway, to anser you questions...

Do not use a stick welder...I think it was somewhere on here that someone posted a qute from one of the major manufacturers that the preferred method of welding is MIG due to minimal amount of heat it takes. The Stick welders will put off a lot of fumes and slag whereas a MIG will have significantly less fumes and a LOT less slag. Be sure to get one that uses a 75/25 Argon/CO2 mix. These produce the best welds that I have seen. I picked up my welder at Home Depot. It's a lincoln that is pretty good for what I need. It was $465 and it's 110V so you don't need any special outlets or anything.

About the welder that you found for sale... I believe that the electricity in the wall outlets is single phase as is the 240V outlet for your compressor. I am not sure how to wire that up to get it to work in a residential setting vice the commercial setting that it came from...

Not sure if this helps you, but at least it'll get you in the right direction!...err...hopefully...

You need three phase power to run a three phase welder. Your home only has single phase. The cost of a phase converter would outweigh any savings you are getting in my opinion.

Don

Don is right on the money. I have seen people make this mistake before because 3 phase equipment can usually be had cheaper. Not worth the small savings. Phase converters will work but, they will cost you more to operate in the long run not to mention the initial purchase.

Oh and to asnwer your question, No you can't run a 3 phase machine off your household eletrical.

Thanks guys.

I guess coming up I'll go to the local home depot or lowes and try and see what mig's they have in stock. Seems like the best bet.

Thanks guys.

I guess coming up I'll go to the local home depot or lowes and try and see what mig's they have in stock. Seems like the best bet.

Northern Tool and Tractor Supply are good places to look too. I got a good deal on a Hobert 180 welder at Tractor Supply. Make sure you buy one that has shielding gas capability. Using flux core wire to weld body panels is not recommended.

Don

Northern Tool and Tractor Supply are good places to look too. I got a good deal on a Hobert 180 welder at Tractor Supply. Make sure you buy one that has shielding gas capability. Using flux core wire to weld body panels is not recommended.

Don

I was lucky, I asked for Home Depot gift certificates for christmas for a welder and I got a TON of gift certificates... It ended up only costing me like $180 or so between my birthday and christmas.... Thank you baby Jesus!

Anyway, be sure to pay attention to the duty cycle of the welder. You can pop circuit breakers on a regular basis if you don't...

I got a Lincoln 3200HD and it really fits the bill for me. It says that it is capable of welding up to 5/8" using multipass and it is compatable with gas, but can do flux-core wire as well.

Before I knew about fluw core on sheet metal, I tried welding a couple practice pieces with it and they turned out bad..like bad as in not good...

But whatever you do, do not go too small... It shouldn't be a problem for sheetmetal, but too small means you have to buy another welder to do anything a little bigger!!!