welder opinions and thoughts

rockyrunner99

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 20, 2009
Location
Grand Rapids, Mi
TDI
99.5 Golf
Ive been in the market for a welder for a while. I had access to a basic mig welder when I was married. It was a lincoln. Im torn now to get a basic mig welder like that or a Multi process unit for a little more. I have a decent list of projects lined up for it since I havent had access to one for a while. I think I would really like tig welding. Not that I would have a huge need for it, but the flexibility it offers would be nice. My main concern is the electronic on it. Im sure most are built to withstand abuse, but how much? I am not going to be abusing it by any means. thanks for any input
 
Joined
Aug 19, 2012
Location
Vancouver
TDI
03 Golf TDI GLS
Tig welders are great when you know how to use them. If you have a list of little jobs to do then a good quality mig welder would do you well. I had a tig and am quite proficient at using it, yet I chose the mig most often as it was way more versatile.
Unless you are doing some cool welding art, then I think like the tig would be more of a paperweight in your shop.

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jason_

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 2, 2014
Location
michigan
TDI
2015 s wagon dsg
They all break.

I'm a full time Welder.

Don't waste any money on Flux core stuff.


Unless you're on stainless all the time, tig isnt that needed, unless you need remote input (footpedal) hf start and lift is very nice,

If you're doing aluminum, you'll need tig with hf ac, or a mig spool gun.

If you're pushing serious amps, invest in a water cooler torch setup..

They do make DC tig/stick boxes. We use Miller maxstar 210s for stainless and fusing iron where wire and filler rod gets in the way, or fast fill, we do alot of finish grinding, fast fill is the bondo king in the weld world!

For mig we use solo power boxes and feeders on booms.

Go 220, you'll be pissed when you run out of amps, especially tig,

Im always smoking 160 amps on the tig fusing 10g seams


We have an all in one Miller synchro wave. $12k box, but you can control nearly every aspect of the square wave and pulse.... Overkill for the hobby dude.



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jmodge

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Joined
Jun 18, 2015
Location
Greenville, MI
TDI
2001 alh Jetta, RC2 w/.205's 5speed daily summer commuter and 2000 alh Jetta 5spd swap, 2" lift, hitch, stage 3 TDtuning w/.216's winter cruiser, 1996 Tacoma ALh
I bought a Lincoln 180 Dual from the old Layman's (not sure what they call it now) for a retirement gift (no access to shop welders anymore). Serves my hobby purposes well. It can be adjusted while running so I can hear the difference in sound which can be handy. It will run on 110 if I want to travel with it and it is light enough to do so. A spool for aluminum is available for it also. Pretty versetal for the hobby welder such as myself..
 

Owain@malonetuning

Associate Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Jul 1, 2016
Location
Vancouver
TDI
PD jetta wagon
I've always been happy with my little pak 10, got it used with a cart and tank for around 500 bucks and it runs on 110. Handles exhaust and body work fine, flux sucks but will work on thicker brackets and such. Good stepping stone to a more serious machine and can't go wrong for the price. Under 50lbs as well so very portable.
 

jason_

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 2, 2014
Location
michigan
TDI
2015 s wagon dsg
If you have no need for aluminum, buy a tig torch and use a buzz box.

It's scratch and instead of lift, but sufficient.

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jason_

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 2, 2014
Location
michigan
TDI
2015 s wagon dsg
Migs are getting fancy too.


Digital menu, dial in amps and wire speed, , burn back, post flow, pre flow, , etc etc.



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Pat Dolan

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 19, 2002
Location
Martensville, SK
TDI
2003 A4 Variant, 2015 Q7
There is a lot more to a welder than just a transformer and rheostat these days. Especially some of the fancier TIG units, the electronics allow very precise variation in how something such as the AC output can be steady, or pulsed; biased with more of the sine (or square) wave towards the electrode or the work and a great deal more. Also, modern digital controlled welders are a heck of a lot more efficient than old all electric machines. For instance, my 30 year old AC/DC/Tig/Mig/Stick machine is only 200 Amps, but will trip a 60 Amp breaker on the 240VAC side while pulling not much more than 150 DC @ 40V. New machines WAY better than that (you will note that you can pull 140A out at 40V or so with only 120V 20A breaker feeding it on a Miller 211 or Lincoln 140A).

As has been mentioned, they all break. BUT: in decades of both heavy hobby and commercial production with several welding machines, I have only had to do one repair (and that was a big one). They are pretty low maintenance machines and you can really get your money's worth out of them. BUT: I do recommend sticking with major brand names - support if you need it won't be there for discount junk. In time that could include things such as consumables (liners, gas cups, tips, tip holders, etc.). So in North America, that means Miller or Lincoln (I have, for instance, a really nice and once very expensive ESAB machine that is now an orphan - zero support).
 
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