[jeepster1220]

OK,
I've been looking at welders, and am undecided between a MIG and a stick welder. I've been looking at:

A. The Lincoln Weld-pak 100, which is 115v and good for material up to 1/4"

B. The Lincoln AC 225, which is a 230v stick welder.

What should I go with? My intentions are to build a tire carrier (3/16 - 1/4" thick materail) and general light duty work. (repairs, etc.)

I'd rather go with 115v if you guys think it would be up to the task and do a good sturdy job, but if I have to go 220v I will, and make an extension. I only want to buy this once <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">.

I've only used stick welders before waaayyyy back in high school, so I understand how to run a bead with them, but it's been a while. Would a mig be a better choice? Sorry for beating a dead horse, but you guys know your sh*t (Blatant ass-kiss) <IMG SRC="smilies/thefinger.gif" border="0">

[ 09-17-2001: Message edited by: Mark Eric Hildenbrand ]

 

[OOP'S]

This is my opinion.

Stick welder get an AC/DC

Mig get a 220 v unit like the SP175

 

[fatkid]

Weld pak would do well for what you have in mind, not to mention how easy it is to use. Don't bother with a stick welder. My .02

 

[badassjeepguy]

you can weld your bumper up with 110 no problem... as long as she is prepped real good...

plus the 110 is nice to have on trips where 220 isnt possible....

 

[oldjeep]

Option 3: Wire feed from sears. They sell the century wire feeds under their Craftsman label. Come with the gas setup for less than the century branded stuff.

I've got their 110V unit (GL135 I believe - works nice)

 

[Gordon]

if you are picking between those two and you think you might be doing some body work, welding sheet metal get the weldpack 155. If everything you are going to weld is 1/8" thick and up then get the stick. Both will get the jobs you mentioned done. The stick can probably do a bit better job but will take more practice to perfect.

 

[Berg]

Check out Hobart Mig "Challenger 172". It's a 220v unit and uses miller components. Miller purchased the consumer line from Hobart. Great unit and $525 at Praxair welding centers.

 

[paniolo]

Originally posted by bennett:
<STRONG>Check out Hobart Mig "Challenger 172". It's a 220v unit and uses miller components. Miller purchased the consumer line from Hobart. Great unit and $525 at Praxair welding centers.</STRONG>

Sure you don't mean Miller Challenger? The Hobart is a Handler 170. I got the Hobart Handler for $535 delivered to my door. If that price is for the Miller its a GREAT price. Cheapest I could find the Challenger for less than mid $600 range.

MIG is a lot easier and gives capability to do sheet metal. If you only want to do it once stay with the big three (Linc, Miller, Hobart) 220 170 amp range. I was in the same boat and decided to spend a few more $100 for a quality light duty 220 setup that should give years of reliable service.

[ 09-17-2001: Message edited by: Paniolo ]

 

[mudmagnet]

hey, i have the 110V lincon arc-weld and it works great....the only thing is that you MUST prepare the metal first, meaning you have to grind it down till it shines, you can't make a strong weld on rust with it. i welded a homemade kick stand for my brother's dirt bike and he sits on the bike when its on the kick-stand, it holds fine, made a diff guard for the front diff on a tj and beat it with the hammer and it never fellapart, fixed a crack in the frame of my dads samurai and never had a problem, welded my SPOA on my samurai.....so it should be fine for what you want......i'm going to make a set of bumpers out of 2" pipe and i think its going to hold........
l8r <IMG SRC="smilies/jeep1.gif" border="0">

 

[jeepster1220]

Originally posted by Mudmagnet:
<STRONG>i'm going to make a set of bumpers out of 2" pipe and i think its going to hold........
l8r <IMG SRC="smilies/jeep1.gif" border="0"></STRONG>

That's what I'm paranoid about! I don't want to think it's going to hold, I want to know it's going to hold! <IMG SRC="smilies/eek.gif" border="0">

I don't want to wind up having 100lb's of wheel and tire fall off and bounce down the highway, taking out some motorcyclist <IMG SRC="smilies/eek.gif" border="0">...

On that note I'll make sure it's super clean before I do anything with it, no welding over grease <IMG SRC="smilies/wink.gif" border="0">

 

[scottz]

after tripping the breaker running the 110 welder full blast all the time you're going to wish you spent the extra cash. The 220 stick welder is going to be a lot harder to use but will safely weld much thicker material. Find a welding book and look up "cold lap" before you buy something.

 

[TANKOMA]

I have the Lincoln 100 and it is a kick ass little mig! and easily welds 1/4" steel,.
I prefer to use a stick welder over a Mig welder anyday!! Arc (stick) welders are so much simpler than migs and plus i can weld much better with a stick! <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">
So I would choose the stick welder!

 

[oldjeep]

Originally posted by Jeepster1220:
<STRONG>That's what I'm paranoid about! I don't want to think it's going to hold, I want to know it's going to hold! <IMG SRC="smilies/eek.gif" border="0">

I don't want to wind up having 100lb's of wheel and tire fall off and bounce down the highway, taking out some motorcyclist <IMG SRC="smilies/eek.gif" border="0">...

On that note I'll make sure it's super clean before I do anything with it, no welding over grease <IMG SRC="smilies/wink.gif" border="0"></STRONG>

I just got done welding in a couple motor mounts to hold up a 800+ lb IH 304 - done properly the 110V welders work just fine. Done improperly, you wind up with a really nice looking weld with no penetration
<IMG SRC="smilies/eek.gif" border="0">

 

[Benny]

I have the Lincoln 155. It works great. But you should get the gas conversion kit if you ever plan on doing body work.

I bought a Lincoln 100 for body work, but havent bought the bottle yet, so I cant say how well it works.

Stick welders are strong, but I cant seem to get them to work.