[hey its daver]

Sorry to beat these welding topics to the ground, but I've really been searching and reading about welders for the past 2 hours, so I'm not just looking for the easy answer by posting this. I found a Lincoln Hobby Weld for $120 locally. It is 115v (obviously for that price), and only has 50amps out.

If I was to prep the work really well, and took all day doing it, not caring about the welder shutting off on me because of the 20% duty cycle. Would this be an ok welder? I plan on doing no axle or suspension work with it. It would mainly be sheet metal (doing the add an extended cab idea).

 

[elf_cruiser]

should work OK for sheet metal. I would think 1/8" would be max thickness for that welder?? Also, don't expect your welds to look good at all...

 

[TRD]

weld should look fine

i woudl get a bigger one

IMO you will regret not spending more latter, right now you say you won't do heavy shit but i am sure that not too far down the road you will be.

Go for the hobart 175, you will be hapier latter, if you don't have the money then wait till you do

 

[flmanyj]

home depot has a 225 stick welder for $220 and you can weld any thin you want with it or up to 1/2 steel

 

[OOP'S]

Spend the money now and buy something bigger (220v) Hobart 175 or Lincolin SP170. If you get a stick welder, get an 220v AC/DC Just my opinion

 

[toy 4 rox]

my 110 dose fine it is a sears i do wish i had a 220 but the 110 is ok my neighber has a 220 that i use when i need but the 110 dose most of the work i have welded the bucket on a bob cat and it is 1/4" and hade non fail i do it in 2 or 3 pases

 

[hey its daver]

home depot has a 225 stick welder for $220 and you can weld any thin you want with it or up to 1/2 steel

that was one of my options, but then i would have to deal with added cost/hassle of 220v input.

So I guess my question is, is it worth it to get a nicer 115v welder, like the $325 Lincoln Electric Weld-Pak™ 100 HD Combination Wire-Feeder/Welder, or should I just stay cheap and get the $120 Hobby Weld? $325 is a lot to me ($250ish a paycheck), money that could be well spent getting stuff for my truck.

 

[horse_with_no_name]

I've got the weld pak, great stuff and it has lasted @10 years so far(at least 4 rolls of wire).It has built a pinto powered sand car, a trailer to tow it with,many zuk springovers,a deck for my house
(welded 3"x3".250 wall to .250 plate for the footings, and2"x2".120 wall for the frame), and numerous other things I can't think of now.OH yeah and when I got it I paid @$800.00 for it with regulator,15 foot gas hose, tank,
and some nozzles(variety pack)and a roll of solid wire(20lb?)helmet w/large lense, and a twistlock cord for it.It'll run off of a 5000watt generator and weld most any thing you need in an emergency ,just ask some of the people who have had the pleasure of me fixing their crap at the desert(buggy frames to shifter levers).I have never experianced a problem with duty cycle,even when using for 10 hrs at a time (building my deck-got a nice sunburn on my face/chest -so use the proper protection for your eyes/face even when tacking stuff together). This thing is probably the best large $ tool invesment that I have made. hope this helps! L8TR, SCOTT

 

[ForestCam]

I picked up a Weld- Pak 110 last year and it works great for me. So far I've run about 20 lbs. of wire through it.

I've used it to plate my frame,

And I used it a LOT to build this thing.

 

[hey its daver]

Weld-Pak it is, thanks guys.

 

[Slagburn]

that was one of my options, but then i would have to deal with added cost/hassle of 220v input.

So I guess my question is, is it worth it to get a nicer 115v welder, like the $325 Lincoln Electric Weld-Pak™ 100 HD Combination Wire-Feeder/Welder, or should I just stay cheap and get the $120 Hobby Weld? $325 is a lot to me ($250ish a paycheck), money that could be well spent getting stuff for my truck.

Either of those welders will be staying cheap, as you put it. 50A isn't much, and 100A isn't either. If you really can't swing a few bucks on a good mig welder then get the tombstone buzz-box and a breaker, some wire, some conduit while you're there to get the 220V.

 

[hey its daver]

Could the weld-pak be trusted for rock sliders? Or would you only trust 220v for something like that?

 

[mtndewmaniac]

Hey slagburn, good to see ya hear.
While on the topic of economical welders, what are your comments on a hobart handler 125 series 115v wirefeed?