I am in the market for a welder to help aid the resto on Alberta. It is not in my budget get anything other than a flux core welder. I was told by a friend that a dc welder is better than ac. I found a welder well within my budget but it is listed as a "single phase" welder.I tried looking it up online and only got single phase welders for sale. Basically I'm asking is a single phase welder the same as a dc welder?

 

I could be wrong as I am very far from a quality welder but, usually when I hear AC or DC that part is referring to electrical current. I honestly don't know a lick about single phase, but I know Houses have 12V AC outlets, where as a wire from a vehicle would be DC

 

Single phase is your standard house current, 3 phase is commercial.

Your typical mig welder is dc, if it handles flux core and gas it will be dc and dc reverse polarity.

Go over to WeldingWeb™ - Welding forum for pros and enthusiasts, you'll pick up alot.
Do some research before you buy the welder.

 

I have a Lincoln 140T that does both gas and fluxcore. You'll need to wire brush your work a lot when using fluxcore but it will save you money when your welding thicker metals. Always use the gas for body work, 75/25 argon works good for me and its cheaper than pure argon. Avoid the bottom end welders as theres a lot of reasons that they are cheap, none of them good. Look around for a lightly used higher quality welder and see if you can install a 40 amp fuse on your house circuit that you intend to use.

 

Best place to get welder advice is also here. Garage & Workshop - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums

All depends on what your welding plans are. Light weight body panel/floor pan stuff or bumper/frame like work too? Do you have 220 in your shop already? If so go the 220 route to be able to weld thick heavy stuff, no 110 V is going to do that.

If you get a Weld-Pac 100 by Lincoln you will be restricted to light weight work only.

 

A flux core only welder is garbage. Yer in Harbor Freight territory.....Put your money towards a 220v Miller, Lincoln, Hobart, or Esab. It'll last a lifetime.

The Esab Rebel is a nice machine.. MIG, TIG, stick.....Flux core if ya wanna stoop that low.

 

I'll second what HIO Silver said, a quality welder is worth it's weight in gold. My tig is Lincoln precision tig 185 and my wire feed is also a Lincoln. It's single phase 220 input, output is dc+, dc- and ac. It lets me weld whatever I need to stainless, carbon aluminum, ect. And the best part is that once you've got plenty of experience with it, it's a tool that can help you find the rest of your projects.

 

From my understanding of the english language it appears that foofees is on a limited budget of probably under $500. My Lincoln 140T was $450cdn and that included the hose and gauges for gas. Argon mix costs me $75 and change to get my bottle refilled and its not that big a bottle.

Some have said that flux core welding is garbage, IF you don't know how to clean your metal and don't have the patience to wire brush your welds as you weld up your work, then yes it will be frustrating to use flux core. With my unit I have to make sure that I bevel my edges before I weld anything thicker than 1/8", I weld 3/16 and 1/4" on a regular basis.

I do not use flux core for body work at all as it takes to much aperage and blows holes in the thinner metal




The deck on my truck is 1/4" checker and flat plate, 3/16" x 2" square tubing, 3/16" C channel and was made by my welder using flux core. The cab corners, doors and bolt holes where the body trim goes was done using gas. I have no fears of my welds cracking or tearing apart and yes I did a lot of wire brushing while building it. Actually it was my drill and round brush that did most of that, clean weld in order to get good weld


This gantry crane was made using my welder, it is cable driven and runs up and down in a pair of in floor tracks. It is made from 1/4", 3/16" C channel and 1/4" plate, the wheel chucks and uprights were welded together using flux core. So far all that it has done is pull a 351w with zf trans attached, pulled and moved a truck box and cab and it put in my 460 w zf trans, trans brake attached and radiator as one unit. I'm not the least bit scared of standing under that beam with a full load.
Look around for a quality welder, get the flux core as an option, it is more work and you need to be patient with yourself when you first start using it but it will save you money and turn you into a better welder in the long run. If you have $1200 - $2000 to spend and don't mind rebuying argon on a all to regular basis, then buy a gas only system that does everything. If your on a budget, buy the best unit you can afford and become a good welder. Remember, a tool is only as good as the person using it.

 

I did buy the harbor freight 220V Wire feed and set it up for MIG with CO2/Argon. I have been practicing on 20 gauge and I can say it welds pretty darn well. I still suck to some degree but time will make that better. The key with this one was to switch to the .022" wire instead of the .035. With this I can make a sufficient weld, close holes, with good penetration and limited to no blow through unless I mess up. I spent a week welding at the local high school using miller and Lincoln MIG setups and can say that if you tune it right, you can weld satisfactorily with the harbor freight unit. The Lincoln and miller have a lot more settings, can weld more time, can be tweaked to weld better then the harbor freight but cost $1500. I payed 169 on a coupon, picked up a regulator on amazon for $30 and a rent a cylinder for $4 per month. If I was to upgrade it seems like the 120V Hobart welders have a good following online for doing hobby level body work, but they are around $500. Watch Craigslist though and you can find a Hobart, Lincoln or miller for less. Good luck. For reference. All homes in US/Canada should have a normal 120 V AC (alternating current) output at 60hz in normal household outlets. This means both current and voltage are cycling between positive 120V and negative 120V 60 times per second. Your dryer and range will run on 240V AC 60 Hz. They have the big round plugs. Most homes do not have 3-Phase power unless you are running pumps or motors. When you plug a welder in you are inputting AC power (voltage and current) the welder then can either output AC, convert and output DC, or some output both. For Stick welding (SMAW) you can do AC, DC+ and DC-. Lets walk through DC. This is direct current, same as your car battery. You have a positive and a negative post. Depending on if you hook the gun up to + or the clamp up to + sets you up for DC+ or DC- welding. On a wire feed welder, depending the wire you are using you setup the welder in DC+ or DC-. Your welder will tell you which way to to setup up if you are doing flux core or MIG. Wire feed welding/MIG is DC voltage/current out. So in summary, most welders input AC household 120V or 240V single phase through the cord and plug, and output AC or DC power to the welding gun/stick. Your welder will tell you which way to setup up for the type of welding and materials you are using. Make sure if you get a 240 V welder you have a plug available that supplies that kind of voltage. Some welders can input both 120/240V. Good luck. Hope that helps.

 

Save your money up and go buy a Miller 211. Don't waste your money on a harbor freight welder. Your talking $1100.00 to $1200.00 plus the bottle rental.

 

And there you have it.

I do a ton of AC stick welding on 1/4" steel in the field. (portable AC welders are cheap, and good enough for what I do) I've done a ton for 40 years. It's part of my job. If I need to keep things cool on some little project, I borrow my buddies MIG. I think I would rather OXY/ACE body work than use stick or flux core, and that would heat the snot out of the work.

You really need inert gas (MIG) to do any substantial body work.

 

As mentioned, any welder you are looking at should be single phase. Higher power units will be 220/240 volt and lower power units will be 110/120 volts (standard household plug).

I have used the lower power household plug type MIG, 220/240 volt MIG and 220/240 volt stick. For bodywork the 110/120 volt units are fine... but you really need MIG with shielding gas as many have mentioned. Flux core makes a mess of splatter and wants to burn holes on body work. No fun. MIG with shielding gas works much better.

 

I have the Eastwood 175 and Im very happy with it.

 

A Lincoln 140 is all you will need. It's enough to weld frames and brackets and you won't need 220. Spring for a bottle and you won't regret it.

 

Foofees - I'm a pipe welder by trade, and have also spent quite a bit of time in fabrication and repair shops, as well as lots of work in aluminum boat shops. I can help you get set up with a unit that fits your needs, if you're interested in my perspective.