There has been considerable debate over size, brand, etc. in several threads about MIG welders. I thought I would offer some experience with one brand.

I bought a reconditioned Hobart Handler 135 for a good price, when I recieved it, there were two pieces missing. I was irritated to say the least. I called Hobart at 4:50pm Pacific time 2-7-05 and left a message, they were closed. I was thinking I would be lucky to hear from them by the end of the week, if at all.
At 8:30 am, 2-8-05 I got a phone call. The Hobart phone rep said "How can I fix this?" I told him what was missing and THEY SENT IT OUT TODAY! No charge!!
I don't think I'll be looking at any other brand when I replace or upgrade!!!

BTW some of the parts boxes had Miller part numbers on them.
Service is what keeps people coming back!!

 

I was either gonna go with a Hobart 210 or a Miller 210. The miller costs $1250, and the Hobart $1k, but the Miller comes with a better gun, plus I've never used a Hobart, so I'm not 100% on them like I am with the Miller.

 

I agree for the larger units, but Miller doesn't seem to build little ones like I wanted. I bet Miller has the same excellent help tho, since they are owned by the same company.

 

I personally like the miller guns the best but I like beads the lincolns put out. If I was to pick one I would go with the miller though. I found the miller guns a little more friendly to me.

 

Does anyone have and experience or opinions on the "el cheapo" Chicago Electric Migs from Harbor Freight, could they be addapted to accept a Miller Gun ?

Thanks, Chet

 

I'll put in a good word for HTP welders. They are a little-known brand, but make excellent welders. I've had mine (MIG200) for over 10 years and not one problem . It welds as well as the Millermatic 250 and comparable Lincoln MIGs I welded on before I got this one. Check them out at www.htpweld.com. Prices are reasonable too and they are made here in America (Chicago area).

 

at school i weld with all kinds of welders, and it seems that if it costes over $1200 bucks it welds pretty good

 

THe HTP units sound good, but I don't see any pricing info on their page ?

 

Old Coupe, send HTP an e-mail and they will send you the most current pricing. You can buy direct from the manufacturer with them. It's a small company and you can actually talk to the owner on the phone sometimes too . His name is Jeff, nice guy too.

 

I'm gonna throw this out there and hope all you welding guru's can help me out.

I've been thinking about buying a welder but have absolutely no idea where to start and what I need. I've welded a few times on friends projects and stuff (obviously they weren't concerned what it looked like. ha ha). Anyways, I wanted to start out with something small (and somewhat inexpensive) that I can screw around with in the garage. Eventually I wanted to be able to fab up some of the hair-brained ideas I have for my truck. Nothing major, just smaller stuff. So where should I start? Should I get something from home depot/lowe's or should I get something from a reputable tool supply store/etc??

I checked out SoCal's HTP recommendation and the 140 seems like a good machine (not sure on pricing). Is that what I should start or is that even too big? Is a mig welder the right one for me? Thanks in advance guys.

ps - putt, sorry to jack your thread!

 

I got a campbell-hausfeld unit from Home Depot and with the bottle and solid .035 wire, it does a pretty good job. Mine is the 'severe duty' one, with 4 heat settings. It is a live wire setup, where, if it's turned on, the wire's hot. But, for $300, it's done everything I've asked of it, and probably more than I should have done with it.

 

I've had an HTP 200 for years and I love it. When I got it, I saw it was made in Hungary, which their advertising didn't state. I almost sent it back. They said to try it out, and if I didn't like it, they'd give me my money back. 10 years later, I still have it.

 

i picked up a sweet little lincoln migpak 10. Its a 110v household plug, so it can go anywhere as long as you dont have anything else big on that circuit. Ive done all kinds of bodywork welding, sheet metal stuff like that with solid core gas shielded, and a whole bunch of different stuff with it flux core. For now i have it set up for flux, since im welding on heavier stuff these days. 3/16" is a breaze if you use proper technique. Cost me 500 bucks canadian, and couldnt be happier for now!
Brian

 

FLgargoyle - That one looks like it's gonna be more expensive than I'd like to start out with. Not to mention it takes a 30amp plug, which I don't have at the house (or at least don't think I have). If you don't mind me asking, how much did you pay for it? I'm trying to get a ballpark on the smaller models since pricing isn't listed on their site. I emailed them but the guy that gets the email is out until next week (and I'm not very patient, ha ha).

Momudder- What exactly is the bottle that you're talking about? Sorry if this is a stupid question, the only CH welder I saw on HD's site said it was gasless.

Brian - Do you have a link to that setup?

Thanks again everyone.

 

FLgargoyle, that's very interesting about being made in Hungary. My friend worked for HTP in the 1980's building the welders in their Illinois factory. That's how I found out about them in '93, through my friend. He connected me with Jeff, and HTP offered me the same money back gaurantee with my welder too. Of course I've never had any reason to take them up on it .

Silver Bullet, HTP used to have the MIG160 dual-voltage 110/220 machine. Don't know if they still sell it, (I'll have to check the website again) but that's the one I had intended to buy but since I came into a little extra cash right then, I got the MIG200 instead and still use it often. As I remember it, I paid $1700 for the complete welding machine with cart, reg, hose, large gas bottle (bought locally), everything I needed to mig weld, and a few extras too (aluminum welding kit, an air cutoff tool, spare torch parts, etc) and I believe that included the truck freight from Illinois to Arizona too.

I think the MIG160 was about $500 less, but I'm not sure. This was back about 12 years ago though, so it would be best to call them and get the most current pricing. I'm sure someone there can give you a ballpark price if Jeff is out of town right now.

On the input amperage, if you're limited on 110v circuitry in your house, you run it on 220 instead of 110, the amps are cut in half. Or you could run it on 110 for low power work and it won't use the full-power rated amp draw and if you need to run the machine up high, then you would need 220. Just an idea.

As far as if a mig welder is right for you, mig is the easiest form of welding to learn and get descent at it in a short time. It's just point and shoot. The downside is the high start-up cost, if you want a good machine (and I do recommend getting a good machine right from the start). If you just want to get welding for cheap, you might consider picking up a stick welder instead, or buying used instead of new. Stick is harder to learn, but the machines are alot less money and you can weld thicker metal than with the lower priced (and lower powered) mig machines.

I'm thinking about picking up one of HTP's MicroCut plasma cutters. Been looking around lately and they have a great price on the 300, or at least they did last time I talked to Jeff 2 or 3 months ago.

Anyways, I better get off the subject, I don't want this topic to get locked up for improper discussion or something.

Good luck with the welding!