I am thinking about buying a wire-feed MIG welder. On EBay, I see a model I am not familiar with. It is the Century Brand by Lincoln for $429. It comes with the cart, all parts, a roll of cored wire, and gauges for the bottle. They are also giving free shipping. This deal sounds too good to be true. Has anybody used one of these welders by Century? What do you think? Is this a deal or am I going to be dissapointed? Jag

 

i have the Century 140 model and it is a great welder.lots of welding done with it and not a bit of trouble yet. i have used 023 to 035 wire with it and it welds great at both ends of the dial.

Century was bought out by Lincoln a number of years ago.

don't know what one you are looking at, but i would get a 230v model as they are more versatile then the 110v models in my opinion. better contol and adjustability then most 110v models have. not saying 110v models are not good, just not as wide ranging as a 230v model would be.

rgds
Mike

 

before I bought it I'd check with a local Lincoln dealer on parts availability. Saturday afternoon isn't the time to be looking for imported welder parts. Make sure Lincoln dealer/supplier can furnish expendables and welder parts.

Secondly I'd make sure it would handle gas without mods and bite the bullet for the gas feed. Solid core wire under gas shield makes a much prettier weld than flux core wire. Save the flux core stuff for welding outside in windy areas.

You didn't mention amperage of the machine The 110v machines usually stop around 140 amp and that is the smallest size you can do much with...

I agree with Mike... if you can get 220 it will serve you better, although wiring is something that will have to be considered. Also consider what else you might want to weld... a low amp machine 150 and down isn't going to do much more than 1/8" - 3/16" stock and that will be a very short duty cycle at full throttle.
If the duty cycle is 20% that means you can weld 12 seconds out of every minute without compromising the heat in the weld...

just some points to consider when purchasing a welder. Give us some more detail and we can give you better guidance... the more information we have the better we can confuse you..

later
John

 

I don't know about your specific model but I just recently bought an Auto-Arc 130 from amazon for $369 with free shipping including a cart, helmet, gas regulator, and a roll of starter wire. The Auto-Arc was originally made by Miller (that's where you will still find the manual) but is now being sold under the Hobart name. It has been confirmed to be the same machine by both a hobart and a miller tech rep. Being a miller/hobart all the replacment parts are easily available from your local welding supply store. Not sure about century machines. So far I have done some frame repair and replaced the lower rear corner panels on my truck with it. It has worked well on both thin and thicker metal although 3/16" is about as far as I would push it. Anything beyond that and you don't get full penetration. Check out the machine. It is a pretty good deal if you are looking for a 110v mig welder.

 

The Century name sounds familiar. I think they've been around for awhile. It seems to me like I've seen alot of them in body shops.

Another thing to consider is the availability of consumables; wire tips, cones, etc.

I have a 110v Millermatic 135 (I think). There are times where I think I should have bought the 220v version but they are few and far between (and I have buddies with 220 machines if I ever get in a pickle)

Good luck with it
Bobby

 

Hobart Handler 140 at local Tractor Supply store if you have one near you. Under $500, A MillerMatic 211 will run twice as much, but runs 110/220. Check Indiana Qxygen on E-bay. Always free shipping, reasonable prices.

 

Thanks for the input guys. I should have listed that the welder is a 140 and runs only on 110. I would agree that the 220 would be better, but I am not hooked up up with a 220 line in my garage. (I guess I won't be building my own cow raoster like Niolin has.)

I plan on doing light duty welding like fender patch panels, garden gnomes, and weather vanes. I will call the local Lincoln dealer and ask about availability of consumables like tips etc. I hadn't thought of that and it's exactly the kind of wish council I knew I would receive.

PS: I'm also going to look into the Auto-Arc 130. That sounds like it might be an even better deal.

Thanks again everybody, Jag

 

I agree with Mike.. I have the 140 WeldPak model., (as well as a Miller 175 220v mig , and miller tig welder too).. I found it new on Craigslist locally for $300.. anyhow.. its gas ready, but comes setup for gasless. its been great so far.. altho I like my Miller 175 better!..

I got it to weld on the property gate which is near 110v power, but not 220v.
still have to do that..

Sam

 

Planning Sam, planning. These things take careful planning and consideration, you can't just rush right in there and start glueing things together.

With careful planning (which usually involves a frosty beverage or two) you might be able to put it off....er...uh....I mean really work the bugs out of it before it all gets welded up.

yea, thats it, thats the story I'm sticking with

Bobby

 

I bought the Hobart 140 last year for under 500 delivered with a cart and love it. I have a big (and I do mean BIG!) old Miller 300/300 with a water cooled TIG if I have a big job. From my perspective working on our trucks, you don't need more than the 110v units. The biggest things that I have welded is boxing the front of the frame which you need to weld slowly or warp the frame and brackets for shock mounts both front and rear (Jag and 9 inch).

 

My Hobart 140 has worked on everything I've tried so far
Made right here in good old Appleton, Wisconsin

 

Thanks for the input guys. After much consideration and finding out that Lincoln had a $75 rebate on the 140C, I bought their unit. It was $633-75=$558. I asked both of my local dealers about the Century welder to see if they carried parts likes tips etc. Neither had ever heard of them, so they referred me to the internet.

On the down side, I did not get a welding cart included in the deal like I would have if I would have bought the Century brand, but I do have a heavy-duty utility cart that I can alter to make one. I'll upload pictures showing my first project with the new welder! Jag

 

way cool.. Harbor Freight has a decent cart for like $45 on sale every so often.. 3 shelves, and casters.. tank shelf too.. I have 2 of them

| on sale now for $35!.. http://www.harborfreight.com/welding-cart-90305.html
Sam

 

I have a 110v Century that I bought about 6-7 years ago. They use Tweco tips etc. and it had been OK. It was a close out at the time and about 1/2 the price of a similar Lincoln and since I didn't have much money, I thought it would be better than no welder. Century went out of business shortly thereafter. Lincoln has since bought Century and evidently is now manufacturing the welders. Century is an old line welder company that fell on hard times in the last 10 years.

 

A welding cart is a great first welding project, as is a welding station/bench with a steel top. Buy or lease a good sized shielding gas tank (the ones that are ~ 4' tall) not one of the baby ones, and include a place for it on your cart.
A welding bench is one of the handiest things you can have! Make the top out of a plate of 3/16 or 1/4" steel at least 24x36" and overhang the edges 2-3" beyond the base so you can clamp projects to the top. Stick your ground clamp onto the top plate anywhere, clamp or lay the work on the top and weld. No fighting with the ground clamp and cable pulling the parts out of alignment and you can use a corner of the table as a square.
Here are a couple picures of my welding bench before and after the garage walls were finished:

The basic bench using 1x1 square tubing as support.

After the walls were finished. Note Hardie cement board heat shield on wall, moveable spot light. A strong light helps to find start point when using a self darkening helmet.
Accessories you will want ASAP:
Self darkening welding helmet, preferably one with adjustable darkness. Make sure it uses readily available batteries (Radio Shack carries a lot of the less popular button cells). Typical cost for a servicable one 85.00 up.
Dedicated pair of needle nose pliers with wire cutting capability. You will use these constantly when welding for cleaning splatter out of tip cone, cutting off end of wire (ALWAYS start each weld with freshly cut wire end!) changing tips. I have a holster for mine right on the welding bench (or put holder on cart) so they are always at hand.
"Tip dip" Jelly like substance you dunk tip in to clean, reduce spatter sticking.
Spool of ESAB Easy Grind 0.025 wire. ACCEPT NO SUBSTITUTE there is none! The only wire to use on your truck, especially for sheet metal work.
2-4 triangular welding magnets.
Vise grip type welding pliers, several pair, especially the type that look like a giant metal "C".