After many years of eyeing a machine I finally made the purchase. I wanted to share some of the machines that intrest me and the stuff I would put my money into. Mostly going to be talking about compact welders. To start out with one online store that has the best prices and selection is Bakers gas. They have free shipping and more then likely will not be charged tax. They stay up to date with pricing and tend to have generous instant rebates. I ended up buying through them. I was going to go into Airgas and compare prices. After talking to my friend he said he said it might add the tax at the final page. Well after I entered my payment info and clicked pay now I paid then like it said. So could not compare without canceling but no tax. Starting out budget minded. You cant go wrong with a Lincoln tombstone or miller thunderbolt smaw aka stick welder. Look for these machines used online. Can be had for 100 bucks or less sometimes. Consumables are cheep and you'll be able to weld in wind. For entry level wire feeds make sure it has a gas hook up and isnt just a fcaw. While flux core can be great because you can weld in wind a pretty weld is HARD. I have to bring up the Chicago electric welders. Going to be nothing but problems for the most part. Biggest gripes no spool or wheel tensioner on most of them. And its allways live even if you dont pull the trigger. If I wanted something new and cheep I would look into Eastwood. But you might be able to find the next ones for about the same price. The cheap wire feeders you want are the compact Lincolns and millers. Like the weld pak or millermatic. Look for these machines used for the best deals. I've spent tons of time of both. Mostly on the Lincoln. Welded way out of range with them. I may or may not of made a beam with a Lincoln weld pak that's holding up a large roof. Now we are getting into dc muilti process welders. These guys do tig, stick, and wire. Mostly just steel. The easb fabricator is about the lowest priced one and the one you should consider. It runs off 120v. Another 120v machine is the Lincoln 140mp. For the price I wouldn't really consider buying new. Now in this price range the harbor freight omnipro 220mp looks really good. It's a duel voltage machine so you'll have more range. Still on dc muilti process welders but now these are the guys that you can really start to get shit done with. All these are duel voltage. The Lincoln power mig 210 multi process was the first good compact mp machine. The problem is they have had a price jump. A few years ago it was $1000 for a starter kit. Now its $1500. Pretty much the price of the full package a few years ago. The Miller multimatic 215 is a nice machine but a little more spendy. If you're split between the two look into specs like duty cycle. But for a little more you could get the esab rebal 215ic. You can find the complete package for about $1750. From what I remember it does have the highest duty cycle of the three. One thing about all these machines is they are new user friendly for mig. They all have an auto set feature that all you have to do is input the thickness of the metal. Getting into the last ones. This is where I put my money. These are going to be a muilti process ac/dc machines with pulse. These will be able to do ac tig. That means you be able to weld most aluminum. The Miller muiltimatic 220 ac/dc is a great machine. It has a bunch of great features but in the end it fell short. I went with the Esab rebal 205ic ac/dc. It won in my mind because it has a better tig mode. Even though the miller has auto set tig I wasn't sold. The esab is considered a light industrial machine with better waterproofing. The miller is mostly a indoor hobby machine. The Miller came back at $2800 after a $200 rebate the esab $2600 with a $400 rebate. I will say the miller will be easier to buy contact tips and consumables for. Both are the full package with everything you need to weld in every process besides gas. One thing about the miller comes with two regulators. Another reason I went with esab was the 90 day money back guarantee. So if I dont like it I'll return it and get the Miller. Both have a 3 year warranty The last one is not compact. It's an industrial welder. It's the Lincoln power mig 360. It's another dc multiprocess machine. Only really good for a shop setting. And over $5000. Only comes with a mig gun at that price. Not really going to go into just tig machines but if you do need an idea of what to get the Miller dynasty series is one of the best. Used in many fab shops and is sometimes required to have used one to get the job. Also CK Worldwide is another good brand. If you dont buy one of there machines you will buy one of there tig torches. Best in the industry. Figured I would share all this because of my years of research. Glad I wanted this long because otherwise I wouldn't be getting an ac machine. Just remember buy what you need. But buy as much as you can afford. The used market is great. Some older machines may last longer then any of these.
Bakers gas is losing my respect. Taking there sweet ass time to do anything about shipping. Haven't even made a label. Also being avoided when trying to contact them about it.
Some other good ones are Hobart and Vulcan. Hobarts are all miller internals with a different case lol. I recently picked up a Vulcan Multi-process, ive welded with lincoln, miller, hobart etc...and i gotta say this Vulcan is right up there with them. At just over $1000 i couldnt be happier. It welds nice and pretty, has alot of different settings and pre-sets. The pre-sets are a little off, but theyre good enough for a beginner welder. Ive used both the tig and mig portions of the machine, and ive welded up to 3/8 thick without having to use the 220 plug. It burns super hot on just 110.
I ran a hobart industrial machine for a while. The older the better. Now they are an entry company. The only thing I would by new from them is the champion elite engine driven welder/generator. The vulcan Omnipro only looked good to me at the sale price just under 800.
