need recommendations for small welder for garage

msorbara10 · Dec 12, 2013

I have been looking into getting a welder for sometime now. I have a buddy who is willing to teach me and I can tell you how many time around the house I wish I had a small mig welder.

Anyway for now I would like to do some exhaust work when I put my headers on and eventually put on duals. I want to get something cheap because I will not be using it a lot and ofcorse money is tight. I want to be able to weld exhaust pipes where required,
if I strip heads of a bold ( like a manifold bolt) I would want to be able to weld a new nut on to help get it out..

Just things like that would be nice to have a welder for..

I recently got a $50 gift card to lowes and was thinking of using it there

what do you think of these two?

Shop Campbell Hausfeld 115-Volt / 20-Amp Stick Welder at Lowes.com

Shop Lincoln Electric 120-Volt / 55-Amp Stick Welder at Lowes.com

Will these be suitable for small jobs.. like I said exhaust work is the first thing that comes to mind

again, for now I will not be using it a lot and I dont need anything for big jobs. When I work full time in about 7 months I will start building up my garage. I just been dying to have a little welder haha. Would welcome all recommendations!!

Sharp Charge · Dec 13, 2013

Save your money. For what you're talking about, a stick welder is just going to be a waste of money. You won't have the room you need to get a rod in to weld an exhaust and you have less heat control on thin gauge metal.

Here's a cheap(er) Lincoln wire feed welder. You can run it like it is out of the box with flux core wire, you'll have to still pound **** off like a stick welder. Or you can get the MIG kit and add gas (Argon and CO2 mix) and just buzz welds all day with no **** removal. You can start here or save a little more and get a better machine. Either way, once you learn, make your first project a cart for your welder. It'll give you a chance to practice what you learned and have something useful to show for it.

Shop Lincoln Electric 120-Volt MIG Flux-Cored Wire Feed Welder at Lowes.com

Chewy · Dec 13, 2013

I will honestly say that I am an expert about this subject. My family owns a 63 year old welding distributer ship with 12 locations in IL, IN, MO, IA.

Miller, Lincoln and Tweco (Thermal Arc) are the ones to look at. Don't even bother with the other ones. You'll get crap and you'll have a hell of a time finding parts in the future. TRUST ME!!!!

You can buy them from a big box store and get NO service during or after the sale, or you can go to your nearest welding distributorship and get the welder, knowledge, parts, gas and EVERYTHING you'd need at one place. You can haggle with them too.

Don't cheap out... Do it right the first time and be happy...

Chris

msorbara10 · Dec 13, 2013

ok great thanks guys I will do just that!

toofart · Dec 13, 2013

If you can wing $850, the Hobart 210 is likely all the welder you'll ever need. You can run it with or without gas, and it supports both 120 volt and 240 volt.
FREE SHIPPING — Hobart Handler 210MVP (Multi-Voltage Plug) 115V/230V Flux Cored/MIG Welder — 140/210 Amp Output, Model# 500553 | Wirefeed Welders| Northern Tool + Equipment

Or if money is tight, its little brother Hobart 140:
FREE SHIPPING — Hobart Handler 140 Wire-Feed MIG Welder — 115 Volt, Model# 500559 | Wirefeed Welders| Northern Tool + Equipment

Sharp Charge · Dec 14, 2013

Chewy said:
Don't cheap out... Do it right the first time and be happy...

This is honestly what I live by. Buy once, cry once. It's cheaper in the long run.

msorbara10 · Dec 14, 2013

Sharp Charge said:
This is honestly what I live by. Buy once, cry once. It's cheaper in the long run.

I am the same way.. But since the ones I showed were so cheap, I didnt expect them to last long and $100 wouldnt set me back too much. I planned on getting a really nice one some day. But I think I can wait and save up

keg184 · Dec 15, 2013

I have had the small Hobart mig welder for 20 years and have used it hard and have not had one problem. It is great for small welding jobs like you have around the house. I was at Tractor Supply several months ago and saw they handle them and the wire, tips, etc.

dpinvidic · Dec 27, 2013

I have had a Century Mig welder for about 15 years and it has been great.
Get one that uses gas (cored wire is not as good). This one runs on 110V.
Came with a "Tweco" gun.
It is great.
Look for one that has variable speed and heat settings.
I also think the one from Northern tools is a copy of a Lincoln.
You should be able to get a quality unit for about $575.
Check out this on the web - Hobart Handler 140 MIG Welder 500559

Dan

cfodor · Mar 10, 2014

I have a lincoln sp135 i think it model great for small stuff and spend the money and get a mig welder and not just a wire fed flux core. Flux core works in a pinch but you will not be happy with it in the long run

BossHogg · Mar 13, 2014

msorbara10 said:
I wish I had a small mig welder.

I agree with the others, forget the stick, it has better use for welding thicker items, 1/2 inch plus.

I put a Hobart MIG welder in my garage shop I picked up from Tractor Supply for $500. I never MIGed since they didn't exist when I was in high school but I found plenty of youtube how to videos plus my oldest knew how.

My 2 cents.

C120 · Mar 13, 2014

I would recommend a Lincoln or Miller. They are both well built machines and parts such as tips can be easily found. The Hobart mentioned above may also be a good choice but I have no experience with them.

Good luck welding exhaust! Definitely not the most pleasant job.

monte07 · Mar 13, 2014

You can't go wrong with Lincoln or Miller. I have a Lincoln 135 MIG and its real handy. Do yourself a favor spend the extra fifty bucks and buy one from your local welding shop. You have to get your gases there anyway and you'll learn more from the guys behind the counter than you ever will by yourself.

cfodor · Mar 17, 2014

The cheap harbor freight welders just are not worth it. I know eastwood sells there own brand of welders that look alot like lincoln welders. You might want to look at those I have seen good reviews. If i was to do it over again I would have purchased a 175 amp welder and now miller has welders that will work with 110 and 220. You never know when you might need to weld something a little thicker and the 110 welders are rated to do metal a little thicker then I would want to do with them.

14hemiexpress · Apr 3, 2014

I second the Hobart. In my experience miller is the best all we have in the shop at my work is miller we have 6 of them and with that being said I have a Hobart 187 In my shop it doesn't see the use and abuse that our work machines do but I do use it and I have had it for at least 5 years and it still works like the day it was new. My suggestion is get a Hobart 140, tractor supply usually has the best prices on them but northern tool has deals a lot of the time that you get a free cart with it so it evens out. With the 140 it's a 110 unit and you have capability of running flux cord wire (gas less) or solid core wire with shielding gas. The stick welders are normally used for thicker more serious structural steel welding like buildings and are a lot harder for a novice welder to use, a wire welder is the best machine to learn on IMO. Hope this helps

twooldfarmers · Jun 29, 2014

I have had a $90 dollar wire feed from Harbor Frieght now for about 3 years and for light duty work up to 1/4 or 5/16's it works very well, the wire feed creates splatter more than you would from a stick but it is so convenient and for thin metal such as exhaust work you can't go wrong either

just how much are you going to use it is often your first question that needs to be answered

chris*1989 · Jul 25, 2014

toofart said:
If you can wing $850, the Hobart 210 is likely all the welder you'll ever need. You can run it with or without gas, and it supports both 120 volt and 240 volt.
FREE SHIPPING — Hobart Handler 210MVP (Multi-Voltage Plug) 115V/230V Flux Cored/MIG Welder — 140/210 Amp Output, Model# 500553 | Wirefeed Welders| Northern Tool + Equipment

Or if money is tight, its little brother Hobart 140:
FREE SHIPPING — Hobart Handler 140 Wire-Feed MIG Welder — 115 Volt, Model# 500559 | Wirefeed Welders| Northern Tool + Equipment

2nd. Hobart makes a great welder.

alex2929 · Jan 30, 2015

I'm a big miller guy so I would recommend the miller 211 mig welder, it runs off 120 and 240 simply by changing the plug which just un threads it will do what ever you would need it for there around $1200

EagleChief · Feb 19, 2015

So, to bring this back up to the top...

My dad has a coworker that bought a Lotus LTPDC2000D welder/plasma cutter from Home Depot. Still new in the box and wants $550 for it. Home Depot site has it for $599. Amazon has it for $613... but, both places say "Out of Stock". It is a stick welder, TIG welder, & plasma cutter all in one unit. Has anyone used something like this before? Or the Lotus brand at all? I'm thinking I could offer $475 and see what happens.

Amazon.com: LTPDC2000D Lotos Pilot Arc IGBT 50A Plasma Cutter /200A Tig/Stick Welder with Stick Aluminum Feature: Industrial & Scientific

EDIT** It's been a LONG time (probably 15 yrs) since I've done any welding, and that was mostly with a stick or MIG welder. It would just be used for small home projects and tinkering with stuff like horse shoes and small metal crap. Maybe cut up some barn tin for house projects.

need recommendations for small welder for garage

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