Re: Welders!
 

I have a lincoln mig 140 with .23 wire and gas, and i was wondering about doing frame work with it. Anybody use this welder for any frame work? Like notches and welding on my rearend? Should I step it up to a 220 welder?

Re: Welders!
 

You should step it up to a bigger welder. If you do end up having to use this welder look up what the duty cycle is. It will be a percentage. that is the percentage of a minute you can weld at peak power the rest is rest and cool down time. So weld within that time and stop for the at least the minimum wait time. It is going to be a low number like 20% at best. That is because at peak power the 120 volt line cannot keep up with the demand on the welder and you are using mostly capacitor power.

Re: Welders!
 

Trying to decide on a welder.I have narrowed it down to the Hobart Handler 140 and the Millermatic 140 Autoset.Any input will be welcome.Thanks.

Re: Welders!
 

I would upgrade to a bigger machine. But if you use the 140 on anything thick I would recomend you preheat with a torch to help it out.

Re: Welders!
 

Both machines are fine for light work and will last years if taken care of. The only real difference between them is the case and whip. The Miller may be built a little better since Hobart is Miller's lower line.

Re: Welders!
 

The 20% duty cycle will bother you if you start to weld anything thicker than what the .023 wire is doing. Also the older the machine gets the shorter the duty cycle seems to get.

I have had a Lincoln similar to both the machines your looking at and it has worked very well for years on small things.

Money is very well spent on a bigger machine that runs off 220v, they can handle most anything you can get into in a home garage and will last a lifetime.

The duty cycle is based off of a 10 minute cycle. So 20% is 2 minutes constant in 10 minutes but as the machine heats up the duty cycle get shorter also. Ambient temperature will change the duty cycle too.