Welders!

[smbrouss70]

The manual included with the welder should have what amperage it will pull. My millermatic 180 says that it should pull 20 amps, so I installed a 30 amp circuit just to be on the safe side. Just remember that a circuit breaker is intended to protect the wire from overheating and starting a fire, so make sure you use the appropiate sized wire for the breaker that you are using.

[smbrouss70]

AH, I was thinking of a dedicated welder circuit. That's how I set mine up. And 8 AWG is plenty big enough to handle it, I just didn't want anyone burning their shop down due to undersized wiring.

[rockn30809]

Got a mm210 and a ideal arc 250 for tig. Been meltin metal for round 15 years mainly in fab shops. Got a nice cushy job sittin in a office chair tig welding some crazy parts for a fiberglass company.

[EVBuilder]

Ok guy's here is a challenge for you: I have a 120 volt MIG that I bought from Matco years ago. It was made by Century who was bought out by Lincoln. Last year It stopped producing an arc so I replaced it with a Miller Syncrowave 200 TIG. Here is the challenge. The wirefeed and whip are still good in the old Matco machine. I want to build a wirefeed attachment for my TIG. Does anyone know what fittings I would need to get the power/gas line connected to the whip and wirefeed system? I also need a way to control the thing with the trigger. maybe make a pigtail that connects to the pedal outlet? Has anyone here done this? It would make this machine the most versatile machine I could think of.

[jasonhall]

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?

[rockn30809]

Originally Posted by jasonhall

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?

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.

[EVBuilder]

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.

[JAKA]

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.

[rockn30809]

Originally Posted by JAKA

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.

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.

[DURRTY]

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.