Mig Welder - What do you think??

Most recent one - MAC 180 (is a Miller/Hobart with a MAC Logo on it) - I suspect it to be the same as the handler 180 you can buy at TSC.

It has been a great machine. And I don't really like MIGs, but I am starting to.

It has survived everything "Da Boyz" (They know who they are) have thrown at it. And the times I have thrown IT.

Like Rich says about the pic above. Break it and look inside.
If you have ever seen what they do to a welding "coupon" in destructive testing. It will give ya the willies.
 
OOOOO, forgive me o great one. I dont know why you THINK you are so great and that you know every thing? fact is you dont know me or how long i have welded for I just may know more about it then you!, so till you know me keep you crap to your self. O and btw every pic we see of your rig, you are never working on it, it's always some one else. Maybe you just know how to type crap!

P.S this is for Mr. Rich the king of every thing :flipoff2:
 
Must be afull moon today -

Before my comment above gets misundestood too.

No slam meant on the welds in the picture - just that you can't tell from the pic.

I think that is what Rich menat too - but can't speak for him.
 
NO... I know rich's crap he always has somthing to say. he feels the need to be better and smarter then every one else.
 
wbcarver said:
No slam meant on the welds in the picture - just that you can't tell from the pic.

I think that is what Rich menat too - but can't speak for him.

That's exactly what I meant... Destructive testing (a.k.a. beat it with a BFH until it breaks) is the only way to tell how good the welds are, unless you have a portable x-ray machine... In fact, those welds do look pretty damn nice, but a nice weld can have 0 penetration at the same time, or it can be perfect.. can't tell till ya cut it, or beat it.

Tell ya what Kevin, post that picture on a welder's board (Try the Hobart board), and $5 says they will tell you the same thing. It's what I did when I was starting out, and they gave very valuable insight... The majority of the guys over there are veteran, certified welders.

For 1/8" up to 3/8" it was nearly a unanimous recomendation of .035, .030 as a minimum.


O and btw every pic we see of your rig, you are never working on it, it's always some one else. Maybe you just know how to type crap!

:lol: Now that's just weak... ya gotta come up with something better than that...seriously. But I am good at typing crap!
 
what if i was a veteran, certified welder??.... anyway you always stepping in to try to correct someone or to try to show how much you know, or just plan crap....well it gets old!!!!
 
krehel24 said:
OOOOO, forgive me o great one. I dont know why you THINK you are so great and that you know every thing? fact is you dont know me or how long i have welded for I just may know more about it then you!, so till you know me keep you crap to your self. O and btw every pic we see of your rig, you are never working on it, it's always some one else. Maybe you just know how to type crap!

P.S this is for Mr. Rich the king of every thing :flipoff2:
WTF did this come from? He just made a plain and simple statement, that you can't tell anything about the weld from the outside. And I agree. He didn't knock your welding at all. Sheesh, lighten up, Rich has been working hard to be a good boy.
 
Rich said:
Beat it till it fails, then let's see. Looking at the outside doesn't tell ya anything...

BTW, .023 is way small for 1/4".

no.. it is his tone, he is very Arrogant he act's as if he knows that it will fail, and that he is the only one that knows that and just assumes that i dont know.
 
Yeah Rich ya fawking know it all.



Well except for body work ya dont know shit :flipoff2:
 
krehel24 said:
no.. it is his tone, he is very Arrogant he act's as if he knows that it will fail, and that he is the only one that knows that and just assumes that i dont know.

Thin skin OFF now. :lol:

Yes the welds LOOK good. But beat them to see if they are good, blueing 1" on the sides but ya cant tell w/ the rust. Some people are condiscending w/o even trying or knowing it. Not saying Rich is but damn, dont wear the Strawberry Shortcake panties when wanting opinions.
 
Franklin said:
Well except for body work ya dont know shit :flipoff2:

F'n a, you got that right!! this shit is going to Maaco next time. Too much fawkin work, and the garage floor and the driveway is freakin' multicolored.
 
Franklin said:
Thin skin OFF now. :lol:

Yes the welds LOOK good. But beat them to see if they are good, blueing 1" on the sides but ya cant tell w/ the rust. Some people are condiscending w/o even trying or knowing it. Not saying Rich is but damn, dont wear the Strawberry Shortcake panties when wanting opinions.
^^^^^^^^^^
I was not wanting opinions, I was showing the guy who is wanting to buy a welder that the lincoln 175 worked good, because I have used some that were jumpy and would not lay a good bead. and yes they do hold
 
Rich said:
F'n a, you got that right!! this shit is going to Maaco next time. Too much fawkin work, and the garage floor and the driveway is freakin' multicolored.
you mean there is somthing that you are not good at :eek: that cant be :flipoff2:
 
Rich said:
For 1/8" up to 3/8" it was nearly a unanimous recomendation of .035, .030 as a minimum.


Minimum???

Thats a little werid. We only run .035 wire and .030 wire on most all of our welders at work. Thats including ones that we do structural welding on stuff up to like 2" thick. We have lots of heat and lots of wire speed. I would never use .035 wire on 1/8" thick metal, it takes too much heat to melt it for 1/8" steel. For small stuff up to 1/4" thick and some 3/8", it shouldn't need anything more than .023 or maybe .030" wire. It all depends on what your welder can handle and your wire speed. We even use .023 wire on some of our stuff like hand rails, small structural stuff, etc., which can be up to 1/2" thick.


Rob
and yes, I am a certified welder (mig, tig, and smaw)...
 
krehel24 said:
you mean there is somthing that you are not good at :eek: that cant be :flipoff2:

That's why we do fabrication, and Franklin does paint & body work.. :D
 
You should be fine with what you have. The only suggestion I have is that you try and weld it flat and not downhill if possible. If it cannot be possible, then just run it downhill. And, clean the rust off, it'll give a higher quality weld. Other than that, you sholud be ok.
 
:confused: :confused: :confused: this thread is not about how good my weld is or how to weld ,it is about a guy trying to pic the best welder for him :lol: :lol: rich and I are off the point to this thread trying to twist each others panties up
 
Man, it seems every thread that I start everyone starts hammering each other. Okay, I talked to a guy in PA today that has a Miller 200. Personally I have never heard of the "200," but I have hear and used a 210. It comes with the regulator, bottle (full), and the welder. It is a pretty good deal if I could find any info about it. He is going to send me pictures sometime tonight. You guys heard of this model??
 
Well, shit, if I come across as condescending, it's not intentional, it's just who I am. And if I offend anyone, well, fuck ya.
 
RDDC said:
Man, it seems every thread that I start everyone starts hammering each other. Okay, I talked to a guy in PA today that has a Miller 200. Personally I have never heard of the "200," but I have hear and used a 210. It comes with the regulator, bottle (full), and the welder. It is a pretty good deal if I could find any info about it. He is going to send me pictures sometime tonight. You guys heard of this model??

The Miller 200 is the older version of what now is the 210.
I looked at a used Miller 200 right before I bought the MAC
180.

It was a sweet machine. Only reason I didn't buy it was the guy wanted too much (IMO) for it.

If you can swing the price of a 200 or a 210 you will not be sorry. Both are fine machines and the repair parts and consumables for them both are readily available most anywhere.

FWIW - I am an old stick weldor kinda guy. I bought the 180 as a medium duty shop machine to test the waters with a MIG, with all intentions of getting something in the 250 class down the road. This 180 has done everything we have asked of it and postponed the purchase of the 250.
Only down fall it has so far is the duty cycle is a little low for when we get into the heavier stuff.
When it is cranked all the way up, I can feel it starting to get hot (and weld sluggish) after about 2-3 minutes of steady welding.
Keep in mind I am used to welding bulldozers and bridges with 100% duty cycle 250-400 amp machines.
:D

For most anything you will ever do on your own stuff anything in the 175-210 class will do ya just fine.
 
Just a few observations.
Rich, if you look in a Websters under asshole, his picture is over to the side. Rich is Rich. He hasn't changed since I have known him. To that I had he has helped me several times, never leading me astray. What I have not seen or heard or read him do, is give bad advice, or refuse someone directly ask him for help. He's a Jersey yankee, he can't help it. But he chose to stay here in NC, so that says a lot about his intellgence.

ON the Welds: with the ground still connected, it leads me to believe that it was just welded. I have always been taught, and taught others, that you should have clean shinny metal to weld. Anything else is contamination to the weld.

As far as beating it apart??? I have a heck of a time getting something apart I have welded. I sure as heck ain't gonna beat it apart. I use .030 and .035 wire. Now I have no problem turning up the heat and burning something in, it's the thin stuff that gives me problems sometimes.
 
wbcarver - thanks for the 200 input - This welder is up in Bristol, PA - somewhere near Philidelphia. Everything included is $600 - I just have to make the trip to get it. The guy told me the machine is 9 years old and still works like a champ, but he mostly tig welds now. I believe I am going to make the trip pretty soon to get it.

Rich,
Don't worry about the talk - you are straight to the point in you replies, but the most important thing is you reply to just about every thread I have ever been in. You always give good advice on your experiences in all different subjects. I appreciate your help with everything. Keep truckin buddy - just for chits and giggles - I can't weld worth a damn (especially stick) - All I can do is make it stick together - but you have to learn somewhere and I appreciate everyones input - you all have been very helpful. Now I have to go cry on Mama's shoulder after that!!!!
 
HES FROM JERSEY!!!! well that says it all.. sorry for jumping your case rich, you dern yankee's cant help it....hay wait I am from CA. dern I dont think southerners like us.
btw yeah I did not clean the steel real good before welding it, it's on a bush hog so it ok. anything alse and i clean the steel. as for the duty cycle they said above..mine is a 30% duty cycle and it is realy not to bad.
 
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