Welding advise,,,, as a qualifier I taught and welded pipe for 25 years ,,,,

I could not agree more, the 110V may be handy to have if there's no 220outlet around but in order to have a semi capable welder the cost is initially higher since it includes a 220volt mig welder plus the cost of adding a 30A ,220V outlet .
 
A 120V MIG is capable of more than 20 gauge sheet metal, provided you don't purchase a junk machine. I have a Century 120V MIG that I routinely weld 1/4" plate with. I run it off a 120V, 20 Amp circuit.
 
SLK001 said:
A 120V MIG is capable of more than 20 gauge sheet metal, provided you don't purchase a junk machine. I have a Century 120V MIG that I routinely weld 1/4" plate with. I run it off a 120V, 20 Amp circuit.
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My experience is the same. I have a 120v Millermatic 140 auto-set which advertises 3/16" steel, though I've done 1/4" going slower and had no problems. I realize I don't have OPs experience, but I feel like this is 'good enough' of a size for a lot of folks.

My motivating purpose was to be able to travel with it to help friends that need welding (done a few times!) and to be able to use it in my other shop where 220v isn't easy to get. When helping friends, the 120v is great, since you never know what 220v plug they have support for.

As far as resale value: Every friend I've helped out has offered to buy my welding setup for more than I have into it :) If it wasn't so useful in my shop, I might take one of those offers! Just about every hobby person can use a 120v welder for the here-and-there repairs, and an easy-to-use-MIG welder is, IMO, the most sellable.
 
Yeah, the little 120v 15 Amp machines are super handy for portable welding!

I would have one, but I found a 220 machine by the side of the road
It looked like it had been dragged through the sewers of Calcutta and had 1 out of 4 dead rectifiers... very weird behavior before fixing...

Sent from my SM-G715A using Tapatalk
 
I don't have any 120v welders but I slightly envy my friend's 120V 20A MIG welder. Very small, stable arc. It just.... works.
 
regarding my statement that 120 volt welders are meant for 20 gauge ,,, I think it all depends on what you consider a good weld ,,,, MIG welds can easily look ok but are really just sitting on the surface of the basemetal especially if it was a vertical down weld ,,, metal thickness that can be welded is really not a correct way to qualify acceptability since steel 10 feet thick can be welded as long as the joint is bevelled for 100 percent weld penetration ,,, using a 120 volt machine on 1/4 inch thick steel could work without weld failure it totally depends on application ,,, to me a good weld is stronger than the basemetal and getting that from a 120 volt mig machine is dicey ,,,,, and 220 volt outlets are easily possible if you have 120 volts volts and access to the fuse panel having ranted on that 120 mig machines have a place but welding trailers together to go on the road opens a world liability
 
hovercraft57 said:
regarding my statement that 120 volt welders are meant for 20 gauge ,,, I think it all depends on what you consider a good weld ,,,,
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I know what a good weld looks like. I've been welding for going on 50 years. Penetration of the weld into the base metal is probably the best indicator of being able to ensure a good weld with the machine you are using. I know what a surface stick weld looks like (a weld with little to no surface penetration). Although it really taxes my machine, I have no problem welding thicker material. When my machine says, "No way, Jose...", I will switch to a Lincoln DC stick welder and make the weld. Although I have never built a trailer, I wouldn't have any problems welding it up with my MIG, provided I could do it all out of the wind.

What you are saying about a 120V MIG could easily be said about almost all welding equipment. If the operator can't master the equipment, the equipment is probably not going to give acceptable welds. My shop now has 240V available. However, my MIG is 120V only.
 
I have been very firmly in the 220V camp for a long time. However, I have a Millermatic 211 (dual voltage) MIG and a few months ago had occasion to use it with 110V for the first time. I was pleasantly surprised. It's slower going, of course, but it welded 1/4" just fine. I'd still prefer 220V where available, but I have more respect for the 110V welders now.

GsT
 
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