Question about welder size

However, that being said . . . . .

A Miller 175 will weld anything you got in the 3/8-1/2 inch steel department. How often you might need to weld anything bigger than that - well, you might want to balance the added cost of the 250 or a comparable unit against what the occasional trip to your local welding shop might cost you.

A downside I have also observed in the larger welders, unless they are a very accomplished multi-function unit with electronic controls, is that they lose something at the bottom end of the current range. So if you plan to use the unit for a lot of sheet-metal repairs and such, the larger welder might give you less-satisfactory results on that.

The transition from machines in the 150-200 amp class to the 200-300 amp class is indeed a spendy step. Only you can know what you will be doing with the welder and whether you need the added capacity.

HTH

llater,

llamas

Unless a person is going to invest alot of money in top name brand Mig equipment, Miller, It would be wise to spend money on a good cutting torch and AC/DC machine for stick welding for the non-professional welder(not making a living with the equipment). Thats much more cost effective and will do a decent job. For the average small farm type shop, burning 50lbs a rod a year is a bunch and thats pretty spendy Mig welding.

I still use my 40yr old AC Lincoln buzz box and just finished extending my 2" square solid steel hicth by 6" and had no problems welding it. It will also weld lite gauge SM or I can use my torch.

My small 115v Mig, I bought to build a few 1200gal water tanks and since that time I've used maybe 10/lbs of wire in 8yrs. I can also Tig weld with the Mig machine so it does serve another purpose but if I didn't have it I sure wouldn't go out and buy one for home shop type use.

For under a $1000 you can buy a AC/DC Lincoln 150amp machine, Victor 100FC cutting torch, 5" Makita side grinder and wheels, several vise-grip finger clamps, 50lbs of Lincoln 6010 and 50lbs of Chemtron 7018 welding rod, 10lbs of L70 brazing rod and might be able to squeeze in a Milwaukee chop saw if you shop right.

T_Bone

If you really like the MIG side and you're doing most sheet metal (IE: >1/4" thick), you may want to look at the Century or Campbell-Hausfeld brand machines. Despite their relativley cheap price, they do a decent job on non-industrial type projects.

Doing hobby type work, you need not put a lot of emphasis on duty cycle or versatility as you are not trying to meet a production schedule such as I do. For my applications, a grand does not even come close to making a down payment on a power source let alone all the other required items to make it work ready. I've used some of these small machines and they do weld nice if kept within their capabilities and duty cycles. As for price, you could tie up about the same cost in a small AC/DC stick machine that would have the same limitations as the smaller migs.

Using wire such as Esab core-shield 11 (self shielding flux core) will do a nice job on sheet steel down to 20 ga. On the heavier side, a machine that will give you around 175 amps output will do a decent job on say 1/4". This is where the duty cycle comes into play. Running at max output on the machine will mean doing shorter beads and allowing the machine to cool between runs.

It all depends upon what you expect from the machine as to determine the correct size and type of machine you need. All machines have their limits as does everyone's wallets. If you are also planning on using this machine to make repairs to equipment that makes you money, then you should look at getting the largest and best machine you can.

I like Miller machines myself but I make my living with them. The Millermatic 250 is an excellent medium duty machine that does equally good welds on 26 ga with .023" solid wire as it does on 1/2" plate with .045" dual shield wire. It is still limited to a 60% duty cycle at 250 amp output.

On the other hand, a decent AC/DC stick machine will afford you the option of using scrach start tig or adding a voltage sensing wire feeder later on but these add-ons also come at a price as well.