Advce on 1st welder

[bnew17]

ALright guys. Im going to be needing a mig welder here soon. Ive got a smoker build project im wanting to do but i dont have a welder.I will need one that can weld 1/4" steel . Ive been doing some reading and noticed that 110v are not ideal for 1/4" that i would need to go bigger to a 220v. Ive got the hooks ups in my shop for the 220v so thats not a problem. I had thought of getting a Harbor Freight 220 v welder for 300 but im deciding against it now. Ive looked on Lowes website and they sell Llincoln welders. I have come to realize from all the readign that Lincolns and Millers are the cream of the crop. Here are 2 welders ive looked at on Lowe's website and i was hoping to get some input from yall on them.

The first welder is a Lincoln Pro Mig 140 amp. It says its 120v and can weld up to 5/16" with the Lincoln innershield wire. Its $524. Here it is

http://www.lowes.com/pd_256723-1703-K24 ... facetInfo=

This is the Lincoln pro mig 180 amp. It says its a 208 v that can weld up to 1/2" steel using the Lincoln innershield wire. Its $669 making it roughly $150 dollars more than the Lincoln 140.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_256723-1703-K24 ... facetInfo=

Does anybody have an experiences with either of these and which would you reccomend? thanks

[MattS]

I have a lincoln 175 (probably the older version of the 180 you posted) and love it. Have had it for a long time. It does require 220v so you have to take that into your thinking. If you have plenty of access to 220v then go for it. Its one of those deals that you don't want to pass on something with more power and then regret it later.

[Tom_Heath]

I have the MillerMatic 211. And can complain about nothing.

But its out of your price range. So here is a beast that I have heard nothing but awesome reviews about.

Its the Hobart 187. It has a Fantastic arc, and really just walks the dog when its time to get down to business.
The guys over on the Hobart and Miller board talk very highly of this machine.

If you can keep an eye out, this machine will go on sale from time to time at TSC for 559.00.
Just saw it for that price a few months ago.

The 140 will build your smoker, joint prep will play into the planing if you use the 140.
The 180 will more then build your rig, and still have a little left under the hood.

So, that said, if it was me and the smoker was really the only thing I thought I would build. Then I would go with the 140 for sure, but if a future smoker or other cool project may come up then I would go for one of the 180's.

The harbor freight welders will work, its what I started with. Tons of troubles and fustrations later I bought a Clark. Doable but still not great. Now its loaded with fluxcore wire and its the welder that gets dragged outside if needed. But more and more I am just using my stick welder.

And then theres the Miller thats on a nice cart with my bottles. It has its place, I can run stainless or mild steel like it sits, or I can switch up and put the spool gun on and run aluminum.

If you want to chat about a welder you find, say while you are at a store. Shoot me a PM and I will send ya my cell number and you can give me a call.

Questions here are fine as well, and may even answer someone elses question later.

[Gizmo]

All this talk made me go look - I have the Miller 135. As soon as you stop laughing you can read the rest of this...

SmokerTom is right - joint planning is huge with a smaller rig but it's no harder than figuring out how I'm going to justify my next smoker build....

My son and I rebuilt a sand rail with it that he drove to high school. At the time it was the largest thing from Miller (we have a local dealer) that you could run on 110 volts. I've got 220 in the kitchen but my wife won't let me weld in there - much.

[Frank_Cox]

Sorry it took me so long to reply LOL,
I have a welder addiction... Ya can't have too many
I currently have a miller maxstar150STH which is a portable TIG/ARC welder that is freaking awesome for stainless jobs. It is too small for building smokers with the TIG function but it could do the job with the ARC function if you stay with 1/4 or thinner plate.
I have an LTEC 250 that is a monster! It will do AC and DC for both TIG and ARC. It will weld ANYTHING I have a Lincoln 140 that you mentioned which is a freaking great rig also. I use it for way more than I should. 1/4 plate is easily welded with it. I would recommend buying it from and Airgas store tho. The one from Lowes is a little stripped down. Mine has a rheostat for volts and wire speed but it also comes with an offer for a free Viking helmet worth $180.00 best helmet I have owned to date. I posted a thread on here about this welder and the helmet.
I also have a Hobart 135 I have built a lot of crap with that thing. I bout it new in 2003 and still have it. Really good welder and will do a great job as well as long as you do prep for your welds.
Ok last but not least...
I bought a Lincoln 255 yesterday and I LOVE it! It will weld anything as well. You can also have a spool gun and a regular gun hooked up at the same time. Digital rheostats etc. Also has a separate hookup for spool gun gas and for regular gun gas. I will post a thread on this welder soon. I got a Deal on it

[Frank_Cox]

I forgot...
IMHO I think the best deal would be to start with the 180. I have heard they came out with a dual volt model also.

[Tom_Heath]

WHAT........No welding in the kitchen????

My buddy welded his recliner right where it sits in the living room. LOL

I think Frank mentioned this slightly so I will also.
If the money permits, a dual voltage machine is pretty nice.
That way it does not matter if you take it to go help out a friend or something.

My little miller welds freaking fantastic on 110. I think they said that its a 140 when its on 110 volts.
I did a hand rail job at the mother in laws a few years ago and never looked back.