Help Choosing Welder

So I did not want to thread jack the whole Harbor Freight welder discussion, but I have a similar question for you guys. I currently have a need for a welder for my garage. I need it to stitch weld the unibody on a new project of mine, but I will also use it for other light fabrication. I have taken a welding class, but to be honest I remember nothing about the equipment I was using. All the terms and acronyms mean nothing to me again…

I am looking to buy a used model off of craigslist, I just want some advice on what to start looking for. I appreciate any help ya’ll can be in aiding me with my search!

-Josh

I had a Harbor Freight shielded wire mig welder. ($99.00). I sold it and am looking for one with shielding gas (about $500 is what I want to spend). The hf special did body repair and light exahust repair ok.

I've said it before, will say it again. Find a Miller, Hobart or Lincoln 130 amp, 110 volt used welder. Will handle up to 1/4" with no problems, parts are easy, they will last a long time. Make sure you get the gas accessories to allow true MIG welding. When you are ready for a big boy unit, you can sell it for what you paid for it.

I've been quite happy with my Hobart 140. I haven't had to replace anything but consumables yet, but it should be easy to get parts for if I do. I found a good deal on it new, but I've seen them on the Craigslist since.

cwh wrote: I've said it before, will say it again. Find a Miller, Hobart or Lincoln 130 amp, 110 volt used welder. When you are ready for a big boy unit, you can sell it for what you paid for it.

I accidentally took this advice when I bought my first welder. That was 27 years ago. I still have it, and know I can count on it when I need it. I did the same, many years later, when I bought my mig machine.

MG Bryan wrote: I've been quite happy with my Hobart 140. I haven't had to replace anything but consumables yet, but it should be easy to get parts for if I do. I found a good deal on it new, but I've seen them on the Craigslist since.

Hobart is a Miller brand and even the cheap Hobarts have premium quality parts in them with the Miller logo on them.. really, you can't go wrong if you just get the one with the specs that have the highest numbers for whatever your price range happens to be..

i've got a Miller/Hobart that was painted red and sold with a Mac logo on it.. my cousin paid almost $1200 for that $500 welder to be delivered to his house on the Mac truck, and i got it from him for $500 with a matching $150 engine stand that he got for $350 because of the Mac sticker on it.. anyways, it's a rebadged Miller/Hobart 140 and i've welded up to 3/8" steel with it in 2 passes, but it will do 1/4" in one pass and it does a really good job on sheetmetal.

^What they say^

I ended up w/ a Millermatic 185 MIG and it's great. I also have a Miller SD180 TIG.

If you buy the HF unit it's $100 (plus the cast of adding gas when you realize that flux core defeats the purpose of MIG welding) you could have saved toward a real welder.

There's a few good Harbor Fright tools, and not many have a cord. None of them involve an arc - either intentionally or accidentally.