Posted on 03/24/2024 5:28:13 AM PDT by Philsworld
Anyone out there own a welder? I’d like to hear from you about what you have, how you have it connected to power, process (mig, stick, tig) and your experiences overall. I stick-welded in vocational school years ago, and loved it. But, I never had the power or hook up to get one at my house. I do now. 70 amp breaker should do with 4 or 3 gauge wire from the breaker panel to the outlet right below the panel. I’m leaning towards one of the Everlast welder models, either the Typhoon 500 tig/stick, or Power I-Mig 353dpi mig/stick. Both come with a water cooler and torch/gun (I haven’t made a final decision about anything yet). And, max input amps are around 65 for both. Over the last 6 months I think I’ve researched just about everything out there and watched hundreds of You Tube videos. Will I ever need 350 or 400 welding amps? Probably not, but one never knows. Lincoln, Miller, Esab are nice, but pricey. Everlast offers a 5 year warranty and from speaking to people who weld with them for a profession, they are rock solid. Inverter only for me unfortunately. I’d love a transformer Lincoln precision Tig 275 or 375, but I’d need a minimum 125 amp breaker (the 375 manual says 150 amp breaker). I could do it, but I’d have to have an electrician wire a sub panel off my existing 150 amp subpanel for my garage and make it a separate dedicated welder circuit. (I have 150 amps going to my house for a total of 300 amp service). I got an estimate and it would cost me about $8,000 for everything. Not worth it really and the transformer machines take huge amounts of power (they both idle around 60 amps input). The 375 precision tig new would cost me $15,000 with tax. I don’t know what I was thinking. Too much. I would still need a tank, gas, helmet, consumables, etc… The Everlast machines are powerful and very reasonably priced for what you get with the warranty. Anything you care to share would be appreciated. Thanks.
https://www.forneyind.com/forney-pro-323-190-mp-mig-stick-tig-welder
LOVE IT!!!
Oh, and neglected to mention:
I pulled off my oven range circuit to install outside power on the side of the house for the welder, which just so happened to be exactly where my work area happened to be (directly opposite the range). My total out of pocket expense for wiring the welder was under $100, iirc.
Since our range is little used and only 2 of us in the house, it’s not going to be a problem.
Nephew’s son was not college material but thankfully for him, his high school offered that after school welding training in his junior year. He loves it and now has a life long career without the burden of high college debt.
I had a great Miller power supply with ac and dc for everything. I got it at auction for 800 bucks. Way more than I ever needed for my fab shop but it was great with no digital controls to worry about. Every single modern digital controlled box from any of my cohorts has broken and needed a new control boards. I never used Everlast but I don’t trust them. It looks like they are cramming too many features to break.
The boxes you want are some serious welders. Nearly everything I do is thinner metal and a 120 mig welder takes care of everything. You can go easier and get more penetration with flux core like I have for my property. It even runs from the solar set up for my off grid system but usually just use a gas generator.
I just have cheap little welders. Not the GOOD stuff you have listed here!
They last because they do NOT have all the fancy electronic junk inside them.
I did not know this.
I've just got a regular 220v line to the barn that I use. What's the difference?
Your setup is just like mine.
We’ve all been HERE!
I got just what you need. A Miller Syncrowave 500. It has all of the optional attachments. Like brand new. I have it in storage right now. $3000.00. This will weld anything and everything.
Welder circuits don’t require a neutral and the wire gauge can be one size smaller. There’s more but it would be best to do an internet search for up to date info.
Have an ox-acet torch too, but rarely use it to weld. It’s mostly a gas axe.
I owned one until they abolished slavery.
I have a Lincoln Idealarc MIG welder and a Miller Dialarc TIG welder. Both machines were made in the early 70’s, they are essentially bulletproof. I would recommend finding an older Miller, Hobart or Lincoln machine. They are transformer machines rather than the newer rectifier machines. The newer welders are like the newer cars, they are basically throw aways.
That's exactly what I did(both...cheap welders from amazon).
I haven't welded since I was 17(bar-stock for cutting/machining).
Dang!
Who would want LESS wire and no neutral - in case the circuit was used for some other 220 devices in the future?
How much does your supplier charge to lease the tanks?
I own my tanks (’s’ and ‘ws’). I just swap and pay for gas. But I haven’t needed to swap since I moved to TN in Dec 2016. (But I’m about a half hour from both being empty.) Haven’t checked gas prices since before that, maybe I can’t afford to. ;)
A dedicated welder outlet has certain plugs, but you can always wire it as a branch circuit and change the plug on the welder.
I would love to own something like that. My problem is that I don’t have the input power for it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.