Black Maple Forge Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 Hello! I was searching for welders on Craigslist, just to see what I could find, and I found a Campbell Hausfeld 110v arc welder for CHEAP ! http://akroncanton.craigslist.org/tls/1564638500.html. My question is, has anyone had any experience with this kind of welder? Is this kind of welder a good/reliable one? Thanks for all replies! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWHII Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 I clicked on your link and it was not avalable. I need more info to help you. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Maple Forge Posted January 22, 2010 Author Share Posted January 22, 2010 Try this one: <http://akroncanton.craigslist.org/tls/1564638500.html>. They don't give too much info, but I could always call and find out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CurlyGeorge Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 A friend of mine just got a 110v CH welder for Christmas. It says it's 70 amp. Came with 1/16" rods. We finally got it to weld some light sheetmetal. But IMHO it's junk!! Save your money and buy a real welder. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Dean Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 Save your $$!! I believe you will be sorry that you purchased this one. I did a search on 'miller welder' for your area and pulled up several machines under $350.00. There were a couple of AC/DC machines for less than $375.00 and you can burn a 5/32 E-7018 with one of those. There were a couple of Hobart machines listed in this group also, they are great machines too. If you don't like Miller than do a seach on Lincoln welder and see what pops up. You will be much happier with most any of those listed. Good luck and let us know what you get! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Maple Forge Posted January 23, 2010 Author Share Posted January 23, 2010 A friend of mine just got a 110v CH welder for Christmas. It says it's 70 amp. Came with 1/16" rods. We finally got it to weld some light sheetmetal. But IMHO it's junk!! Save your money and buy a real welder. Save your $$!! I believe you will be sorry that you purchased this one. I did a search on 'miller welder' for your area and pulled up several machines under $350.00. There were a couple of AC/DC machines for less than $375.00 and you can burn a 5/32 E-7018 with one of those. There were a couple of Hobart machines listed in this group also, they are great machines too. If you don't like Miller than do a seach on Lincoln welder and see what pops up. You will be much happier with most any of those listed. Good luck and let us know what you get! Thanks guys! I wasn't too committed to buying this, but I didn't want to let a potential deal slip away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWHII Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 I agree with everyone else here. Save your money. 70 amps and 1/16 electrodes are a bit frustrating to weld with if you are not real experienced. As soon as you strike your arc and get half way done with your rod it will turn cherry red and become difficilt to weld with. As someone else mentioned the Miller Thunder Bolt is a excellent machine for home and hobby use. The fact that it has variable amperage gives you more control in what you want to do. With the addition of a air cooled tig torch and a bottle of argon it gives you a cheap way to have TIG capablities in your shop. It takes a bit of practice to learn how to scratch start and control the heat with out a remote control but it is effective. I personaly am not a big fan of the tombstone shaped Lincoln welders in the same class because of the rough amperage control. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Dean Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 I personally would have a hard time running let alone owning a 110V welder. The 110 wire feed units that I have run are at best heavy enough for body sheetmeteal on cars. I did run a 110 stick welder on some 12 gauge steel angle, it did it but not very well. You'd be better off with an old Lincolin tombstone,220V 180 amp AC machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MLMartin Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 i have the miller thunderbolt AC DC, its a great machine, and i use to use it to scratch start tig with just a bottle and torch, did a little stainless. have a dynasty now, but still use the old thunderbolt from time to time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Maple Forge Posted January 24, 2010 Author Share Posted January 24, 2010 Hmm. Since I'm looking for cheaper welders , I thought I'd check out Lowes. They have Propane-Oxygen torches there for a good price. Any opinions on this kind of thing, or should I just save up for a really nice one? :unsure: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfirenut Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 I tried one of the OxyPropane torches once. It really isn't big enough to do much. Too small for cutting anything bigger than 1/16" or so and you'll use a lot of gas doing it which will get expensive. I've also read regarding the real (victor/harris/etc) torches that you can use propane for cutting but not welding, though I don't remember why. I got my tombstone Lincoln AC-225 for $100 on Craigslist and it does fine. AC/DC would be be better, but it costs more. Hope this helps, Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evfreek Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 These little welders work, but not well. I have one, but it is only good for 1/16 rods. I suppose it could be used to do a tack weld on tong handles for a forge weld cheat. I use it as a power supply. It came with a whole lot of stuff at a yard sale so it did not cost much. For real welding, I use a Miller Thunderbolt. It cost me $100 on Craigslist. You don't see these much at this price, but you can buy an off brand 230 amp 220 V stick welder for a similar price. Something like a Century or Sears Colormatic. These are real welders, and can do a lot of work, as long as you watch the duty cycle. They are great for blacksmithing, and will save you a lot of money on tools. But there's nothing like a Miller Dialarc or a Lincoln Idealarc. These can be a little pricey and heavy, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 I have a number of welders, and I haven't paid over $900 for any of them. I have a Lincoln SP-100 110v MIG that I have done up to 3/8" using multiple passes. I picked up a Miller 250, and a Lincoln 250 MIG for $400 each. My Miller MP-65E was $900, and it came with about that much or more in wire. My Linde TIG was $250, added a foot control,and new torch for around $300. The only one that was purchased new was the SP-100, all of the others were auction purchases. I used to see the Lincoln tombstone welders for $50-$100 at garage sales fairly often. Look around, there are lots of welders coming on the market due to the economy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francis Trez Cole Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 when looking for a welder the bigest thing is replacement parts what does your local welding shop support can you get consumable parts. Second if you are lookat a machine that runs on 110V you will be very restricted with the amount of welding you can do (duty cycle). I have a Hobart 175 runs on 220V All the replacement parts are miller. I have welded all day 10 hours on 1/4" plate and never over loaded it. It is worth having the warrenty and the biger machine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unkle spike Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 I have a Hobart 180 220v that works really, really well, they replaced it with the 187 which has 7 power settings versus 4 that mine has. It is made by Illinois Tool Works, which is Miller's parent company. Good welder without the blue price. I bought mine on Ebay from a local seller for $500, the gas tank is the killer. I bought mine at Tractor Supply, for a "number 3" which is about 3' high it was $215 but I own it, and they are open 7 days a week, a tank lasts me nearly a year. Most gas suppliers are only open M-F and some on Saturday. My welding is mostly short beads on 1/8" material, which this machine is suited well for. In my opinion, if you are a full time welder buy the Miller, if you are a hobbyist like me, the Hobart is an economical option. Seeing as it uses Miller's common consumables, getting parts for the guns and other parts are readily available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billp Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 I had a small welder that sounds a lot like the one you described and it was a royal pain in the back side. Extremely hard to strike an ark and keep it going and couldn't do anything with it. Packed it up and took it back to Norther tool where I got it. I then found a small 220 welder off brand that went up to 110 amps for about 170.00 give or take on line sorry can't remember where. I just plugged in welders and searched till I came across this one. So far it's been OK have done a lot with it big and small projects. Only problem is it has a short work time the higher the amp you use and it takes up to 10 minutes or so to cool down to start up again. Other then that I have used it a lot with no big regrets. Just that now I wish I had tried to be a bit more patient and saved up more money and got the bigger Lincoln welder. BillP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clinton Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 If you watch craigslist you can find some good deals a guy just sold a nice miller mig with a tri mix bottle and a 25 lb spool of stainless wire for $285.00 and that is $150 worth of wire. I recently picked up a lincoln 225 ac welder at a yard sale for $25 the guy wanted 50 which would be a good deal but he took the 25 and helped me load it. another craigslist that I picked up lincoln sp 100 for $123.00 these a great little machines 110 v plug in anywhere and like biggundoctor said you can weld heavy stuff with this just make small beads and fill up the joint making sure that you tie in the weld with each pass. Bottom line here be patient and look around also get a name brand lincoln, miller, hobart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wedwards Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 Black Maple, There are inexpensive welders and there are cheap welders. They are not necessarily, or even very often, the same. Don't define inexpensive by the price tag. You might pay a little more up front for a good one but in the long run it usually costs less. There is a reason the HF, CH and big box store welders don't cost much and the Miller, Lincoln, and Hobart do. Go with the best you can afford even if you have to pay a little more on the front end. You will be happier in the long run. And there is nothing wrong with a used red or blue or grey welder if you are sure it's in good shape. I'll bet there are a lot of bargains out there right now. Just my $.02. Good luck. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigcity Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 look for an old lincon 225 buzz box you can pick them up anywhere from 80 to 150+ bucks on craigslist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blazerbud Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 I have own lots of welding equipment, worked as a welder fabricator, and still do lots of welding. For starters, My advise. Find an Old Guy near you who owns some old equipment and is highly skilled. You probably already know one. Hang out with him. He will teach you and let you use his equipment as you learn. Do not purchase anything and expect to just take off and learn or get good on your own. By the time that you are skilled enough to even consider purchasing your own equipment, the following will happen: 1. You will have developed some new skills and a exposed hidden tallent 2. You will know better about what equipment you need 3. Somehow in the couple months that you are welding stuff at your friend's shop you will have found the time to locate the correct used equipment If you purchase a crappy welder spur of the momment, then the following week, you will likely discover a good one for the same price but you will have missed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orgtwister Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 heres my opion if you have to use a 110 volt welder i would go with a mig licoln or hobart a name brand i have many different welders i have 110 licoln mig i bought from homedepot 15 years ago i use flux core wire in it and have ran well over 200 pounds of wire through it and have replaced nothing on it not even the tip then i have been welding things for 30 years now if you have 220 avaible for the cheap a licoln ac 225 around here were allways cheap i have been given many over the years and i give them away when i have them it seems there asking 100-150 now on craigs list also check ebay local listings you may find some near you so there no shipping i picked up to big tig welders off there under 100 each one was 220 1 phase the othere 220 3 phase just make sure it uses the right type of electric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Thompson Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 * * Junior Member * Pip * Add as Friend * PM this member * Group: Members * Posts: 4 * Joined: 08-May 09 * LocationGastonia, NC Posted Yesterday, 02:56 AM I tried one of the OxyPropane torches once. It really isn't big enough to do much. Too small for cutting anything bigger than 1/16" or so and you'll use a lot of gas doing it which will get expensive. I've also read regarding the real (victor/harris/etc) torches that you can use propane for cutting but not welding, though I don't remember why. Oxy-propane works well for cutting/heating and for brazing/soldering but is no use for welding, The gas envelope around the molten pool does not seem to shield the weld from atmospheric oxygen. I think this may be to do with the lower concentration of carbon in propane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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