I have to buy a tig welding machine and am looking at a Miller Maxstar 161 TIG Welder.  I realize it's the bottom of the line but it is 120 volts and I have to get going.  I did a search on here and didn't come up with much.  Ifi is my go to, and only forum I post on..  Has anybody used one of these before?  I have tig welded once on a friends machine and it was a breeze, but it was a high dollar unit.  I can mig and stick weld but am bewildered by this process.  But I learn fast on my own.  I just need something for light sculpture work.  I have the money to buy the gas bottles, tig lead and all that I need but don't have unlimited funds.  For heavy stuff I always have my lincoln buzz box but nothing to plug it into at this time.  I am thinking tig because I have to work in my driveway right now and tig doesn't throw off all the slag and crud that my tombstone seemed to.  Sparks and flying sputterballs are a concern.  Pine straw everywhere.  That's also why I don't do any forging. Maybe I will have to set up sprinklers all over.  I am afraid of uncontrolled fire....  Things keep getting in the way of a shop!

I lieu of your not finding the info you need on IFI, try to get some info on weldingweb.com.

  I guess I thought I would try the familiar first, where I trust who I am talking to and can ask questions.  I will go to weldingweb.  I have been researching on my own but not been there.  I'm not big on joining other forums.  Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

I'm a pipe welder and I worked at a chemical plant for 2 years, 95% of our work was stainless, and we ran miller 161s every day. We beat those things up and they keep right on rolling- not sure how many hours those 110s had when I showed up but we used em almost every day for 2 years when I was there and had no issues. It's actually why I bought one myself. You can probably get most of your welding done off 110 with it but in the rare case you need more amps it comes with an plugin adapter for 220. Just keep in mind that it's going to be exclusively for TIG unless you use it on 220. You can't really use it to stick weld on 110, it doesn't have the xxxxx for it

 

I considered buying a welder off Amazon since they're about 1/2 the cost but based on reviews 1/10 was a lemon out of the box and an absolute nightmare to get sorted out. If nothing else at least I know Miller will stand behind their product if a board goes bad or something 

 

I got a little hobart 125ez flux core that runs on 110 and I’ve used that little booger for 10 years now and it still runs awesome! 

it’s my understanding that hobart an Miller come outta the same factory, 

so either brand would probably hold up really well!

  I used Millers a lot in the past and like the quality.  Maybe they come out of the same factory and I will do some digging to see if there is any difference and if Hobart has a comparable machine.   I want to switch to tig for a lot of reasons and stick is not a problem.  I found my 220 plug that came with my generator by some miracle and have been running my old tombstone with it so I suspect it would work with 161 as well.  Thanks for both your input.  I'm in no hurry anymore since I got the old lincoln going and my budget for the new welder went poof.  Puts Hobart and mig a little more attractive light.

  Donniev, your avatar makes me homesick....

We have a Hobart Handler 187, runs on 220V, so far it has been outstanding for MIG welding. A lot of Hobart and Miller parts interchange.

On 8/24/2022 at 2:31 PM, Scott NC said:

Donniev, your avatar makes me homesick....

O you from Nebraska?? Never fun when something unexpected comes up and annihilates your fun budget

  You bet.  I left The Good Life behind.... 

You can always get a miller thunderbolt acdc for tig and stick they are usually not a budget buster and are easy to run but they are 220 and you were lookin for 110 opps..

  Thanks Bubba682.  I will eventually get a new shop put up and will keep that in mind.  It will surely have 220.  Like I said, I'm in no drastic hurry anymore about buying.   I'm running a tombstone welder off a generator and you know those things don't last forever...  Besides, I'd like to retire it.  I thank you for input.