Which welder??

realtreeHD

realtreeHD

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In the market for a welder but I have no idea what I’m looking at.  I have a harbor freight 110 welder and it’s garbage. Looking for a 220 mig welder but would be awesome if I could also stick weld with it.  We have a couple acres and I’d like to be able to repair fences, latches, hinges if the need arises.  Tig would be a plus but not necessary.
 

I’m by no means a professional. I’d just like to be able to learn and do stuff for myself.  I’m planning on one of my first projects being a diy bumper kit for my XJ. It doesn’t have to be pretty so I think it would be great to learn with. I don’t expect to use it daily and build vehicles with it but I’d like it to be reliable and last me a long time fixing trailers, jeeps and buggies.  I already have a dedicated 220 outlet in the garage.  
 

Also if you have something for sale or know of someone selling I’m ok buying used. 
 

Thanks

 
I  got the miller  dual voltage  autoset...211....works fantastic...man have they gone up in price.............

 
I have a 211 its a good welder but now overpriced for what you get. If i were in the market i’d get a htp pro pulse 200/300 or fronius 2700. 
both a million times better than anything miller or lincoln is putting out

i’d sell my 211 setup for 1600$ if anyone is interested

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How portable do you want it or will you be able to bring all the work to the welder? Some are inverter powered and some are transformer machines. Tig capability is nice if you will be doing aluminum or chrome moly. Depending on the aluminum work being done a mig machine with spool gun option is a consideration. How about the Hobart 230/240 Ironman with aluminum spool gun? If I lived closer to Grease Monkey I’d look at his machine. A good used transformer Miller is a good option.

 
The 211 is nice my brother has one. 
 

I myself have a Lincoln 180hd it does pretty good for my use. I don’t use a welder often but there are times I need one so it’s there. Paid 500 for it about 5 years ago. 

 
I bought a MIG, a TIG, and a Plasma Cutter and after years & years of practice and lots of Pounds of filler material I have found the welder that works the best for me is the one that a professional uses.  LOL. 

Seriously though, I bought a Hobart Handler a bunch of years ago & it works pretty well.  I think its starting to get on in age.  not sure if its me or the welder, but it does not seem to work as well as it did.  our header guy travels with one of those super small inverter TIG welders and it works great for him, but, he never has to do anything more than small header material with it. 

I also have a dual voltage Miller, DC only TIG, that I bought that seems to work pretty well, but it takes me an hour to get good @ using it again, to do a 10 minute job....  and its DC Only so I cant even do Aluminum.........

I got a HyperTherm Plasma Cutter from a buddy for a good deal & have only used it a few times.  its a PITA to use, because Im short some electricity in the garage & have to Monkey around the compressor to get it to work........ 

For garage use, this has all worked out great for me.  If I dont have enough juice, someone else needs to do it...

 
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