[larry53]

I am looking to but a 110 volt flux coated mig welder for my son. Would like only american made welders. If anyone has one they want to sale feel free to contact me. Thanks Larry

[Madclicker]

I am looking to but a 110 volt flux coated mig welder for my son. Would like only american made welders. If anyone has one they want to sale feel free to contact me. Thanks Larry

Flux core and mig are 2 different processes. Mig is technically labeled GMAW (gas metal arc welding). Flux core is labled FCAW (flux core arc welding). Both are wire feed processes, but have very different applications. Both processes require a high degree of user skill to achieve high quality welds. (spare me the story about how good your welds are with xyz machine after only xx minutes of practice!)

The short answer to your question is: there are no "good" 110 volt wire feed welders. If you want an inexpensive welder get a good AC/DC cracker box and a tig torch.

[larry53]

I want bore you if I am a good or bad welder. I just want a flux coated mig welder at 110 volts to weld on the outside for repair too a truck top which has holes in it. I own two welders 250 amp and 300 amp that use gas. These welders do not weld good on the open, due too the gas being blown away by air. I know you may be a expert welder, but I know what I want. If you do not have a welder for sale, then I do not need to talk to you. I am looking for a welder not a opinion.

[massajamesb]

For what it's worth, you may want to reconsider using flux core on sheetmetal, as it is a real PITA.
I disagree that there are no good 110 volt welders, as Hobart/Miller both have some switchable mig/flux core welders available. 220 is of course better, but there is nothing wrong with using a 110 volt welder on sheetmetal.
A buddy of mine had a Hobart 135 for sale relatively cheap, I will look into that for you.

[larry53]

Thank you for the reply. I am looking for a flux core welder to weld on the outside. You, like me no there are times when a flux core welder is a better welder to use then a gas mig welder. Thanks for the reply, let me know about the welder. The welder is for my son who needs it to repair some holes in a truck top. I know I could use a stick welder but I would rather use a welder that is easy to move around. Thanks again, Larry

[davereagan]

It seems that all these guys on here think you want to weld 1" plates together. I think with a 220v welder you would just burn through sheet metal easier than with 110v. For a young guy fooling around or doing body work, 110v is fine. I had a Miller 130XP and did a lot of work with it, both with gas wire (E70-S6) and flux wire (E71). I finally stepped up to a 220v three phase model, but that was because I was doing heavy fab work.
Another thing, I learned to weld pretty quickly and never took a course. My welds are not all that pretty, but they penetrate and hold. A real welder (which I am not) has damned near a degree in Metallurgy and is bored by most mild steel welding. He/she would be more challenged by aluminum, stainless, titanium, etc. For infrequent welding, I prefer shielded wire just so I don't have to maintain a bottle of gas. Also, it is a lot more machineable than E70-S6. My first year as a machinist, I had a half dozen welders swear to me that E70-S6 wire was mild and would machine easily. I piled up the broken tools including carbide, and finally realized welders aren't paid to know about machining. That wire may be mild before welding, but it's hard as a rock after cooling quickly. I would try a Harbor Freight or Northern Tool unit for short money.

[omegaghost]

not that i have a welder to sell you but i think very high of the HTP 110 welders american owend and there welder is built in italy very nice flux or gas welder the 140 amp come with a pause timer and a weld timer this is perfect for sheet metal will weld past 1/4 inch also good for welding old beat up exsaust pipe they are so easy to tune in. just my two cents

[DSL PWR]

My dad just bought a Miller Maxstar 150 for his farm jobs, and loves it. It has a switching power supply, so he can use it on 120, or 240v power. I know it's a stick machine, but I think it is worth considering, because it is very portable, works better as an all around machine, has the capability to run some bigger rod, and higher current, and starts most rods very easily. Miller and Lincoln make machines in this class, and I see they are more portable than even the smaller mig machines.

Just look around and see who has the best promotion on whatever machine you decide to buy. I've talked to several warranty service centers for Miller, and Lincoln, and they all seem to say that the small (ie 120v) mig machines are built to be "throw away" and the small inverter stick welders seem to have more robust internals. Now that being said only one shop ever had to service an inverter machine, and every shop had some horror stories about the small migs, domestic (at least they could get parts), import (parts? good luck).

If you are really hung up on a mig machine on the cheap, look at http://www.readywelder.com . I own one of these, and they do have their place, and can be used as a cheap spool gun on your real mig machines.


Good luck with your choice, and I hope this gives you more than one option.

[Madclicker]

I want bore you if I am a good or bad welder. I just want a flux coated mig welder at 110 volts to weld on the outside for repair too a truck top which has holes in it. I own two welders 250 amp and 300 amp that use gas. These welders do not weld good on the open, due too the gas being blown away by air.

The last choice I would make for sheet metal is flux core. Even stick welding is better. Use small 6013 rod and straight polarity. I've made 1000's of ft. of gas shielded weld "outside". Just put up shields to block the wind and turn the gas flow up.

I know you may be a expert welder, but I know what I want. If you do not have a welder for sale, then I do not need to talk to you. I am looking for a welder not a opinion.

This is a discussion forum, not a want to buy forum. You get opinions here. When you ask about things that don't exist like a "flux coated mig welder", you certainly won't get anyone offering one for sale.

Not a welding expert, but I do have 50+ pipe certs including 4 nukes.