Looking for a MIG welder

81 Checkmate

81 Checkmate

Lieutenant
Joined
Jul 20, 2010
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1,360
Re: Looking for a MIG welder

The Lincoln welder that bruceb58 pointed out is a very good unit.
Also the point he is trying to say is a 110V Mig welder is limited by the thickness of metal to be welded.......Lets say for a 110V Mig... Welding carbon steel....the max thickness would be 1/4" providing you prep the edges of the weld joint....bevel both edges of a butt joint for proper penetation along with multi pass welds to fill the joint.
Never 1 pass 1/4" plate with a 110V mig welder!

Bigger the machine input Voltage the higher the output Volts/Amps will be.....therfore the thicker the metal you can weld.

Just remember a Mig welder is a Constant Voltage (CV) is has constant volts while welding and the wire speed is Amps. Its a combination of both (Volts/Wire Speed) to be set right to get the optium weld ( Heat/Penatration)

A Stick (Arc) welder is a Constant Current machine... Amps = (Heat/Penetration)

Just my opinon..........
Been a welder/Instructor for the last 25 yrs

O.P. let us know what you get........Good Luck!
 
bruceb58

bruceb58

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30,589
Re: Looking for a MIG welder

Ahhhh...the Longevity! Whole bunch of arguments over at WeldingWeb.com about those Chinese welders and a bunch like them. Personally, I would pay more and get a Lincoln/Miller/Hobart. Go to WeldWeb.com and do some research there. You can spend a lot of time.

I went through a similar choice when I bought my Plasma cutter. I ended up avoiding the Chinese brand and bought a Hypertherm. To me the biggest issue is parts and how do you get your welder fixed if/when it breaks. I didn't want to deal with a company like Longevity 10 to 15 years down the road if they were even there.
 
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B

boatfisher

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May 29, 2010
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Re: Looking for a MIG welder

bruceb58 said:
Ahhhh...the Longevity! Whole bunch of arguments over at WeldingWeb.com about those Chinese welders and a bunch like them. Personally, I would pay more and get a Lincoln/Miller/Hobart. Go to WeldWeb.com and do some research there. You can spend a lot of time.

I went through a similar choice when I bought my Plasma cutter. I ended up avoiding the Chinese brand and bought a Hypertherm. To me the biggest issue is parts and how do you get your welder fixed if/when it breaks. I didn't want to deal with a company like Longevity 10 to 15 years down the road if they were even there.
Click to expand...

I understand what you are saying. I looked alot into their company. I did go on their forum as well. A lot of people say good and bad things about them. I talked to their sales team and asked about repairs and consumables, they do their repairs and sell oarts for their welders at their HQ in California, so that was good news. They gave me a great price on it and the unit looks very reliable and portable which that is exactly what i am looking for. I went ahead and purchased one to give it a shot. I have 30 days with it to return it so i will let you guys know if i'm satisfied.
 
bruceb58

bruceb58

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Joined
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Messages
30,589
Re: Looking for a MIG welder

Well, of all the chinese welders, the Longevity would be my choice just because you have a better chance to get parts. The problem will be 10 to 20 years down the road if they will still be around or not. I can still get parts for my Lincoln MIG that I bought in 1990 or so.

Are you getting a 110 or 220V welder? What thickness steel are you going to be welding? Does the Longevity support dual voltage? Dual voltage for me is going to be important for my next MIG. I like the idea of portability but also want 220V to do thicker stuff like trailer work.
 
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