Welding Tips and Tricks

I have posted on here quite a bit lately, and am loving the feedback and conversation with everyone. I am looking at some point, to get a different Mig welder to replace my Hobart Ironman 210. I like it fine and it was gifted to me in my great grandfather's will as I have mentioned before, but am looking for something smaller form factor that will provide the same 3/8 inch material thickness weld ability (it is heavy and takes up a lot of room). My thinking is I maybe able to fit it on the new vulcan welding cart I just bought. Again, this is just for the future, not looking to make any moves soon but wanting to have a general idea of what one would recommend, and as always, at least for me, it will need to be budget minded money wise. I know my great grandfather would not mind me moving on from the Ironman. He would be very proud to know how far I have come welding.

A millermatic 211 will do what you want. But for just a bit more you can get the Lincoln 210MP which adds stick welding and DC stick capabilities.

To do 3/8" all day, you need a 300A+ class MIG.
To do it on a semi-frequent basis, you need a 250A-275A class MIG.
To do it just on the weekends for few projects/jobs, you can get away with a 200-200A class MIG.

Where do your interests lie? Is it that you need more capacity/duty cycle? Why reason for the change? This will likely get you better answers/options.

Louie1961 wrote:A millermatic 211 will do what you want. But for just a bit more you can get the Lincoln 210MP which adds stick welding and DC stick capabilities.

Will the Lincoln 210MP run 6010? Not a necessity but just curious.

Your Ironman 210 is a good old transformer machine, supposed to be on wheels, a bit heavy to lug around. Nothing wrong with the machine at all except it's only good for 150amps and sheet metal/body panel work and nothing else. Personally IMO any mig under 250amps is not worth spending money on unless it's a dedicated sheet metal shop. One day you're gonna want to glue some 1/4" or thicker angle together and you can't unless you have 250amps in your box. Other people will chime in and say they can but you can't change the physics. If we cut up their welds we'll see how much peno they achieved with an undersized buzz box.
I've worked in a shop where they gave me a brand new ESAB REBEL EMP 215ic to use. It was a really nice machine and performed well on 3mm stuff. Getting it going on 1/4" was a pain and anything larger was not possible.
I always tell people looking for mig to buy the biggest machine they can afford. I guess if space is an issue for you an inverter model is what you want. Plenty of choice over your side of the Pacific. I'd definitely check out ESAB REBEL EMP 235ic, HTP Pro Pulse 220 MTS or larger ask Oscar for tips. There are cheepies from your HF too but I know nothin about em.

Oscar wrote:To do 3/8" all day, you need a 300A+ class MIG.
To do it on a semi-frequent basis, you need a 250A-275A class MIG.
To do it just on the weekends for few projects/jobs, you can get away with a 200-200A class MIG.

Where do your interests lie? Is it that you need more capacity/duty cycle? Why reason for the change? This will likely get you better answers/options.

My main welding is farm repairs, and have opened up into some light fabrication on some small projects. I don't normally need to weld 3/8" material, it is usually 1/4" or less, but like the capability of having a machine that will perform up to that size material.

My main reason is the lack of space that I have. I would like to have a smaller machine that I can fit on my welding cart along with my new Primeweld. The Ironman takes up a good amount of the limited space that I have. Never had a minutes trouble out of it and it has always performed it is simply just a large machine that is in the way all the time. With the addition of this new Vulcan welding cart that has become even more of an issue.

Coldman wrote:Your Ironman 210 is a good old transformer machine, supposed to be on wheels, a bit heavy to lug around. Nothing wrong with the machine at all except it's only good for 150amps and sheet metal/body panel work and nothing else. Personally IMO any mig under 250amps is not worth spending money on unless it's a dedicated sheet metal shop. One day you're gonna want to glue some 1/4" or thicker angle together and you can't unless you have 250amps in your box. Other people will chime in and say they can but you can't change the physics. If we cut up their welds we'll see how much peno they achieved with an undersized buzz box.
I've worked in a shop where they gave me a brand new ESAB REBEL EMP 215ic to use. It was a really nice machine and performed well on 3mm stuff. Getting it going on 1/4" was a pain and anything larger was not possible.
I always tell people looking for mig to buy the biggest machine they can afford. I guess if space is an issue for you an inverter model is what you want. Plenty of choice over your side of the Pacific. I'd definitely check out ESAB REBEL EMP 235ic, HTP Pro Pulse 220 MTS or larger ask Oscar for tips. There are cheepies from your HF too but I know nothin about em.

Yeah it has been a good welder. I can't make a single complaint about it other than the size and weight of it. I figured I would need to be looking at a 2k + welder to get what I am looking for. I am really ballin' on a budget though and would have to find the right deal used I would say. The Rebel 235 and the 220MTS are on my short list, but it would be a long while before I could pull off a purchase of that kind of money.

Thatkid2diesel wrote:

Oscar wrote:To do 3/8" all day, you need a 300A+ class MIG.
To do it on a semi-frequent basis, you need a 250A-275A class MIG.
To do it just on the weekends for few projects/jobs, you can get away with a 200-200A class MIG.

Where do your interests lie? Is it that you need more capacity/duty cycle? Why reason for the change? This will likely get you better answers/options.

My main welding is farm repairs, and have opened up into some light fabrication on some small projects. I don't normally need to weld 3/8" material, it is usually 1/4" or less, but like the capability of having a machine that will perform up to that size material.

My main reason is the lack of space that I have. I would like to have a smaller machine that I can fit on my welding cart along with my new Primeweld. The Ironman takes up a good amount of the limited space that I have. Never had a minutes trouble out of it and it has always performed it is simply just a large machine that is in the way all the time. With the addition of this new Vulcan welding cart that has become even more of an issue.

So it kinda goes back to what I mentioned. You can "do" 3/8" with a smaller MIG, but you have to bevel the crap out of it and run multi-pass. If you really want to do 3/8" as in single-pass, you need a MIG with balls like coldman said. There's no way around it. 250A will get you there, but then duty cycle comes into play. 300A is just right for making quick work of 3/8".

The esab is real work-horse and a lot of people love it because it is dual voltage, can easily run E6010 electrodes, and is capable of spray transfer.

If the HTP pro pulse MIG tickles your fancy you might want to call HTP as they had a trade-in program where they received some Pro Pulse 200's in on trades. They will usually sell these back out with a 6mo warranty with a good price discount. My Pro Pulse 200 was actually a b-stock or return or demo or something like that that I got for a good price. Can't say enough good things about it, even if it is a 230V-only dedicate MIG. On 92/8 Ar/CO₂, it can do some real damage on pulse-spray, IMO. The power supply can provide pulses of up to 300A, which gives it extra "punch" when in pulse-spray programs, even thought the long-term avg amperage is much lower.

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and that isn't even with the machine max'ed out. That's at about 180A or so. That is ¼". I haven't tried 3/8", but I suspect it just might be able to do it, but don't hold me to that. I'd have to test it out.

Oscar wrote:

Thatkid2diesel wrote:

Oscar wrote:To do 3/8" all day, you need a 300A+ class MIG.
To do it on a semi-frequent basis, you need a 250A-275A class MIG.
To do it just on the weekends for few projects/jobs, you can get away with a 200-200A class MIG.

Where do your interests lie? Is it that you need more capacity/duty cycle? Why reason for the change? This will likely get you better answers/options.

My main welding is farm repairs, and have opened up into some light fabrication on some small projects. I don't normally need to weld 3/8" material, it is usually 1/4" or less, but like the capability of having a machine that will perform up to that size material.

My main reason is the lack of space that I have. I would like to have a smaller machine that I can fit on my welding cart along with my new Primeweld. The Ironman takes up a good amount of the limited space that I have. Never had a minutes trouble out of it and it has always performed it is simply just a large machine that is in the way all the time. With the addition of this new Vulcan welding cart that has become even more of an issue.

So it kinda goes back to what I mentioned. You can "do" 3/8" with a smaller MIG, but you have to bevel the crap out of it and run multi-pass. If you really want to do 3/8" as in single-pass, you need a MIG with balls like coldman said. There's no way around it. 250A will get you there, but then duty cycle comes into play. 300A is just right for making quick work of 3/8".

Yeah I don't really want to have to do a bunch of beveling. I would probably be fine with a 250 amp machine I would think. Is there any 250 amp machine in the low to mid 1k area that would be worth it? Or am I kidding myself?

Thatkid2diesel wrote:Yeah I don't really want to have to do a bunch of beveling. I would probably be fine with a 250 amp machine I would think. Is there any 250 amp machine in the low to mid 1k area that would be worth it? Or am I kidding myself?

AHP makes a 250A MIG that might be worth checking out. I started out on an Eastwood MIG 175, and now they have a 250A inverter MIG. Just swap out the gun for a quality gun, and I'm sure it can do fine.

Does AHP still make that? I haven't seen it say in stock for a long time. Also, isn't a large machine? I recall gen 1 was about the same size as the Ironman and it had a wheel kit with it that held the c25 bottle. Maybe the newer model is smaller. I would be interested in that probably. I wish primeweld made one.

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Thatkid2diesel wrote:Does AHP still make that? I haven't seen it say in stock for a long time. Also, isn't a large machine? I recall gen 1 was about the same size as the Ironman and it had a wheel kit with it that held the c25 bottle. Maybe the newer model is smaller. I would be interested in that probably. I wish primeweld made one.

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well yea, but any 250A mig will generally be large. The eastwood looks quite compact, but I've never used it.

Check this one out. You'll need to ask them it it will run 6010, but i reckon it'll go close with 61V open circuit.
https://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-mp250 ... elder.html

Looks about the price I want but still weighs 150lbs. I believe the 210 Ironman weighs 146lbs. Hmmm. I was hoping there would be some tabletop options but I guess in this class like Oscar said they will be larger machines.

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Also the Eastwood mp250i looks capable, but of course it is not small.

Some other things to think about:

Using FCAW-S (gasless flux core), you can weld much thicker materials than with solid wire. A lot of 200A class MIG's are rated up to 3/8" using E71T-11 FCAW-S.

There are "techniques" to pack more heat with a MIG kind of like with TIG Aluminum. Perhaps you've read about how adding helium to argon will make TIG welding aluminum easier because you get a hotter arc? Well with MIG, you can pack more heat with a smaller MIG such as a 200A class machine if you were to use an Ar-CO2-O2 mix with solid or even metal-cored wire. Obviously this takes a little more investment than you might be willing to make because you have to mix gases, but just throwing out there what I have found thru my "independent research"

Coldman wrote:Check this one out. You'll need to ask them it it will run 6010, but i reckon it'll go close with 61V open circuit.
https://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-mp250 ... elder.html

You beat me to it, I just mentioned it after you did.

61V OCV will run E6010's, but you absolutely have to have very thick leads, as even though smaller leads can carry plenty of current, it's the voltage drop that kills the arc on 6010s. That's roughly what my Pro Pulse 220MTS runs OCV, and I can "make it" run 6010, but I can tell there is voltage loss that sometimes snuffs the arc. Definitely can't long-arc it with a machine w/ 61V OCV, IMO.

Oscar wrote:Also the Eastwood mp250i looks capable, but of course it is not small.

Some other things to think about:

Using FCAW-S (gasless flux core), you can weld much thicker materials than with solid wire. A lot of 200A class MIG's are rated up to 3/8" using E71T-11 FCAW-S.

There are "techniques" to pack more heat with a MIG kind of like with TIG Aluminum. Perhaps you've read about how adding helium to argon will make TIG welding aluminum easier because you get a hotter arc? Well with MIG, you can pack more heat with a smaller MIG such as a 200A class machine if you were to use an Ar-CO2-O2 mix with solid or even metal-cored wire. Obviously this takes a little more investment than you might be willing to make because you have to mix gases, but just throwing out there what I have found thru my "independent research"

That is good info. So if I potentially was interested in doing a mix of gases and getting a 200 amp machine what would your recommendation be? I'd like to stay as close to 1k as I could but don't want junk. Kind of like the primeweld. Not expensive but not junk I'm looking for a budget minded machine that will perform.

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Here's a guy that uses the Eastwood in his auto shop, he talks about it a bit. Worth watching.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj61WVUjAzk

Thatkid2diesel wrote:

Oscar wrote:Also the Eastwood mp250i looks capable, but of course it is not small.

Some other things to think about:

Using FCAW-S (gasless flux core), you can weld much thicker materials than with solid wire. A lot of 200A class MIG's are rated up to 3/8" using E71T-11 FCAW-S.

There are "techniques" to pack more heat with a MIG kind of like with TIG Aluminum. Perhaps you've read about how adding helium to argon will make TIG welding aluminum easier because you get a hotter arc? Well with MIG, you can pack more heat with a smaller MIG such as a 200A class machine if you were to use an Ar-CO2-O2 mix with solid or even metal-cored wire. Obviously this takes a little more investment than you might be willing to make because you have to mix gases, but just throwing out there what I have found thru my "independent research"

That is good info. So if I potentially was interested in doing a mix of gases and getting a 200 amp machine what would your recommendation be? I'd like to stay as close to 1k as I could but don't want junk. Kind of like the primeweld. Not expensive but not junk I'm looking for a budget minded machine that will perform.

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Do keep in mind, that you would need three gas cylinders: argon, CO2, and O2. Then you need to custom make a gas mixing station like mine, as you will NOT be able to use "regular" regulators/flowmeters to do something like this. You're looking at about $500 alone to make yourself a gas mixing station like mine. And you still need 3 tanks: either Ar-C25-CO2, or Ar-CO2-O2. If you don't already have those, they are an extra expense for you. I think all this stuff alone will kill your budget, lol. Didn't mean to side-track you, but hey I don't know if you already have these tanks (perhaps you do?)

Coldman wrote:Here's a guy that uses the Eastwood in his auto shop, he talks about it a bit. Worth watching.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj61WVUjAzk

I'll check the video out. Thanks.

Oscar wrote:

Thatkid2diesel wrote:

Oscar wrote:Also the Eastwood mp250i looks capable, but of course it is not small.

Some other things to think about:

Using FCAW-S (gasless flux core), you can weld much thicker materials than with solid wire. A lot of 200A class MIG's are rated up to 3/8" using E71T-11 FCAW-S.

There are "techniques" to pack more heat with a MIG kind of like with TIG Aluminum. Perhaps you've read about how adding helium to argon will make TIG welding aluminum easier because you get a hotter arc? Well with MIG, you can pack more heat with a smaller MIG such as a 200A class machine if you were to use an Ar-CO2-O2 mix with solid or even metal-cored wire. Obviously this takes a little more investment than you might be willing to make because you have to mix gases, but just throwing out there what I have found thru my "independent research"

That is good info. So if I potentially was interested in doing a mix of gases and getting a 200 amp machine what would your recommendation be? I'd like to stay as close to 1k as I could but don't want junk. Kind of like the primeweld. Not expensive but not junk I'm looking for a budget minded machine that will perform.

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Do keep in mind, that you would need three gas cylinders: argon, CO2, and O2. Then you need to custom make a gas mixing station like mine, as you will NOT be able to use "regular" regulators/flowmeters to do something like this. You're looking at about $500 alone to make yourself a gas mixing station like mine. And you still need 3 tanks: either Ar-C25-CO2, or Ar-CO2-O2. If you don't already have those, they are an extra expense for you. I think all this stuff alone will kill your budget, lol. Didn't mean to side-track you, but hey I don't know if you already have these tanks (perhaps you do?)

Ha. No I don't have all of those gases already. I was thinking from the initial post it was a special tri-mix you could buy lol. Thanks for the clarification. BTW, I want to pick your brain about the HTP plasma cutter. I eventually want to get a better plasma cutter. I currently have a el cheapo chinese cut50. It works ok, but it isn't a quality piece. The HTP options are reasonable. Would you recommend it?

As for the gas, sometimes you can just buy a tank of it. It all depends where you live and what gas supply places you have around you. Around here I can't get any of it locally, they'd have to order it in. But if you call and ask your welding gas suppliers, who knows they may have 90/8/2 Ar-CO2-O2, or a similar concoction that has at least 90% Ar, with 2% or less O2.
But do keep in mind this is typically used for spray-transfer or pulsed-spray transfer modes when you really need to pour on the heat on thicker steel parts. These are of course my opinions, but it comes from my own mad scientist testing.

As far as my plasma cutter, it's a beast. It will cut ½" all day long. On a CNC plasma table, or with very steady hands, it will clean cut 3/4" clean. Most importantly consumables are pretty cheap. Cheaper than Hypertherm stuff for their 45xp. By "cheap" I mean inexpensive. Hypertherm 45xp nozzle 5-pack $28, which is $5.60 each nozzle. My HTP nozzles are $3.00ea. Hypertherm 45xp electrodes are $38 for a 5-pack, which is $7.60 each. My HTP electrodes are $6.00ea. I was about to get a 45XP, but then they told me, "look at the prices for the nozzles, which will typically wear out the fastest. Here are our prices...". Yup, they convinced me, lol.

Oscar wrote:As for the gas, sometimes you can just buy a tank of it. It all depends where you live and what gas supply places you have around you. Around here I can't get any of it locally, they'd have to order it in. But if you call and ask your welding gas suppliers, who knows they may have 90/8/2 Ar-CO2-O2, or a similar concoction that has at least 90% Ar, with 2% or less O2.
But do keep in mind this is typically used for spray-transfer or pulsed-spray transfer modes when you really need to pour on the heat on thicker steel parts. These are of course my opinions, but it comes from my own mad scientist testing.

I wouldn't be opposed to trying that, but I would need to check with my LWS like you said and see if they do anything like that.

I have had an Eastwood mig 250 for 3 yrs using gas shielded fc and it's worked perfectly. Basic inverter welder that's portable c/w a 60% /250amp duty cycle. For some reason they don't (or didn't) supply flux core knurled rollers that I was able to get from China very reasonably.

homeboy wrote:I have had an Eastwood mig 250 for 3 yrs using gas shielded fc and it's worked perfectly. Basic inverter welder that's portable c/w a 60% /250amp duty cycle. For some reason they don't (or didn't) supply flux core knurled rollers that I was able to get from China very reasonably.

I was wondering why the didn't even offer it on their website. You'd think that a lot of people would want to run both gas-less and gas-shielded flux core on that size of machine.