Posted by Tim Offutt on July 14, 1999 at 06:19:47:
In Reply to: Need advice on welder posted by Moby (WDX) on July 10, 1999 at 13:15:30:
I have a Miller 330 Tig welder, it's from the 70's, it's big and ugly, but it will weld at 300 amps TIG or stick all day long. I also have a Miller 250 MIG that I bought new for $1400.00 with a 35lb spool of wire. I shopped long and hard and drove the price down from $1795.00. I would recommend buying a 200 or 250 amp MIG if a person doesn't have a stick welder for the thicker welding. Also check the duty cycle on these small 120 volt welders, most are lucky to have much over 20-30% duty cycle. This means you can weld 2-3 minutes out of 10. They'll overheat and quit. Most of the time I'm welding it needs to be for more than a couple of minutes. But they are the ticket for welding thin sheet metal in bodywork. Use the copper block suggested above or a graphite block behind, it does help.