110v Welders?

[sLoWnStEaDy]

Ok fellers... I'm wondering about peoples experience with 110V MIG welders. I've always had access to a nice Miller 220V at the All State shop and have always had a decent 220v Lincoln of my own but the new garage doesn't have 220 and it's not worth getting it setup as I won't be in it for very long and it only has 110v coming from the house so it wouldn't be cheap.

ANYWAYS... I'll be doing a LOT of welding here shortly and don't feel like bugging the shop all the damn time so I was thinking about just buying a decent 110v welder. I will be welding mostly 1/4" and the smaller stuff like 16ga sheet metal and exhaust, so i feel a 110v would be sufficient but the ONLY experience I have had with a 110v is a buddies POS, gasless, $100 Harbor Freight special and I'm sure we can all imagine how well that worked.
So, any of you guys have experience with 110's? All the specs i have read say 5/16" with a single pass is no issue so i would imagine i'd be fine but with my only 110 experience being a disaster, im a little timid. Might even just use it to tack everything in place solid and then trailer it down to the shop amd burn it in with a 220 but if i dont HAVE to, id rather not.

[AutoMods]

a lot of welders and plasma cutters can switch between 110v and 220v. might be safer to buy one of those. I had a friend with a 15 year old shumacher mig welder and he says it welds better with 220v vs when he has had it at 110v. even on thin stuff like exhaust. but that was a pretty cheap welder like $300-$400 new iirc. my plasma cutter is similar in that it's cuts are not as clean on 110v but only if you start cutting too thick.

i have an 220v inverted power supply tig welder and they take less amperage vs the transformer power supply and are a lot lighter and cost a little more. not sure if the mig world works the same way with power supplies but if it does you might want to invest in the inverted to take you farther with 110v.

you should be fine with exhaust piping and even thin piping to thick flanges. but not sure if you will need more power with heavier stuff like welding two flanges together, engine or tranny mounts, welding brackets to an axles etc etc

[sLoWnStEaDy]

Yeah, I've always had good luck with a 220 welder but i haven't seen one that switches. Then again, I've never looked, I've always had a Lincoln SP-180 that got stolen a while back and I've yet to replace it. I've just always had 220... most of the welding I will be doing is going to be welding 1/4" to 1/8"-3/16" and then a little exhaust. I'm just concerned as it is PREEETTTY important stuff that I will be welding! LOL Leaf spring perches, hangers, gussets, steering components/mounts, etc...

I went down to Iowa Welding Supply or whatever it is down on 1st ave and they showed me a $700~ 110v welder they said will easily do the trick but I never trust a salesperson. I'm use to .035+ wire and a single pass, don't want to HAVE to fuck around with double/triple passes the whole time. Some of the stuff will probably get a double/triple anyways but I don't want it to be a MUST.

Might see what I have for wire going to the garage now. if it's big enough (highly doubt it) maybe i'll just jump it up at the box in the house and then add a small box in the garage. I got lucky in Palo and they had 3/10 ran out there so I just had to throw a dual pole breaker in the main panel and a small box in the garage, cost me like $50~.

[AutoMods]

i like this welding forum http://www.hobartwelders.com/weldtalk/forum.php

[Batwood]

I have a Hobart 140 from Theisens... has worked flawlessly for a year now.
I use .030 wire but it's mostly thin sheet metal I'm welding. It was only about $450 and Theisens carries all the accessories and whatnot.

[8204Cobra]

I second the Hobart 140.... great welder for the money and it was about 450-500 from Thesiens, its all I pretty much use and zero issues with it

[sLoWnStEaDy]

I know they have there place in thin gauge... I'm looking for experience in thicker (1/4") metal. I'll have to swing back down to All State and talk to a few guys. I was thinking and I won't be directly welding 1/4"-1/4", it will be mostly welding 1/4" to the frame which is probably more like 1/8". Then boxing the frame which will be 1/8"-1/8", give or take. I feel like I'm trying pretty hard to convince myself a 110v will do the truck though. Which means i am probably wrong.

[8204Cobra]

With .035 wire it will weld it no problem the issue youll run into (that I ran into anyway) is duty cylce on the Hobart 140, I welded my boat trailer and actually made my own axle but the issue I ran into was after awhile of the thing running maxed out it would go into thermal protection.

BUT for me to make the next move to a 220v unit was another $2-300 and then i couldn't take the welder on day trips over to buddies houses due to the 220v needed to run it

[sLoWnStEaDy]

Decided to go with a 220v. Rather than run a 220v circuit out to the garage and add a panel, redo all the electrical out there, etc... I decided to just add a new 220v to the panel, mount an outlet right there and run an 8/3 extension cord. LOL not a permanent solution, obviously, but I don't plan to live in this house more than a year or two so I don't need permanent.