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Hot Carl
11-07-2007, 07:52 PM
Hey guys, I've been looking at getting a welder for a little bit here and today I came across this (http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200332691_200332691). This seems like a good deal, but I'm not sure on the quality of the welder...the reviews on the site seem good, but I figured they might be a little biased.

I'll be using it on things like bumpers, sliders and other stuff for the Jeep and also some stuff around the house and our lake cabin.

Do you think I should go for it or should I spend more money and go with a name-brand one?

Oh and just thought I'd add that, for the most part, I'll be using flux core.

cashflowdub
11-07-2007, 08:11 PM
miller and llincolns are good but heck id try it out its got a 3 year warranty so try it out. never used one though

rsl
11-07-2007, 10:19 PM
I bought a 110 volt Lincoln a few years back, (got tired of tying to bolt stuff together), built a few light wall tube bumpers and some sliders and stuff with it and it worked fairly decent. The biggest thing is to find a quality flux core wire, the Lincoln stuff is crap. I found the Clarke flux core wire to work a lot better than most of the stuff out there. Still use it now and then at home to tack stuff together till I can get it to the shop I work at to weld it up with a real welder.

jsteves
11-08-2007, 10:35 AM
You can pick those up at Harbor freight...take it for what its worth.

Hot Carl
11-08-2007, 08:47 PM
Alright, well it looks like I may have a change of plans and don't think I'm going to get this one.

I just talked to my dad about it and he said that he can get welders through his work(discounted of course :D ). He's on a trip right now, but he's going to check what kinds he can get when he's back.

slim616
11-08-2007, 09:20 PM
Sometimes you better off going through home depot/lowes to get small stuff like that. This way if you get it home use it for a couple of times and don't like it you can take it back.

Hot Carl
11-08-2007, 09:24 PM
Sometimes you better off going through home depot/lowes to get small stuff like that. This way if you get it home use it for a couple of times and don't like it you can take it back.
We have a Northern Tool & Equipment here so I can still take it back, and same thing if we get it from where my dad's work.

BigDaveZJ
11-08-2007, 09:32 PM
I'm "storing" my father-in-law's 110v red wire feed, and it's definitely got it's place, but my Miller 175 definitely does a better job. And the duty cycle of that Northern unit is a bit concerning, only 20% at 88 amps. That's a lot of down time for not much power.

Where's your guys' cabin? My uncles got one on Bay Lake just east of Brainerd.

Hot Carl
11-08-2007, 09:58 PM
Dave, what's a good duty cycle for a welder similar to that? I don't know a whole lot about welders.

And our cabin is on Union Lake, west of Bemidji a ways.

Edit: Nevermind the duty cycle question. I searched and found out info on it. *gasp* I may end up getting a 175 or larger also...I'll just have to see what kind of discount I can get.

goodolboy71
11-09-2007, 03:48 PM
That Northern Tools machine looks identical to the Lincoln version....cant say on the internal electrics, but the layout, spool wire areas etc do

BigDaveZJ
11-09-2007, 05:02 PM
I can't find the info for my 175 online, but the new Miller 180 is rated at 30% duty cycle @ 135a. It's also going to require a 220v outlet too, which may not always be accessible. The Miller 140 has a similar duty cycle to the Northern Tools unit too. For just a small welder, it looks like either of those would be fine, but the major stuff you just can't expect a 110v welder to do what a 220v unit can.

goodolboy71
11-10-2007, 10:34 PM
I can't find the info for my 175 online, but the new Miller 180 is rated at 30% duty cycle @ 135a. It's also going to require a 220v outlet too, which may not always be accessible. The Miller 140 has a similar duty cycle to the Northern Tools unit too. For just a small welder, it looks like either of those would be fine, but the major stuff you just can't expect a 110v welder to do what a 220v unit can.

x2....the first one i bought was the Linc 140, within a month i realized i should have spent the extra $150 and got the 220v version that i ended up getting...save yourself some time and $ and go ahead and get a 220v version