115v 20 amp welder question?

[jcal87]

Does a 115v 20amp welder need a special plug in a house or will a standard garage plug work? Is this sufficent enough to do sheet metal work on a car?

[68protouring454]

yes its a reg 3 prong 115v plug. you want to make sure its a 20 amp circuit, both the breaker and it being #12 wire to the outlet, its best to use an outlet with nothing else running off it.
yes it will weld anything you need ot weld on a camaro

[XLexusTech]

I am a huge fan of this welder

http://www.hobartwelders.com/products/wirefeed/handler140/

I got mine on Ebay new for 400.. you can also get them at tractor supply.

I have 110 three prong 20 amp circuit (mine are still the old glass fuses)
Never had a problem with blowing the circuit. It easliy welds sheet metal and steel tube. (made a body cart not problem)

[jcal87]

Awesome thanx guys!

[E.rodz]

welder will be fine for what you need it for.but the power will drop off like a rock if you plug an extension cord into it so make shure the 20 amp outlet is close to where you need it.if you need an extension cord use a short as possible and a big cord.:thumbsup:

[ItDoRun]

Awesome thanx guys!


Where are you at with your project? It's been a while since we last talked.

[jcal87]

Where are you at with your project? It's been a while since we last talked.

Dead stand still right now I'm hoping to get it rolling this month. Hey i was going to ask you what are you using to cut all of your tubing for carts and bracing etc.? because I thought about just getting a hand grinder and cut off wheel I have to be careful what I do and what I use due to the fact I live in a rental house.

[Garage Dog 65]

Lots of us use abrasive wheel 'chop' saws - but that wouldn't work for you unless you can setup outside and off the driveway. They throw off tons of sparks, smoke like hell, really noisy and stink up a garage quick. I've also had friends use them in the driveway - and when the grindings get wet - they rust and stain the mad owners purdy driveway....

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=44829

I use a cheap Harbor Freight band saw for the basic cutting jobs:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=93762

A bit slow - but if you use quality blades the final results are good IMO.

Jim

[ItDoRun]

Dead stand still right now I'm hoping to get it rolling this month. Hey i was going to ask you what are you using to cut all of your tubing for carts and bracing etc.? because I thought about just getting a hand grinder and cut off wheel I have to be careful what I do and what I use due to the fact I live in a rental house.

I used our saw at work, but for all my bracing a sawzall should work fine. Or as suggested, a band saw.

[jcal87]

I am a huge fan of this welder

http://www.hobartwelders.com/products/wirefeed/handler140/

I got mine on Ebay new for 400.. you can also get them at tractor supply.

I have 110 three prong 20 amp circuit (mine are still the old glass fuses)
Never had a problem with blowing the circuit. It easliy welds sheet metal and steel tube. (made a body cart not problem)

Yeah i think thats what i am going to go with do you have yours hooked up to a bottle? and what size wire do you use?

[GregWeld]

Yeah i think thats what i am going to go with do you have yours hooked up to a bottle? and what size wire do you use?

Use gas with your MIG... it's a mix argon and co2... the flux cored wires are for farm truck use.

Thin sheet metal - .023 wire works real well. If you're stitch welding (a series of small tacks) snip your stick out at an angle (one snip at like a 45) to form a fine point EACH weld. This will help a "newbie" get a clean weld. Doing this makes the wire need less voltage to start the weld... and will help you with burn thru. Once you get better you can get by without this step. Get yourself a pair of "welpers" = it's a plier that is good for MIG welding use. They're tapered square nose - to clean out the hood slag - and have cutters built in.

Also -- CLEAN bare metal - both sides of the weld area... will making welding easier and the quality of the welding much better. Make a good GROUND for the ground clamp! Skip this and you'll have issues. Good "fit up" is critical to good welding. Take your time and make your pieces fit! Just the right gap makes a good weld and makes things EASY - start getting sloppy and you have to be a much better welder to close em up and make a good weld too...

:cheers: :woot:

[XLexusTech]

Yeah i think thats what i am going to go with do you have yours hooked up to a bottle? and what size wire do you use?

Yes I use a bottle. .035 wire and I think I picked up some .023 as well for the sheet metal.
I use "steel mix" argon/ o2 I believe.
Note if you buy this welder new and are going to use a bottle (I highly recommend it) make sure to swap polarity. It comes shipped ready for Flux core.

[jcal87]

Yes I use a bottle. .035 wire and I think I picked up some .023 as well for the sheet metal.
I use "steel mix" argon/ o2 I believe.
Note if you buy this welder new and are going to use a bottle (I highly recommend it) make sure to swap polarity. It comes shipped ready for Flux core.

Yeah im going to get a bottle i just bought the handler 140 for only 420 bux i got a pretty good deal hopefully this thing does the trick!

[jcal87]

Use gas with your MIG... it's a mix argon and co2... the flux cored wires are for farm truck use.

Thin sheet metal - .023 wire works real well. If you're stitch welding (a series of small tacks) snip your stick out at an angle (one snip at like a 45) to form a fine point EACH weld. This will help a "newbie" get a clean weld. Doing this makes the wire need less voltage to start the weld... and will help you with burn thru. Once you get better you can get by without this step. Get yourself a pair of "welpers" = it's a plier that is good for MIG welding use. They're tapered square nose - to clean out the hood slag - and have cutters built in.

Also -- CLEAN bare metal - both sides of the weld area... will making welding easier and the quality of the welding much better. Make a good GROUND for the ground clamp! Skip this and you'll have issues. Good "fit up" is critical to good welding. Take your time and make your pieces fit! Just the right gap makes a good weld and makes things EASY - start getting sloppy and you have to be a much better welder to close em up and make a good weld too...

:cheers: :woot:

Hey thanx for the tips greg! I actually took a few years of of welding clases in high school so im pretty good with it but it has all been structural welding no auto body or anyhting this thin.What is the normal diameter for auto body I have seen everyhting from .24 to .35 but i leaning more towards .30 is that a good choice?

[ItDoRun]

The smaller the better as it will require less heat to burn. I used a .025 wire on my car.

[GregWeld]

Welcome!

Okay - so there's more to it than just wire size -- it also depends on what wheel (feed wheels) your welder has....

The Hobart Handler 140 comes with the following:

Dual groove drive rolls make it easy to switch between .023/.025 in. (0.6 mm) and .030 - .035 in. (0.8 - 0.9 mm) wire

You also have CONTACT TIP size... and the machine should come with a couple of tips to mate up to the drive rolls...

[GregWeld]

Watch out for the Handler 125 -- that requires a MIG Conversion kit (to run gas)... so I'd stick with the 140 at a minimum...

[GregWeld]

You might also want to check out the local pawn shops - lots of people out of work and hawking their "stuff"... so you might get a "better" used welder all set up - for the same money you'd buy one new. They're all used right after you squeeze the trigger! Just thinking....