110V Welders

I have seen alot of 110v welder bashing and i have to vent a bit. I work in a industrial atmosphere and they use 480V welders. Some of these are Miller some are Lincoln . A Lincoln or Miller 110V is very capable of welding up to a 1/4 inch plate with a multi pass. There cycle times are under rated as the bridge you drive over going to work or the 70 Ton overhead crane pulling 25% more then its rating safely we just did this with a outside engineering firm . . Now granted for home or a shop use 220V is a better machine but capabilities are still limited . Would you weld 2 inch plate with it with out multi pass NO . The professional welders that weld large items do it in passess to fill voids and gain strength . Now will the penatration with a 220V versus a 110V be better yes it will . The 110V is a very capable home welder if the operator is trained and skilled at this profession . People buy welders and say hey i can manipulate a rod or wire but can they. I have completed 5 apprenticeships through school in the early 80's and granted im not a pro in anyone just good at what i can find info on . Now i can i find the answers yes and will they be right well then skinning a cat is another story .

Since most of this is garage welding who has seen how many 10# sledge blows it takes to break a braze weld versus a stick weld given capabilities are the same.

Everyone is a pro here at what they do and i apprieciate this really . My rod would not be coming together with out this knowledge so lets build on .

You are correct, all a machine does is act as a power inverter, it takes high volts low amps and switches it to high amps low volts. I have 2 machines that are 220-440 and they will do the same job with either power input,

I dont care how good you are you cannot weld 1/4" plate or more with one pass using tig or mig, its possible with a stick but still hard to do.

As with many things, the ability of the operator is often far more important then the size of the tool!!!!!!!!!;) ;) ;) :eek: :eek: :eek: :p

yeah, most of the 110 welders 'can' weld 1/4" if you know what your doing, but there maxed at about 1/8" if you don't. pre heat with a torch and you could probably weld 1" with 1, without a problem

Can any of you tell me what the difference is welding with a stick and MIG?

Ok here it is
SMAW= sheilded metal arc welding aka stick welding
this is using a (stick) or (rod) covered in a protective coating that burns to sheild the weld area.

GMAW= gas metal arc welding, aka mig
This is using a wand of sorts ,that has a metal wire that is fed out the end of it for welding, it also has a sheilding gas that protects the weld pool.

FCAW = flux core arc welding.
same as mig ,but the electrode wire has a coating on it like a rod does, requiring no sheilding gas.

GTAW= gas tungsen arc welding, aka tig welding, aka heliarc welding

this process uses a torch of sorts that has a tungsten rod for the welding electrode, with a sheilding gas, this method requires the weldore to supply an out side consumable unlike the other processes.


these are basic definitions ,if you need more detail just ask.

yep.

also MIG generates less heat, where as a stick welder, generates lots of heat, so it can penetrate thicker surfaces easier, this is why this is the choice of most farmers