Horror Freight Titanium Mig 140---Seek Honest Assessment from the Pro's

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I like the fact that it's light weight.

I have a Lincoln and it's so freaking heavy I have to roll it on a cart or get help moving it. I don't even know exactly how much it weighs but I know I can't carry it by the handle on the top. I always wished it was more mobile ( or at least light enough for me to carry it by myself).
 
My esab rebel if i recall is 45 lbs.
but another 10? Lbs for the wire.
Plus a box full of accessories. then all the associated tools.
i just need bigger wheels on cart.

forgot, 230 amp. 110 or 220 volt. limited output with 110 volt.
 
Rainy Day Auto said:
I have a Lincoln and it's so freaking heavy I have to roll it on a cart or get help moving it. I don't even know exactly how much it weighs but I know I can't carry it by the handle on the top. I always wished it was more mobile ( or at least light enough for me to carry it by myself).
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Me too, I own the worst kind of welder to learn with. Lincoln AC225. Heavy as hell but I got it cheap in a trade. I've been teaching myself to use it, but it's been a less than spectacular success to say the least. I am going to take lessons on how to get good welds with it. It's all I have, and by god I'm going to figure out how to use it properly. Sometimes stubborn makes a difference.
 
halfafish said:
Me too, I own the worst kind of welder to learn with. Lincoln AC225. Heavy as hell but I got it cheap in a trade. I've been teaching myself to use it, but it's been a less than spectacular success to say the least. I am going to take lessons on how to get good welds with it. It's all I have, and by god I'm going to figure out how to use it properly. Sometimes stubborn makes a difference.
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Actually, yer lookin at it all wrong. That's the dead BEST welder to learn on. Once you can stack up a roll of dimes with that bad boy, you can do it on anything. Keep at it. I've known old coots who did beautiful sheet metal repair with stick welders. Stuff you wouldn't think possible.
 
Well,
I certainly appreciate all the replies, showed up at HF an hour before closing to take a closer look and wouldn't ya know they had sold out of them. Not to worry... pay now and take a rain check I was told.

Rain Check in hand for my $300 welder I started looking at the spool gun that was required to mig the Alum....Another $220, Welding Helmet another $50-150 clams, Wire was a bargain I thought @ $15 bucks, of course I'd still have to buy the Argon and not sure how much that'd be. Buddy recently showed me a pic of the welding cart he made out of a dolley so that would have been cheap and my first project.

Cha-Ching, Cha- Ching, Cha-Ching, Cha-Ching, Cha-Ching...Ah Hell I don't need a welder I decided and proceeded to the checkout with my can of PB Blaster, another moving blanket and some Hex Drill Socket Adapters....Grand Total $15 and as I was talking the gal up at the checkout she did mention (as others did) that the HF coupons were not usable on welders so it would have cost me $400.

Actually felt pretty good walking back to the truck with a jingle still in my pocket, knew momma's gonna be happy and though I didn't mention it, We have a really top notch Welding Dept. at work where they weld Inconel or Tungsten or something else really wear resistant to Cast Iron to create Hardened Safety Valve Seats (Oil Patch Stuff) and just about damned near anything else that's needed throughout the plant. Kinda tuff to drag the car in the plant but Guess I'll just continue to send my little G-Jobs thru there till I either Get or Get Over this urge to own a Welder thing.
 
RustyRatRod said:
Actually, yer lookin at it all wrong. That's the dead BEST welder to learn on. Once you can stack up a roll of dimes with that bad boy, you can do it on anything. Keep at it. I've known old coots who did beautiful sheet metal repair with stick welders. Stuff you wouldn't think possible.
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Yikes. Well, if you say so. My experience says horrid welds that look like a train wreck. Yes, they will stay put, but that's the only thing they have going for them.
 
halfafish said:
Yikes. Well, if you say so. My experience says horrid welds that look like a train wreck. Yes, they will stay put, but that's the only thing they have going for them.
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They'll improve over time.
 
I watched a video where the guy welded a section back on a truck box with a stick welder. Yes,welding body metal with an arc welder. Its possible. I have seen some pretty good work with stick welding.
 
BigStrok3 said:
Pretty sure that coupon your talking about doesn't work on welders.
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They've been running a 25% off anything coupon but according to emails they've sent, it expired yesterday.

I bought a big *** long reach jack with it. Those are usually excluded from coupons too.

The MIG 140 welder will work fine for steel, and instead of spending money on a spool gun for aluminum, I suggest spending the money to pay someone that knows how to weld aluminum to do it instead. Then save up for a TIG welder.
 
Look around weldingweb.com . I think quite a few of the newer HF welders have gotten good reviews. I got lucky on FB market place and got a Hobart 140 and Miller Cricket. Deals are out there, but few and far between. Tried flux core, but don't bother trying (yes, I verified the polarity). Spend the money and get a bottle. Got my bottle and regulator from usaweld.com (HTP). I think they have an ebay store front too, but are local to me so I will called it.
 
RustyRatRod said:
Actually, yer lookin at it all wrong. That's the dead BEST welder to learn on. Once you can stack up a roll of dimes with that bad boy, you can do it on anything. Keep at it. I've known old coots who did beautiful sheet metal repair with stick welders. Stuff you wouldn't think possible.
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Other than the weight, I've never had any complaints about a Lincoln welder.

I think they weigh more than I do
 
Tooljunkie said:
I watched a video where the guy welded a section back on a truck box with a stick welder. Yes,welding body metal with an arc welder. Its possible. I have seen some pretty good work with stick welding.
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Proper electrode selection is huge. Learn the proper techniques, heat ranges and purpose of say 6013, 7018, 6011 and a guy can do alot on the cheap.
 
Better off to learn stick and oxy/acet welding before anything else.
 
Tooljunkie said:
Better off to learn stick and oxy/acet welding before anything else.
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Oxy-fuel, SMAW (stick), MIG (solid wire), FCAW, TIG. That was the order in school. Lots of fundamentals to be learned in gas welding or even stick welding. If a guy can see the puddle he can be taught any process with a few pointers along the way. Some have a hard time seeing past the arc. Not sure if that makes sense.
 
19DUSTER73 said:
Oxy-fuel, SMAW (stick), MIG (solid wire), FCAW, TIG. That was the order in school. Lots of fundamentals to be learned in gas welding or even stick welding. If a guy can see the puddle he can be taught any process with a few pointers along the way. Some have a hard time seeing past the arc. Not sure if that makes sense.
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The way the old guy taught me was "see the ball" he didn't call it a puddle, but yeah same difference. As long as you keep that round shape, you're good.
 
RustyRatRod said:
The way the old guy taught me was "see the ball" he didn't call it a puddle, but yeah same difference. As long as you keep that round shape, you're good.
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Yep. Seeing it is half the battle. Learning to let it tell you what it wants or needs is the other. Heat deposition rate/travel speed, rod/gun angles.
 
I got an older HF Dual Mig 130 at Pomona car swap meet for $50 10 years ago. It's Italian, not Chinese. It uses standard M8 tips and its all set up for gas but I have yet to run it like that. I got a Bottle and a regulator, just never needed it. The HF flux wire was terrible, but the new Hercules or Vulcan (?) .030 flux wire runs like butter, and barely spatters. My only gripe is the weak feed tensioner on it and the limited hi-low, 1-2 amp switches. I probably need a new Miller style knurled drive wheel (they do fit). Duty cycle will cut out on you before your done. Weighs about as much as a large car battery.
 
jonn6464 said:
You may want to check this out. Comes with the aluminum spool included. Also, you can weld with gas or flux core. Looks like it's on sale right now.

I have one and it works well. I know some guys dont like Eastwood products, but I outfitted my shop with their gear and I only had an issue with 1 thing, an orbital palm sander. So far everything is performing well, been about a year and a half.

Eastwood MIG 175 Aluminum Welder with Spool Gun
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Do not buy these welders.. I have personally used one and they are PO S. Blew up after 30 min.. Would have had to ship it back to Eastwood to verify it wasn't working and then pay the freight back-and-forth no thanks

At least at Harbor freight you can walk in and exchange it anytime you want with the warranty

I would start with a Lincoln then move your way up to a real strong miller..
 
pishta said:
I got an older HF Dual Mig 130 at Pomona car swap meet for $50 10 years ago. It's Italian, not Chinese. It uses standard M8 tips and its all set up for gas but I have yet to run it like that. I got a Bottle and a regulator, just never needed it. The HF flux wire was terrible, but the new Hercules or Vulcan (?) .030 flux wire runs like butter, and barely spatters. My only gripe is the weak feed tensioner on it and the limited hi-low, 1-2 amp switches. I probably need a new Miller style knurled drive wheel (they do fit). Duty cycle will cut out on you before your done. Weighs about as much as a large car battery.
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Probably a clarke. I still have the one i bought 30 years ago.
Did a lot of welding with it.
10% duty cycle.
 
buy the Miller first. Then you will know that the bad welds you are laying down is your fault and not the machines. Then you can improve from there. After that, if you don't like welding you can sell the piece for a decent price
(say less the hf price )
There will be a board full of welders and wannabe welders like me with CASH
Also get a hood with the latest technology. The visibility is incredible and you will improve that much faster
I vote for the Miller 211 and the Miller Digital Infinity Hood
 
RustyRatRod said:
That's the shipping weight. The welder only weighs 24#
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The Millermatic 211 is 38 lbs, but it's also a lot more capable. And like others said, it's got resale value. I bet you could use it for years and easily get $700+ out of it afterwords without a spool gun.

The tanks alone will negate any difference in weight. Even the little tanks are fairly heavy.
 
goldduster318 said:
The Millermatic 211 is 38 lbs, but it's also a lot more capable. And like others said, it's got resale value. I bet you could use it for years and easily get $700+ out of it afterwords without a spool gun.

The tanks alone will negate any difference in weight. Even the little tanks are fairly heavy.
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It's badass. Matt has one where I work now and it's a bad joker.
 
I piked up the Titanium 200 a few months ago and I think its great for what my Dart needs. Its 240v or 120v and does MIG, TIG and Stick
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