Ok, I couldn't help but throw my 2 cents in here.

Most every forum I am on has a TON of welding misinformation floating about from backyard welders here and there. If it holds your project together for a while and you're comfortable riding in something that may or may not fail then that's fine with me but I don't want any part of it.

If the most you're ever going to weld is a couple inches here or there then a HF welder could be the right thing for you but if you ever decide to actually tackle a large project then save your money for now and buy a decent welder. As far as the wire goes, they are right, don't waste your time with HF wire or anything similar. I don't even like Lincoln wire anymore. The wire I use comes from Italy and it superior to the Lincoln we used to use because of the manufacturing processes but that's neither here nor there. You won't want to use it because it's too expensive for the regular guy to use. Look for something from Hobart. They have come a long way with their wire.

Here are some things to consider:

How often are you going to use the welder? - This will tell you how much you should spend on a good power supply. If you're going to use it once in a while and not weld anything thicker than 1/8" then a 90A machine will fit your needs perfect but steer clear of the made in china crap.

How much welding time will you have while working on your project? - This should dictate the type of power supply you should buy. The duty cycle of the machine will control how much welding you can do in a given amount of time. I'll discuss that later.

Will you be welding outside or in? - If you are only going to be doing a portion of your welding outside then get a better machine and use a bottle of Argon/CO2. Yes, you can use straight CO2, it's cheaper and you'll get better penetration but it will produce more spatter and the bead surface appearance will not be as nice. You can easily use a flux core wire with a machine capable of running a shielding gas.

You're average joe will be fine with a 115V 90A welder from any of your major manufacturers. I would consider it plenty big enough to weld up an ATV trailer or perform sheetmetal/exhaust work. However, I also think that 1/4" angle is WAY too big for an ATV trailer. If you really want to weld that thickness but don't want to throw down the cash for a good 230V mig system then buy a stick welder and be done with it.

One of my favorite newer welders is the Hobart Trek 180.

http://www.hobartwelders.com/product...wered/trek180/

It utilizes an inverter power supply and only requires 115V to produce 180A. You can use the full 180 amps while plugged into a regular wall socket but can also take advantage of the portability of the battery. It is gas and flux cored compatible and will do most any job you would need at home. It's a bit pricey though but you get what you pay for in the world of welders.

I cannot stress this enough. Even if you make multiple passes to weld your '10,000 lb trailer hitch', you're still in danger of weld failures, ex. cold lap, lack of fusion, incomplete root penetration. The heat input on these HF machines with .030 wire or smaller is just not sufficient to make up for the high cooling rate of such a large structure. Granted, most angle iron is not susceptible to cold cracking but I'm not going to take such a risk when I've got it hitched to the back of my 20k pickup.

Duty cycles...... Most welding power supplies that cost less than $6000 have around a 60% duty cycle at their peak output. This means that if you were welding at maximum amperage for the machine, you could weld for approximately 36 minutes before the internal temperature sensors shut down the machine. Most 115V welders have a 20% duty cycle. With this being said, I have yet to see a power supply (other than one attached to a robot when the cooling fans quit) shut down due to a temperature limit. There may be those which are packed full of dust that do so but that's not a normal condition.

And since we're throwing out stats here.

Bachelor of Science - Welding Engineering
CWI
3G SMAW certified
2F GTAW and GMAW certified (this cert is a joke, if you can't make a fillet in the horizontal position then you need to put the torch down. I've got it for work only)

I've taught and performed welding on domestic and foreign soil and the biggest piece of advice I can give anyone is there may be more than one way to skin a cat but if you've got the right tool then it's easy.


P.S.

I think the answer to this topic was hit right on the head on the first page. If you're lookin' for an ATV trailer, search cragislist or buy one from Tractor Supply otherwise, save your money, buy a good welder and practice till you're ready to quit. Then practice some more. Don't just practice on your own. It's the best way to make mistakes that will be harder to reverse later. There are tons of informative videos/books out there that can help you along the way.



There, I've said my piece for now. Just wonder how many will read it. I'm sure I can scan back through the thread and find other things to clarify or expand upon.

 

CooL!!!! I'm also a CWI holder. I work for a industrial steel fab shop. We have to go by AISC books.
SMAW
FCAW
SAW

 

Big O... good read

 

Great post Big O, - now I'm learning. I don't have to totally agree, but for the most part, I do. I respect your explanation, thanks for taking the time.

Like I said in the beginning, it can be done, if need be. It's just not ideal or practical, but it can be done correctly w/proper penetration. That's all I'm standing by.

So to further explain, in order to get proper penetration with 1/4" and IF a little 90 is all that have on hand, you have to prep correctly. That requires a grinder. It's not a trick and it's done all the time, - Notch or V, then build. That grinder will be you best friend for awhile, since that little 90 will spit everywhere, -know matter what you do lol.

My truck was rear ended, tore my factory receiver up pretty good. I put it back together with that little 90. I pull a car hauler, 1900 lbs and have had full size handicap vans in tow. It's come thru just fine.

Thanks for the tip on wire, I didn't know that. I was under the impression that Lincoln wire was the best out there

 

I agree that you 'could' prep 1/4" if you really wanted to take the time and achieve better joint strength but if you factor your time as a cost, you're better off to buy a stick welder.

I don't normally prep unless I'm producing a groove weld or something that has a weird direction of loading where I could use the extra strength.

 

Brew dont get excited, he said the better stuff you wont want to pay for

 

Yea, I've been thinking about purchasing a good stick welder, but the only way I can warrant the investment is if I could use it on the thinner gauge, such as body panels. The Fluxcore is okay, but slow going , (tac,tac,tac,tac, spong, oops!). Warps easy as well. Once in awhile, that copper spoon comes in handy lol.

Anyway, so Eastwood Company has a stitcher attachment with a reduction diode that reduces output by half, and lets you use an AC arc set up @ 80 amps, or less. 1/16" sticks, in combination you could use it on the thinner gauge, as thin as 22 gauge I believe. It would be worth the investment, IF they do indeed work as advertised.

Have you heard anything, good or bad about these ?

 

But I like the Good Stuff, the best. I REALLY don't want to pay for anything. But yea, that never fly's. So I usually don't afford the better way for myself, just - a way lol.

 

I don't have any experience with one but I have read some positive things online. Looks like they run about 80 bucks.

 

Take a welding course if you want to wind up buying a welder for other projects. Look around for a used name unit. Price won't be to far off from Harbor Freight and I wouldn't want one from there any way. Price all that you need to complete the trailer to see what buying one would be.

 

So, sorta-kinda on topic, and to lighten the thread up, here's the old welding robot at my work. It's secret identity is "Bartender-bot!"

http://www.geeksaresexy.net/2008/10/...rages-tipping/

 

I have a Lincoln Arc Pak 100 mig welder (HDepot) and a Century ac/dc 220vac stick welder and and I can weld anything but a broken heart and the crack of dawn. The Lincoln is great for small jobs up to 1/4" metal as long as its clean and you know what your doing. The mig welder doesn't get the penetration needed, thats the name of the game. The stick welder penetrates and I use it for the critical weight bearing trailer hitch stuff.

 

The old man that taught me how to weld used to say that all the time.

I have a lincoln SA-200 trailer mounted with a oxcycetaline rig for the stuff we cant bring inside like pipe fence. Also have a millermatic 251 If we can drag it inside to weld it then the 251 gets used because it lays a beautiful bead. I also have a miller thunderbolt 225 inside if I need to stick weld anything in there. The thunderbolt is a nice stick welder and will probably fill most back yard welders needs if you feel like dropping 450 on a new one, however they are much more reasonable if you can find a used one.