if you'll be welding outside (fences) you'll want gassless. any wind will knock out your shielding gas. inside, gas all day.

aside from that, no opinion on either of the two machines.

I have the lincoln 120V from HD and I run it gasless. I believe you can also hook up gas but may have to buy an extra kit. I have used it on some ornamental fence and other small stuff and it works fine for what I need it for. Hobart or Miller are probably better brands and I am a firm believer that you get what you pay for.

Might look here as well...

http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?keyword=welders

I think Hobart is a consumer line for Miller, or something like that.

I use one of those cheap ass Campbell Housefield ones from Wal Mart and it works OK. Wire feed with flux core wire. It works good for small stuff, very easy to use.

I really want to upgrade to one of those Hobart 140s, though, to weld thicker steel. My little welder only does like 80 amps and has a short duty cycle, so welding more than 1/8" thinkness requires a lot of "work" and wait.

How big of a welder would you need to weld 3/8" or 5/16" steel?

Can you get one that will hook up to a regular electrical outlet at your house? Or would I have to run a 220volt like the one that my dryer plugs into?

hobart = miller (close enough)

The Hobart 140's will weld 1/4 inch or so, and use 110-120, though you need 20 amps to run at the higher settings.

You will have to have a 220v welder to weld 5/16" or thicker if you plan on welding it in a single pass. Most 110v welders simply do not have the capability to use .035" wire effectively. Most struggle to get enough amperage to the weld, and you'll have a hard time keeping from getting cold laps. If you use flux core wire, especially self shielding, the difference will be even more noticeable. Flux core wire welds in a more rounded puddle, so it does not penetrate quite as much as solid wire, anyway.

Most 220v welders will go up to 3/8", but it takes one of the larger units to go up to 1/2" in a single pass.

If there isn't any wind outside, you can weld with gas. If not, you will have to use self shielded flux core wire.

I do a lot of welding with my HH 187. It has a crisp arc, and if you can't make a decent weld with it, welding isn't going to be your thing. It won't handle some repairs on farm implements or dozers, so I have to use a Bobcat for that.

I have a Hobart 140 and have welded a crap ton of stuff with it. It's a solid welding machine that has a lot of accessories readily available.

The Lincoln would be a good machine, but you listed the HD version. HD does not mean "heavy duty" - it means "Home Depot" and it's not a true Lincoln - as in that parts are not interchangeable with true Lincolns, the warranty is through Home Depot only, and many of the accessories for true Lincoln's won't work on the HD version.

I'd tell you to get one that can do both true MIG and flux core wire. I've yet to go get a bottle and do gas, but the flux core is generally more than sufficient for what I need.

With any MIG, take what they say is the maximum weld thickness in a single pass and divide it by half (you may get 75% of that thickness). Mine says it will do 3/8" plate in a single pass, but I've found that 1/4" is really about the max. Anything over that takes one or two more passes, but I knew that going in and don't have an issue.

One other thing - use a 30 amp circuit with a 110 volt machine. It makes a world of difference versus a 15 amp or 20 amp circuit.

Luckily whomever built my house put a dedicated 30 amp 110 circuit in the garage, so it works out nice for me.

A little tip on welding rebar...

First, most any rebar that is just left over from a concrete job is Grade 60. It is not considered weldable, but that is what 99% of us will be welding if it is rebar.

Second, they do make "weldable" rebar. It is Grade 40. It is not actually any more expensive to make than Grade 60 but the available stock is, of course, a lot less.

In my experience, after having my high school hay racks fall apart years later...I have found that if I really crank up the amps so it all gets as hot as possible, the welds seem to last longer. But I am just a country boy who is mostly self-taught. Although I took welding in HS and at TAMU, they do not teach you little things like this.

yep. Unless you weld the crap out of it, that grade 60 stuff is more like Brazed than welded.

I've welded a lot of rebar, grade 60 and 40.

60 welds just fine, you just need to do what Allen76 said - crank up the heat.

I've used the Lincoln non-home depot version with flux core, and it worked well. But I was using it on 16ga steel sheet. Not sure about how a 20 amp breaker will work for thicker metals, may need to jump to a 30 if your duty cycles get long or more frequent. Changed out all of the breakers in my shop because my 110 plasma unit was giving the breakers fits.

Edit for readability

[This message has been edited by EagleFordEarl (edited 12/12/2011 6:52p).]

Another vote for Hobart.

I've owned a 180 (220v) and a 140 (120V), both purchased from Tractor Supply on sale. I was able to make better looking welds with the 180 when I was into the offroad scene, but the 140 works just fine now for the fence, landscaping and miscelaneous work around the house and trailer that I do. I use flux core wire now instead of dealing with a gas bottle and just spend a few minutes cleaning up the welds afterwards if they'll be visible.

When I worked for DU, they bought a hobart 140 or 180 (can't remember) and I learned in a week how to do welds a 8 year old can do.

But it was fun as hell and I can actually make stuff now it just looks like crap.