I was at walmart this weekend and I saw a stick welder for $80.  I thought that was pretty cheap.  They also have a wire feeded welder for $200.  I think both were 70 amps.  My question is which type is easier to use and what kind should I get for home usage(brand).  I don't want to spend to much, but I don't want to buy a piece of junk either.

Thanks,
JL

Stick is easier... wire feed is better, more versatile and has gas option... which makes welds penetrate better.
Cool.
Srinath.

i find the wire feed easyer, its like a hot glue gun for metal. if you go thatroute, make sure you get a brandname, hobart, lincoln,miller  your gonna pay more for it, but replacment parts and warrenty are by far worth it.

So if I go with the wire feed, what spec should I look for on the machine?

Thanks

stick is definatly easier, but wire fed isn't terribly tough, and when i weld, i can only get about a 7-8" weld for every stick.

I have a lincoln 100 Mig welder.... Good little machine will handle up to about 1/4 inch steel....

Get the mig set up... more versatile... The shielding gas keeps the welds nicer (prevents major slag while welding..)...

Miller 130 here.
Expect to pay 600-700 for the rig with gas

Mig welders make it look easy

I bought the Campbell Hausfeld wire feed welder a few months ago for school and it seems to work well. Not having welded in about 13 years, my only advice is PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE. Ideally you would want to practice on material that is about the same as what you are going to be welding. The thinner the metal, the harder it is to weld. One other thing- make sure that you don't buy the 220V welder if you don't have any 220V wiring in your house.
Have fun-welding stuff is cool.

All houses have 220V....are you trying to say....THREE PHASE.

Some of the older houses got only 2 prongs on their outlets.  Sure, you could hook up a ground wire to the outlet box and hope that's grounded    to get your 220 VAC.  Hmm, trying to remember how house electricity works compared to naval ship electricity    I think instead of wire to wire, the potential is added from wire to ground and wire to ground, giving 110x2=220.

ok.....
one navy electrician to another...
the black wire is 120 v
the white wire is common
the green or copper wire is ground.

in the power panel the white wires are connected to ground
therefore in reality two wires for all house circuits...but you have to have three for code

the power coming in to the panel from the street is single phase 220V(120v on each wire...2 wires)
the power is divided in the power panel between the two sources
the dryer, A/C and stove are normally 220V....big friggin plug

My wife says: no welder that the kids can plug-in and turn-on.  And the wiring to my garage is NMB12/2 .  So I was thinking 220.  Maybe put an outdoor-rated 220 outlet at the A/C compressor shutoff outside.  Then when I want to use the welder, run a temporary cable to the garage: either a NMB10/3 or just a couple of big extension cords: make all 3 wires in one cable phase 1, and the other cable phase 2.  Obviously, this would only work when the ground is dry, but would make it pretty hard for the kids to get it hooked-up.

It sounds like Srinath also understands how those kids can find trouble  

and the navy uses 120V/480V/4160V(i think ....for air craft carriers)
then there is also 60 HZ and 400 HZ...(for the criptostuff and navigation/weponstuff)

Speaking of kids finding trouble, I think it'd be a tough call who'se worse, bored Navy seamen or my 2-year-old  

(ever hear about anyone trying to launch re-bar from a deck catapault!?)

go to lowes or menards and buy some big friggin 50 - 100 amp wire
instead of doing silly stuff with extension cords and burning your house down

Quote from: werase643ok.....
one navy electrician to another...

I was training as an ET (Nuclear) before I got a med discharge  Had a unit on ships power systems at school and for qualifying.  We did need to know a bunch of EM and MM stuff Been years since that!

seamen.....two year olds don't have warped minds....yet :mrgreen:

NUKE EM2
SSBN 643/629
6 yrs....about 12 yrs ago

Quote from: werase643NUKE EM2
SSBN 643/629
6 yrs....about 12 yrs ago

 I got recruited by a Nuke EM1.  He told me straight up what to expect, and one of the reasons I joined was because of his honesty.  I had a great time for the 3 years I was in even with all the work Well, having  V15-20's in school made things a lot better than M40/5's!   (Edit: oh yeah, I did make ET2 )

ok, looking in my little timelife book its as follows:


120Vac  is a single pole breaker(slim)  Black hot, white comon, green/bare is ground    with 120 both comon and ground go to same lug and black goes to breaker/fuse

240Vac  is on 2 pole breaker (double wide)   Black hot, Red Hot, white common/ground  



thats as listed by the book, Keep in mind, not all electritions were not created equal, so colors may not match, USE A METER TO CHECK CURRENT BEFORE AND AFTER YOU FLIP BREAKERS.  120V hurts, 240 will kill you.   ive been hit with both, its not fun.