Thinking about buying a welder, for exhaust, any tips, info?

[Jorge6.5]

Well ive been wanting to buy a welder for some time now but dont have any real tips on what to buy. Im just looking for something small and easily transportable. Just need a welder for welding exhaust pipe, v band flanges and random light duty metals. The welder needs to work with a basic 110 outlet.

I found a nice welder through sears craftsman, its an arc welder 100 amp and can weld up to 3/16in steal. Price is very fair too, only $150.

Would this be a good choice for a welder or should i keep looking around? Can anyone make any recommendations on a welder that would be good for exhaust welding?

Ive never welded before so this is all new to me. A cheap welder would be a good start for me so i can practice and gain experience and eventually get a better welder.

Thanks guys.

 

[NVW]

I've had nothing to do with the 110v welders, for exhaust I would say it would do the job. I wouldn't recommend welding a trailer with one.

 

[glock36]

If your going to be welding on exhaust systems and you have no practical experience in doing so, you had better be looking at a mig-welding machine. Yes you can weld a exhaust pipe with a arc/smaw machine but if you have little to no experience in doing so then you have your work cut out for you. Exhaust tubing needs a low amperage wire feed weld or TIG welding.
Look into a Miller or Lincoln Electric machine. They have many types available from dual currant i.e. 110/240 volt, some ac or dc or both that would give you the best of both worlds.
I wish you luck with your adventure into welding, it's the stuff dreams are made of. I hope the MODS don't mind me pointing you to
weldingweb.com for a base to research and another weldingtipsandtricks.com, this guy has multiple dozens of videos to watch that are quite educational, even for some of who have welding experience.

 

[NVW]

I had assumed it was a mig welder being 110v, yes you would want a wire feed.

 

[BigBearZach]

yes a wire feed 110 will do work for exhaust. now if you want the weld to look good get a gas/no gas welder, regulator and argon/co2 mix gas and regular rod then you will get better welds

 

[Jorge6.5]

Thanks a lot guys. Im gonna look into those links. I was thinking a mig would be the way to go, thanks for mentioning that

 

[cornemuse]

Two of my brothers have 110v mig/flux core welders, one Miller & a Lincoln. I tried the Lincoln (actually its my nephews) and asked myself why I didnt get one decades ago! I bought a Lincoln "180 Dual" dual voltage model rather than a 110 v unit as i have a 220v 50 amp plug already. (I have a TA 185 tig welder) On 110, it works fine, but on 220 it is awesome. My 2 bros units are finicky about .035 wire, higher settings trip the (20 amp) breaker, but they work fine with (more costly) .030 wire. They use only flux-core wire. I have the mig gas, & tried the mig, but for what I mostly do, I use flux-core wire. The tig is nice, but slow, cleanliness next to etc. If you are serious about welding, consider the dual voltage units, they cost the $$$ tho, -corne-

 

[tanman_2006]

Our Lincoln runs on 220 w/ argon/co2 and we redid the tip, roller, and lining to accept 0.035 wire. We go go through a spool every couple weeks. I'm looking for one 220 or 110 for my at home shop, my cracker box Lincoln isn't always the best for the job.

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[john65td]

for the money i like hobart. yea some aruge there a cheap welder. i bought one from tractor supply a few years ago, its done everything i wanted so far. i got the biggest 110v they had its flux core or gas. i prefer gas but can switch if i run out its a nice option

 

[tanman_2006]

Hobart is a good option, I have a generator/arc combo that has been in a tbone accident with a loaded semi and skid off the back of a truck at least twice, still works fine but did have carb issues once.

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