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MIG Welder Buyer's Guide

For those who need an efficient welder for hobby welding, automotive work, maintaining farm equipment, and mechanical work a MIG welder will do an excellent job.

Not only do MIG welders produce very nice looking welds, it's also very easy to learn and very inexpensive to get started. In fact, out of all the welding processes MIG is the best and the easiest welding process for beginners to learn.

When it comes to buying a MIG welder you need to make sure you purchase a welder that fits your needs.

In this MIG Buyer's Guide you will discover how to pick the right welder for you that will do what you need it to do without spending more money than you need to spend.

I happen to own both a Hobart and a Longevity, besides the pricing difference they're pretty much the same. Whether you choose to weld steel, stainless steel, or aluminum with your MIG welder, there are some things you need to know before you jump in.

How To Select A MIG Welder

When it comes to selecting a MIG welder you will want to make sure you buy something that has the capability to hook up a gas cylinder to it. There are MIG welders on the market that are only capable of welding with flux core welding wire.

The problem with that is that flux core creates a slag coating on the weld that needs to be chipped away because it doesn't use a shielding gas.

Sooner than later you're going to want to hook up a gas cylinder because of the nice weld appearance and the fact that you can see the weld puddle much better. Don't get me wrong. Gasless MIG welders are great because you don't need a gas cylinder, and they produce very strong welds.

How Powerful Of A Welder Do I Need?

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Welders are classified by the amperage they produce at a given duty cycle. The amperage is the heat it can produce, and the duty cycle is the length of time during a 10 minute time period that the welder can operate at a specified amperage without overheating.

In a nutshell, if you are welding non-stop for long periods of time at a high amperage (for thicker metal) you want a welder that has a high duty cycle.

It isn't as necessary to get stuck on the duty cycle of a welder when you're deciding which one to buy. Just know that if you plan on cranking up the amps and welding continuously on thick metal without a break, then you want a welder with a high duty cycle.

110 Volt VS. 220 Volt Welder

Before you go buying a MIG welder make sure you have the correct electric outlets installed.

The awesome thing about the 110 volt MIG welders is that you can plug them into any household 110 volt outlet. This makes it very convenient to buy a welder, plug it into your household outlet, and be welding in no time.

However, the flip side of that is that you are limited to the amperage your welder will produce with a 110 volt outlet. So if all you need is to be able to weld metals no thicker than 1/8" in a single pass then a 110 volt welder will do fine. In fact, for most hobby welders a 110 volt welder will work just fine.

If you need more power because you'll be welding, say ?" thick metal in one pass, then you will want a 220 volt welder. This of course involves having a 220 volt outlet installed if you don't already have one.

Do You Want Spool Gun Capability?

One question to ask yourself when you go to buy your first MIG welder is do you want the ability to hook up a spool gun.

Getting a MIG welder that has this ability means you can weld aluminum. Not a lot of hobby sized welders give you this option, and my Hobart 140 does not do this.

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However, the Longevity MIG 140 I own does give me this option. All you have to do is buy the optional aluminum spool gun, hook it up, and you're ready to weld aluminum.

How Do I Know If I'm Buying A Good Welder?

Make sure your welder offers a good warranty. It's pretty obvious, but don't go flea market shopping for a MIG welder unless you want a lot of disappointment.

Both my Hobart and Longevity welders come with a 5 year warranty.

The difference between a cheap MIG welder and a good one is the end result. Cheap ones will produce welds like this.

Good ones will produce results like this.

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Avoid going cheap with your MIG welder.

Many manufacturers claim that their welders can weld much thicker metal than they actually do. The chart below will give you a reasonable expectation of what a hobby welder will actually do.

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