Anyone out there own a welder?

[Philsworld]

Anyone out there own a welder? I’d like to hear from you about what you have, how you have it connected to power, process (mig, stick, tig) and your experiences overall. I stick-welded in vocational school years ago, and loved it. But, I never had the power or hook up to get one at my house. I do now. 70 amp breaker should do with 4 or 3 gauge wire from the breaker panel to the outlet right below the panel. I’m leaning towards one of the Everlast welder models, either the Typhoon 500 tig/stick, or Power I-Mig 353dpi mig/stick. Both come with a water cooler and torch/gun (I haven’t made a final decision about anything yet). And, max input amps are around 65 for both. Over the last 6 months I think I’ve researched just about everything out there and watched hundreds of You Tube videos. Will I ever need 350 or 400 welding amps? Probably not, but one never knows. Lincoln, Miller, Esab are nice, but pricey. Everlast offers a 5 year warranty and from speaking to people who weld with them for a profession, they are rock solid. Inverter only for me unfortunately. I’d love a transformer Lincoln precision Tig 275 or 375, but I’d need a minimum 125 amp breaker (the 375 manual says 150 amp breaker). I could do it, but I’d have to have an electrician wire a sub panel off my existing 150 amp subpanel for my garage and make it a separate dedicated welder circuit. (I have 150 amps going to my house for a total of 300 amp service). I got an estimate and it would cost me about $8,000 for everything. Not worth it really and the transformer machines take huge amounts of power (they both idle around 60 amps input). The 375 precision tig new would cost me $15,000 with tax. I don’t know what I was thinking. Too much. I would still need a tank, gas, helmet, consumables, etc… The Everlast machines are powerful and very reasonably priced for what you get with the warranty. Anything you care to share would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Philsworld]

——>I would recommend finding an older Miller, Hobart or Lincoln machine. They are transformer machines rather than the newer rectifier machines. The newer welders are like the newer cars, they are basically throw aways.

Over the months I thought a lot about what you said about transformer vs inverter machines (all the member comments were very helpful too). I’ve done a lot of research on the topic. Lots of pros and cons. But, Transformer machines last and can take a lot of “abuse”. Garage electrical wiring is finished, pending county inspector signoff. Not too many companies make transformer welders anymore. Most are inverters. I considered the Hobart Ironman 240 but went instead with the Lincoln Power Mig 360 (mine comes with a cord). It should be arriving sometime this week. The Power Mig does Mig, Tig, Stick, and Flux. I bought it mostly for Mig and that’s what it’s set up for from the Lincoln factory. I still plan on getting a dedicated Tig/Stick machine (transformer).

I just want you to know that your advice was much appreciated (as were all)