Quote:
Originally Posted by Bigmuz7
Well I'm a died in the wool stick man  .. and theres not much I can't do with it except thinner stuff which is where the MIG scores, as everyone that comes into my shop keeps telling me  .. So Ive been interested to read this thread .. I can only get single phase, and the lights in the offices start flickering when I go over 3 mil  .. I believe the MIG doesnt draw as much power ? cos sometimes I have to weld 10mm stuff to buckets etc, what size MIG would handle that ? and can you use the same size wire for all apps, or do you have to change it a lot ? Its adding another dang cylinder to my BOC account that keeps putting me off ... |
I think the biggest single phase you could get was a cebora 260amp. dont know if that would be big enough for you? or even if its still available.
i guess the best thing to do is get one on demo if you can and give it a try.
Stick welding does have its place, but mig sure saves a lot of time guess it depends on your application. stick is ultimately stronger with low hydrogen rods, in the right hands, but most of the time its not the welds that fail is it? in my experience its usually the heat affected zone that goes first(depending on materialand thickness). Mig is perfectly good enough for most applications again in the right hands, its easy to get cold welds with a Mig . with a stick it well....sticks!
In my experience vertical down with a mig gives bad penetration compared to a stick, but then again i always go up with the mig. with a stick i go down on thin and up on thick.
