Topic: Welder

[jfrabat]

Hey, guys, how many amps would you say is needed for some basic welding on the Jeep?  I just saw a Kawasaki welder here in Costa Rica in PriceSmart (Costco) that looks nice; it's under $200 (keep in mind prices here are typically twice that of the US!) and comes with head piece and gloves.  It is a spool welder, but does not have any setup for gas...  Suppossedly, it can weld UP TO 3/16 without issues, so I figured it would be a good "learning" wleder for me to try.  Thoughts?

[FourbangerYJ]

Gotta link?
I am using a Lincoln 135 with flux core. It does 99% of the welding I need. Flux burns hotter than MIG.

[chardrc]

Id save up for a welder that can use sheilding gas... they will weld better and you don't have to worry about finding flux core wire (aka when you bring it on a trip and forget the wire somehow)...

[sharpxmen]

What fourbanger said, 135Amp is probably good for what you need on the Jeep. I have a mastercraft that does both (gas and flux) but i rushed and got 80 amp which is only good for small jobs - if I were to do it again i would wait and get one that's over 100 and maybe look at a tig (even though for those you jump in price quite a bit).
definitely gas shielding is better way but there will be some extra cost: bottle is about $100 (aluminum), regulator another $60 or so and gas (which if i remember correctly would be around $30 for a refill for a co2+argon mix) - flux core is not that hard to find, it's fairly common nowadays only difference is that the polarity is reversed and i think (but not sure) that any mig would do flux as well just need to reverse the wires (mine has a big label where the spool goes warning to reverse the ground and gun wires for flux core welding).

[FourbangerYJ]

What fourbanger said, 135Amp is probably good for what you need on the Jeep. I have a mastercraft that does both (gas and flux) but i rushed and got 80 amp which is only good for small jobs - if I were to do it again i would wait and get one that's over 100 and maybe look at a tig (even though for those you jump in price quite a bit).
definitely gas shielding is better way but there will be some extra cost: bottle is about $100 (aluminum), regulator another $60 or so and gas (which if i remember correctly would be around $30 for a refill for a co2+argon mix) - flux core is not that hard to find, it's fairly common nowadays only difference is that the polarity is reversed and i think (but not sure) that any mig would do flux as well just need to reverse the wires (mine has a big label where the spool goes warning to reverse the ground and gun wires for flux core welding).

You have it right as far as polarity.
 If you want to weld with gas shield you need a machine that has more amps. Which put you into a 220V machine. I have run a gas bottle on the Lincoln 135 and the welds were pretty cold even with the settings maxed out. Not of very thick material either.

I love my Readywelder for the times I need more amps. Just need a couple of batteries. Prolly expensive to get in Costa Rica thou.

[jfrabat]

The Kawasaki one was 80A IIRC, and there was also this one, with gas, but it is 70A (by the way, this one costs about $460!).  I guess I'll pass.  It's probably cheaper here to hire someone to do the welding for me than to buy a machine (labor is cheap down here).