Good Welder For Under $200

[bordin34]

Are there any good gas-less welders for under $200. I am only gonna do minor stuff like putting in floor pans.

[Silver R/T]

theres a few decent ones on ebay. Personally I try to stay away from flux cored welders.
Anyways this is probably something you're looking for
http://cgi.ebay.com/LINCOLN-WELD-PAK-HD-FLUX-CORE-MIG-WELDER-U2188-1-REF_W0QQitemZ130060923487QQihZ003QQcategoryZ113743QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[69hemi]

I agree, stay away from any flux core welder.  The welds are messy and extremely suspect. I bought a small Century mig and also picked up the gas conversion it for under $300.00 and the filled tank ran me $95.00 with refills for about $30.00

[bordin34]

Are the welds messy or not strong with a flux core or just dont look good. Are they also harder to make?

[Silver R/T]

Welds are just as strong but are messy and you get all this splatter flying everywhere (including behind your shirt, inside of your shoes etc and it's becomes less of fun to weld)
Anyways you lay down much better quality welds with gas bottle.

[bordin34]

I would like to not use gas because I have a very small budget and cant afford to buy a gas welder and fill the bottle. Do you think that lincoln one is good for putting it a floor pan?

[72_R/T_s/e]

lincon makes a nice one its the mig pack i use it for some welding we built a litle snowmobile trailer it holds up well

[Silver R/T]

to refill a bottle of gas is only $30 or so. Then if you got smaller than standard bottle it'll be less. It might be $100 or so extra but it'll be well spent

[70charger_boy]

Ok, I bought a Chicago Electric flux core welder on ebay for under $200.00.  I wanted to learn and didn't want to pay for a big name welder and deal with gas.  I have to say it works pretty good.  The only problem you will have is that it gets to hot and burns through 16 gauge steel.  I solved that problem by increasing the wire speed to 3 1/2.  The secret to doing it is to do small tack welds 12 inches apart.  As far as the mess it leaves behind I don't care, because I sand it off.  Hope this helps

[bordin34]

Do you have a link to a similar auction. Would a dremel be good enough to sand?

[70charger_boy]

You'll need a 5 inch disk sander.  The dremel is way too small and expensive for the pads

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?cgiurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com%2Fws%2F&fkr=1&from=R8&satitle=chicago+electric+welder&category0=&submitSearch=Search

[jaak]

No matter how tempting it is stay away from flux core it sucks..... I could have doubled what I spent and bought a good welder. mine sits unused and I will probably by a gas one someday. its messy, gets too hot, its junk.  If your on a budget my friend had a campbell hausfield, gas mig welder, i think it ran around 280, plus tank. and he says he loves it ( he started with a flux junk also)

Just a little advise from experience,
jason

[Blakcharger440]

I just purchased a Craftsman gas/no gas 110v mig welder from Sears. This is my first welder. I had to think about affordability and serviceability as well as a good guarantee and they have guaranteed all tools I have purchased from them in the past really well.

Are these welders any good? Or did I just make a mistake? I will be mainly doing sheet metal work with it. It says it can weld 24 gauge to 3/16 metal.

[Silver R/T]

You better get this one
http://cgi.ebay.com/HOBART-HANDLER-140-MIG-WELDER-WITH-CART-500505-NEW_W0QQitemZ130063261637QQihZ003QQcategoryZ113743QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Probably best deal on welder with a cart Ive seen. And its a Hobart not some generic copy. If I would've seen this Id grab it. Id save over $120 for what Ive paid for mine and it didn't even come with a cart.