20 Best Cheap Flux Core Welder (2023 Updated)

VevorMIG-270 3 In 1 Mig Welder 110v 220v First the Cons: There are NO charts or guidance whatsoever on how to determine voltage and amperage settings for various thicknesses of steel. The welder came with 1.

0 mm flux core wire and 1. 0 mm tips and feed roller. This seems to be an oddball size for use in The United States. I can’t even find 1. 0 mm supplies in welding shops or online. I only gave Ease of Use 3 stars because if it was easy, even a beginner such as I could use it.

Maybe an experienced welder could use it easily. And the fact that there are no settings charts is a negative. Now the pros: I’m able to make welds, even as a a first time welder. I’ve only tried flux core so far.

I think the quality of the welder itself is very good. It is impressive that this $300+ welder also supports TIG, MIG and Stick welding. And can handle 110 or 220 volts. The digital settings are nice touches.

Not counting the installed spool of wire it is very light.

Bought this as my old welder was broken, didn’t want to pay loads of money for a new one as I don’t use it every day. I’ve never had a new welder, always been second hand. So decided at this price I would buy one.

Well it arrived quickly. I found it easy to assemble. Only need to feed the wire and connect the torch and leads. Well off I went welding. I was very impressed with it, welded everything I asked it to , flat plate, round bar etc.

Overall a nice compact welder that does what I want it to do. Very happy.

I like it! This machine has a nice voltage range for welding. Other machines have a “high” voltage at the lowest setting making it very hard to weld thinner sheet metal. The thickest metal I have used it on was 12ga.

Works well for what I wanted it for. Good buy from Walmart!.

This small machine is capable of alot! It gets very good penetration and could weld thicker steal than 1/4 in. And can weld on thin steel good! The ground clamp is not trash like youtube review videos will tell you.

This is a 90 amp welder not a 200 amp welder. You don’t need a big clamp with a stronger spring. And the settings are easy to control and have alot of room for adjustment.

Great little welder. It has a short lead to the welding gun but is easy to pick up and move around with one hand. I also switched out for a better ground clamp which was recommended online. I use it with a thick extension cord and regular household outlet and haven’t tripped a fuse yet.

I got it for thin walled steel tube such as table legs, and for tack welding larger projects which I have then stick welded. Bare bones with no welding wire or any extras, which is perfectly reasonable for this price.

I think it’s only available online.

Welder looks great. Comes with 2 extra. 030 tips. Welding leads and power cables are already on unit. Does not come with any flux core wire, it will have to be purchased. Does not come with a chip hammer, gloves, or helmet.

The price of the welder is very good, compared to other brands of this type, and it is a HOBART. Should do any small welding work you may need done around the garage, it states it will weld up to 3/16 in.

metal. This is all I will need as I am just putting repair body panels on a vehicle I am working on.

This is my first wire feed welder. I have been using a Hobart stick welder for years no issues. I purchased the flux core to eliminate the hassle of renting and filling gas bottles. I practiced on light metal for about 10 minutes and got the hang of it pretty quick! So much easier than the stick welder to get to work area.

Very nice machine at a good price.

I bought his welder to do small jobs where I don’t want to drag out my bigger MIG or TIG welders. I love the fact of how light and portable it is. Today I was putting 4-5 inch welds on 1/8 carbon steel on a bumper.

I was surprised that though the 20+ minutes of welding I never reached the duty cycle and it continued to weld well. As long as you keep in mind this machine is designed for light work, you will not be disappointed in your purchase.

I really like this welder. After borrowing a friends Ironton 125, I decided that I should have my own. I wanted a welder with a DC inverter for smoother arc and the ability to power with a generator.

I considered the Titanium 125 from HF, but chose the Forney 140 FC-i for several reasons. 1. It can handle a 10lb spool. 2. The leads are 8ft long. 2ft longer than most in this class of welder. I have appreciated the extra length several times.

3. Build quality looks a little better. The wire feed looks similar on all of these welders, but the Forney has better cables and gun. 4. Forney has customer support in the US. Forney says that this welder only works with 0.

030 wire. That is what i use, but you could run 0. 035. The drive roller has grooves for both wire sizes, so you would just need to get a 0. 035 contact tip. I have had great luck with Lincoln NR-211 MP and Hobart Fabshield 21b.

The Lincoln has less spatter that is easier to clean up, but the Hobart has a little bit smoother welds. Both are fine. The edge goes to Hobart, because it come in 2 lb spools.

Current efficient! Running on a weak 15 amp circuit (trips easily) for thin metal welding on 22ga. & 16 ga. sheet metal. This is a FCAW welder, NOT Mig. (Flux Core Arc Welder) No Gas ! There are pro’s and cons for each.

If I welded a lot, I would opt for one that does both. I am experienced in stick welding heavy machinery (since the late 60’s). Got this model to try @ wire feed and thin gauge. trying to break the old habit of sinking the stick while i weld.

I had borrowed a job smart model 1st. What I prefer on this model. Infinite wire feed & current – verses a High, Low switch for current. It does make a difference for me on light gauge metal for quality of bead, once you dial it in.

The Job Smart would trip my weak breaker (to be replaced) easily on light gauge runs (4″-6″) for practice – where this model does not. (Why the builder of this house only put a 15 amp circuit to the garage?) On heavier gauge I exercise my generator.

(which is good for the generator as well) Me, thicker the metal & higher current = easier the weld. Stacked dimes bead. Note – I hadn’t welded in 20 years.

Good welder For the price, takes a little time to get use to it. From my lincoln 100pak welder. Only thing that could be better is a faster wire feed speed,but welds great once you get use to it and fins the right setting.

Used it for sheet metal (auto body repair) and frame repair. It dose perform pretty close to my old lincoln.

I absolutely LOVE this machine. So much quality built into a small and light weight package. We had a Hobart 190 at our shop and I couldn’t believe the quality and how long it would go without a break so my wife surprised me with this 210 model for Christmas.

We’ve recently upgraded to the Millermatic 252 at work and I literally can’t tell a difference from start to finish! I surely wish this 210 had the highly adjustable digital display and pre/post gas option but at half the price of the Miller I can still dig it.

As long as she puts down the same quality “row of dimes” as the Miller that’s impressive enough for me! It also does Aluminum quite well with the spool gun. Cons: Throw away the useless ground clamp play toy! I took it into the field once for light duty use and I was not impressed at all with using the 120V on a small generator but honestly the generator was too small and was struggling so not really the welders fault.

I’ve never tried the 120V at home and have no plans to. Short leads and the gun is a bit cheap but way better than your average Home Depot Lincoln crap in a box welder.

I have owned the 140 Handler for the past 5 years but decided to upgrade for the greater weld capacity and service intervals. First of all Cyberweld were fantastic sellers with excellent communication and fast shipping.

Could not be more impressed!!!. Now the welder itself really is superior to the 140 (no surprise there) with deeper welds, faster wire feeds and a real pleasure to use. I could not help but notice that the feed roller was heavier duty and worked really well.

The Gas regulator was also noticeably a better quality than the Handler 140. The only negatives I have found is that the gun could have been increased in length (it is still the 10ft) and the worst negative is the cheap and nasty earth clamp which is literally made of tin and a thin earth wire — I replaced mine immediately with a heavy duty copper variety — Hobart really should supply this with a decent earth clamp – penny wise pound foolish.

Overall I would highly recommend this Hobart 210 to a beginner, farmer, DIY user or anybody that wants an all around quality welder that comfortably will weld from 16g to 3/8 steel in a single pass.

Great little welder for around the shop. Runs smooth and has good power for. 035″ wire and 1/4″ to 3/8″ material. Have not tried 1/2″ material yet but it has the capacity for that. Makes nice looking, professional quality welds.

The controls are easy to see and operate with no fluff or gimmicks. The stock gun is comfortable and feels substantial in your hand but is also light weight and maneuverable. The machine has nice quality fit and finish.

Excellent choice for this range of welder.

Item was shipped in the original box, so it shown wear from shipping, looked like it had been re-taped at the warehouse, so right away i was concerned about how it arrived. Maybe ship it inside another box to help with the handling.

The welder itself seemed OK out of the box and had all the proper parts inside. The instruction booklet was kinda weird, printed with 2 other languages on every page so it seemed kinda long, maybe have a separate booklet, or section, for each language.

Now on to the welder, easy to load the wire, simple plug and use application. Well built and seems like it will last a long time for an at home type welder. Flux cored wire makes the home repair, projects simple and quick, no shielding gas needed.

Runs a nice bead depending on your level of skill, practice on some scrap and fiddle with the settings before you jump right in. Only real negative was the face shield, totally worthless not even safe in my opinion so dump that right away.

Overall a nice addition for a workshop.

I purchased this welder to be used for welding on new rocker panels and cab corners on my truck. I have only welded on 14, 16 and 18 gauge sheet metal and it produces great welds. I have not experienced any problems with this welder.

I read several reviews on other manufactures of small welders and that is why I purchased a Lincoln welder. There is also a Lincoln weld dealer in my area if I need parts or service.

I was pleasantly surprised the welder arrived in great shape was easy to assemble and I was welding before you know it. It is a great little machine for around the house I was able to fix several things that I would have had too send to a shop to have done.

Very happy with the purchase.

I own two Millermatic 211 machines (both purchased from Cyberweld during sales promo events). The first one is an older model I bought in November 2012 (still working great). The second machine is the latest generation mode purchased in November 2019.

While the older model is an exceptional machine that welds perfectly, there are several noticeable improvements in the latest generation machine. Among them are: Size and weight. newer machine is smaller and lighter.

Second, the new nozzle / gas handling technology seems like it works smarter and directs the gas to the weld site better. Third, auto setting the machine is slightly easier. Fourth, the new machine seems to be ‘smarter’ than the older machine in how it controls the weld start.

Fifth, the new cache uses less electricity to accomplish the same quality weld. Overall, Miller seems to have improved a machine that was already an exceptional welder. I highly recommend this machine to anyone just starting out.

There are a lot of off brand machines that can be had for less money, but not with the same cycle time, quality and reliability as the Miller 211.

The welder has a great arc and i would give it 5 stars but it has this “Feature” not advertised where the wire comes out slow till it senses arc. The “Feature” sounds nice on paper but any real welder that runs it will see the flaw.

It Leave extra big spatter every time you start your weld which in our roll cage business is a big problem as far as finish goes. Also because of the “Feature” it makes it harder to start a bead overhead.

The extra spatter gobs down the wire as you start while overhead. These are not weldor user errors either as i have been welding professionally for almost 20 years. If you have ever had to tack tack tack to make a bead or fill up a void on something thin like sheet metal then this welder is not for you because of this “Feature”.

I’m a big fan of Hobart. I own their handler 140 and ez Tig 160. Bought the iron man 240 thinking it’d be the last mig id ever need. It has plenty of power and is a great unit BUT, that run in feature is super annoying and non adjustable.

They claim it creates less spatter but it creates more. Just like another reviewer said – overhead makes it even more of a headache.

It works but the flux core learning curve is long, unless you are an experienced welder. I’ve welded with stick for years but flux core is a different animal. I never change the setting on my AC stick welder.

I turn it on, insert a rod and weld, but on flux core you will be practicing and adjusting the controls to find that balance before welding. I’ve welded 22 gauge sheet metal but it took 1/2 hour of practice to find the combination of technique, amps and wire speed.

But now I can butt weld sheet metal. Don’t use cheap wire, use good expensive wire and your frustrations will be few. Have fun and plan on practicing some.

This is a great basic stick welder for the price. It works well off of both 110V and 220V. I have run 3/32 6013 (Lincoln) 1/8 6013 (Hobart) and 1/8 7018 (Lincoln) and they have all run just as well, disregarding it’s lack of advanced functions like arc force, as on more expensive welders (Miller and Lincoln).

The welder seems put together solidly, and I have experienced no issues over the last month of regular use (I have gone through ~10 lbs of rod). I haven’t checked how true the amp output is, but I have been using the electrodes within the expected range.

I also haven’t pushed it to its full duty cycle, but unless you are continually laying down beads, I wouldn’t expect any problems. Every once and a while you get some arc blow, but that happens with all DC machines.

The supplied electrode holder works OK, but I prefer ones with a stronger spring. I recommend replacing the supplied ground clamp to one with full copper jaws, I did so and noticed better performance out of my machine.

The cables are pretty good quality, and the DINSE connection seems very secure. I was impressed that the electrode holder connection comes with thin copper sheet wrapped around the wires to protect them from the set screw.

I have been very impressed with this welder, and its size makes it very easy to transport. I recommend that you put your welder through its paces after you receive it (within the 30 day return window) just to be sure you didn’t get a lemon, but the first and only welder I received worked perfectly right out of the box.

I am an Ironworker and certified welder by trade. I own a Brand Name DC dual voltage that I purchased for 5 times the price of this unit. I decided to take a chance on this unit so that I could have an extra / spare welder available.

The unit does not include a case but is shipped well protected in it’s box. I plugged the included adapter onto the power cord and plugged the unit into a standard 115 wall outlet. I assembled two pieces of 3/8 scrap plate and began welding them together with a 7018 3/32 rod.

Based on the $149. 00 price tag, I really did not expect too much performance. To my surprise, this unit welded as good as my name brand unit! I really like the digital readout! My name brand inverter welder does not have that! The included leads are of a good enough quality to use and make money right out of the box! I really do not expect to get the same service life as a high dollar unit but, I am very impressed with the Performance and Value of this unit! The clear flip cover is a plus! it is light but will protect the dial and led display from scrapes and scratches.

If you use the proper sized rods, 3/32 NOT 1/8 for the 115 voltage, you will be pleased with this little welders performance! I am very pleased with this purchase !.

I have always had a 220v welder and considered 100v welders marginal at best. I live on a horse ranch and occasionally have the need for a remote welding job. I took a chance on this machine on sale and I must say, it blew me away.

Running some old Lincoln. 035 wire it did a VERY acceptable job at medium power. Lincoln wire is not the best so I ordered some. 030 ENE INEFIL wire (from Italy -the best you can buy) and that should vastly improve the quality of the weld.

Flux welders are not for super fine detail welds. I call the result, “FARM WELDING” and the result is solid, if not pretty. If you take the time to get the weld slag cleaned up with a brush, it’s respectable.

With a 90-day warranty, I am trying to “burn” this welder in, using it every day, mostly using the upper range of the power. On a piece of 1/8″ square scrap, I burned a hole right through the metal on HIGH.

And that was on a 15-foot HD extension cord. I kept loading the machine up in the upper power range and when I got done, the square stock was mostly gone. That is why I say, this is no toy welder. It will do a great job and, with quality wire, is a great starter welder.

I plan to use this for remote work, off my generator, if need be. Only negatives so far is the wire feed was glitchy yesterday but the drive wheel never stopped working on request. The tensioner is cranked down as tight as possible.

I am going to try some welding wire lube in the feed hose to take some of the drag off the drive system. The weld hose is only 6 foot long (to keep the power up) so some lube should solve the issue. The other thing is the whole top of the case opens for access to the wire and tensioner so that negates a top handle but, the strap works fine for hauling it around.

It’s a flea-weight welder so toting it around is easy. VERY HAPPY SO FAR. If it survives 90-days of higher power welding, this should be a real keeper for mobile applications.

This welder is awesome !!!!!. I started welding when i was 12 years old using a stick welder. I have used other type welders in my career. Several years ago i purchased the Chicago Electric 90 amp wire welder but I never could get it to feed reliably so I sold it to someone else and bought this welder.

I was building shelves out of half channel struts and had to weld some mounting plates on the struts. The welds I did looked pretty and smooth with very little slag sticking around the weld area. i had my wife try some horizontal welds ( vertical welds are more difficult) This was only her second time attempting to weld and even HER welds looked pretty good.

The wire feed speed adjustment makes keeping an arc very easy. The power adjustment wont let you burn thru the material you are welding on. I did not stop until i was finished and the welder just kept on welding.

I did trip the breaker once but i believe it was due to having a big fan on the same circuit. We now have some pretty heavy shelving in the Garage and i have a very portable welder for those little jobs you almost hate to break out a welder to do.

Very Satisfactory welder and not necessararily just a “beginner” welder. This welder has very much impressed me.

I purchased this welder in an “emergency” to weld a nut on the end of a broken bolt for removal. HF was out of the $100 Chicago Electric welder so I bought this one, despite having reservations about flux core welding.

I had last really welded 20 years ago in a high school fabrication class. It was very, very easy to pick up welding with this HF welder. Using the provided wire, if you clean the surface first, you can get a very nice looking bead! Every bit as good as an actual MIG machine with gas.

Usually I clean up the area before the weld with a wire wheel, then use a wire wheel to clean up the welds. I have had good luck using the recommended settings based on steel thickness, taking my time, “pulling” the weld, and using a circular pattern.

For $200 it’s already paid for itself. It’s also small – about the size of a 12 pack of beer – and easy to store. The amount of things you can do with even a flux core welder vs. without is huge. It’s really helped on minor fabrication for my car/off-road hobby, repairing a trailer fender, making extended sway bar endlinks etc.

I would not want to use this for a massive fabrication project (like building an off-road bumper), but it’s perfectly acceptable for use on small projects.

Got this machine to finish a fence using flux core wire with no gas. The machine can use gas too. We needed to use a 100ft extension cord and the machine had no issues whatsoever. Plugs into any common three prong outlet.

Its compact and easy to use. Again this is a bargain for beginners to intermiedate welders.

So far so good. For the money it is an awesome little welder. I have only used the flux core mig function so far but I will be trying stick welding soon. I just wish it included a tig torch but at this price point you can’t complain.

I have the matching 20p plasma cutter which i also like. Forney makes a great product.

This is a great welder, has everything my boyfriend was looking for and then some-this was his first welder and he loves it! Had everything set up within days of receiving it for his birthday, including some extra wiring in our garage, etc.

A great hobby/repair welder!.

Had to fix a bunch of old horse paneling and gates that were in need of some welds. Haven’t even welded anything in 20 yrs since an elective class in college. Grabbed the grinder and tools and spent 2 hours prepping my weld spots and then fired the welder up and got to it.

90 minutes of welding fixed 23 weak/broke connections and a gate that should probably be thrown out but they don’t make anymore and I really like it. Paneling is 2nd hand to me and probably 10 yrs old – so rusted and well used most years in the elements.

I would have spent more than the $150 for the welder and supplies having it welded at a shop. Plus now I have a wire feed welder for any other projects that come along. No more temporary metal fixes.

No issues with the welder and ran smooth. This welder was the right tool for the job so far. Welds look plenty good enough for horse paneling. Let’s hope the tool using it was adequate.

I wanted one of these for a while, so last year I bought one. I have used it for a few items, and am currently welding bedframe up to create the support frames for a couple doors for an outbuilding. So far, the problem I have found is that the unit is a little heavy powered for sheet metal work, and perhaps too light for the metal I am using.

I get good wire flow, but it could be me because I get poor puddles. I think it is a combination of the hood being too dark (shading in it is such that I can barely see what I am doing, unlike the ones I had in the past, so that is not on this unit but on the hood), but also it spits and does not smoothly lay the wire down, burning it off early even though I am following directions to the T.

I have to work with it some more to know for sure, so I am subtracting a single star only because of the sheet metal issue, which is too light for this machine unless I do a kabillion tack welds on it and then live on the grinder a while to clean up that mess.

Maybe I am asking too much of this tool and am outside it’s slot, but the other issue is that the duty cycle is pretty short for this unit. It is light weight, relatively speaking, as compared to other brands when I carry it, and I think I may put a stronger clamp spring on the grounding clamp, but other than that, I THINK it will work out, but I am just not sure.

I am not a fan of the directions given, nor of the all or very little option of high and low setting on the power level. I would have rather had dials because I don’t yet “get” when it is best to use “hi” or “low” when working with bed frame railing for material.

The directions assume you are using new steel, and I don’t do that. I imagine very few people who would buy this would use new steel, as it would cost more than the welder for even a small project!.

If you’re looking for a great 220 volt welder for under $1000 this is it. It will weld mild steel 3/8 in thick and thinner no problem. Also, aluminum plate 1/2 in. thick with ease. Plenty of juice for automotive work.

110 volt welders are a bit small for thicker steel like 1970’s cars and light trucks. You won’t be sorry you purchased this 220 volt welder.

Awesome Welder. I learned to weld on a friend’s cheap flux core 110 and after that this thing is absolutely impressive! Great price and awesome machine. Got a gas bottle and a 10 lb spool of solid wire and have been running it constantly.

5 Stars.

I originally bought a discount tool 120v AC welder. It was OK for the money I paid, but I quickly found things it did not do. I have just started using the Lincoln MIG180 and already realize that it is really worth the extra cash.

Find the money from somewhere or someone and get yourself one of these.

I purchased this to replace a cheap one I had from a certain low budget store i won’t name. i never had a lot of luck with flux wire before but after a few practice beads to get an idea for its performance i welded up a sharpening accessory for my wood turning tools.

It welded 1/8 inch angle to a piece of 1/2 X 3/4 steel bar with no problems and managed a relatively clean weld to boot. I now run. 035 wire in it with the appropriate tips and use it for various around the shop light repairs.

I probably use this more than my old 120 amp arc welder now.

This is my first welder (ever) and the first time at welding (ever) I have had the 90 amp Flux Core welder for about 2 weeks now. I practiced the first day and the second day I started my project. I have found that with this welder even the new guy can weld, I’m building a tilt boat trailer and it is coming along great.

I am now thinking about getting the 175 with the spool gun (for aluminum). This 90 amp welder is great for 1/8″ steel and makes a retired 64 year old carpenter look good. Thanks Eastwood.

Not really happy with it it doesn’t do what I need it to do welding a body panel or patch panel , or plugging holes on sheet metal is a big no go I was hoping to get by with a cheap alternative to fix a few minor things on my 76 camaro but this welder is not for body work the welds are brittle and impossible to fill without gas.

but it will weld non fine work great. but spend the money and get a gas set up if you are trying to do body work this isnt the welder for it.

I am a welder by trade as a mechanic where I work. I bought this unit and used it in my shop where I make custom metal work on my days off. Here is my honest opinion of the Lincoln. For $325 it is a good deal, but for heavy welding or for long periods of welding time it will overheat and you will be waiting for it to cool down.

The flux core is decent to weld with, I did most of my welding with gas and it was clean, could be better penetration but you have to remember it is only a 110 welder so it is only going to do so much.

The regulator does not come with a gauge so you do not know how much is left in your bottle or how much is coming out, I ended up buying one with a gauge on another website. If you are doing small jobs like lawnmowers, 1/16″ and 1/8″ metal it will work, but after a while you will figure out what it actually can do.

I ended up selling it and buying a Miller 211. The shield that comes with it is more like a toy in my opinion and the plastic used on the tension wheel to hold down the wire is cheap. But I will say, it never broke down for the year I used it.

Awesome! So, I’m a cabinet maker. A buddy of mine is a certified structural welder, great welder, owns a huge Miller. He found it shameful that I don’t know how to weld. He said, “its great to be able to fix stuff around the house”.

For the money he said this is a great welder, it’s all about the electronics. Then he said, “could you stop by latter and fix one of my cabinet doors? Lmao I enclosed some pics. It’s a piece of 1/4” plate from Home Depot.

I sepperated the pieces a 1/32″, and beveled the edge for better penetration. I flap sanded with a grinder and cleaned the steel with acetone. I also put on a 100% solid copper ground clamp. Im new at this so the weld is kinda ugly.

It’s ok. I then put the piece on an anvil and beat the living sh__ out of it with a 12lb sledge. I’ll be keeping this welder. 🙂 hope this helps.

Haven’t mastered the machine with nice beads yet but in time as I weld more feel it will happen. Had a couple adjustments which was able to figure out and really like this welder for the price. I am sure the more I spend the better the welder would be but this one will do what I need to get done.

small around the house and body work type jobs. Did have the trigger stick which feed the wire out non stop and had to take the gun apart but it fixed itself it seems and works fine at this point. Very happy with the product at this time.

thanks.

Sorry product maybe used 5 times they tell me mother board is bad and I can buy for 300 hell whole thing was 600then they say I be better off to buy another at 10 percent off why would I buy another one from then when first was used 5 times tech department is terrible you can only communicate via email can’t talk to anyone on phone I highly do not recommend this company for plasma cutter bad product bad service bad tech.

Did allot of research before purchasing this might machine. Ordered it from Walmart. com and was delivered to my home in 5 days. Came packed very well with everything you need to get started other than Flux core wire or gas.

Comes with solid core wire but I doughty Flux core for welding outside. I have to say this machine is very heavy and we’ll built. It came with a tweco whip and is very familiar to what I use at work professionaly.

I ran practice welds on thin sheet metal with great results. I even ran some test passes on 1/2 inch and it had great penitration. Juse used it today for building a cage with 3/16 angle iron and it performed flalessly.

I ran for over 3 min continuesly multiple times without ever reaching the duty cycle and shutting the machine down. After almost buying the Hobart handler 140 for $200 more and watching videos of this machine performing better than comparable miller’s and Lincolns I couldn’t be happier with my puchase.

I plan on buying the larger rig that will tig, mig, stick and gouge next. I highly recommend this brand and it truly is a very impressive machine for its size and cost. I weld professionally with $10,000 machines and I never thought a machine that runs on 110v could perform this well and I haven’t even tried solid wire with gas yet! Also this is onespecially of the only 110v machines avaliable that is spool gun capable and the spool gun itself is less than $150 compared to the miller’s gun that cost over $600.

So for less than $500 you can get this machine, spool gun and cart. Just get some gas a day you can weld about any type of material up to 1/4″ without a problem producing welds that look like a $2k machine.

I can’t say enough good things about this machine and could write on and on about the positive aspects of this rig. Only down side is that I waited this long to buy it.

This 140 amp welder is awesome I bought the same model about 7 years ago and have USED IT ever since , the only CON was the drive roller clamp for the wire feed was made of a composite or plastic and mine was broken by other users on the upside it appears that they have improved the design so I HIGHLY recommend this little bugger.

I bought one of these from home depot as a stop gap. If you are used to a modern miller mig like a 252 or 255 which are the typical consumer migs miller sells. Then you will hate this welder. This thing is not competitive it can only weld very thing steel.

14 gauge and below. I tried to make bracket out of 12 gauge steel with it. The weld just sits on the surface and brakes off. If you are a very beginner and you need to do sheet metal welding and rust repair.

Then this is fine, but it will struggle to do plug welds between two layers of metal.

I bought a lincoln because my dad has had a lincoln 155 for about 18 Years and has never had any problems and has ran numerous 10lbs rolls of wire threw it. I was looking into a harbor freight welder or a eastwood because of the huge price difference but you get what you pay for and a welder is something you’re going to want to last and be consistent.

I’ve welded with this welder only set up for Flux core so far and it is very easy to get set up maybe 5 mins and I was welding this welder is very powerful for a 115v unit and lays very nice beads. Don’t buy a cheapo go with a name brand and you will have no complaints.

I don’t see bad reviews on lincoln but you see a fair share of bad reviews on chicago electric and eastwood. Spend the money and get something that is going to get the job done well and last a long time.

I got the welder on sale for $480 plus a free lincoln welding cart at blains farm and fleet just couldn’t go wrong with that price for the quality and dependability of it.

This welder runs better beads than the $2700 welder I used to have at a metal shop. While I wish the voltage dial had more settings, I run it on the hot side and it performs great! Setup was very basic and it comes with everything you need to get started.

I purchased this welder to get me out of a bind and it works flawlessly. It’s let down by having transformer taps and a selection switch, rather than having a continuous variable voltage control. Also, although the gauges supplied with it work fine, they are pretty cheaply made, so long term you’ll likely be investing in some better ones.

The Ground Clamp seems fine so far, but the ground wire feels lightweight. As it’s a transformer type, it’s heavy, so lugging it around would get old real quick, so best located in the small shop/ home garage, where you can plunk it on a cart and wheel it about as you need.

Overall it’s not a bad welder by any means, it will burn wire like the best of them. It’s priced middle of the road and there are some better featured machines out there for similar money, but those don’t have the brand following that Lincoln have.

I haven’t used it often enough yet to say how it will stand up over time, but my initial experiences with it says it should.

The only minor complaint i have with this set up, is the rather low quality guage set up. I found them to be finicky at lower tank pressure (upgrade at your own expense if needeed). I should also mention, there a few different 180 units – check the Lincoln website) The180 mig is great.

I like the larger roll capacity – i have an 11pound spool on it now. Welds thin to heavy metal easily. This unit should be plenty for the DIY’r. Someone previously mentioned it was only 130amps – that’s the rating that they duty cycle it.

It is 180amps at max. From body panels to 1/4″ plate steel – no issues. I’ve repaired holes in my jeep body, frame and doing a custom front bumper as we speak. I’ve another 110 mig, 220 Lincoln stick, and this unit.

Ya can’t go wrong – buy one and forget it. It’ll last for years. Watch for sale prices.

After relying on a AC/DC stick machine for heavy work and a 115v. MAG/MIG machine for light stuff for many years i decided i needed a 220v MIG in my arsenal, i also wanted a power supply that could handle a 150 amp Spool-gun for welding aluminum.

I learned a long time ago the benefits of argon in my gas mix for wire feed welding and after being extremely impressed with the performance of my Mig Pak 180 on c25 gas i decided to switch to c15 gas and see if i could get it into spray transfer process on heavier material with L6 0.

030 wire. I won’t say the 180 will do spray tranfer precisely but it’s jammy enough to come close and that’s really saying something. I can’t say enough good things about how nice my 180 welds on a multitude of materials in all thicknesses and positions.

For anybody considering buying a mig in the medium power arena look no further as Lincoln really has this baby dialed in.

Five stars! Fast and efficient. Thank you.

I’m thinking of getting a refund and ordering it off of Amazon.

Just purchased our fifth Power Mig 256 for our busy little shop. These machines are easy to operate, and they work very well. As our shop grows, I have no doubt that we will buy more of these.

Not had a chance to use welder yet. Trying to put everything together to start welding (wire, extra tips, CO2 mix tank, etc. ). Very good price and fast free shipping. Have received acknowledgement that my rebate claim thru Lincoln has been approved, just waiting for payment.

This is the fourth welder i have purchased from Welding Supplies From IOC. As always very pleased with the Lincoln machine but exceptionally happy with the customer service that is provided. Excellent people to deal with.

Thanks.