Posted: 2/28/2025 12:44:04 PM EDT
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I need suggestion on a new welder.. MY old one was a forney c-5, older than me.... I have a small farm so it sees some intermittent use. I am a bit leery of new inverter machines but it's about all you can find and after watching some videos, the look to be easy peasy. I have a couple questions... My older welder had 50ft leads that came in handy as I work out of a connex. I had a pass through door or out the end doors to make the occasional hay feeder, or work on a trailer etc... The new suitcase welders are meant to be portable, and I see where they are designed for long extension cords... would I be better served with a new suitcase and a good 10ga extension cord, or...... |
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You might as well look at multi-function machines. Plasma cutters are pretty handy. Are you planing on running it on 120 or 240? Running 120 on an extension cord will be pretty much useless for welding on farm equipment. Primeweld machines are solid. https://primeweld.com/collections/multi-process-welders |
9 lives - 9 pellets... Coincidence?
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I have one of these and couldn't be happier with it. Comes in a nice rolling case. It's dual voltage 120/240, 180A DC tig and stick with a pulser. Runs 6010. Welds 1/8 rod on a 300 foot 120v extension cord. Will burn 5/32 all day on 240v. Oh yeah.... NOT made in china. Fronius has been around since WW2 and makes good stuff. @elginrunner This link is to the stick, non gas version without tig torch. https://bakersgas.com/products/fronius-180XT Stick They also sell it with gas solenoid, tig torch and electrode holder if needed. bakersgas.com/products/fronius-180XT Tig/Stick  Does Your Fronius Accupocket Or TransPocket Cut Out During Welding?!?!? |
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With the little suitcase machines, it's important to get a good quality one. I'd suggest a 150-200amp machine and pay attention to the duty cycle as too low of a duty cycle will make it pretty useless. A good 10awg, 220v extension cord is much cheaper than long welding leads and easier to replace/extend. I did a lot of hog house gate repair. The perfect tool for that job was a Miller Maxstar 150s. I could plug in my cord at the entrance and throw 200ft of extension down the center alley. Then just carry the welder from pen to pen fixing gates as I went. When I needed to fix a combine or tillage equipment out in the yard, just threw out the extension cord and carried the welder to the job. I did have an extension cord hack, but I'm not going into that. Lets just say that the welder was dual voltage 110/220v and auto selecting. Wire is wire and 110v cords are easier to find than 220v. |
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I have a Miller Maxstar 150 that I scored off FB marketplace for $500 a few years ago. Keep your eyes peeled and you might find a deal like that yourself. If you want brand new and a warranty then either the maxstar 160 or 210 will work fine. A company I have worked for in the past uses the maxstar 210's exclusively on 120 volt circuits, mostly for tig welding. Those machines get thrashed constantly and as far as I know they haven't had problems. We also used to burn 1/8 inch 7018 rods all day with no problems on a 120 volt outlet. Maxstar 210 |
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