Nice cart, you enough room left over to hold your laundry!

I got Argon & Co2...need the argon like fluoride in toothpaste. Keeps you tips clean as a whistle. LOL

I had no clue what kind of gas I am using till I went and checked. Argon/CO2. Have always Just turned it all on and weld. I have the 4 foot bottle on my Miller.

Thinking about buying a plasma. Any suggestions boys?

Larry,

I purchased a Hyperterm Powermax30 plasma cutter. Works extremely well and very easy to use. I have a gas cutter and got rid of it shortly after getting this cutter. No where near the mess and concern for fire potential with plasma vrs gas. Definitely a must have tool in your shop. I was lucky to snag up a used one for a great deal. Get 110v/220v capability and you can cut up to 1/2" steel.

http://www.hypertherm.com/en-us/Products/Handheld_cutting/Systems/powermax30.jsp

This is the one I have been using on my build. Works flawlessly. Used it last night to cut some brackets/welds off an old Jeep axle for a buddy, he was impressed. $425 to my door. You can same one on ebay for less, same seller too, but the ones on ebay have a 1 year warranty, buying direct I got 3 year...good guys to talk to as well.

Gianttech Plasma Cutter.

I have it in my head that I should learn tig welding as well. Anyone have one of the combo units that does tig and plasma cutting?

That's really nice cutter! And cheap as well! It looks to have all the specs of mine.

Tig welding is a good idea as well. I don't have one.

Eastwood has some combo welders/cutters you might want to look at.

I'm a little late to the party, but here is a website that I used early on before I knew much about welding.

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/ '

Very active and a fair amount of US people as well as UK for good advice.

I started with a 110v and quickly learned that wasn't going to cut the mustard. I am using my neighbors Miller 250MP. Great machine precise time control for great spot welds or when I can't release the trigger fast enough.

I have the smallest bottle available and I've put in a new floor and all bracing among a bunch of other spots on about 4 bottles, one of which I lost do to a leaky flow meter.

oh and I still don't know much about welding...

Why oh why did I read the instruction manual? The box says 20 amps required and has a pic of the installed 50 amp plug. Got the breaker, receptacle box, receptacle, cable, plate, and made an extension cord with flexible 3/10 wire. Then for some unknown reason I read the instructions, never bothered much with those in the past. The manual says to use #12 wire and a 40 amp super lag breaker. Not only am I not a welder but I'm not an electrician either, but seems to me if I put in a 40 amp breaker with a slow blow and it's needed for some reason, it's going to heat up that 12 gauge wire and burn my house down. We can't have that, my wife is inside making me another cup of coffee and my car and bike are both in the attached garage with my 10 year span of sports illustrated swimsuit calendars. I don't even know what a super lag breaker is. But like I said I'm not an electrician.

The 250 MP I am using can draw up to 50 amps. I ran a 30A service and separate box to my garage years ago. I also added a 50A plug, but again I have a 30A line. For the kind of welding you will do on the car, I cannot imagine ever drawing 50 amps to even worry about it. I am not an electrician, but I can tell you i've never tripped the circuit breaker on the 30A fuse ever.

My 110V unit (Clarke 130) never did either. That unit can draw up to 23 amps if I recall.

It's ok to go big on your wire and plug but don't have any bigger breaker than what you need.
I think your looking at the 110v setup @20amps or 220v @20ampsrequirement.

Bigger welders will use 220v @ 30-40amp rating

You can get 20amps out of std 110 jack as well.

SORRY MAN...just read this ad...

A lot of guys buy this size welder and then get PO'd because it's only 20amp. These smaller welders will limit your ability to weld thicker steel. It will do sheet metal just fine just not 1/4" - 1/2" plate. You
can still wire for 220v 20amp would run better than 110v 20amp but know that your not going to do
any big steel.

Ok for sheet metal, wiring requirements are much smaller than what I did with mine.

Well it's a 240 volt 20 amp machine. Should take a 20 amp breaker but the instruction manual says to put in a 40 amp breaker. Doesn't make sense to protect a 20 amp piece of equipment with a 40 amp breaker. All the wiring I got is # 10 even though only # 12 is required for 20 amps, I always add a bit for safety. Can't think of why they would recommend a 40 amp breaker for a 20 amp circuit and tell you to use #12 wire.
And I've heard of super lag fuses but not a super lag breaker.

240 40 amp is going to require 2 20 amp 110v breakers. You can buy 220/240v breakers that are really nothing more than a tied pair of 20 amp 110v breakers.

My miller mig is wired the same way.

Be very careful. 220 can easily kill you.

This is not a concern. Circuit breakers don't protect the machine. Circuit breakers protect the building wiring that feeds the machine. The machine itself has it's own overload protection/breakers/etc built in...your breaker does not need to protect it.

Always size breaker to the wire in the home and to your local electrical code. Don't rely on a Lincoln Manual for this. Note when you Google search "super lag breaker" the only people asking about it are people who are reading their Lincoln Welder manuals....this aughtta tell you something about the quality of the advice in that manual. Ignore what it says and consult electrical code.

You stated you're using 10 gauge wire, which is rated to handle 30 amps continuous. For that, a 30 amp breaker is the standard in most any electrical code. If you have a 20 amp welder, then the 30 amp breaker won't ever blow, so it's appropriately sized.

My suggestion for household wiring: 30 amp breaker, 10 gauge wire. It's safe, has adequate capacity for the 20 amp machine, and should meet your electrical code. Get a plug that handles 30 amps on the wall (meets code) or greater (which will probably violate code...but will be safe for YOU unless/until someone else 40 years after you're dead decides to plug in a 50 amp appliance in this location after replacing the 30 amp circuit breaker with a bigger one but not the 10 gauge wiring...thus the code violation. Codes somehow try to predict the actions of stupid people of the future, while at the same time instructing the stupid people of today).

Maybe this is clear as mud? Anyway...that's how I'd do it...and frankly I'd skip the whole extension cord plan and just replace the entire electrical cord on the welder with a 12/3 flexible (or upsize to 10/3 no harm) up to about 50 feet...beyond that you have voltage drop issues. First thing I do to every welder and major portable garage appliance I ever buy...dump the 6 foot factory cord (which you will probably notice is a 14 gauge FYI) and replace it with a nice 40 footer 12/3, straight from where it plugs into the power switch inside the unit. I know you're worried about warranty in doing something like this, but that's not something I ever worry about so you can make your own call as you feel comfortable. 220V extension cords are likely a residential code violation in themselves in most jurisdictions...usually not recommended but I agree entirely safe if properly constructed and commonly used many places.

Good point about the breaker protecting the wiring not the equipment. I put in a 30 amp 240 volt double pole breaker and a 50 amp receptacle to match the plug on the welder. I will mark the receptacle '30 amps max' and will replace it with a 30 amp receptacle if/when I ever move. I also made an extension cord using # 10 wire and ends the same as those GUS68 used. The plugs and receptacles are all 50 amp but only have # 10 wire, when I no longer need the 50 amp ends to match the welder I will remove them.
The transfer switch came into use the last few days, it's amazing how a mere 18 inches of snow will cause a four day power outage, but there were 20 or so trees over on the power lines this weekend. Took out a lot of wire and broke off a few poles. Got a few hours overtime on the snowplow though.

Sounds like you're all good then...that all sounds very much in line with a good plan IMO.

Another simple analogy for breaker sizes having nothing to do with the capacity of what we plug into the circuit:

Your entire house is probably 12 gauge wire with 20 amp breakers, or maybe 14 gauge wire with 15 amp breakers...right? This is typical in most localities. Yet we'll plug in a TV wired with 18 gauge lamp wire, that will only draw maybe 3 or 6 amps or whatever into these 20/15 amp circuits...and this is not a safety concern...nor is it an issue with a drastically oversized breaker protecting the TV that pulls much lower amps. Right? This is why there is nothing wrong with using a 40 amp breaker...or even a 200 amp breaker...on your 20 amp welder. As long as the house wiring in the wall is sized appropriately for the breaker. That's the ONLY thing the breaker must either match or undersize...the wiring installed in the wall.

Lincoln is suggesting a 40 amp breaker likely as a convenience. It's guaranteed 100% to never pop. But once you get past the receptacle in the wall, size of breaker and size of wiring is essentially meaningless because only one of two things can happen: 1. You plug something smaller in, it never uses the capacity provided (typical). or 2. You plug something bigger in (oops or stupid), and the breaker trips in order to protect the house wiring from overheating and saves your family.

I'm speculating that the instructions in the Lincoln welder were not referring to house wiring at all, but instead to with input conductor wiring (the cord attached to the welder itself). I know my Hobart welder came with clear instructions and sizing limits (gauge and length) of how to size a replacement cord...and you may have been mistaking these instructions provided with your Lincoln for actual house wiring instructions, which I would find highly irregular...Lincoln should simply refer you to your locality's wiring code for home wiring, and I suspect would not print any type of home wiring advice in their manuals at all.

Better to be big on your wire size. The 50amp outlet allows for a larger gauge wire. You don't have to have 50amps going thru it. It's the MAX for that outlet. 30amps to 50amps can be carried thru that outlet. Much easier installing #10 in a 50 outlet than a 30. Also, less resistance on the line with larger wire.

When your first commented I was concerned you only had a 20amp 110v welder. Those smaller welders cannot draw more than 30 amps.

One last thing, make sure your ground wire is connect all the way thru your circuit and connect to each box (casing connection) as well. Do you have a ground rod or mat at both your main panel and the sub panel? I just checked mine last week and there is no ground rod at my sub panel out here at the shop. So if I get a short it's going into my house panel and then into that ground rod (if it exists). :((

Thanks Guys and/or girls,
Makes sense the breakers are protecting the circuit wiring not the not the equipment. It 's when they said to use a 50 amp breaker and 12 gauge wire it sounded like they recommended wiring the breaker to the receptacle [house wiring] with #12
No sub panel, the other one in the pic is the transfer switch box. After four or five years of running extension cords from the generator to the house every time we lost power , happens about 10-15 times a year and last a few hours to a week or so, I installed the transfer switch to connect the generator to some of the more important house circuits , like the fridge and the TV on monday night football days, and be sure to not back feed the service line.

I got the cylinder of mig gas and hope to start to learn how to weld this weekend, if the forecasted snow storm doesn't take place.

I need to start off by saying that I rarely post anything on here but have been reading the posts on here for many years and get great enjoyment from it.

I am a little late to the party on this topic but I do have a few random thoughts. I am a not a professional welder, but I do teach some welding in a vocational setting, so here are a few.

One option for gas bottles is that some suppliers now offer I lifetime lease. I have switched all my bottles that I used to rent at the school over to this option. It was actually cheaper than purchasing most of the bottles outright and there is no certification that you have to deal with. When I need a bottle filled I can either exchange it at a local company if I am desperate or the supplier delivers weekly at no charge.

With welders there is no substitute for power, however every welder is different. I have 3 of the exact same lincoln stick welders and they all weld differently, I also have 2 Miller MIG welders exact same machine but the settings you use for the same stock is different. I have one of the three stick welders that I use and 1 of the MIG welders that I use exclusively when I am welding because It is familiar to me. I think we all like what we have because we are comfortable with it.

I think that flux core wire feed is garbage, I have not had much success with it. Maybe some have, and maybe my problem is It doesn't work for me because I am used to gas.

I have not really noticed any difference with the type of gas you use when welding steel. But I do believe that gas flow is extremely important to help prevent porosity and oxidation. Also how well you prep the metal makes a huge difference in the quality.

Lastly, a lot of people talk about TIG welding, and I know several people that own them and they sit in the corner unused. I don't actually know anyone who is a good TIG welder. I can TIG weld but I am not good at, Eventually I will get a nice weld on aluminum and stainless, but I have to practice a lot on scrap to get it set up right. There is just a lot to know for each metal, polarities, AC/DC, Prepping the Metal, Which Tungsten electrodes to use for which metals, How to properly grind the electrodes, Using separate grinding wheels, and stocking all the right rods for different materials. Can get expensive too.
I wish it was like MIG 5 minutes to learn the operation, and a little practice and you can weld most of the things that you need.

Ok, Lastly again- Welding is very individual lots of room for individual technique.
I teach the progression from MIG to Stick to Oxy-Acet to TIG. Sometimes people rag on me for teaching oxy or even stick saying that they are outdated, but the motor skills learned from one to the next are really helpful by the time you get to TIG. Plus who in there right mind does not want to have a torch in their hand

Most if not all of the cromolly airframes were oxy welded.

That's all I ever saw used, I didn't see the production though just the repairs and mods. Not many on the airframes but the engine mounts would crack a little more often due to the vibration and the older stuff landing on frozen lakes with skies got a little bumpy. I didn't do all the repairs but it was my license signing them out so I had to know a good qxy/actl weld when I saw one. Arc is another animal to me.

Well, I fired it up and made a few passes with the flux core. I had a few pieces of 3/16 angle iron and just made some lines on the surface. looked pretty crappy, then I welded two together and the weld looked not bad. I switched to the gas and did the same with the L-56 wire. I set the tension to recommended and melted the end of the contact tip as the wire wasn't feeding. Good thing they gave me a few spares. I tried welding some lines along a vertical piece and had great gobs of weld falling and sticking onto the other leg of the angle. Stuck pretty good as I could not knock the blobs off with a cold chisel. I may have to get someone over to give me a few pointers. Having fun though.
I used up the sample spool of L-56 and went to buy some more. All I could find is S-6. Anyone know the difference in L-56 and S-6? And does it matter which I use?
Once again, thanks for your help.
Al

Vertical welding is tricky. I have found that I get best results by not trying to run a continuous bead but do a series of overlapping quick spot style welds from the bottom up. The results look like a "stack of dimes" when done correctly.

I went online but could find little about the difference between L56 and S6 wire. I found the amount of different elements in each but that didn't help me much. The small sample roll of L56 didn't last long and today I replaced it with the S6. I don't know if it's because the L56 is old or made in Mexico or what but the S6 worked a lot better than the L56 wire. Night and day different.
Now to find more steel. I welded everything I could find in the garage and yard. My wife is starting to hide things, apparently she doesn't want a 3/16 angle iron deck chair. Go figure.

Getting a bit better, even did some welding for beer.
A couple of more questions.
First I'm going to weld a bung onto my exhaust for an air fuel ratio sensor. I checked with a magnet and since the magnet sticks to both am I safe to assume I can weld the bung to the pipe using S-6 steel wire?
Do I set the welder to the settings for 1/16" pipe and put the heat mostly on the thicker bung?

Second I was given a Forney SL-225 stick welder by an old timer here on Pender. I got about 65 pounds of various size rods with it. They have been laying around for quite a while, some have white fur on them, are they junk?

Yeah, probably no good. Rod goes bad when it draws moisture. Most welder's keep their rod in a heater. I keep mine in a closet under the stairs in the middle of the house( my wife is thrilled-whatever).
Also, when you weld the bung in be careful with the heat. I tried to do one a couple months ago and the heat warped the bung to where when I screwed the plug in after it wiped the threads. I ended up having a muffler shop do the next one because I only had enough pipe to try one more time and I didn't want to wait to get more in the mail. I think the guy charged me $50 for the bung, plug and to weld it in. Probably took him 30 seconds.