[tommy]

i disagree on the welder if i was you i would get a 100 amp wire feeder and get the 0.35 fluxcore wire or 0.30 stick welding takes way to much amps to weld plus it limits the thickness you can weld with a wirefeeder you can weld the realy thin stuff and the thick stuff with a stick machine you can't weld the thin stuff.i have 3 wire feeders setup in my shop and one stick machine i have yet to fire up the stick machine .

[wunhunglo]

Quote:       Originally Posted by Rex in OTZ

I would recomend a suitcase size hand carry gen for flexable work round the place, the above mentioned 1000watt is too small frow any practicle use. I just used a Honda EU 2000 for a welding project recently had to use 1/16" welding rods (stick welders are simpler to maintain) for running power for extended periods over 1 hour I would choose a 3K watt diesel powerd 3cylinder light plant for fuel economy of course they are too heavy to be portable.

You can get a 6kw Kipor silenced single cylinder diesel for less than $1500 which is semi-portable (wheels on). I've had one for a coupla years now & it's giving good service.

[Rex in OTZ]

I use the small stick welder just yesterday, worked just fine, no I dont re-build Dredge buckets or heavy equipment, it works fine on 1/4" metal just fine on smaller metal working projects like sled hitches, and radio tower and a number of odd jobs to many to mention.

The reason for the stick welder is simplicity, The wire drive and gun & tips and possibly the gas if you use that, the flux core wire is prefired has too many parts that can and do go wrong,
The last trip I brought the welder in a float plane (cessna 185) so cramped space and limited weight consideration factor in.
Ive used larger wire fed welders before and are nice when ther dial'd in correctly.
I like the idea of a simple welder that can concevibaly be repaired in the field if required somthing that isant always possible with a wire fed welder useing flux core wire.

[ArkansasHunter]

I went to trade school for 2 years 2 night's a week to learn about welding. I bought a welding machine and have only used it 1 time.
I bought it when I was 23 years old which was 32 years ago. I might ought to go check on it LOL

[tommy]

the only gas i use is for my aluminum machine i just run regular fluxcore wire through my wire feeders . you must have a little bitty ole 100 amp stick machine .anything bigger than a 100 amp stick machine is gonna be way bigger and heavier than a wire feeder. my linchons are not big at all i have a 100 amp and a 140 amp and i also have a 100 amp campbell housfield that is junk i burned the reostat up and it's stuck wide open . stick with a name brand like miller of linchon i know i spelled the name wrong but oh well.both of mine are doing good. when i welded pipeline (b31-3) i used miller machines been welding all my life and i rarely use a stick machne now unless it has to be xrayed but then all we do is string the thing off with a stick and then fill and cap the rest with the wire feeders