Best MIG Welders for Heavy-Duty Projects
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Hobart 500553 Handler 210 MVP For Use with SpoolRunner 100 MIG Welder -
Millermatic 140 907335 MIG Welder -
Lincoln Electric 140C MIG Welder -
Hobart Handler 140 MIG Welder -
Reboot MIG Welder -
Buyer's Guide
Welders aren’t exactly the most common tool you’ll find in a home workshop; then again, I have one in my workshop and it’s gotten plenty of use. Once I actually broke down and bought one, I found a huge number of projects I could use it on from making brackets for my video studio lights to building cargo trailers.
If you’re looking at buying a welder, you’ve probably at least thought about buying a MIG. Compared to “stick” welders, these models are definitely the way to go. Read on for details about the best MIG welders on the market in 2022.
Upgrade your home tool shop with the best MIG Welders in 2022
Hobart 500553 Handler 210 MVP For Use with SpoolRunner 100 MIG Welder - Top Pick
Hobart has a reputation as a high quality welder manufacturer and this unit is unique in that it will run off of either 230 VAC or 120 VAC. That means that you have 140 amps of welding power with a 120 VAC input, which is boosted to 210 amps of welding power on 230 VAC. This is the most powerful MIG welder in its class, allowing you to weld up to 3/8” thick mild steel when connected to 230 VAC. There are seven power settings, an infinitely variable wire speed control, and Hobart’s optional SpoolRunner 100 gun is designed especially to avoid wire jams for soft aluminum wire. This unit will operate at a 20 percent duty cycle on 120 VAC and a 30 percent duty cycle at 230 VAC.
Millermatic 140 907335 MIG Welder - Runner Up
I’ve been a big fan of Miller welders for years and back when I was working in the bus factory, we had these things all over the place. They were always a highly reliable welding unit, something that was always really needed on the factory floor. This unit comes with Miller’s “auto-set,” which automatically sets your welder to the correct parameters for the welding job you’re doing. They’ve also developed technology to insure smooth weld starts, without spattering thus cutting down on the weld splatter you’ve got to clean up afterwards. This unit produces up to 140 amps with a 120 VAC input, a 20 percent duty cycle, and it will take spools up to 8 inches in diameter.
Lincoln Electric 140C MIG Welder - Honorable Mention
Lincoln Electric calls themselves “The Welding Experts”, probably producing more welding equipment than any other manufacturer. Just look for welders on the Internet and you’ll find more responses for Lincoln Electric than anyone else. This unit is an upgrade of their SP-140T welder, adding some new features.
One really nice thing about this welder is it has what Lincoln calls "Diamond Core Technology" to produce a very forgiving arc, even when the gun is out of position. That makes it a very good welder for novices or those of us who don't weld very often.
This 120 VAC unit will produce up to 140 amps of welding power at a 20 percent duty cycle. They claim that with their welding wire, you can weld soft steel up to 5/16” thick with this unit. That’s pretty impressive for a 120 VAC unit because typically you’ve got to go up to a 230 VAC unit to get that.
Lincoln has also developed technology to reduce weld splatter on startup, just like Miller has. The board on this welder is potted, to protect it from environmental damage while using it.
Hobart Handler 140 MIG Welder - Consider
I had to give a second place on this list to Hobart, because of their quality and ease of use. If our number one pick is a little too rich for your blood, you may want to consider this model. This is an upgraded version of their best-selling Handler 140. It contains a lot of the same features as the Handler 210, but won’t work at 230 VAC. You still get 140 amps at 20 percent duty cycle, but you can’t bump up to the higher amperage that you can with the other unit. Hobart claims that you can weld mild steel up to 1/4” thick with this welder which is pretty impressive for a 120 volt unit.
Reboot MIG Welder - Best MIG Welder
For those who are looking for a bargain, I’d like to recommend Harbor Freight’s wire feed welder. While this isn’t as good a unit as the one’s I’ve mentioned above, it’ll get the job done for you. The welder I used to build two trailers was the predecessor to this model.
This is pretty much a bare-bones Flux-Core Wire-Feed welder, without a whole lot of control. But, for the price, it’s hard to beat it. In fact, mine has been beaten quite a bit, and it’s still humming along.
This isn’t a MIG welder, so you can’t use it for welding aluminum and it only accepts the smaller size wire spools which hold up to 2 pounds of wire. It has a maximum output of 90 amps but they say that the duty cycle will go up to 25 percent at 80 amps.
Buyer's Guide
MIG welding has gained traction and has become one of the most common types of welding that is used out there because of the numerous advantages that it offers. MIG welders are used for a variety of purposes, spanning across commercial, industrial, and household usage. MIG welders come in handy for machinery repair and maintenance, household and commercial equipment repair, vehicles and automobiles repair, etc.
If you’re seeking to buy the best MIG welders in 2021, here’s a guide containing everything that you need to know in order for you to be able to choose the one that works perfectly for your needs and requirements.
By definition, a MIG welder uses a shielding gas around the electrode. This tool was originally developed for welding aluminum because this material oxidizes as soon as it’s cut. The shielding gas comes through the same line that brings the welding wire and covers the weld, thus preventing that oxidation and allowing aluminum to be welded. The same welding system was later put to work for steel and stainless steel.
When welding aluminum or stainless steel, an inert gas (such as nitrogen) is used to prevent oxidation; but for welding soft or high-carbon steel, flux cored welding wire is used.
What most people refer to as MIG welding, really isn’t MIG welding, but Flux-Cored wire-feed welding. Since there’s no easy name for that, they just use the name MIG welding. Most of the units shown here are combination units. That means that they can be used for MIG or Flux-Cored welding.
A best MIG welders in 2021 is essentially a big transformer with a house current converted to a lower voltage, which boosts the amperage. That brings the amperage up to a point where it sparks or arcs with the heat from this arcing being enough to melt the metal. At the same time the wire electrode which is fed through the welding pistol is being fed into the puddle of melted metal, adding metal to the weld joint.
When looking or a MIG welder, there’s a few things you want to keep in mind:
Input Power Requirements
Since I’m thinking “homeowner” here, instead of factory, I’ve limited the list to units that will run off of 120 volts, at no more than 20 amps of house current.
Output Power of the Unit
As I already mentioned, dropping the voltage increases the amperage. The higher the amperage, the more heat is produced; this allows welding thicker metal.
Duty Cycle
This refers to the percentage of time that you can actually be welding. Not only do these units create a lot of heat at the weld point, but in the transformer as well. It needs time to cool as you are working. Don’t worry though; I built two trailers with a unit that only had a 10 percent duty cycle. By the time you cut and clamp your material, you’ve used up more time than you think.
Size of Welding Wire Spool
Larger units accept an 8 inch spool, while smaller ones only accept a 4 inch. This affects how long you can weld, before you have to change spools. To give you an idea, I built an enclosed cargo trailer, with a metal cage and built in metal shelves a number of years ago. It took me three, two pound spools of wire to complete it. If I had a larger unit, I could have used less than one spool of wire.
Whether the Unit can do both MIG and Flux-Cored, or Only Flux-Cored
If you need to weld aluminum or stainless, you’ll need an actual MIG unit, with the gas valves.
Adjustability
There are two main adjustments on a MIG welder, amperage and wire speed. The amperage affects how much heat the arc produces, affecting how thick a metal you can weld. Wire speed affects how much welding wire is being fed into the arc. This also affects the metal thickness, but more than that affects what kinds of welds you can do.
The welding wire used in these welders ranges from .025 in diameter to .040, with .030 being the most popular size. Considering that the maximum metal thickness you can weld with these units at 120 VAC is 3/16” (better to limit yourself to 1/8” thickness), .030 welding wire is sufficient and you don’t need anything larger (If you need to weld thicker materials, you’ll need a 230 VAC unit).
Since we’re looking at welders for home usage, I have limited the choices to units that are under $1,000 street price and will run off of 120 VAC. All of them come as complete kits, with the gun, ground lead, gas valves (for actual MIG units) and a starter spool of welding wire.
Why are MIG Welders prefered over other Welders?
There are various reasons due to which people prefer MIG welders over other welders that employ different techniques.
Easy and Quick
To begin with, MIG welding is usually considered to be one of the easiest welding techniques to learn. Not only is it a great place to start off from if you’re a beginner, but it’s also very quick and relatively convenient, making MIG Welders the preferred choice for a lot of individuals.
MIG welders are generally easier to operate, given the incorporation of technology and automation into the equipment. Moreover, the technology that has been employed for MIG welders makes the welding process significantly faster, which is why a lot of people are inclined towards it.
High-Quality Welds
Given how fast MIG welders work, you might have some doubts regarding the quality of welds that this equipment produces. Luckily, MIG welders do not compromise on the quality of the welds that they produce and they're capable of producing high-quality and durable welds.
More Efficient
Each pass of the MIG welders deposits more weld metal, compared to some other techniques. This means that if you’re working with a long and complex weld, you’ll be able to complete the weld with fewer passes, which eventually helps you save time and resources, making MIG welding a very efficient process.
Cleaner Welds
Lastly, people prefer MIG welders because the use of this equipment generates less mess and requires less post-weld cleaning.
Do you need to purchase a Spool Gun for your MIG Welder?
MIG welders can be used for multiple purposes and welding aluminum is one of them. When looking out for the best MIG welders, you’ll have to decide whether you want to get an MIG welder that has the capability to be attached to a spool gun or not. Of course, if you go for the one that can be attached to a spool gun, you’ll have to spend some extra money for that capability. Before making this decision, you should have some information about aluminium welding.
Aluminium welding is slightly tricky because it’s softer than steel and most of the other materials that are usually welded. Because of the nature of the material, there’s a high risk of it breaking apart while being fed during the welding process and this is where a spool gun comes into play.
Simply put, spool guns significantly reduce the distance between the wire and the contact tip, making it easier to feed the aluminium. This makes spool guns highly useful, as they can be used to weld aluminum and doing that without the spool guns is risky, difficult, and tricky.
An MIG welder that comes with a spool gun would certainly cost more, making the entire purchase more expensive. Consequently, it depends entirely on your requirements if you should invest in an MIG welder that has the spool gun capabilities or not. While you will be able to save some money if you decide not to buy it, you will certainly increase the utility and capabilities of your welder if you do end up getting the combo.
Gas-shielded vs Flux-Cored MIG Welders
When making a purchase decision, people often get confused between gas and flux-cored MIG Welders. MIG welders can either be based on the gas-shielding technique or flux-core technique and it is important to understand the difference before you can buy either one of them.
The flux-core technique does not require you to attach a gas cylinder with your welder because it does not use the gas-scheduling technique. On the other hand, MIG welders that employ the gas-shielding technique are usually preferred because they’re cleaner, easier to operate, and quicker.
The best way to go about it would be to opt for the MIG welder that is capable of employing both the gas-shielding and the flux-cored techniques and you can use the one that you require in a certain situation.
Factors to consider while buying the best MIG Welder in 2021
Here are the key factors and features that you need to consider while seeking the best MIG welder:
Duty Cycle
The duty cycle of an MIG welder determines the amount of time for which you’ll be able to weld, before taking a break to allow the welder to cool down. The duty cycle is expressed in terms of the percentage of a 10-minute period that you can continuously weld. Simply put, a 50% duty cycle would mean that the welder could be used continuously for 5 minutes, before you’ll have to allow it to cool off for another 5 minutes.
If you need an MIG welder for long and complex welds, your best bet would be to go for one that has longer duty cycles.
Input
The input capability determines the compatibility of your MIG welder to the electrical outlets that you have at your home. The most commonly utilized MIG welders that can be used at homes are 110/115/120V, as these can be plugged into the electrical outlets of most houses.
Output
The output power is usually adjusted as per the complexity of the weld that you’re trying to make. Depending upon what type of weld you’re making, you’ll need to ensure that your MIG welder is capable of providing the output power that would be required.
Portability
While choosing the best MIG welder for yourself, you’ll need to make sure that you take its portability into account. The weight and size of the equipment will determine its portability and the choice de
pends entirely on the way you plan to use it.
FAQs
What type of Gas is used in gas-shielding based MIG Welders?
The type of gas that will be used for your MIG welder depends upon the type of weld that you’re looking for and the list can include Carbon Dioxide, Oxygen, Helium, and Argon. Carbon dioxide is the commonly used shielding gas because it provides a good weld and has a lower operating cost.
Is there a link between the duty cycle and the output power?
The duty cycle and output power are usually interdependent and you can observe that welders with higher output power will have a lower duty cycle, as they would need more time to cool down.
Are MIG welders safe to use?
Given that you’ve taken the necessary precautions, MIG welders are safe to use. In order to ensure maximum safety, you can opt for the best MIG welders that come with additional safety features such as built-in contactor and thermal overload system.
