Anybody use a Millermatic 130 mig welder for chassis work? Does it get hot enough to do things like z's? Thanks.
Can't say for the 130,but I have a 140 millermatic,with gas,and use it all the time on chassis stuff.
I have a 135 and rarely run it all out. I have done all of my chassis work with it, except where I wanted a really nice weld. (skill level issue) We have a Miller Syncro-wave 250 at the race shop that sits at about 120 amps or so all the time. It has a variable output foot pedal and that never maxes out on the usual frame materials. It might on an axle tube or similar, but I have found little under 1/4" thickness that I had concerns about heat and penetration with my welder. I have my bud do the fancy stuff on the tig. My only complaint is that any mig will lay down too much filler for my liking at higher heat settings. That comes from the wire speeds necessary to carry that much current. I was weened off gas and stick watching a pro use tig. His welds are never too proud of the surface of the material, so I want mine that way, damnit! Check my build threads to see what I do with my Miller.
A 220 volt box does a much(much better) better job, if you have to use a 110 you have to take breaks when welding-painful and almost impossible to know how much. I notice a big difference between the two. I would not pay $20 for a 110v welder after using a 220 for a while. I am assuming you are talking about a 110 welder(miller 140), if not sorry my bad. Even on sheet metal a 220 turned down works better!!??
Do all my work with a 130.No troubles. Built a drag car frame a few years back that is pounded ever other weekend, no problems. I look it over ever few months to make sure there is no problems. Yes, bigger welders are better but a 130 will get the job done.
A 110 welder will get hot enough but, the limited duty cycle can be extremely frustrating. You'll spend more time waiting for the welder to catch up than welding.
You know, I don't have duty cycle issues on the heavy stuff. I'm guessing the machines are rated for about 30% duty, so that means for 20 seconds on the trigger, you lay off for about 40. That's pretty normal for me. Even on big jobs, that is enough of a bead to need to reposition and look over the quality. I don't really know of any need to run non-stop for extended periods unless you are trying to do a nice looking bead on the seam of an aluminum tank or something.
It'll work but a couple passes and alot of breaks. When it comes to a welder u can never go to big. 220 is the way to go though. But 110 does do things u think they can't. Sounds funny but true. I started with a small welder then went up to my millermatic 212, no problems with anything on any part of the car. Frames, perch anything.
I am calling BS on making a couple of passes using a 110v mig. Here's a couple of samples. One pass, no waiting. 11 gauge frame material, .095 wall tubing and 3/16" plate in these pics. On my Miller 135, the heat seting or these welds was on 6 with a med to med/low wire speed. When I sat down to start doing the structural stuff, I practiced a good deal on scraps of the same material and then destroyed the test pieces to check my work. Once dialed in, I was using very big hammers and pry bars to deform the metal around the weld and found full penetration with no failure at or of the bead, only tearing and bending of the parent metals around the joints. Anyone saying you can't do chassis fab with this class of machine simply does not know what they are talking about. The machine is rated for single pass on 3/16" using .023 OR .030 wire and mixed gas. When you open the door, suggested settings are on the quick setup chart for exactly that. The round tube has only been brushed clean. The 3/16" plate gusset has not been touched after the pass done in 2 parts, one pass down each side. No second bead was run over the top of any of these. The gussets have full penetration from one side. Wrapping around the end is sufficient to close the opportunities for fissure. I do weld the back side for appearance where I can get to it, but if you look at all my chassis tabs, they are welded one side with the ends wrapped.
Your so right on the bevels. but I try my best to never use a extension cord,if I have to I have one 5 feet long.No longer.these 130s don`t like extension cords.The cords take away the heat and it is also hard on the welder. Some people have changed the short cord on the welder for a long one, big mistake. Just try welding with the same settings with and without a extenstion cord.Big differents.
Good info! There is one at an auction that I am going to today, hopefully I can get it for a good price. I have a lincoln handy mig right now and I wouldn't trust even body work with that thing, so the miller will be a good upgrade for me. The Lincoln was free so I can't complain too much!
This advice is right on. These machines DO NOT LIKE VOLTAGE DROP from using a too small extension cord. You can use an extension cord but don't use smaller than a 12 gauge. If you're goin a long ways use a 10 gauge. Also make sure that the circuit that you're plugged into doesn't have a bunch of other stuff runnin' at the same time.
They pretty much covered it. I have a miller 150 and love it. I've welded professionaly with bigger 220v machines, but if you only have 110v @ home those welders work good. Just don't expect to weld a 1/4" bead a foot long and make sure it's on a 30 amp breaker.
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