115/220v stick welders

[outlawskinnyd]

hey now.

i was welding today and thinking that sooner or later im gonna want a welder that has input for both 220v and 110/115. not necessarily right now. but i can see myself doing that. especially when the time comes for me to upgrade my generator.

my question to you guys is even on 110/115v, does the miller maxstar 150 or lincoln invertec155 perform better than what i currently own, a thermal arc 95s?

reason being thermal arc released a couple of machines since i got the 95s, the 161s, 161stl and now the 201 and i was curious as to how they compared to the miller 150 and lincoln 155

[nadogail]

A stick welder that draws 40 Amps on 208/220 volts will require 80 Amps on 110/115 volts.

[Pro-Fab]

The 150 amp inverters will definitely run better, but fi you don't have a dedicated 20 amp breaker, you will only be able to weld at about 60 amps for any length of time.

[DSW]

The input data in the manual on the TA is a bit sketchy. Looks like the Maxstar 150 on 115v power has an edge on the TA95s, if nothing else because it will draw fewer amps to run the same output from what I can tell. If you want a machine with max power on 115v you need to go up to the Maxstar 200 however. It will do 125 amps on 115v 50% duty cycle, but you will need 34 amps to do so. ( about what it looks like the TA needs to put out 90 amps if I'm reading it right) Thats almost 25% more amps than the 150 is listed at in the manual.

[outlawskinnyd]

Originally Posted by DSW

The input data in the manual on the TA is a bit sketchy. Looks like the Maxstar 150 on 115v power has an edge on the TA95s, if nothing else because it will draw fewer amps to run the same output from what I can tell. If you want a machine with max power on 115v you need to go up to the Maxstar 200 however. It will do 125 amps on 115v 50% duty cycle, but you will need 34 amps to do so. ( about what it looks like the TA needs to put out 90 amps if I'm reading it right) Thats almost 25% more amps than the 150 is listed at in the manual.

what about the 161s from ta and the lincoln 155?

edited: bc i realized id need one huge *** generator

[DSW]

Originally Posted by outlawskinnyd

what about the 161s from ta and the lincoln 155?

The Ta 165 lists 85 amps as max output on 115v input. The TA 201 100 amps on 115v. Looks like the Lincoln 155 puts out 100 amps on 120v.

Originally Posted by outlawskinnyd

edited: bc i realized id need one huge *** generator

Huh? Small inverters draw very little power compared to a transformer machine. To run a standard Tombstone you need 50 amps at 230v, or about a 12 Kw gen set. The Lincoln 155 needs about 6 kw. That would give you FULL output on 220v power also not 110v. Or you just get a small gereator welder like a Weldanpower, Bluestar etc and skip the inverter.

You do realise all I do is go to the web site, look up the manual and READ it to find the specs on the machines don't you?


.

[Boostinjdm]

Originally Posted by DSW

You do realise all I do is go to the web site, look up the manual and READ it to find the specs on the machines don't you?
.

LOL

What I've decided to do when looking at 110v welders is just to compare output at 20 amps. Forget about the max claimed output because it may require up to a 30 amp breaker. That just isn't available unless you run a new circuit. Might as well run 220 if you have to call the electrician in.

I run my 150s maxstar off 110v all the time in my garage and when working at hog houses. Their 20 amp circuits will run 1/8" rods some of the time. In longer buildings I drop down to 3/32" rods and about 70 amps to keep from tripping the breaker. In my garage, I can run 1/8" rods with no problem due to new wire, breakers, and short runs.
When I have to go out in the field I take my import 5500watt genny and run my maxstar on 220v with no problems. It will handle the welder running wide open.

[soutthpaw]

Why not do it all in one? get a Lincoln Ranger 8 or 225 or similar used, or new if you have the $$ then you get all the welding current you need, CV support for wire feed attachment and an 8K+ watt generator all in one nice package. Just fixed up a Ranger 8 myself. works great...

[outlawskinnyd]

Originally Posted by DSW

You do realise all I do is go to the web site, look up the manual and READ it to find the specs on the machines don't you?


.

you do realize that what the manual says is not always the said case. ive read thorough threads on here that said its rated for "x" but its really only gonna do "y"

then there was the time rusty's offroad was sending people the wrong instructions for their lift kits. God help the people who just went to the website and read instructions for reference.

i remember when everyone was flipping out over 1:7 twist rated for ar15 barrels. it was all the rage. the specs claimed it could shoot 45gr to the heaviest loaded rounds...yeah it could shoot 45gr alright...just not accurately...

lets not even go into how many times i've seen blue prints given a schedule that was into total conflict with everything else that was around it..

i could go on...but i think i made my point...i need real world results...

i could go on...but i think my point has been made. i want real world results...

[Jay O]

Try to fit that Ranger on the front passenger seat of a Ford Focus, my Maxstar fits just fine.

[outlawskinnyd]

Originally Posted by DSW

Huh? Small inverters draw very little power compared to a transformer machine. To run a standard Tombstone you need 50 amps at 230v, or about a 12 Kw gen set. The Lincoln 155 needs about 6 kw. That would give you FULL output on 220v power also not 110v. Or you just get a small gereator welder like a Weldanpower, Bluestar etc and skip the inverter.

You do realise all I do is go to the web site, look up the manual and READ it to find the specs on the machines don't you?


.

is there a mathmatical formula for figuring out how many watts i need for small inverters? it cant just be amps x volts because thats what i was doing when seeing what kind of generator i need.

[Boostinjdm]

Originally Posted by soutthpaw

Why not do it all in one? get a Lincoln Ranger 8 or 225 or similar used, or new if you have the $$ then you get all the welding current you need, CV support for wire feed attachment and an 8K+ watt generator all in one nice package. Just fixed up a Ranger 8 myself. works great...

If this was a response to my post.....I usually don't need the genny.
By going with the maxstar, I can run off customer's power. It's nice to be able to carry it from pen to pen climbing over gates and plugging the cord into the ceiling within 20ft of where I'm working. Just try that with a tombstone. I tried it once with 150ft of 8awg cord and swinging the gates open so I could roll the thing around. Needless to say, I quit in the middle of the day and ordered the maxstar. Went back with the maxstar and completed the job in about 1/4 of the time. All due to getting around easier. Dragging heavy leads through a 180 or 200ft building would be just as cumbersome. Plus I would be burning my fuel the whole time. I picked up the genny later in trade and repaired it myself. Only have about $300 invested in that.

[DSW]

We are talking about something a bit different. I'm not telling you how thick they weld, I'm telling you what the output is listed as. These sorts of specs are easily repeatable if you have a load bank and want to test the machine. It's some what like comparing amps on a small mig. You won't get the same performance from a small mig thats rated at 90 amps @ 20% on 115v (MM140) that you will from a machine thats rated at 110amps @ 20% on 115v (Passport Plus). These are hard numbers based on the machine electronics and give some one a base line on performance. Also we are no longer talking about $500 entry level machines, but mid to upper grade professional industrial machines costing $1500 or more.

You as the welder should have some idea how many amps you can run say 1/8" 7018 on and what performance you will get on your material. You use that experience combined with the base numbers to decide if that machine will do what you want.

You are attempting to push the limits on what a "small" 115v machine will do. Thats a very small niche market. You pay big money for those small gains. The Maxstar 150 has a list base of about $1000, the Maxstar 200 that would give you 25 extra amps on 115v will cost you $2250 list. You'd better really want / need that extra 25 amps if you are going to drop an extra $1250 on it just to run on 115v power. In the mig example above, the MM140 lists at $860, the Passport at almost $2100. Again you are paying big bucks for a small gain in power, but in some cases it's well worth it.

Note you can get more power for way less money if you simply go to 220v. You can easily match the performance of the Maxstar 150 or 200 on 115v using a 225AC Lincoln on 220v that you can get used for $50-150 and new for less than $400. You don't want to hear this because it doesn't fit your situation right now. No matter how hard you try you won't match the performance of 220v on 115v if the machines are even close in quality.

If you want more performance you have only a few options.
One: pay BIG bucks for a very small increase in power as shown above.
Two: find some way to get 220v power to a machine at your location. Unplug the range and use a 100' 220v extension cord to get outside. I had to use this option to weld in the drive at one apartment I lived in. The next place I ran the cord out the basement window to the yard and used the dryer outlet.
Three: Get yourself a genset welder or dedicated genset and run off that.
Fourth: Look into renting "shop" space rather than just a storage area.

[Jay O]

It is hard to say how a Maxstar compares to a TA 95 in arc quality since I only have the Maxstar. If your happy with how the TA 95 runs then you have a certain expectation of what you want. I have an older Maxstar 140 that runs 3/32" 7018 just fine at the end of a 100' extension cord on 120v and when its on 220v its even better. These last two weeks I have been using my Maxstar and a Miller Big Blue 500 and as far as arc quality you can't tell a difference but the Maxstar (arc) sound wise runs smoother.

I also have a TA 185 on stick mode it is rated 160 amps @ 40% duty cycle and it has no problem running 5/32" 7018 and 3/16" 6010. If I picked from your list I would possibly give the TA 161s a try since it has a few more amps and lift start tig.