what welder?
 

if you had to buy a welder right now for less than 1500.00 what would you buy? mine took a crap so im in the market but not sure. hobarts are or used to be made here in troy. looked at them but looking at a miller 210 dual voltage and auto set controls, with the spool gun i can weld alum well have the option to . thanks for the opinions !!!!! matt

i have had a lincoln 255 for about 5 years now and have never had any issue with it. im not sure what they cost these days but i would get another if i had to

for what its worth, my hobart 210 says miller all over it. transformer, gun, ect. meaning that its made by miller.... got it at tsc for 1100 on sale. i have no probs with it, and ive been through 20 something spools of wire through it.

miller 251/2

Same here.

The other positive is that TSC has a lot of parts available if necessary.

X3 , have no complaints with mine .

Welder
 

I recently bought a Lincoln 180c mig. It is a 220 volt machine. The c designation reflects it having continuously adjustable settings instead of fixed spots. I am new at welding, so I cannot give you any real feedback compared to other machines. For what I have done, I am very pleased with it. So far I have burnt through two spools of the flux core wire just practicing and learning to actually watch the puddle as I am working. If all goes well, I will be setting up the shielding gas next week and practicing some more.

I believe they are about $700 right now after a rebate.

Lowes had the 180 without the continuous adjustable setting for less than above.

x2

love mine.

Ive had this one for almost a year i've always used gas and have no complaints. I also have a miller 250 at work it is a real nice welder but a lot higher and space taking. If I wasn't going to do a whole lot I would get a 110volt just for convenience sometime wish my 180 was 110.

keep an eye on Craigslist for deals. I bought a brand new, in the box Lincoln 180 for $400 last year! I love my 140 though. Being 110V it's very portable with innershield wire.

Yep, same here. and like stated before you can go to any TSC and get most parts you'll need for them.