Welder for my trapping projects

I’m in the market for a welder to do my trap mods and other trapping projects from doing little tack jobs to welding up bigger projects. I would like to stay as low cost as I can but have a capable welder for even the bigger projects.
Thanks for your time

220V Mig. Remember you get what you pay for.

I have a Century 110 with the gas Model 130, it does everything I need it to do for cage making, trap repairs and auto repairs!

Knowing what you mean by bigger projects might help. I have a Lincoln weld pak that welds 1/4 plate just fine. It runs on 110. Its great for all my home projects.

I have a small Miller wire feed that is actually enjoyable to use.

WS

Get the largest 110V flux core you can get but make sure it's up gradable to gas if you want to weld any sheet metal. I got the Lincoln MIG 140 120v and it has served me well for over 10 years. With the 120v you can bring it anywhere and plug in. Up to 3/16" in a single pass on gas and up to 5/16 flux core.

The thing to watch for in any welder is duty cycle. A lot of the cheap import welders will actually work but all the ones I've seen have plastic gears and terrible duty cycles.

Millermatic 211 Mig machine. Great for the garage & you can weld everything with it. Go to the Miller site.

I bought a Chicago Electric 170 amp 220 volt welder from Harbor Freight. Flux core or mig. Works great for my garage mods and small projects. I did buy a tank of gas for it. $189 , so I'm not out much.

I have a Lincoln Commander 400 for my projects..
Nice little rig..

I quite like the everlasting line of welders. Top quality at a decent price.

Nice Law Dog. The cage traps not so much the 110V welder lol. Halftrap didn't give us enough information. I've done a little structural steel, and production welding in my day. You may have seen some of my work when your in Wallymart. Let us know how much money you have to spend halftrap and what other welding projects you have in mind. Is it just for the workshop? Or out in the field? Or both? The best of both worlds in my opinion is a gas powered Miller Arc welder/generator with a portable Miller Mig attached to it, but that's overkill. If your inside I still recommend a 220V Miller/Lincoln or whatever brand, as long as it's a decent welder. A cheep 110V plugged into the wall or into an extinction cord is pretty much useless.

I too have a century 110. I wish they still made them. Maybe they would have updated the gas to cabinet hookup. It sucks and probably won't last much longer.
Outside of that the biggest problem is the user.
just

Oldtrapper. I have to disagree with you on the 110v front. I have a dual voltage Everlast Stick / ac / dc TIG welder and the 110 volt option has helped me out of a pickle more then once. Last job was welding a new Aluminum skeg onto a 150 HpYamaha outboard. it would have been a bear If I would have gotten the boat of the lift, to a ramp, onto a trailer and back to the shop and then reverse the whole thing after welding it up. They only had 110 at the dock and with a tarp against the breeze and a board across the back of the lift I managed just fine.

Hobart 140 will get you the most for your money and not break the bank. Get the gas to go with it. It'll pay for itself in the savings for the cheaper non-fluxcore wire, plus the welds look a lot nicer.

I hear you... The Millermatic 210 is 120/240. If he's not welding anything more that a steel trap an 120V el cheap o will work.

I would never weld a trailer hitch that's for sure but for trap frames and J hooks and body panels it's the ticket for me the gas helps it look better then my ability really is. LOL

X2 I agree.

X3!

Look up kicking horse welders from Canada seem like nice units for the price .. I'm lookin at the 100 amp stick welder now

I would like to be able to weld over 1/4 in but most of my projects would be a 1/4 and below. I want something universal and capable so I’m not out buying 3 different welders.As for money 600 or so would be nice to stay around but if need be I could save and buy better. I see a lot of stuff out there about multimacines that do mig, stick and so on.

If you have that much money to spend on a welder get a name brand one and figure one day to up grade with gas, it will cover anything you need to do.

Most people suggest what works for them after getting it cause they can't buy a new one, you can buy many nice welding units at garage sells as well, as some people work them selves out of using them due to age or passing, and the family does not know how to use them, sometimes you can find almost new outfits setup with gas for less than your spending for new and there is nothing wrong with them.

All that being said, most name brand 120v welders today are capable of doing what you need, as they are built a whole lot different than anything even ten years ago, your most important thing to look at is duty cycle percentage, than whether it's 220 or 110 volt's !

I picked up an eastwood mig 135 its a great little machine I bought a 80cu in bottle of 75/25 argon co2. this welder has welded everything I have needed it too but if your wanting to weld 1/4 most times id get the mig 250 they have price was around 500 for the 250amp mig bottle will cost you around 200-250 if you purchase the bottle, that's what I did rather than renting the bottle. I really like the quality of weld I can lay down with it as well. most of my welding is on 3/16 steel I have welded 5/16th steel by preheating the steel first but that's with the 135 the 250 I believe the said would do 1/2 in in one pass. worth looking into for hobby welding. ive put 2 10 lbs spools through my little 135 with not a single issue other than me forgetting to turn the gas on a few times lol. just thought id give my 2 cents

This welder question comes up routinely on here. You can go to the "welding tips and tricks" website and get great information on just about everything welding, including reviews of welder equipment that would serve anyone's needs on this website. Good luck.