Limitations of a 150A DC Stick Welder...

[243]

...honestly I would rarely weld any steel thicker than 1/4" but thought I would ask anyway. I considered going straight to a MM210 but thought the Thunderbolt XL along with my MM135 would work well together.

[dda52]

243
I used a MM135 and T'bolt together quite well for a long time. They compliment each other very well if you are up to speed on stick, which it sounds like you are.

That said, The MM210 is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much better than the T'bolt. Now I have all three plus my Bobcat, even though it still hasn't recovered from an electrical fire yet. The one welder that gets the most workout now is the 210. I don't think I've even turned the T'bolt on in a long time. That isn't to say I won't, I just haven't needed to with the 210. Even with the 210, the 135 still gets a little time every now and then.

IMO, both will compliment each other. As to which to get depends on how much you want to spend. FWIW, there are still some things a stick can do that a MIG can't....but not very many things.

[toolaholic]

you can weld most anything with 150 amps dc. built a killer dump body with it!

[cope]

Realistically the stick welder will do all you need depending upon the duty cycle at the range you use. The Thunderbolt is rated 150 amps DC but 225 AC so you have more capacity than you need. I have had an AC stick welder for the past 35 years and have only run DC a few times. For home use I thing that the idea DC is a must is over stated. I wonder how many thousand crackerbox AC welders have been sold and are still in use today?

Long way around to tell you thatyou can get by jusr fine with stick and a 110 Mig. You may well decide one day that you still need a MM210, but there is no reason to get rid of a good stick welder.

[enlpck]

If you have a need for the versatility of stick, 150A DC is sufficient for just about anything except air-arc, though not necessarily quickly. Iv'e done full penetration on 1" thick plate with a Maxstar150, tigged with a SAE150, etc.

The machine opens a lot of doors, especially if you do any heavy repair work, or have need to work with different materials often.

On the other hand, if you have no interest or need for other than low carbon steel, do primarily new work on light to medium material, the MM210 is a nice machine.

[diesel]

Uh oh, here it comes again.

DC machines are the cats meow and the bees knees and I'm sure they are also another part or sound of another animal. I can't remember the min amps of the t bolt but it's like 35 which with a scratch start tig setup would be sufficent to put together sheet metal in the upper teen size gauge. What is the 135 for? Do you need to weld a lot or put things together really fast? Will you ever want to do Stainless? Everybody has these fancy tig machines but in reality all you need for this process is the torch, some argon and electrons that flow in one direction. This won't give you the ability to do Aluminum but that stuff really falls under the tig process anyway but you'll need a fancy machine. I have 2 welders and both are DC only. I weld 1/2" mild down to 18 gauge stainless. I rarely use more than 130 amps.
A DC machine is also less prone to bite its owner .
d.

[W8KI]

Had a AC buzzbox for years... When I got the Tbolt and tried DC, I became very spoiled & ...have never gone back. Only ran above 150 once...

[243]

Right now I weld simple stuff with light gauge tubing from 14-16 guage and occasionally 1/8" angle iron. With the 135, I don't really even mess with anything else. Sure, it would be nice to build myself a headache rack and bumpers for the truck rather than buying off the shelf from Ranchhand or other mfgs but I can't.

Don't get me wrong, the 150A DC machines are about half the cost of the MM210 so I may not ever bother with a stick machine. I wanted to quiz you guys and gals before I make any real decisions. I've taken on a number of small remodeling jobs (design and construction drawings) so my banking account will grow a bit in the next few months.

[BenR]

I have yet to make a single weld, but today I'm buying my first welder. I'm going with a Hobart Stickmate LX AC/DC unit because:

- It's a flexible machine (i.e. amp-by-amp adjustment).
- It's considerably less expensive than a MIG for the penetration you can get.
- I would rather not deal with tanks.
- I'm not going to be welding every day, so spending more than $1000 is out.
- I'm not a pro, so cosmetic welds come a distant second to strength and quality.

I realize that stick may be more of a challenge than MIG, but anything new takes practice. I'm willing to spend a little more time to get it.