Hello all!
I’m in the market for my first welder. A little background, I need a welder for a few projects. I’m planning on building a smoker for my dad, as well as a large steel staircase on our new property (I’ll need some advice on that in the near future). I also work on cars and guns so TIG will be needed too.
I’m thinking multiprocess. How much do multiprocess machines give up in capability vs standalone? Any recommendations on particular models/brands?
Thanks! -Will
All depends on what your budget is. A multi process machine won’t do outstanding at any one process but will definitely be plenty for your first. The only multiprocess machine I’ve had experience with is the yes welder 205. Did it weld? Yes. Was it great? Absolutely not but it did what it needed to as a cheap mig welder was all I needed. As time went on and going from using Miller machines at work then back to it, I really started to hate it. Not user friendly but I’ve been welding for years so I did what I could adjust on it to make it “better”. I abused the shit out of it and it never died so there’s that. Ended up getting rid of it eventually when I had the funds too. Now I mostly run a suitcase 12vs for mobile work/in the shop. Now if I had a due over I’d go with one of Everlasts machines which is quite a jump in price. If you want to meet in the middle I’d go with Primewelds multiprocess machine, I have heard great things about it. So it really all boils down to how much your willing to spend at this time.
Should have included my budget. I’d be willing to spend $4-5k for a good machine or machines.
There’s always sacrifice when buying multifunction anything. At that budget, would it be better to just get independent machines?
@RocketCity_Will For the price you listed there are a lot of options. That being said I am also a fan of getting independent machines for shop work for a couple reasons. One is the old saying, a jack of all trades is a master of none. Purpose built machines tend to have more specific features for the task they were designed for. The other reason is if you have one machine that is multi process and it goes down, you have no backup.
I have only used Miller and Lincoln multi process machines in a shop. I have no complaints but they were more “set it and forget it.” One setting for 6010, another for 7018. A quick change up and then I was good to go for TIG. The only setting I ever really changed was amps. On top of that, they were about $5K.
For my home shop I went with Primeweld. They came out on top for a number of reasons. One is the price is hard to beat. Two is the warranty is the best in the industry. A quick search pretty much anywhere will be full of satisfied customers any time they had an issue. I have a TIG 225X and a MIG 180 from them. Both machines plus a tank each and cart for each will land you well under your budget. They are both small enough to be portable and can both be run off a standard (non-inverter) generator. They offer larger TIG and MIG machines as well if needed. My first welder was a TIG 225X and I have been using it hard for two years without a hiccup. I got this MIG this spring and again have had zero issues, though I have only used about 10 pounds of wire so far.
If your looking to stay blue or red, the Miller 220 has a huge following though I have never used one.
For that budget you possibly could squeeze in 2 Everlast machines or save some cash and get 2 Primewelds. But I didn’t mean to deter you from going multiprocess! And to be honest going with a good tig machine may be more of a headache starting out because there are SO many things to adjust. It’s really overkill to go that route unless you want the fancy tig machine. Since you have the cash I’d go multiprocess Everlast. Definitely do your research and make the best decision for you! You could drop all the cash on a really nice machine but then not ever use half the capability. I’d say save some cash by getting one machine and practice practice practice. Either by throwing some coupons together or your own projects. There’s a ton to consider so watch some reviews and go with it what more fits what you think you’ll do with it. I was putting up gates and doing some weld repair work with a 400 dollar welder for a while. This field is really what you make of it. I have also heard great things about the Primewelds, many are happy with them but I just don’t have the experience and am partial to Everlast if you can’t tell lol. But that stems from my experience with their plasma machine. Join some FB groups aswell and see the bad sides to any brand your considering
Thank you both for the insight. Gave me a few things to considered. I’m going to check out the Everlast and Primeweld for sure.
Whatever the cheapest POS you can find, is the best beginner welder. Find some clapped out abused hunk a junk and learn on that, everything else will be easy. Im being a bit pedantic here, but thats honestly how i learned.
From what I’ve seen around the tube, Everlast should get you easily set up in that budget. Pretty sure you can get AC/DC tig+
And if I had that budget that’s exactly what I’d get.
My first welder was the $80 (at the time) HF black welder. It was pretty awful but I was able to build some things.
I bought the green DC welder and it’s sufficient for any hobby use. There’s a guy out there on YT who’s built a bunch of fencing with it. You’re not gonna weld any pipelines, but I melted some holes in 1/4" thick angle. I mean, you’re as hot as it goes, but it produces enough juice to do it. Just maybe not for so long.
LiftArc studio did a Vevor vid, and then Everlast was like “hey we have budget welders, too!” - probably worth checking out. But with a $4k budget, Multi-Process Welder, PowerPro 256D - Everlast Generators gives you all the features and you still have plenty to buy your gas bottles… And maybe a fixture table 
I am not sure I would agree with that. I have the Multimatic 255 and it is a fantastic stick welder, as good as or better than my Lincoln Idealarc 250, and it is a superb MIG welder. Better than my old Millermatic 252. It is an average DC only TIG welder, but it does have pulse and the ability to use a foot pedal.