[scottbooth]

I bought a Miller 180 a couple of months ago, and have been practicing a lot and finally am starting to weld things to the car. Rust repair and chassis reinforcement type stuff.

The Miller is the only welder I have ever used but it works well. I would have considered the 140 (a 110V unit) but I went to the trouble of running a 220V line in my garage before I got the welder so it seemed dumb not to use it. Miller owns Hobart so those are probably very good machines too, maybe more appropriate for occasional use.

I agree with all the advice given already. Use gas, it makes much cleaner welds than flux core. Practice a lot. I recommend an auto helmet for a beginner. My welding shop talked me out of one and I was having a huge problem getting the weld started in the right place when I paused to flip down the helmet. After I got my auto helmet it all started to come together.

I would start out with small welding wire also. My welder came with some .030 wire so I started out with that. I found it tough to get the right setting without burning holes. Even for relatively thick metal (1/8"), .023 wire seems to work better for me.

YMMV and I am new at this so take that into consideration. Good luck.

Scott