[gint]

I bought a puny 25 gallon tank 5 hp oilless Sears compressor and regretted it 6 months later. Ended up with an 80 gallon tank, 7hp 220v Porter Cable. Why tell you all this? Lesson learned.

When I went to buy a MIG welder I didn't want to make the same mistake. I bought a 220v Millermatic 175+ with the variable voltage control. By the time I bought the gas bottle, filled it, bought a couple of sizes of wire, gloves, helmet, tip tool etc... I was into the whole mess for something like $750. Haven't used it a lot yet (rusty /6 should cure that problem), but I don't think I'll have ever need a better unit. Miller even has some voltage stabilizer hootzpucker hoohaw for something like $250 that I can use in conjunction with this unit that would allow me to TIG weld. I'll look into that sometime later after I learn how to use what I already have.

Don't forget the other stuff you're gonna need when budgeting for your welder purchase. I want an auto darkening helmet and ....