20 Best Welder For Steel (2022 Updated)

I purchased this welder in an “emergency” to weld a nut on the end of a broken bolt for removal. HF was out of the $100 Chicago Electric welder so I bought this one, despite having reservations about flux core welding.

I had last really welded 20 years ago in a high school fabrication class. It was very, very easy to pick up welding with this HF welder. Using the provided wire, if you clean the surface first, you can get a very nice looking bead! Every bit as good as an actual MIG machine with gas.

Usually I clean up the area before the weld with a wire wheel, then use a wire wheel to clean up the welds. I have had good luck using the recommended settings based on steel thickness, taking my time, “pulling” the weld, and using a circular pattern.

For $200 it’s already paid for itself. It’s also small – about the size of a 12 pack of beer – and easy to store. The amount of things you can do with even a flux core welder vs. without is huge. It’s really helped on minor fabrication for my car/off-road hobby, repairing a trailer fender, making extended sway bar endlinks etc.

I would not want to use this for a massive fabrication project (like building an off-road bumper), but it’s perfectly acceptable for use on small projects.

Welder looks great. Comes with 2 extra. 030 tips. Welding leads and power cables are already on unit. Does not come with any flux core wire, it will have to be purchased. Does not come with a chip hammer, gloves, or helmet.

The price of the welder is very good, compared to other brands of this type, and it is a HOBART. Should do any small welding work you may need done around the garage, it states it will weld up to 3/16 in.

metal. This is all I will need as I am just putting repair body panels on a vehicle I am working on.

This is my first wire feed welder. I have been using a Hobart stick welder for years no issues. I purchased the flux core to eliminate the hassle of renting and filling gas bottles. I practiced on light metal for about 10 minutes and got the hang of it pretty quick! So much easier than the stick welder to get to work area.

Very nice machine at a good price.

This Hobart Handler 100 is a well made machine, well worth the money. Very quiet running and smooth operation. Good fit and finish. The gun has a hair trigger so you better be ready to weld or you will be using your mig pliers to cut off some wire.

I really like this machine, wish I bought it sooner. 5 stars to Cyberweld too, great customer service and fast shipping, good people to do business with.

I purchased my Miller 252 in the fall of 2013. It makes beautiful welds, easy to set up and never had a problem with the machine except dropping the gun and breaking the trigger. Parts are affordable and readily available.

When I went to buy a mig welder I wasn’t going to buy a Miller. I was all set to buy a different brand although the day I went to pick it up a customer talked me out of it. He was there buying parts for a red welder and said how disgusted he was with their warranty.

He had mentioned that he had miller welders and rarely has problems with them. He said the Miller reps are great and not like used car salesmen. That sold me. All my equipment is Blue! Trucks are Red welders are Blue!.

I have bought from Cyberweld before. Expect a prompt response to your order & fast shipping. I upgraded to to the 252 from an ancient Millermatic 185 (20 years old). The 252 is fast smooth and easy to use.

I was sold on it after laying a few coupon welds. I am looking forward to finishing up a couple of projects this weekend. excellent small shop machine.

I chose Miller over other brands because of their product quality. As a retired Ag-Mechanics instructor of 37 years, I had to teach kids to weld on a variety of different brands of machines. Some of the kids I dealt with could destroy an anvil and others were just knob twisters.

Miller is one of the easiest machines to trouble shoot and readjust the settings. One last thing, it can handle student abuse. I chose Miller because it has been student tested.

I own two Millermatic 211 machines (both purchased from Cyberweld during sales promo events). The first one is an older model I bought in November 2012 (still working great). The second machine is the latest generation mode purchased in November 2019.

While the older model is an exceptional machine that welds perfectly, there are several noticeable improvements in the latest generation machine. Among them are: Size and weight. newer machine is smaller and lighter.

Second, the new nozzle / gas handling technology seems like it works smarter and directs the gas to the weld site better. Third, auto setting the machine is slightly easier. Fourth, the new machine seems to be ‘smarter’ than the older machine in how it controls the weld start.

Fifth, the new cache uses less electricity to accomplish the same quality weld. Overall, Miller seems to have improved a machine that was already an exceptional welder. I highly recommend this machine to anyone just starting out.

There are a lot of off brand machines that can be had for less money, but not with the same cycle time, quality and reliability as the Miller 211.

Biggest draw back of this product was the known cheap pedal that was being sent out with the machine. The pedal stopped functioning after a 4-5 uses. I know understand the 5 pin “Upgrade” pedal is now just the “Standard” pedal being sent with the machines.

I’m assuming because of all the issues folks had with the cheap pedal. My purchase was less than a year ago, I’m still under warranty for both the machine and pedal. After shipping I paid close to $1,000.

00 for this machine, not to mention the 6+ years I’ve been a devoted customer. Eastwood refused to send me the now standard pedal as a warranty. They claimed it was still an “Upgrade” and had to pay for it.

The company seems so hyper focused on making a buck off you. that they don’t see a valuable customer that has spent several thousands of dollars over the years with them. Disappointing.

The 2 main reasons I purchased this welder were for saving presets and using the stock presets to get started welding. I’ve not even used a full bottle of argon with this welder and having never TIG welded before AND starting on aluminum I have to say this is a great machine.

I had a friend that TIG welds every day come over and give me some beginner tips and loved the machine. They use industrial Lincoln TIG welders and he commented how well this little machine worked. So far I am very pleased with this welder.

There are many settings to play with but for aluminum I just took off with one of the presets and started learning. I have to learn the techniques now to fully use the machine capabilities. The machine also looks like a quality build.

Everything on the panel feels good, not cheap.

After 400 hours of tig and stick, I could not imagine buying another brand. The quality convinced me to buy the plasma 40. I built and entire machine shop and fabricated a race bike. The old style foot pedal was replaced after sending an engineer a demo video.

They provided the upgraded 200 dollar full pedal with amp control without fuss. I’ve yet to hit duty cycle even fabricating stick doing 1/2 burning 40 pounds of rod. All can be evidenced on my Instagram cyril.

engineering. I’m interested in a good mig unit, and know exactly where to turn.

I have been welding for years and used miller welders at my job. I bought this welder as a replacement for a Chinese unit I use at home. This welder is superior in all ways starting with the quality of construction, ease of use and the weld results are great.

The voltage control is exceptional compared to the old unit and the quality of the mig gun/ feeder system is beyond compare. I can highly recommend this unit for your 110volt welding needs.

This welder has perhaps the best reputation of any, and has been around for a long while. They’re durable, dependable, and work well. I turned mine to a scratch start TIG by simply buying a $15 adapter the stinger clamps on.

Just turn this welder to straight polarity, and clamp the stinger to this inline adapter–which is in the middle of your gas line for a TIG torch connected to a pressure regulator atop an argon tank.

The machine isn’t altered in any way, and you can run nice beads considering you have no foot or thumb control. If you can find a thumb control which will close as a throttle, the gas line, then you have a legitimate TIG welder.

I use the stick DCEP mode for many things.

My Son let me borrow his twenty year old Lincoln that he purchased at a garage sale. Finding a new one at Blaine’s Farm and Fleet money was no object if it performed as well as the old one. Using 1/8 inch rods to repair a rusty pickup frame it worked without error striking an arc quickly at low amps even with 1/8 inch rods.

My next challenge for the Lincoln is half inch steel on a payloader bucket.

Awesome welder! If you’re looking for a no nonsense SMAW (Stick) welder for home/farm/ranch, this IS what you’re looking for. Make sure you spend the few extra dollars and get the deluxe “AC/DC-225” model and not the “AC-225.

“. The deluxe model allows you to weld with the option of DC + or -. This welder can weld really thick metal, provided you use the correct electrode (rod). Ive welded bumpers, hitches, my lawn tractor, metal targets, fences, gate frames, etc.

The list goes on! With this welder, it has no internal “fragile” parts. No computer module to burn up, its a SOLID piece of a machine made in the USA! I used to have a Harbor Frieght 110v stick welder that was junk.

The welds were junk too! This “classic” welder is really a performer that should last a lifetime! Would i recommend this welder to othes? DEFINATELY. If you want to weld between 1/8″ – 1″, this buzz box can handle the job.

This welder runs better beads than the $2700 welder I used to have at a metal shop. While I wish the voltage dial had more settings, I run it on the hot side and it performs great! Setup was very basic and it comes with everything you need to get started.

I have been welding for less than a year as a hobby. I have taken one class at the local votech. My welds using my flux core machine were ugly and difficult to lay down. I was a little better with my stick machine but like the flux core it created a lot of smoke.

I was going to buy the Hobart 140 but decided to just go all in on a 240 volt welder. This thing is awesome. I can actually make welds like it looks like I know what I’m doing. I’m working on my old brush hog deck that requires joining parts that are not the same thickness.

With the flux core I was blowing holes in 16 gage when trying to tie it to 1/8” plate. With the Hobart 190 it seems I can always find the right settings to make it work. The settings given under the spool cover seem to be pretty much spot on for joining similar thickness materials but I usually back off to the next lower setting to join plate with sheet metal and it works fine if you keep the heat focused on the thicker part.

I had an electrician install a 240 volt outlet in my garage so I could stop having to run an extension cord to the dryer outlet. Very glad I went with the Hobart.

I had tried an earlier autoarc 120v that did not work well at all. Was gifted an ESAB 215 that was ok but croaked, tried a cheap 220v from Jegs that wasn’t too bad but a little weak and finally bought the Hobart 190.

I should have done this years ago. It welds like the old Millermatic 200 I learned on way back in the 80s. I have used on light and heavy welds and it is awesome. I am extremely impressed. Acme had a great price, friendliest customer service I have ever experienced and shipped pretty quickly.

Thanks!.

Used it for a day to weld 11 gauge steel. Hobart recommended settings seemed to work well. Good penetration, strong welds. Fan is loud and runs continuously. At about 70 lbs. kind of heavy. Overall seemed good quality.

Found one of these open box at my local HFT and took a gamble on it because I was in need of a decent inverter welder. Turns out to be quite the little machine. Burns 3/32″ 6013 and 7018 with ease and makes a quality bead, assuming you know what you are doing.

Might not be the best choice for someone using for strictly 110V purposes as 70A max limits you to welding sheet metal and 1/8″ max steel. My observations are based on using with 220V. My only criticism of the machine is that the electrode holder is low-quality but can easily be changed out to a better stinger with ease.

MSRP is a little pricey but we all know that HFT is going to be around for awhile and there is a large aftermarket for replacement parts for their equipment, meaning that finding a replacement diode down the line shouldn’t be a major hassle.

These comments come from someone who has been welding professionally for over 20 years.

I’ve been using a heavy, “tombstone” stick welder for 40 years. This Titanium Stick 225 is so much lighter, smaller, and plenty for my welding tasks. It’s easy to carry out to where I put my 220 volt power plug or anywhere I may need to take it.

I got it on one of the sales and the price I paid was quite reasonable. I did upgrade the welding rod holder to the BERGER 400 Amp Welding Electrode Holder after reading a review someone else did. I do like the upgraded holder way better.

The cables are just fair. I believe some day I may want to upgrade those. I’d prefer the cable connections at the welder couldn’t come out so easy but so far only had one instance where a cable came out while I was setting up.

The 110/220 volts is real nice to have. I prefer 220 volts for welding but I can imagine needing to use 110 volts if I have to take this welder to somewhere away from home. The adapter cable for 110 volts is included.

I like it being included rather than hunting one down and buying it extra. I would want something fancier if I was doing professional welding but could easily imagine using this welder even on a professional job because it’s so conveniently light, small, and powerful.

Most of my work is in remote areas, so I needed something that was easily portable with a generator in the back of the UTV. I previously had a Fabricator 181i that served me fairly well, so I almost replaced it with the similar Esab Rebel 215.

However, after researching, I finally pulled the trigger and ordered the Multimatic 200. After using it for a few weeks, I am very glad that I purchased this one. This machine is unbelievably light for what it can do, and it uses significantly less power than my previous welders (this is a big deal to me since I am mostly using a generator).

Mig has fantastic arc on both solid wire with C25 as well as flux cored. I didn’t think I would use Auto-Set, but it is especially handy when the kids want to practice their welding skills, and I will confess to using it as well.

Stick works great also; so far I have only used 7018 and 6011 but both run very nice. I do not use TIG, so cannot comment on that. Very happy with the machine, and buying from Cyberweld was icing on the cake.

IF YOUR LOOKING FOR A WELDER THAT CAN DO JUST ABOUT ANYTHING. LOOK NO FARTHER THAN THE MULTIMATIC 200. LIFT ARC TIG FOR STAINLESS AND CARBON STEELS, MIG, FLUX-CORE, AND STICK WELDING. THIS MACHINE RUNS VERY SMOOTH FOR ALL.

IV WELDED SO MANY THINGS WITH THIS WELDER ITS AMAZING. IV WORKED ON FARM EQUIPEMNT, TRACTORS, TRUCKS, TRAILERS. THE PORTABILITY OF THIS MACHINE AND ITS ATTACHMENT MAKES IT MY GO TO WELDER IN MY ARSENAL.

I HAVE SEVERAL WELDERS. THIS IS HAND DOWN THE MOST VERSATILE IN MY OPINION.

I use this hard and steadily, and the only thing it does is keep going and occasionally I hear the cooling fan come on. Mostly GMAW, a little SMAW, and tested to see if the remote works with GTAW but haven’t welded with that yet.

Nice butter smooth arc with 0. 035 ER70S and the 6011 setting seems to actually dig like it should, although I haven’t had to root a pipe with that yet for a real comparison. 7018s are smooth as well of course.

I prefer to set everything manually, but the auto set is very easy, just pick material size and what you’re welding with, and it gets it very close. Would highly recommend this machine for a portable.

I do notice a slight difference in arc characteristic running SMAW on 120 vs 220, but that was also on a very old circuit that kept tripping the breaker so hard to tell if I can really blame the machine for that one.

If you’re looking for a great 220 volt welder for under $1000 this is it. It will weld mild steel 3/8 in thick and thinner no problem. Also, aluminum plate 1/2 in. thick with ease. Plenty of juice for automotive work.

110 volt welders are a bit small for thicker steel like 1970’s cars and light trucks. You won’t be sorry you purchased this 220 volt welder.

Awesome Welder. I learned to weld on a friend’s cheap flux core 110 and after that this thing is absolutely impressive! Great price and awesome machine. Got a gas bottle and a 10 lb spool of solid wire and have been running it constantly.

5 Stars.

I originally bought a discount tool 120v AC welder. It was OK for the money I paid, but I quickly found things it did not do. I have just started using the Lincoln MIG180 and already realize that it is really worth the extra cash.

Find the money from somewhere or someone and get yourself one of these.

I HAVE NO REVIEW OF THIS PRODUCT BECAUSE I CANCELED THE ORDER. FURTHER MORE, I AM STILL WAITING FOR MY CREDIT TO APPEAR ON MY CREDIT CARD. IT SHOULD HAVE NEVER TAKEN THIS LONG FOR A CREDIT !!

I adjusted it to colder settings and hot setting and performed well

Great welder. This welder runs great.

I paid 2600 dollars for a TIG welder and was sent a Stick welder priced at about 1100 dollars. The sales representative was quick to respond and sent me a return authorization. I returned the Stick welder and am still awaiting the TIG welder.

I think it is a little early to evaluate my overall experience. My CC was charged for $2605. and at this point I have nothing but anticipation of reaching a beautiful Miller TIG someday soon.

I gave this review 5 stars for a few reasons, first the machine does burn 6010 really well ,even on 120 volts. Now it is not a big bad pipe welding machine,but for repair work it is the ticket. I have run it about 10 hours of welding time, building tank frames.

Runs 7018s very well. Used 6010s just to see what it could do, does fine with them. The cooling fan comes on right away, doesnt seem to be a problem. Overall this is a very good repair/small fab type machine.

The first machine I received would not power up the output, Bonnie at Cyberweld and Boone at Miller couldn’t have been more helpful ,machine was replaced ASAP. That is another reason for the 5 star review, great service and great people to deal with and a nice little machine.

Thanks,B. G.

If your a welder and don’t have one of these, then your backing up! this thing weighs in at 35 lbs. and it welds Great. The best most portable welder ever. I’m on my third one over the last 15 years! It is a must have for the guy or company who needs to go do quick small jobs.

It will run 1/8 rod like a dream.

My fan-on-demand does not work on my Miller Dynasty 210DX, the fan runs at full speed continuously. Miller would not repair it under warranty. When switching from AC to DC the welder will start sometimes on AC then switch to DC, I have to stop and grind my tungsten when that happens.

The Dynasty 210DX will trip a 20 amp breaker instantly when welding on AC at 150 amps with 120 volts. The 120 capability was mainly why I bought the Dynasty 210, I had to rewire the garage with 8 gauge THHN wire and 40 amp breakers to weld aluminum on 120.

I have 3 of these welders sitting on the shelf and not one will work. Bought them for industrial use and none lasted more than two months.

I feel truly blessed to have my Miller Maxstar 210 DX Tig Welder. I also purchased the Miller wireless foot remote and a Miller digital helmet. I downloaded the instruction manual prior to delivery and went right to work on arrival.

I am very pleased with my complete investment.