Newb here!

[Cobra909]

Hey everyone, hoping you all had a Merry Christmas and ready for a Happy New Year.

Did some hobbyist stick welding several years ago. DW, bless her soul, bought me a MM140/Autoset and O/A rig for Christmas. Hope I don't bore you pros with my newb questions. (I do belong to several RV & truck forums, so I know how to use the SEARCH function...LOL)

Here goes with the 1st one. I realize I will eventually get some gas, but to learn/practice with, what do ya'll recommend... solid wire and gas or flux core wire? Do you purchase wire, tips, etc online or local shop.

Thanks alot for any responses and have a Happy New Year.

[EdZep]

I have a pretty new MM180

...keeping an eye out for an OA setup. I'd recommend getting gas right now, for nice spatter-free welds. Sure, you'll be practicing. But, things will pop up that you'd like to look nice. (Or, if you need to max out the welder's capacity for thickness, you would probably need flux core wire instead of gas.)

I bought an 80 cf bottle from local supplier for $150. The Argon/CO2 gas to fill it is about $15. Since the recommended flow is 20-30 cf per hour, the bottle should last around 3.5 hours of actual trigger time.

I haven't priced torch parts, yet, but the local guys aren't too bad with prices. Though I did buy an 11 lb roll of Lincoln wire from IOC (Indiana Oxygen -- big, reputable, lots of Ebay listings) for $23. I see the local shop has an off-brand of same spec wire for $16.

I'm enjoying my machine, and I'm sure you will enjoy yours, as well.

[migman69]

online supplier

i have bought a boat load of stuff from online suppliers without any problem, the suppliers i use are on ebay quimby corp, welders express, and weldfabulous. they have been great to me and have good prices actually better than my local supplier which is airgas supply

[welderman23]

as far as a local shop i cant tell you where to go.
im not in coonass country
but if you go to a local welding shop/supply
they can offer you more information and help you easier than i can
it takes me a lot longer to type than it does to talk to a sales person

to practice with... i would use the same thing you would use on a project.

just yer plain old low alloy solid wire .035 with a bottle of 75/25 mix gas
you can use the .024 or .025 that comes with the machine but i dont like it.
its too small for what i do .(if they still send wire with them)

you can use flux core with or without shielding gas

and we all like pictures of projects here no matter how big or small

welcome to the board

[Cobra909]

Thanks for the replys guys. Welderman 23, local shop is only 10 miles away, that's where DW (dear wife) got the machine from. I just didn't know if you saved enough buying online vs local. Yep, they still give you a small spool of .023 and a VHS video...it's 2008 Miller, go to DVD.

EdZep and migman69, appreciate your replys. Hadn't check Ebay yet.

PS - gonna have to buy a few things local...DW's uncle is the shop manager!