you arent going to find anything used unless you want to wait a couple of weeks/months for something to show up. really the only way you'll find anything used if someone is closing up shop or upgrading to better machines and getting rid of their old shit. besides that, sometimes refurbished ones will pop up but i wouldnt hold my breath. your best bet is the miller 135 or the lincoln 135, the lincoln is cheaper and welds slightly thicker material (5/16" vs miller's 3/16") but the build quality on miller is better and you really do get a overall better product for the higher price. if you want a lincoln get it at lowes because its about the same price as everywhere on the internet but you dont have to wait for shipping and returns and such are easier. dont go to the places in the yellow pages... around here everone wants ridiculous prices - way over list. what exactly are you trying to weld though, those low end models will only get you so far. also, if you are going to be welding mig then you will also need to buy a tank and gas which is pretty expensive - or you can rent a tank but thats all up to you and really comes down to how often you will be using your welder.

 

the welding will be 1x1" rectangular steel, 16swg

 

either of those welders i mentioned will be just fine for that application. they both use flux cored wire as well so if you dont want to spend money on gas for mig, then you can just use self sheilding wire and weld it with that. the only problem is that you will have to clean off the residue before you paint it or anything and the weld wont be as clean as mig. but anyways, to answer your question, both the machines will work and the lincoln is around 450 whereas the miller is 550-600. both will need gas for mig welding.

 

flux core is poop, bubbles and srays slag everywhere (almost lit my parents garage on fire). you'll get cleaner welds with regular wire w/o gas.

 

you shouldnt be getting bubbles if you weld correctly. flux gives a better weld than regular gas welding does but you have the left over slag that needs to be cleaned off. beyond that, it doesnt really look that bad if you do it properly.

 

I'm looking for a MIG welder to weld back together a downpipe, pretty thin metal. I had to cut it, and I'll be ready to install soon once I get it welded together. Anyone know any shops? I'm in Woodbridge

 

ummm... lowes, home depot, Northern Hydraulic, Grangier.....