MIG also known as Metal Inert Gas is type of welding which is more popular among metal workers because MIG welding is not only required welding guns for precise welding, but it is also used for for welding variety of metals. Along with this, you can also do arc welding in addition to small wire electrode welding for the purpose of small as well as heavy works as per your convenience.
Another thing about MIG welding is that it can be done by anyone and is very easy to perform, you don’t have to take professional training in order to do it. In case you want to purchase the best MIG welders within range of $500, we have given list of best MIG welders available in the market along with their qualities and limitations.
Note: We have reviewed best MIG welders in the market, you may have look at here : https://bestweldinggears.com/mig-welders/
7 Best MIG Welders under $500 – Reviewed 2020
Contents
- 1 7 Best MIG Welders under $500 – Reviewed 2020
- 1.1 1. LOTOS 140 MIG Welder – our top pick
- 1.2 2. SUNGOLDPOWER 200 Amp MIG Welding Equipment
- 1.3 3. Lincoln Electric K2185-1 Handy MIG Welder – Best for DIY Tasks
- 1.4 4. Forney Easy Weld 261 MIG Welder
- 1.5 5. Hobart 500572 Handler 100 MIG Welder
- 1.6 6. Arcsonic 220V IGBT Inverter MIG Welder
- 1.7 7. LONGEVITY 140 Amp MIG-Welder
- 2 Buyer’s Guide for best MIG welding machine under 500
You can select the best one as per your needs.
1. LOTOS 140 MIG Welder – our top pick
LOTOS 140 MIG welder is number one in our list and it comes with the dual display setup, which enables you to control wire feeder speed and the voltage at the same time.
When welding solid steel, you need to use the 0.030’ wires or the 0.035’ flex core wires for beautiful beads on the welding surface. Plus you can weld up to 3/16” of 24 gauge mild steel which is good for a welder of its size. In aluminum, you can weld up to 1/8” and it comes with an aluminum compatible spool gun
If you want to weld the solid steel then you have to use the 0.030’ wires or the 0.035’ flex core wires for welding the beautiful beads on its surface. In addition, you can also weld up to 3/16” of 24 gauge mild steel, which is best for this welder. In case of aluminium, you can weld up to 1/8”. This machine comes with aluminium compatible spool gun.
There is no requirement of the trigger gun on this MIG gun as its switch is sufficient to perform task. Switch function is perfect for welders for long hours, without straining their trigger finger. 2T/4T switch is used to turn on the MIG gun during welding.
The voltage requirement of this machine is 115V, which makes it perfect for household works and will help in small and medium projects alongside your DIY tasks. Other great feature this tool has the thermal overload protection, which alerts the welders that machine is overheated and exceeds its duty cycle. This feature works by switching off torch automatically.
2. SUNGOLDPOWER 200 Amp MIG Welding Equipment
This machine can be best choice for those who work for long hours. It has 15 amps plug type function, which ensures the heat produced will always be within the range.
The rods like E6010, E7018, and E6013 DV can work very effectively with this welder and you are able to weld from any angle without any problem. It has very good penetration through the welding surface, which leads to low production of splatters and make it very good for small medium level works.
This machine accompanies with 9mm flux core wire, which has capability of welding through 1/4’’ of mild steel at very low 110V producing very fine beads. It also offers three-wire option for MIG welding, the 0.030, 0.035, and 0.040 inches and you can adjust as per your application. The only drawback is that you have to modify for fitting it inside welder and have to cut its centre for spooling protection.
This welder also come with the under and over loading protection, which help in alerting from any kind of unwanted incidents. This features, make you to perform your welding works without worrying about the machine. IT also has IGBT control module of 110/220V which helps you in different variety of welding works.
3. Lincoln Electric K2185-1 Handy MIG Welder – Best for DIY Tasks
It has the feature of Cold contractor safety, which cools down the wire until you trigger the gun to heat it. This feature is very useful for those who work for long hours.
It is the multifunctional welder as it can perform both flex core and MIG welding, which make it best for household task and for 24-gauge mild steel up to 1/8’’. It is very easy and convenient to use for those application, which requires less wire feed speed controls and voltage settings. But out of all, one drawback it doesn’t have gas gauge to determine the quantity of gas flowing and the amount of gas left.
It has lower input voltage of 115V, which make it perfect for household works. It has four voltage settings for welding metals as per their thickness. For adjusting the voltage setting, you must have to look chart of the different voltage settings for different metals. This machine has very low weight of 46 pounds and this makes this machine very lightweight, portable and good mobility. It also has holding handle for convenient for carrying.
4. Forney Easy Weld 261 MIG Welder
The best feature of this welder is the added storage for larger wire spools up to 10 pounds, but you have to buy them separately because it has only 2-pound wire spool inside the package.
This welder is gasless and comes with a0.030’’ flex core wires, its wire feed is very smooth and continuous and it creates perfect beads on your weld. Its maximum welding capacity is 1/4 “ in 24 gauge of mild steel, which makes this machine perfect for the small works like as car maintenance. It has total 10 wire speeds, which can be controlled through a control knob. One drawback it has that it has short work piece ground wires and wire feeder, which could be longer for better efficiency and performance.
It has input voltage of 120V, which make it good for household and small-scale works and DIY projects at your home. It is weigh around 19 pounds only, which make it very lightweight and highly portable and also has handle for carrying it conveniently.
5. Hobart 500572 Handler 100 MIG Welder
This machine has thermal overload function, which help in the protection of the current overloading and it has automatic reset function, which is another thing make this machine safe until you plug it out.
This machine is made up of industrial aluminium and its clamp is sturdy which are heavy duty in work gives strength and durability to its performance. This very lightweight machine weigh around 65 lbs make it very protable.
Its input voltage is 115V, which make it compatible for households needs and great apparatus for DIY projects and it also has 5 voltage control positions that make this welder very stable and smooth for welding metal of varying thickness. At 115V you can easily weld 1/4 “ of 24 gauge steel. IT aslo has voltage protection function, which help in extending machine self-life.
It has flux core wire of 0.8 mm – 0.9 mm with variable speed range of 40 – 70 IPM and this velocity make this welder more versatile in providing stable arc control. It has smooth wire feed make this machine weld small platters perfectly.
6. Arcsonic 220V IGBT Inverter MIG Welder
Arcosnic 220V IGBT invertor MIG welding machine is available in option of Gas or no gas and has 2 in feature of MMA/MIG welding option with 220V input power.
It is small sized machine and has been one the cheapest MIG welders available in the market, which make it very reasonable and value for money product. It is not been made for the heavy duty works however it would be the best choice for the household and small scale of welding application and DIY projects.
Talking about its drawbacks it has very short leads, are tightly intact into the machine, which make it very limited capable in working in comparison to other machine offers to welders. But it has automatic feeding function with the help of 2T/4T switches make you work tension free without worrying about the machine. It is very compact and lightweight which make it very portable and have welding projects in extreme places.
As it is very low priced machine, it will be the good option, but if you want to have long as well heavy duty works we would suggest you to go with more sturdy machine like SUNGOLDPOWER 200 amp, by paying slightly more.
7. LONGEVITY 140 Amp MIG-Welder
LONGEVITY 140 Amp MIG welder has very sturdy Flux Core And aluminium Gas Shielded Welding of 110V voltage.
It has capability of welding 3/8 inch steel, but it take multiple passes for that, but it is better to have 1/4 inch gauge steel sections or less. It has compatibility of decent range of amperage and wire feeding adjustment that make you to find ideal range for your application very easily.
We can say that it is not that high quality welder in comparison to other welders in our list, it may not have best wire feed and flux core in comparison of LOTOS 140 or Sun gold power 220, But it can be very good choice if you have to small scale of welding. For heavy-duty works I won’t suggest this welder.
Overall, This 140 amp welder can do basic jobs, but as it has low quality wire feeder, many users are reluctant to buy this welder in comparison to other options.
Buyer’s Guide for best MIG welding machine under 500
Amperage range
It is very important thing user must consider before buying MIG welder. It is thing which changes the capability of welder to weld different gauge metal sections. Higher the amperage range higher heat it will produce, resulting in to broader welding ability. Even though 2 welders have same amperage range but they may vary in heat production this is because other factors came into play. So it is necessary to consider amperage range before buying welding machine.
A 140 amperage of machine is capable of welding sheets, which are ¼ inch thick, or less. It is always better to go for high range machine of the sheets you plan to weld. Buying better with sturdy and hotter capacity build for the use of the future purposes.
Welder quality
This is the second factor you have to consider before buying a welding machine. Welder quality help you ensuring its durability and longevity. Welders like LOTUS and SUNGOLDPOWER will give you more life span, than other cheap welders available in market.
The welder must have good intact TORCH, which help in extending its efficiency and life. Torch is the direct vessel, which is most important aspect of welding. Though welder may not work long time, but if its torch is not working efficiently then it is not a user friendly welding machine and will give poor welding experience.
Features
There are other features, which are important to consider to buy perfect under $500. The options like flux core, stick, And TIG welding capabilities of Machine. Welders like LOTOS 140 amp machine has features like 2T/4T switch function which has capability of trigerring manual feed button to automatic feed trigger.
Other features like aluminium spool gun connectivity option that some other welding machine can offer in this range make its purchase worth of single penny. There are some welding machines, that has spool gun by itself. But if not then spool gun must be purchased separately unless you are going for more professional and expensive machine.
The amperage and wire feeding as we discussed above are other important features important for buying machine. There is another feature known as voltage rating setting options, which is very significant if you have to weld metals sheets of varying thickness. If your machine produce lower spattering is also leads to better and fine welds, so it is important to make voltage adjustments as per application sheet.
Conclusion
In our list the top pick is LOTOS 140 MIG welder, which has two digital displays for controlling both voltage, amperage and wire speed. Aong with these features it has the thermal overload feature, which has automatic shutting off feature to avoid risk overheating and damaging the machine. It is the best machine for small to medium tasks and DIY projects.
If you think that price of LOTOS machine is very high, and you don’t have any requirement of the features like dual display and other it offers than you may go with the other machines like SUNGOLDPOWER MIG Welding, which has no display and offers more welding power with less production of heat.
I hope you liked our article about best MIG welding machine under $500, and we are able to solve for dilemma and search for best option. In this article, we have discussed about their specifications, features and their pros and cons. So, if you are interested with any one of them please go for buying them. Please feel free to share this article with your friends u0026amp; family and if you have any suggestions and queries related to it feel free to contact us.