If your present wire welder won't weld sheetmetal without burning holes,
there may be something wrong with the welder or your methods/techniques..
examine both closely.
You don't say if you've actually tried using the Century model, or if you're
just comparing advertising numbers.

You may not need a new liner in the gun/torch assembly to run .023" or .025"
wire. The C25 argon/CO2 mix is more expensive, but most likely the best
choice for sheetmetal and small wire.
Small wire size, low power output and C25 gas is what will make sheetmetal
work very easy.

When repairing rusty sheetmetal, any rusty spots are best avoided. The weld
should be applied where the surface is absolutely clean steel and free of
rust, and where rust hasn't eaten away at the back side of the body metal.
If the body metal is rusted badly on the back side, the patch area needs to
be enlarged/extended.
The skills for proper welding are in the user, not the machine.

Don't get too carried away with the model numbers and marketing hype.. even
the better brand name 120VAC wire welders are just 90 Amp units.
Ernie L (SEJW group) and others will confirm this.
The possibility of a little more output amperage is realistic only if the
unit requires a 30A 120VAC supply circuit.
Another aspect that many get carried away with is duty cycle.. unless you're
making long, continuous welds at high output current, duty cycle isn't
paramount.
During most home shop welding, the user is going to pause, changing position
or other small interruptions that reduce the actual weld-duty time.
I would consider a better warranty period of more significance than a
slightly higher duty cycle, only because new stuff sometimes fails. A good
warranty and parts supply chain outweighs a full power, 100% duty cycle IMO.

There are numerous quality 120V units available, that have parts readily
available in most locations.
Hobart is one very good brand, with wide availability from what I've seen,
but I haven't needed warranty repairs or major parts replacement.
All of the genuine Hobart consumable parts are readily available to me
locally, and if I would need a gun assembly or new liner, they're readily
available online, or thru local dealers.

This Mm 211 unit is multi-voltage unit with extra features like the Auto-set
and Smooth-start which appear to be additional electronic circuits that may
be nice, until they fail. I don't know what spatter-free start is, but it
sounds like marketing crap.
More features are generally just more things that can go wrong, and most
likely need to be returned to a service center for repair.
The smaller Millermatic wire units also have the Auto-set feature.

A good quality 120V unit should be economical to own and use with consistent
performance evey time it's turned on.

Since you already have a gas regulator kit, you might consider a basic model
quality wire welder that has the solenoid valve already installed (many do).

The Hobart units still appear to be made in U.S.A. and they're availability
is as widespread as any other manufacturers.
You may not find a continuously adjustable heat range on some models.

Years ago, my job involved setting up a small fabricating and machine shop,
and to produce small machines for the employer.
The wire welder welder that was bought was a cheap imported
bottom-of-the-barrel quality unit, that required more time repairing and
adjusting, than actual welding.

Later, for my own use, I bought a Hobart Handler 135, and after years of
occassional use, have never had any problems with it. It still works just
like it did when it was new.

--
WB
..........


"RogerN" wrote in message
m...
I've been trying to do some body work and rust repair on my truck before I
sell it and I'm getting close to the point of needing to weld in some
metal to replace the rusted metal. This isn't so much to increase the
value of the truck as it is to learn to do some body work and rust repair.
My welder is a Century 145A (IIRC) 230V Sam's Club special that came with
the MIG Gas regulator kit.

For my current location and to weld thin auto body sheet metal it would be
nice to have a 120V welder so I was looking at what is available. Seems
the economical MIG welders (Harbor Freight, Northern Tool, etc.) are set
up for flux core and the thinnest they advertise to weld is 18 Ga. and the
addition of the MIG kit puts their price near the price of the little bit
better MIG welders.

Looking around, I found a welder that looks interesting, a Millermatic
211. It will run up to 140A on from 120V or up to 210A from a 230V supply.
Sounds like just what I need, light duty running out to my auto body and
heavier duty shop welding. Plus it is ready for a spool gun (on sale
locally for $179). Everything sounded great until I looked at the price,
$949 on sale locally, sounds like a good price for this welder but still
pretty expensive. It would fill all my MIG needs in one machine plus I
could add aluminum spool gun capability. And it looks like a bottle of
Argon for TIG + MIG aluminum and a bottle of 75/25 Argon/CO2 would set me
up with all the gas I need for about anything I'm likely to weld.

Any recommendations on a favorite MIG welder for auto body sheet metal?

RogerN