Eastwood MIG 140 Review – Is It Worth It?

The Eastwood MIG 140 is an update to the Eastwood MIG 135.

The MIG 14 is an entry-level MIG/Flux-cored welder providing enough welding power and features for the welding rookie.

Small inverter welders like this are not for heavy work, and people typically buy them as a first welder. However, build quality and the addition of a few advanced features separate this Eastwood unit from the competition, as you’ll learn in the review below.

Review Summary

Technical Specification

Rating Overview

• Performance: 4.5/5
  The arc quality of Eastwood MIG 140 is only bested by the Hobart Handler 140 that costs more, and provides fewer features. This places Eastwood’s unit among the best performing entry-level welders.
• Power: 4/5
  With its output of 140A and a duty cycle of 30% at 90A, this welder is slightly below the maximum power output you can find in the starter category. 
• Features: 5/5
  Having spool gun support for welding aluminum in an entry-level welder is enough for it to stand apart from the crowd. But it also supports 2T/4T settings and has a tack weld feature.
• Portability: 5/5
  Weighing in at about 24 lbs, the Eastwood MIG 140 is one of the lightest welders you can get.
• Price: 4.5/5
  Considering the build and arc quality, strong warranty, and included features, this welder has a great price-to-quality ratio.
• Manufacturer support: 5/5
  Eastwood is a serious USA-based company with over 40 years of history. Their customer support is on point, and their 90-day money-back guarantee coupled with a 3-year warranty is more than entry-level welders typically provide.

Overall Verdict: 4.5/5
Considering the quality of this welder and the low price, this is one of the best budget welders, if you value reliability. Other cheap welders are likely to die earlier than this one. The only thing that could make this welder better was an addition of another 10-20A.

Pros

• Affordable
• High-quality build
• Stable arc
• Recently updated to use latest IGBT technology
• Portable and lightweight
• Accepts up to 8 in. wire spools and up to 0.35 in. wire diameter
• All metal wire drive system
• 120V input voltage
• Requires typical 20A circuit breaker
• Spool gun support for welding aluminum
• 2T/4T ability
• Tack welding capability for repeatable spot welds
• Tweco-style MIG torch with standard consumables
• Decent duty cycle
• Infinite adjustability knobs
• Easy to use
• 3-year warranty

Cons

• Not enough welding amperage for some users
• It doesn’t have a digital display

What To Know Before Buying The Eastwood MIG 140

As a budget welder, the Eastwood MIG 140 makes for one of the best value choices if you want a machine that lasts. But there are a couple of downsides to this MIG welder if you  have unrealistic expectations. So, to help you understand what to reasonably expect, let’s discuss some limits of this machine.

Hobbyist Use Only

The provided 140A of welding power welds up to 3/16 in. thick, which is sufficient for hobbyist applications. While this welder has a stable arc that can produce quality joints, the sub 180A output limits it to light welding duty.

So, if you are a beginner and plan to use your new welder in a professional environment down the line, it’s probably best to invest in something slightly more powerful.

No Digital Display

While rare in starter units, some competing models offer a digital display in this price category. This would be a nice touch to have but not something I’d expect from the low-end welders. Still, some brands like YesWelder offer such entry-level machines. 

But keep in mind that with inexpensive welders, every dollar spent on high-end features weakens either the build quality or the arc quality. So not having a digital display here allows Eastwood to forego the flash of a digital display and focus on fundamentals.

Best Features of the Eastwood MIG 140

Eastwood designed and manufactured a very good mix of features and build quality with this unit. Like most of their welders, the MIG 140 provides a great price-to-quality ratio. So let’s explore the most notable features that make this welder stand out in the crowd.

Spool Gun Support

Native spool gun support is not expected at this price. For example, the Hobart Handler 140 directly competes with the Eastwood MIG 140 and the Handler 140 doesn’t support a spool gun. The YesWelder 205DS is another hobbyist-level MIG welder without a spool gun support. 

So if you are a hobbyist and wish to MIG weld aluminum at a low entry price, the Eastwood MIG 140 is a good choice. But keep in mind, the spool gun is sold separately.

Also, keep in mind that aluminum’s heat conductivity is higher compared to steel, requiring more welding power to get the puddle going and achieve penetration. This means the 140A this unit provides is enough to weld thin sections only. That’s sufficient to complete hobbyist projects like furniture or metal art involving aluminum.

Arc Quality

Having excellent arc quality, this Eastwood model is a good choice if you wish to learn how to weld on a machine with an arc similar to what you’ll experience with more expensive welders. 

The only welder with a better arc quality in this category is the Hobart Handler 140, which is a transformer-based welder. But as such, it weighs and costs more. Hobart is famous for arc quality, but if you wish to experience something similar at a lower price, the Eastwood 140 MIG is a good choice.

This model was recently updated to utilize the latest IGBT inverter technology, providing a smooth, stable arc without excessive spatter. Many cheap inverter welders have a poor inverter designs, resulting in a lot of spatter and arc fluctuations. So, Eastwood’s welder once again stands out in this affordable price bracket.

Included Features

Many Eastwood welders include 2T/4T and tack weld features, but here they are especially useful since this unit is mainly made to weld thin metal.

The 4T lets you weld long beads without constantly squeezing the trigger. This reduces hand fatigue and improves the stability of the gun. But since the duty cycle is on the lower end, this feature is worthwhile only when using a low amperage output, such as when welding metal sheets.

The tack weld feature also excels when working on thin metal, too. It provides a consistent energy input into the material regardless of how long you squeeze the trigger. The consistency prevents excessive warping of sheet metal due to accidental exposure to inordinate heat. 

Build Quality

This Eastwood welder is built to handle rough working conditions with a sturdy metal body and durable plastics. Similar to other Eastwood models, this one is designed with better than average attention to detail.

The all metal wire drive system can be adjusted manually, without tools. With its cast aluminum body, the wire drive is built to last. While this is a standard nowadays, you can still find cheap welders using plastic wire drives, even among premium brands. For example, the Lincoln Electric Handy MIG has a plastic wire drive. If you are entirely new to welding, you should know that metal drives are always better than plastic, so I advise considering a welder with an all metal drive.

The included MIG gun uses standard Tweco-style consumables, which are readily available. Many cheap welders use custom consumables, which are only available from the manufacturer, making them difficult to obtain. Additionally, this MIG gun is of good quality and in line with what’s expected at this price. 

The grates on the front panel have slightly larger openings than other machines. This is good for increased airflow in the unit but be sure you don’t orient the front near dust sources.

Portability

Weighing just over 24 lbs, this MIG 140 is an excellent solution for welders on the go. While this welder is aimed at hobbyists, portability is the one area where this Eastwood unit benefits a professional as well. Thanks to the good arc quality and excellent portability, this welder can perform high-quality welds wherever you need it to. Just make sure its amperage is enough for your planned jobs.

Ease of Use

This MIG welder is easy to set up and use. Thanks to Eastwood’s detailed instruction manual and intuitive front panel, you can start welding in minutes after opening the box.

The front panel houses two infinitive control  knobs, allowing adjustability and fine-tuning of the wire feeding speed and the arc voltage. This is much better than having fixed values, which many welders provide, including the Hobart Handler 140. Welding with fixed voltage values prevents you from making fine adjustments to the arc and tailoring the resulting bead to your liking. 

What I like the most about the front panel is that it displays actual units, not arbitrary numbers. It’s rare to find an entry-level welder that notes the units (e.g., inches per minute or volts) instead of a random range. Using an arbitrary scale, like 1 to 10, is not a good practice for beginners. Knowing the actual wire speed and the voltage is much better because  you can actually communicate and ask questions to compare with other welders. 

What’s included

• Eastwood MIG 140 unit
• MIG gun – 8.5 ft.
• Ground clamp – 8.5 ft.
• Gas regulator and hose
• Additional contact tips .030 in. and .035 in.
• MIG wire spool .023 in., 2 lbs.
• Welding hammer/brush
• Contact tip wrench
• Face shield with the shaded lens
• Instruction manual

Alternative To Consider

There aren’t many competing models with a similar price, quality, and features in the starter market. So perhaps the best alternative to consider is the more powerful Eastwood MIG 180.

Costing slightly more than the 140A version, it provides more power and a better price-to-quality ratio than most MIG welders, including the famous Hobart 210 MVP.

Eastwood MIG 180

The 180 model offers everything found in the Eastwood 140 MIG, but with additional features and more welding power. This dual-voltage welder outputs a maximum of 180 amps with a 30% duty cycle. However, its duty cycle is at 60% when outputting 130A, which is much better than the Eastwood MIG 140’s duty cycle of 30% at 90A.

Having this much welding power will suffice most welder’s needs except the working professionals. Even so, thanks to its arc quality, it can be used for light fabrication and other more demanding work.

This is especially true thanks to its much higher maximum wire feeding speed of 551 inches per minute. Higher wire speed allows you to deposit metal at a high rate and achieve deep penetration, making it capable of welding open root joints and joints with steep bevel angles where a lot of metal deposition is required.

Using the same IGBT inverter, the 180A weighs slightly over 25 lbs, so it’s just as portable as the MIG 140. The MIG 180 welder is a much better choice if your budget allows you to spend a few more bucks. 

Final Verdict

Eastwood’s 140 and 180 are great MIG welders for hobbyists, and the 180A can also be used for light professional welding. The 140 model is 120V input only, so it’s likely a better choice if you don’t have access to a 220V outlet.

But, the MIG 180 model runs on either 120V or 240V and has a much better price-to-quality ratio because it provides more power and features at just a slightly higher price.

Other Eastwood MIG reviews

Eastwood MIG 180 Review
Eastwood MIG 250 Review