I have been down at the local welding supplier several times over the last 6 months and been talking with their rental guys about a TIG machine. I'm not real sure what I may get into in the future so I was a bit hesitant to jump on the first 200 amp machine they showed me. Anyway, was down there today and was pretty much set on walking out with one whatever color it might have been. After talking with him for a while he showed me an esab 252 and the lincoln 350. I took the lincoln because I would have had to wait til Wed. for him to get a foot pedal for the esab. As of right now I'm just on a trial/renting it for a month to see how I like it but he will let the complete package with foot pedal, 25' torch, esab watercooler, and ground go for 2700. My rent will go 100% towards the purchase of it or another if I decide to get a different setup.

Now to the point of the thread, what are you guys experience and thoughts on this welder?

URL to said welder?

I googled it and couldn't find anything... is it used?

I do love my Lincoln Precision Tig 225 though, awesome machine :smokin:

URL to said welder?

I googled it and couldn't find anything... is it used?


Yes it is used, he said it came from a vo-tech school like a lot of their rentals do. I can't find a link to it either. I think he said it was a late 90's model.

Manual: TIG 350 (http://content.lincolnelectric.com//pdfs/products/navigator/im/IM396.pdf)

Manual: TIG 350 (http://content.lincolnelectric.com//pdfs/products/navigator/im/IM396.pdf)

The control panel shown in the manual does not look quite right for a late 90's model though.

Yes it is used, he said it came from a vo-tech school like a lot of their rentals do. I can't find a link to it either. I think he said it was a late 90's model.

This thing is going to be a pig for power requirements when running on unbalanced AC so I hope you have the electrical service to take advantage of the machines capability. As a former user/abuser of vo-tech machines I do not think I would consider buying one due to the amount of abuse they see.

the rent to own deal sounds kind of nice. i got a lincoln square wave 175 about 8yrs ago. i know its smaller but i paid around $600 new from my local place. im looking for a bigger machine now thats water cooled. i saw this 175 machine on craigslist that the guy was asking $1000 with no bottles. sounds like your getting a preaty good deal if it comes with regulators and a water cooler and all that.

This thing is going to be a pig for power requirements when running on unbalanced AC so I hope you have the electrical service to take advantage of the machines capability. As a former user/abuser of vo-tech machines I do not think I would consider buying one due to the amount of abuse they see.

I don't know the date of manufacture but the manual matches pretty much right on with the one sitting in the garage right now.

Yes, I have a 400amp service with dual lugs split for 200 on the garage and 200 on the house. That was the only drawback he said was that it was a bit power hungry. I guess that I can keep that in mind and if I'm not welding or am just prepping parts for welding it can stay off until I need it.

Funny you say that about the votech machines because the guy there said he loves to get them in and use them for rentals because he said they never get used like they do in an actual shop that produces things. This one he said he never even had to clean it when he opened the cover on it.

the rent to own deal sounds kind of nice. i got a lincoln square wave 175 about 8yrs ago. i know its smaller but i paid around $600 new from my local place. im looking for a bigger machine now thats water cooled. i saw this 175 machine on craigslist that the guy was asking $1000 with no bottles. sounds like your getting a preaty good deal if it comes with regulators and a water cooler and all that.

I was thinking the same since it has all the little bs that adds up in a hurry. I would really like to hear an opinion from someone that has used this model before. But I suppose it is from a big name and it's a big ass machine so it can't be all bad right?

I know it's an old post, but for what it's worth, I use one of these almost every day and I love it. It's big and bulky, but it is a great machine for stick or tig. Pulse can't be beat. Its much easier to use than the comparable miller machines in the shop. I'll take a miller for mig any day of the week, but for tig/stick nothing beats a Lincoln. I've been trying to pick up one of these from the local vo-tech/community college since I used one.

Holy old thread revival. lol.

I see you are in Anderson. You might give a call downtown to Sutton Garten. I wouldn't be surprised if they still have it sitting back in the warehouse. I was back in that are about a month ago and I was amazed at the number of used and rental welders they had on the shelves.

Right on. I'll have to update my location too. I'm in Pendleton now. Thanks for the heads up.