is this welder any good?

[stealthshooter]

I have been looking for a welder and ran onto this one. What do you think?

http://m.northerntool.com/northernto...ductName=false

[chasmosis1]

Check Craigslist and look for a good used Miller/Hobart or a Lincoln. These off brand welders are hard to get parts for. Chances are your local welding shop wont carry tips, shields, or replacement liners/whips when they are needed. You would have to order these parts from the manufacturer and later on they will probably become obsolete.

[DIYBEADLOCKS.COM]

x2 miller is first choice then esab

[Maverick26]

Yes same answer as ^. But to add, I had a Clarke welder before I got on the Miller bus and I will say that these welders do work untill they start to get old and the use starts to take its toll on parts. Most of these welders are cheaply made in some factory in china. One week the factory is building welders and the next week it is building rubber dog shit. No support for tech or parts and Central Welding will laugh you out of there building when you come in asking for contact tips. Let alone there welder repair price of 100 bucks an hour.

God Bless the USA and buy a fuckin Miller!

For the same reasons you own a Torchmate!

[bayoubuster]

I have the northern 135 flux core. It's a good welder for what I bought it for. Light welding! Welds good on the thin stuff but not like a Miller/Lincoln. I have had no problems but I have not done much serious welding with it mostly mock up stuff than I take it to my buddies to burn it in. I'm currently saving for a bigger unit. Not trying to high jack but what does the pbb say my money is better spent on wire or stick

[snoeproe]

I am a Lincoln guy. I have a lincoln stick/tig machine in my home shop now. I have always demanded the quality and durrability that lincoln welders have. We use Lincoln, Miller and Hobart 3 phase machines at work but I use lincoln at home.
If your looking for a cc/cv machine (mig/stick,tig) I would seriously consider a Thermal Arc. They have a new line of inverter 3 in one (mig/stick/tig) machines that is a very good machine. The Fabricater 181i, 252i and soon to be released 211i. I am seriously looking at the 252i myself.

[PWS Tech]

I am a Miller, Lincoln and Hypertherm certified tech. I also work sales as a distributor. At least twice a week I get customers in the store asking for consumables or repair parts for these foreign machines, which of course are not available. Some of these Chinese machine manufactures got smart and have changed the mig gun tip holder to accept Tweco tips and nozzles. Other than that, parts are difficult to find and repairing is not an option. The gun liners are nylon and soon wear out with no ready supply of replacements. They are disposable machines.

[jatepper]

I myself was a Miller fan. All I owned was a little MM180 until about a 10-12 months ago when I bought my Hobart Ironman 230. I love it! It looks really well built, has beefy drive gears, and uses Miller consumables, so you can get parts for it almost anywhere. When I was buying my welder, it was between the MM252 and my Ironman 230. Ultimately, the price difference is why I went with the Hobart (about $700 cheaper and very comparable) and I'm glad I did.

But yeah, any of the BIG 3....Miller, Lincoln, Hobart. ESAB's are popular on the east coast and I have heard nothing bad about them, but I would just be worried about parts availability as people have mentioned.

[stealthshooter]

Thanks guys. I wasn't sure who made the northern machine but if its a Chinese machine ill stay clear. I'm wanting something in the 180 range with a spool gun for aluminum.

[jeep937]

Nothing in the Northern catalog is good. It's like Granger. Almost full retail price.. Fuck 'em...

[stealthshooter]

Ok then......

[techman]

My brother bought that welder and took it to Uganda with him. He built shelves, rabbit cages and many other things with it. He does not have any problems getting consumables for it over there. He did find that electrodes for stick welding are substantially cheaper over there so he was glad to have the stick welding capability. The only notable problem he has had is that when the voltage drops below 130 or so it will not work. He found that he has to do his welding late at night when there is not so much competition on the transformer. I don't know about longevity because he was only there a year. He is going back soon so hopefully it will still be working if the natives haven't destroyed it.

[stealthshooter]

Can anyone give me pro's and cons between these 3 machines? I like the auto set feature on the Miller.

http://www.millerwelds.com/products/...p?model=M00209

http://www.lincolnelectric.com/en-us...roduct=K2473-1

http://www.hobartwelders.com/product...ed/handler190/

[jkce72]

I have the Hobart 210, and it's a very nice welder. I'm just a home welder and it's plenty for me. Also came with a spool gun. One plus would be, the hobart you have linked is only $850.00 at Northern with spool gun. The Lincoln and Miller might be better units but are more money intially and then the spool gun will cost you few hundred more.

[diabloed]

I have the Lincoln 180 and I'm very happy with it. You can pick one up at Home Depot for $660 I believe.

[TorqueRanger]

Originally Posted by stealthshooter

Can anyone give me pro's and cons between these 3 machines? I like the auto set feature on the Miller.

http://www.millerwelds.com/products/...p?model=M00209

http://www.lincolnelectric.com/en-us...roduct=K2473-1

http://www.hobartwelders.com/product...ed/handler190/

Or just buy the miller 211 and be done with it ...

[stealthshooter]

So I went to my local airgas today and they suggested this machine. http://www.thermadyne.com/Thermal%20...181i/index.php

[stealthshooter]

Never mind I just found out the TD is made in Mainland China. I'm set on buying USA made.

[stealthshooter]

Well..........................Here She is. $869 out the door with an extra package of tips and a 10# spool of .030 flux core wire.

[diabloed]

Originally Posted by stealthshooter

Well..........................Here She is. $869 out the door with an extra package of tips and a 10# spool of .030 flux core wire.

Ouch

I tried...

http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hardw...&storeId=10051

[stealthshooter]

Originally Posted by diabloed

Ouch

I tried...

http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hardw...&storeId=10051

They are not the same welders.

[chasmosis1]

Originally Posted by stealthshooter

They are not the same welders.

As you said, they are not the same. There are minor difference. However this rebate may be of interest to you if your supplier didn't mention it to you already.

http://www.lincolnelectric.com/en-us...roduct=K2473-1

[stealthshooter]

He did mention it. But he came real close to the same price and I didn't have to wait for my rebate. The one thing I do still need is a cover. I don't want my new baby getting all dusty and stuff lol

[chasmosis1]

It doesn't matter. You can download the form here http://www.lincolnelectric.com/asset...3-1/mc1206.pdf and as long as you have the receipt you can still get the $75 rebate or the free helmet. It has nothing to do with the distributor or his prices!

[stealthshooter]

Very nice thank you for the info!