Which stick welder?

[Matthew Currie]

As some who read my post last week will remember, a freak shop accident resulted in my trusty old "buzz-box" being squashed. I had a very old but very robust Miles AC 180 amp. Insurance may or may not cover it, all or in part, but I need a new one anyway. I already have a small wire-feed MIG welder and a torch, and I'm looking just to replace with relatively minimal upgrade. In the general range I'm looking at (I figure why not get a little DC while we're at it?) there's a Lincoln AC/DC 225/125 and a Miller Thunderbolt 225/150. The Lincoln goes for $525 and the Miller $546 without wheels.

So, anyway, any of you welding gurus out there have advice on brand preference?

 

[biscuitboy87]

i have both brands

i like the millers better...thay seem more intuitive and less gadgety. but at the stcik welding level of products lincoln has the longevity...it seems their buzz boxes almost never die...
it's just a preference, but i like miller. that being said my tig lincoln (invertec loaded) is out in the field with me (its portable) and does fine...hmmm. not much help! okay all said and done...miller. thats my story and i'm stickin' to it.

 

[JJ13]

Miller!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Moto]

Miller all the way.

 

[MinotJeep]

Buy a TIG - it can double as a stick welder.

 

[Lou]

....a freak shop accident resulted in my trusty old "buzz-box" being squashed....

Has the FREAK been caught ? :twak:

 

[woody]

I am liking the Lincoln AC/DC IIRC it's $440 shipped from www.welderssupply.com

 

[JnJ]

Buy a TIG - it can double as a stick welder.

Buy a stick and it can double as a TIG! My flavor is Lincoln 220 AC/DC $300 something at the Depot. Not sure of current prices.

 

[woody]

I think they've gone up John :O

I don't know if Matthew has a /wantneed for a dedicated TIG setup, or the stomach for the price. I found a DC TIG conversion for the Lincoln AC/DC @ $250 + bottle, but it's recommended for (max) .125 on steel & .063 on aluminum. A little light duty for serious fab work. but it's affordable for a hobbyist/TIG student who already has a AC/DC buzzbox and a good 240V circuit.

 

[REDXJ4FUN]

I generaly go for miller or hobart but if your close to me I have a century( i know)that is ac/dc and set up for tig that i'm thinking of getting rid off to pay for my new mig set up. witch brings me to a dilema between the hobart iron man 210 and the 250 its a 500 dollar diffrence with is an extra 75 bucks a month for the next 6 moths and for that extra 500 i geta better duty cycle and 1/2in single pass but i also have a miller bobcat gas welder generaor that i can just stick weld something that thick I want the 250 but not sure ifff i can justify it.

 

[biscuitboy87]

I generaly go for miller or hobart but if your close to me I have a century( i know)that is ac/dc and set up for tig that i'm thinking of getting rid off to pay for my new mig set up. witch brings me to a dilema between the hobart iron man 210 and the 250 its a 500 dollar diffrence with is an extra 75 bucks a month for the next 6 moths and for that extra 500 i geta better duty cycle and 1/2in single pass but i also have a miller bobcat gas welder generaor that i can just stick weld something that thick I want the 250 but not sure ifff i can justify it.

i would consider the heavier duty cycle machine to be the better choice in the long run. as for miller and hobart are pretty much interchangeable due to corporate aquisitions. 1/2" single pass is some serious heat (whats the feed rate on that?)! if you think you will use it mig is faster, if not cleaner than stick(i know neither are clean.lol). hopefully the speed of the machine will help pay for itself...as for payments, my pops always said never buy shop machines on credit.

 

[REDXJ4FUN]

i would consider the heavier duty cycle machine to be the better choice in the long run. as for miller and hobart are pretty much interchangeable due to corporate aquisitions. 1/2" single pass is some serious heat (whats the feed rate on that?)! if you think you will use it mig is faster, if not cleaner than stick(i know neither are clean.lol). hopefully the speed of the machine will help pay for itself...as for payments, my pops always said never buy shop machines on credit.

I normaly wouldn't buy on credit but when its 6 months no interest and I pretty much need it now and don't have that much on hand since I've had some pretty big bills lattle like a $4200 dollar machine shop bill and a 3700 dollar down payment on my shop. Right now I'm not relying on the welder to pay for its self but once I have my shop finished It will make me money doing fab on the side such as my bumpers that a buch of people want already, and long arms. I think I will end up getting the 250 simpily because it will be the last mig I buy except for the spool gun in the future.

 

[Matthew Currie]

Thanks to all who have replied so far. Here's a composite reply:

I don't think I really need a TIG. I'm not that serious a welder, and I already have a small MIG and a torch, so I figure essentially just to replace the good ol' 180 amp AC stick welder that got mashed, but to throw in a little DC while I'm at it.

Since I'm in Vermont, Virginia is probably not the best location to look at used welders.

We haven't caught the **** responsible yet, but I think I might have spotted the truck in a nearby town. Now all we have to do is hope that the cop in charge answers his voicemail more than once a week (this is Vermont, remember!) and goes over and looks at it and does a little forensics and determines if I'm right. I mean, it's the right type of vehicle (87-91 Ford F, according to the grille bits we found), has damage in the right place, and missing the right pieces, with white paint scrapes and a piece of wood embedded in a fender....In other words, A Ford pickup that hit and penetrated a white wooden structure at an angle from the right recently, but we don't know yet whether it is THE ford pickup that hit and penetrated MY white wooden structure at an angle from the right recently.....Who knows, maybe he slid down his own driveway and hit a white picket fence.

I'm leaning toward the Miller, though it doesn't look as if I'd go far wrong with either.

 

[biscuitboy87]

no interest

I normaly wouldn't buy on credit but when its 6 months no interest and I pretty much need it now and don't have that much on hand since I've had some pretty big bills lattle like a $4200 dollar machine shop bill and a 3700 dollar down payment on my shop. Right now I'm not relying on the welder to pay for its self but once I have my shop finished It will make me money doing fab on the side such as my bumpers that a buch of people want already, and long arms. I think I will end up getting the 250 simpily because it will be the last mig I buy except for the spool gun in the future.

no interest and six months is cool. i hope i didnt rub ya the wrong way with that...its just a little of my pops stuck with me. he was so firm on that, and i think its one of the few things that really stuck with me. in all seriousness, in my short welding career, i have used many millers from the old aircrafters through millermatics and learned tig on a syncrowave 350 (old enough to look like a big refridgerator) and they have always performed flawlessly.