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Author
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Topic: mig welders -- again???
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71RESTO
Gearhead Posts: 1655
From: Oregon, USA
Registered: Oct 2000
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posted 04-14-2006 04:11 PM
 
I know this has been discussed in the past, but I was looking for a recomendation. My birthday is coming up and the family is pitching in to buy me a MUCH needed MIG set-up. The local Home Depot has a Lincoln Weld-Pak 3200HD for $459, which includes the cables, the regulators, etc and has the cart base with wheels and bottle holder. The nice part about this model is the self-contained cart and the ability to weld to 5/16" thick!!  Does anybody know this model and it's capabilities??? Or is there a betterone out there for the same price range??
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Duane
71 Fastback (under resto-351C-4V C6 auto)
M & M Member #730
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SteveLaRiviere
Administrator Posts: 48752
From: Saco, Maine
Registered: May 99
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posted 04-15-2006 07:48 PM
I can't say enough good about the Lincoln I bought for $200 at Summit. I wish I had a cart for it but I plan on making one when I get a chance. ------------------
'70 Mustang Mach 1 - '70 Mustang Convertible - '72 Mustang Sprint - '94 F-150 XL
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SteveLaRiviere
Administrator Posts: 48752
From: Saco, Maine
Registered: May 99
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posted 04-15-2006 07:50 PM
Have you looked at the one I have linked in the tool store?http://mustangsandmore.50megs.com/Pages/RestorationSupplyStore.html ------------------
'70 Mustang Mach 1 - '70 Mustang Convertible - '72 Mustang Sprint - '94 F-150 XL
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TOPDowNMUSTANG
Gearhead Posts: 281
From: Kennett Square, PA
Registered: Oct 2005
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posted 04-18-2006 02:54 PM
The one Steve has linked is pretty much the same as the one I have. It's perfect for the sheet metal type welding we do in this hobby. They say they can weld up to 5/16" but you have to remember what they call Duty Cycle. One of the reasons these welders don't cost thousands like a big 3 phase Hobart is that the coil inside is smaller. That means that they don't have a 100% duty cycle. If a welder has a 30% duty cycle it means that it will operate at 100% power for 30% of the time before the coil heats up and it cuts out until it cools again.If you operate them at low power like we do for light sheet metal they run 100% of the time. If you were doing 5/16" steel all the time you would have to spend a small fortune on a big welder. For the stuff we do on our cars and around the house these welders are perfect. ------------------
'73 Convertible, 351C 2V
'91 LX Convertible 5.0
Member: Valley Forge Mustang Club
"The best things in life are free, but the really kick-a** things cost a fortune."
My Site
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Bloose
Gearhead Posts: 888
From: Milwaukee, WI
Registered: Dec 2001
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posted 04-30-2006 07:27 PM
Remember also that duty cycle is for trigger on time. So unless your holding the trigger on non stop you can get a lot done with even a 30% duty cycle. Personally I like the Millers and Hobarts over the Lincolns only because the Lincolns are made in Mexico where the Miller and Hobart are made in the USA. Lincolns are good machines but if I'm spending my money and can keep the $$$ in the US I like to do so. You may also want to look at a Clarke. They are made in Itally and thier price is usually quite a bit less than the big names. But again I prefer the USA stuff. A guy I work with bought a Clark and says it works great if that helps at all. HTH,
B-loose
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my4ateyour8
Journeyman Posts: 53
From: Nampa, Idaho, USA
Registered: Dec 2004
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posted 05-04-2006 10:43 PM
Speaking of Duty Cycle. I have a Lincoln SP 125 that I have never had a serious problem with in the last 10 years. For about three years I used it in my business welding outlets on pipe up to .188 wall at 100% power at about 60% duty cycle for up to 4 or 5 hours a day for days at a time. The only problem I have had is I wore out the liner a couple of times and the consumables (like the contact tip and the nozzle) tend to wear out a little more often than on the bigger units. My only recomendation, use a high quality gas and buy a name brand welder to start with. Good luck. Have fun.
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