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Eastwood Mig 135A welder (110v) - $199

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erty67

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Yea, that looks like it was a really short sale or an error. I see $279 now too. Guess I should have jumped on one rather think about it. Sorry folks!
 
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larryq

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Guaranteed it was a misprint. Eastwood seldom marks things down that much. For instance, in the emailer I got from them they have a sheet metal press marked down from $169 to $149, and some 2K epoxy rattle can spray listed from $24.99 to $22.99. (Let the savings begin.)

I always get a laugh when I see their deal mailers. That said, they do stand behind their products and even at $279 that welder is a solid one, with good reviews on the Eastwood site (they don't hide negative reviews.) If I didn't already have a 120v Lincoln, that Eastwood would be my choice.
 
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erty67

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^ that was my dilemma. I have a Lincoln 100. At $199 I was debating switching, as I could sell mine and get most my money back and at the least add the variable heat and a warranty. Definitely not a need though.
 
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larryq

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bubinga said:
I have a little 117-070 century, with a gas bottle.I think it's 90 amp max.
Do you think the Eastwood would be that much better?
Click to expand...

I think it would be considerably better (as erty67 says it comes with variable heat, which is nice) but $279 plus shipping isn't free. Really depends on your needs.
 
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aaronrkelly

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bubinga......I have a buddy with a 85 amp Century. He moved up to a 135 amp machine and he thought it was a noticeable increased in power/capability.

I guess it comes down to the question of have you ever lacked power?
 
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bubinga

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larryq said:
I think it would be considerably better (as erty67 says it comes with variable heat, which is nice) but $279 plus shipping isn't free. Really depends on your needs.
Click to expand...

Yeah, actually this little century has 4 heat settings.
Is the Eastwood Infinite?
I will look at it again?

aaronrkelly said:
bubinga......I have a buddy with a 85 amp Century. He moved up to a 135 amp machine and he thought it was a noticeable increased in power/capability.

I guess it comes down to the question of have you ever lacked power?
Click to expand...
Well, so far have not used it on nothing big.
I do have one of those little stick welders, runs on 110 or 220, I could use it if I needed anything heavier.
I know this fellow, actually he is a welding instructor, and he got a heck of a nice bead with it on 16 G steel. Chart says, # 3 heat, and 6-7 speed, but he used # 4 heat, and about 5 speed.
Of course with those settings, I could not get as nice a weld.
I need more practice. Was using .024 wire with gas.
 
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dmeadow

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I've got one of the Eastwood welders. I've been quite pleased with it. And, yes, it does have infinitely variable heat.
 
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ishiboo

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aaronrkelly said:
bubinga......I have a buddy with a 85 amp Century. He moved up to a 135 amp machine and he thought it was a noticeable increased in power/capability.

I guess it comes down to the question of have you ever lacked power?
Click to expand...

The last time I welded, I had a Hobart Handler 130. I recently bought the Millermatic 252 on the Zoro sale. Given the same metal, I can say the Millermatic is definitely easier to use under varying conditions/etc. with the power to spare.

That being said, some people do a lot with the 130s... I just wouldn't plan on much structural work. Don't think you're going to buy it and make a car trailer. :)
 
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erty67

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...and again, it lasted about 5 minutes. $279 now. No, I'm not joking. It was listed for $199.
 
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87FoRunner

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I got it a few weeks back at $199. I figured for the price, having it dedicated to sheet metal and thinner stuff, it is very worth it's weight. $230 ish shipped.

Been sitting under my tree for two weeks :D
 
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erty67

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ngonerogwu said:
I bought one.

Damn you garage journal. I couldn't pass up 199. Should be an upgrade from my HF 90a
Click to expand...

It definitely will be! I had the HF 90 before I got my Lincoln 100. Night and day in my opinion. This being comparable to the Lincoln, I'm sure you will like it.
 
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infinkc

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So what are everyone's thoughts on this welder? i had a miller 135, but it got stolen, will i be sad i bought this one over another miller? i can buy 3 of these is what is making the decision hard.
 
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aaronrkelly

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infinkc said:
So what are everyone's thoughts on this welder? i had a miller 135, but it got stolen, will i be sad i bought this one over another miller? i can buy 3 of these is what is making the decision hard.
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Its a damn good welder.....but its no Miller.

It gets great reviews and hardly ever is a bad word said about it. Just depends on your expectations.
 
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Tscott

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I just tried this. Add the welder to your cart and then use the source code provided above and it does indeed change the price to $200.

Tom
 
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f575gtc

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How does this compare to the older HF 140 MIG they used to have?
FYI this is made in China
 
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f575gtc

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I think Im gonna pass on this, after using my HF welder, my next welder will be a Miller or a Lincoln.

I thought it over some more and thought to myself, what the hell, its stronger than my 220v HF one and probably works better too.


This should work just as good as any Linclon or Hobart Lowes and Home Depot sell right?

I tried to be greedy and apply the 10% coupon on top of it, but it didn't work..


Someone convince me I need this..
 
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f575gtc

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So I found a brand new Lincoln Weld Pak 180HD on Cl for $300 would that be a better welder than this? Its still their Home Depot line, so that bit concerns me.
 
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Ign

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f575gtc said:
So I found a brand new Lincoln Weld Pak 180HD on Cl for $300 would that be a better welder than this? Its still their Home Depot line, so that bit concerns me.
Click to expand...

The rumors that ALL HD Lincoln's use different consumables are not entirely true. Local non-profit has a baby Lincoln WeldPak (110 or 120 maybe?) and I've personally used that thing hard building fencing in the mud, dumped out of wheelbarrows, bouncing off the duty cycle repeatedly, and it still works. This is not to say I like the machine exactly, it's underpowered so burn-off rate is low and you gotta go SLOW, but it keeps working and I can buy all the gun/liner consumables from the LWS (never shopped HD for consumables).

The 180 in question should be 220V and if you can test before buying and all seems well, I wouldn't hesitate. The machine I mention above was purchased circa 2002, so maybe since then the HD line has been cheapened.

We have one of these Eastwoods coming (for a friend who's learning to weld) and I'll get a chance to use it while teaching her, so I'll post back but will be a week most likely given her work schedule. Eastwood somehow dropped the ball on shipping, was supposed to be here already.
 
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f575gtc

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Either way the Lincoln 180HD should be leaps and bounds better than my Harbor Freight Mig I am guessing.

I can lay down a decent bead if I try with the welder, but it is not very forgiving, If I make one tiny adjustment on the speed I will have sputtering and broken up beads.

I recently broke my HF welder, the gas started leaking, I tried to fix it and made it worse, now the Argon gas leaks uncontrollably until I shut the tank, I can still use it as a flux core though.

Sorry for the hijack guys, Ill stop.
 
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Ign

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Had a chance to use this Eastwood machine last night. We, er mostly I, was like a monkey f'n a football setting it up. The gun/lead back which plugs into the machine is keyed. I'm not used to this with Millers or Hobarts, so I put it in wrong at first and the machine wouldn't feed. So watch that, or just don't be dumb like me.

Also there's a bit of a typo in the manual which at times refers to .035 as .6 and other times as .9. Most stuff on the machine is metric, which is a pet peeve of mine. I realize we're "global" or something, but again I'm used to Miller/Hobart which can spec everything in inches.

The machine suggested a power output of "G" (letters for quantitative values is another pet peeve of mine) and wire speed of 3 for what we were doing (.035 flux core), and it reco's this setting for 12ga thru 5/16" (5/16" would be highly optimistic for this machine) material thickness.

Wire speed of 3 was WAY too slow, but going to 4 made a dramatic difference and 4.5 was great. So, don't trust the chart.

The drive mechanism does not instill confidence, but it worked once we (er I) got the lead properly installed.

All in all, it works, but it's certainly a budget machine. It really made me appreciate Miller, Hobart or Lincoln - - there's a lot of things in the better machines that I take for granted.
 
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ngonerogwu

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Jul 24, 2012
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Evansville, IN
I returned mine, had to eat shipping both ways.

The drive motor doesn't align with the input hole for the wire in the stinger. It's close, but I'd have to take the stinger off and manually feed the wire in. Mildly inconvienient, but it got me thinking.. The misaligned holes will cause bits of wire to shave off, which eventually ruin the liner... Which is not replaceable, so at some point after the 3 year warranty is up, I'd be buying an entire new gun assembly. That's stupid.

I did call, they sent me another motor assembly, it had the same problem.

I was also frustrated with the ability to do 1/8. Penetration sucked. Kept blowing the recommended 20a breaker (yes, dedicated outlet, no ext cord, used 10/2 to the outlet and a 20a outlet). Had to bevel or preheat to do 1/8 and get it to penetrate.

Found a hobart 210 on CL. It's not shockingly better made, but it seems obvious it was designed by someone who is a welder... Whereas the Eastwood was based on one a welder designed, but then costs were cut, or design changes were made to ease manufacturing. Not sure.

I'd say for just general stuff.. The Hobart (or any 220 welder I suspect) is much better. When it comes down to it, if I had purchased the Eastwood mig175.. I probably wouldn't have sent it back. I think my main complaint is that it wouldn't do 1/8 without being absolutely maxed out.

The 135 would be perfectly fine for doing body work... Which is how it's marketed. It did great on thin sheet metal.
 
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