Lincoln Weld Pack 155

[iiibdsiil]

Hey guys, my dad bought one of these brand new from Home Depot a few (3, 4?) years ago, they were going on close out and he said he paid like $210 for it. It's supposed to do up to 1/4" steel. It's a 220 Volt unit.

I was just wondering if anyone had any experience, and if this would be good for me to learn to weld on.

BTW, it's never been used, and he said I can have it. So next time I'm down south I can pick it up.

Thanks in advance guys!

 

[the intimidator]

i have the 110 version of that and it lays a nice weld but to do a 1/4'' you need to do a few passes like 3 and you need to vee the pieces out and lay a beed rite down the midle and 2 more on top over laping each other takes a while but it works mig is pretty easy to pick up on i'd suggest getting a auto darking welding helmet even if you are only going to use it a few times it is well worth it and is really nice for learning with. for your first project i'd suggest making a cart for your welder to sit on i can post a few pics of mine if youd like

 

[iiibdsiil]

Apparently I am going to need to purchase the MIG conversion for it, which is about $100. Damn, can't get anything for completely free these days

I get the cart that he bought to go with it too. I have no experience with welding other then watching people do it, and I agree completely on the auto darkening. I know Harbor Freight has them on sale every now and then. Or should I pick up something better? I don't know how much of a difference there are with those types of things.

 

[stimpy]

any type of free welder is good to have if your a beginner( rubbing metal together till it melts together ***** ) what makes you a better welder is practice not the type of machine ,get it and start melting metal , one of my freinds went to welding school with the big buck supermachines and when he went to a job site he couldn't do anything since he didn't know how to set up the machine(old lincoln gen) . hey but he knew how to make sparks ... and when I worked in Ndt most of your welds where multi passes anyways .

 

[the intimidator]

so the machine you are getting is a arc welder i thought it was a mig machine arc will be harder to pick up at first because you will need lots of practise to get good at stricking a arc. once you get past striking a arc you will be set from there on if you have steady hands. if it is a mig machine or you convert it to mig? then it will be pretty simple to learn mig is basicly arc welding instead of haveing a elctode that is constintly getting shorter, you have a roll of wire electrode likly flux cored (doesnt need sheilding gas) all you need to do is keep a constant distance from your work and a constent speed to get a good bead it is pretty simple once you get used to it.

as for the helmet a harbor freight one should work ok if you dont plan on using it too often my neighbor has a princess auto spechial (canadian harbor freight cheap junk lol) and it works ok i myself use a miller auto darkining welding helmet and it is really nice to use and has a hole bunch of nice features that the harbor freight doesnt have. if you can spring the cash for a nicer helmet i would definatly get one but if you dont have the cash or wont use it very often then the harbor freight one will work fine

 

[iiibdsiil]

The machine I'm getting is a wirefeed for sure. I don't know much about welders, obviously. The conversion kit consists of the regulators, lines, and some adapter for the gun.

Ya'll are just confirming what I thought. I just need to get it here and get the feel for it a little. Then worry about everything else.
I'll look into maybe a better helmet, want something with a bigger view then the Harbor Freight
ones. For $50 though, I might buy it, use it, and have a spare for when my buddies are around.

 

[the intimidator]

ok so it is a mig machine it is my welders big bro lol the conversion kit just gives you the ability to run using a sheilding gas. i would not reccomend going that route because you will be constantly be filling gas bottles you will need to have a gas bottle they are pretty expensive to buy and keep filled. i would leave it as it is and just use flux cored wire it is easyer to deal with and set up it also works out to be a bit cheaper then using a sheilding gas too. as for the helmet the miller unit i have cost abought 350$ canadian http://www.millerwelds.com/products/weldinghelmets/xlix.html this is the helmet it is 250$ american it is nice to use and has a very good veiwing area i would definatly reccomend it. it also makes it really easy to learn with because you can see what you are doing rite up to when you strike a arc

 

[krooser]

I have to disagree with Mr. Earnhardt....I had a Weld-Pak 100...flux machine. I did the gas conversion after about 5 minutes of chicken **** welding with the flux core wire.

I've been welding since 1968 and I never had such a rough time getting a nice weld than with that flux core stuff.

The conversion is a snap to do...follow the instructions and you'll be fine. A full small bottle of argon/co2 mixed gas is about $80.00. You can use pure co2 also...Mine comes from the local Pepsi distributer..it's a beverage gas bottle...$50.00 deposit...$12.00 to fill it. Does many hours of welding.

Try welding with that flux wire FIRST...just so you appreciate the mig process welding better.

And I will GIVE the old flux core stuff I have left to anyone who wants it...PM me with your address and I'll ship it free....even to the Great White North!

 

[rodnok1]

You can get good welds from flux core. It is actually easier to weld dirty/rusty metal with flux core, in my opinion of course and others will disagree I'm sure. I used flux core for years, I use gas for sheet metal and work that needs to be pretty. For just starting out I would use flux core, just by brand name not cheapo Harbour Freight stuff. Mainly due to extra cost of tank and gas.

 

[krooser]

I'm a low-buck guy, too. Believe me, I would have used it if I was happy with the results. I had a Miller 160 amp machine for big stuff and I wanted the Lincoln for it's portability and convenience.

I bought that Weld-Pak, nearly new, for $100.00...I suspect the original owner bought a mig machine 'cuz he was using it on sheet metal and I don't think he was happy with it.

After the conversion, it made the nicest welds I've ever put down on steel...

 

[l_bilyk]

I'm a low-buck guy, too. Believe me, I would have used it if I was happy with the results. I had a Miller 160 amp machine for big stuff and I wanted the Lincoln for it's portability and convenience.

I bought that Weld-Pak, nearly new, for $100.00...I suspect the original owner bought a mig machine 'cuz he was using it on sheet metal and I don't think he was happy with it.

After the conversion, it made the nicest welds I've ever put down on steel...

A little weld-pack 100? Maybe I should buy one...

 

[Fast Orange]

I'll second the Miller helmet and the gas conversion.
The helmet is great for beginers-makes it a lot easier to see what you're doing and no whiplash from trying to get the helmet down when both hands are busy.One warning-lense turns off automatically after a while-verify it's on before you strike an arc.
I've never ran flux-core,but i do know that C-25 gas (75% argon-25% CO2 ) and proper machine set-up makes for some pretty welds. I haven't tried straight CO2-I would think that it might cause the weld penetration to be a little deeper?
If you have a buddy who knows welding,have him coach you on getting started.Machine set-up and basic technique take a little bit of practice ,but with a few hours of coaching and practice, you'll be surprized how nice you can weld with a MIG.
A quick note about safety-make sure you dress appropriately-leather work boots, Long pants (no cuffs),long sleeve shirt. Of course,all clothing to be non-flammable.Get a pair of good welding gloves and get in the habit of wearing safety glasses. Only weld in an area where there is nothing to catch fire/explode.

Good luck,
George

 

[the intimidator]

i was just reccomending the flux cored steup for him because it will be easyer to learn and it wont cost as much initially. as others have said you can lay a nice weld with flux core and it does work better on dirty or rusty material. if i had the mony and space i would definatly be running with sheilding gas just because it does produce a much nicer weld but for the amount i use my welder and for what i use it for it is not worth it for me to switch. i just use the welder to fix my snow plow and make a few odd pieces that i dont want to by lol it get's used like twice a month so gas would not really be worth it for me.

krooser

as long as you promise not to send a box full of shat what all do you have that you want to get rid of?

 

[rdnkjeeper]

I'll second that!

 

[swgray]

The conversion is a snap to do...follow the instructions and you'll be fine. A full small bottle of argon/co2 mixed gas is about $80.00. You can use pure co2 also...Mine comes from the local Pepsi distributer..it's a beverage gas bottle...$50.00 deposit...$12.00 to fill it. Does many hours of welding.

I have to agree with Krooser. In my area we pay $20 for a 20lb tank exchange. Yearly tank rental is at least $20. I haven't seen that price lately.

We have the 135amp Lincoln running .030 wire, 10 lb spools. A tank of gas does at least 40 lbs of wire.

 

[the intimidator]

I have to agree with Krooser. In my area we pay $20 for a 20lb tank exchange. Yearly tank rental is at least $20. I haven't seen that price lately.

We have the 135amp Lincoln running .030 wire, 10 lb spools. A tank of gas does at least 40 lbs of wire.

cool in my area it is alot more expensive and i would have to drive to brampton to get it filled. the local guy here doesnt like dealing with small guys and wants a arm and a leg to rent a bottle and to fill it so i just never looked into it again.

so you are running a 20 pound tank and it will do like 40 pounds of wire hmm i'll have to look into it again at those numbers a tank would likly last me half a year or more if so i guess it isnt too bad i may convert lol thanks

 

[krooser]

i was just reccomending the flux cored steup for him because it will be easyer to learn and it wont cost as much initially. as others have said you can lay a nice weld with flux core and it does work better on dirty or rusty material. if i had the mony and space i would definatly be running with sheilding gas just because it does produce a much nicer weld but for the amount i use my welder and for what i use it for it is not worth it for me to switch. i just use the welder to fix my snow plow and make a few odd pieces that i dont want to by lol it get's used like twice a month so gas would not really be worth it for me.

krooser

as long as you promise not to send a box full of shat what all do you have that you want to get rid of?

Geez...Wanna buy a dozen or so Ford Flathead V-8's from the 40's and 50's? In reality, I've got a few small items I'm going thru before I ebay 'em. I'll offer the stuff here before they go online. stay tuned

 

[krooser]

A little weld-pack 100? Maybe I should buy one...

Yep...a Weld-pak 100. I was really surprised at how nice it was to use.

I sold it last summer. I wanted to get down to one modern welder for all my fabricating. I had an older Miller 35 that was a nice machine but it was getting obsolete fast. I wanted to cash out of that and buy a new welder with inverter technology.

I sold both and bought a Miller 175. Light and easy to use but it doesn;t weld any better than the Lincoln.

 

[the intimidator]

Geez...Wanna buy a dozen or so Ford Flathead V-8's from the 40's and 50's? In reality, I've got a few small items I'm going thru before I ebay 'em. I'll offer the stuff here before they go online. stay tuned

lol i was just wondering

 

[iiibdsiil]

Thanks guys. I'll keep all this in mind!

 

[hornett22]

i agree on the miller helmet.they work great.i have a licoln welder and it works great.use CO2.it's cheaper and works just as good as argon.as for the HF helmet,those are your eyes!you gonna trust them to HF ****?

 

[Uncle Buck]

I would never take a chance on any weld helmet sold by Horrible Freight, my 2 bits!

 

[stimpy]

if you do the gas conversion thing, I recomend you lease the bottles and get them refilled ( basically they swap them ) than to buy your own bottles as you might not see them again if you drop them off . that way your guaranteed that the bottle is within the test date and theres no wait time for refilling (for us it would be a week and we are in chicago ) , there is book by finch I recomend on welding he goes thru everything and it even has some neat projects in it , Oh yes and may I say READ THE INSTRUCTIONS to your welder !!!!!!! as flux core wire works best if you reverse the polarity . I am on my second century profix ***Tbox welder, they where cheap when I bought it but I burned out the transformer/exciter in the first one because they where aluminum wire , at the shop I use an auto arc fullsize machine (made by miller) no problems except running out of wire or gas 5 minutes after the welding shop closes we use co2 for fabrication its cheap ($30 a "q" bottle ) and gives a decent looking weld , and argon co2 mix ($75 a "q" bottle ) for sheetmetal and anything that has to have a good looking weld ( rollcages ) we found the argon mix gets better penetration but you go thru more wire . and wire does make a difference in welds if its corroded pitch it . good luck and have fun . BTW the helmet that they are recommending is worth it , and you can get welding leathers cheap thru msc .

 

[BOSS351C]

I use a harbor freight Auto-darkening helmet and they work just fine. They have to meet the same safety standards as everyone else. Plus it is solar powered with battery back up, so it never shuts off on you. I have yet to be flashed by it in over a year of regular weekend use with both stick and mig.