Lincoln Welder

[PearlWhiteGT]

I have an opportunity to purchase this welder for $250. They good to go? They retail in the stores for almost $1K.

 

[Wamsutta]

Not the smoothest arc quality in the world and very sticky starts, but it's only $250.

 

[Brand X]

There are many Dialarc, and Idealarc 250 around that price.Look for one of those.Most of those you could not stick a rod if you tried..
Bigger, and heavier but all transformer weight..

 

[Bert_]

$250 is plenty for it. I looked for a deal on something like that for a couple years. finally broke down and bought an inverter welder. Honestly is was probably the better decision . Everlast 200A stick welder, 120V or 240V. Very handy machine $350

 

[PoorUB]

Holy ****! 40 years ago you could buy them for $200!

I would toss another couple hundred dollars in the pot and buy a inverter welder.

 

[PearlWhiteGT]

I was only interested in buying and flipping it for a few extra bucks if possible. Plan on getting a Primeweld 180.

 

[Steve_P]

I'm surprised that they even sell for $250- what percent of people looking for a welder today want a stick machine? 1%? I guess if you're in a rural area, maybe farmers still use stick welders, but otherwise I'd think very low demand.

I have an old Miller 240V machine that I need to get rid of; I figured the leads were worth more in scrap than the machine. Maybe I'm wrong.

 

[Jswain]

It's the AC/DC version which is more sought after and sold for a lot more.

Still not a lot of room to flip and make money tho, unfortunately.

 

[Bert_]

I'm surprised that they even sell for $250- what percent of people looking for a welder today want a stick machine? 1%? I guess if you're in a rural area, maybe farmers still use stick welders, but otherwise I'd think very low demand.

I have an old Miller 240V machine that I need to get rid of; I figured the leads were worth more in scrap than the machine. Maybe I'm wrong.

Wire feed is better for sheet metal. They are pretty much confined to the shop though. Stick is so much more portable.

I got an inverter stick welder and it's extremely portable. Will run on 120v for short welds, 240v bigger stuff. Can easily throw it in the pickup. Kind of do anything anywhere.

 

[welder4956]

I was only interested in buying and flipping it for a few extra bucks if possible. Plan on getting a Primeweld 180.

$250 is the max I would pay for that model for a used machine. It's an entry level stick-only machine, limited to 125 amps on DC and the leads are small diameter and don't reach very far. I don't see any extra money to be made flipping it. Go ahead and get the Primeweld 180 now and you'll be much happier.

 

[PoorUB]

I was only interested in buying and flipping it for a few extra bucks if possible. Plan on getting a Primeweld 180.

Good luck with that plan! I don't believe it is worth any more than that.

 

[nadogail]

IMHO, That would be "Top Dollar" for an AC/DC Buzz Box.

 

[PearlWhiteGT]

Thanks fellas, I'll pass on it.

 

[Steve_P]

Wire feed is better for sheet metal. They are pretty much confined to the shop though. Stick is so much more portable.

I got an inverter stick welder and it's extremely portable. Will run on 120v for short welds, 240v bigger stuff. Can easily throw it in the pickup. Kind of do anything anywhere.

I hope we all know that wire feed/ MIG > stick for sheet metal by now.

My Miller stick welder weighs 2-3X more than my Lincoln MIG. Both require 220V. I can lift and easily carry the Lincoln. I'd get a hernia trying to move the Miller stick.

Which is more portable????

The only place I've seen stick welders used in 40 years was in industry when welding high pressure steam lines. Yes, I realize they're used in welding pipelines every day, etc. That's what they're useful for. For Joe in his garage, not so much.

 

[Bert_]

I hope we all know that wire feed/ MIG > stick for sheet metal by now.

My Miller stick welder weighs 2-3X more than my Lincoln MIG. Both require 220V. I can lift and easily carry the Lincoln. I'd get a hernia trying to move the Miller stick.

Which is more portable????

The only place I've seen stick welders used in 40 years was in industry when welding high pressure steam lines. Yes, I realize they're used in welding pipelines every day, etc. That's what they're useful for. For Joe in his garage, not so much.

Both welders come in all sizes, weights. My inverter machine weighs about 30lbs. Comparing like sized machines stick is more portable.

I can add lead to my stick welder. For a lightweight inverter and basically hobby use I've found 50' pretty much covers my need. You can't do that with a mig, want to weld up high? Good luck you will have to drag the welder with.

Stick welders are used all the time for heavy equipment repair, farm repair, millwright work. That's probably 75% of welding around here anyway. Ever see a service truck with a mig welder mounted to it? I haven't.

 

[seber]

I have both stick and mig in my hobby garage. I think I use stick more often than mig. It all depends on how thick the metal is.

 

[Lassen Forge]

Learned how to weld on an older version of that exact machine, I bought my own in the mid 80's, and later, we used to buy them for our jobsite locatios, they were the all around do all stick machine, and seem to last forever. I paid about what that one is selling for - $300. So yeah, why not?

 

[welder4956]

Ever see a service truck with a mig welder mounted to it? I haven't.

The company I retired from had many service trucks with MIG welders. They were mainly used for welding aluminum buss in substations, but the machines were multiprocess and could do stick, MIG (including flux core) or TIG. The reason they are not on some service trucks is that stick only machines are lower cost, can do most of the work that a service truck is needed for, and MIG is not a good choice for use outside shop environment because the shielding gas coverage is affected by wind. Inside a shop or garage, short arc MIG is fine for material thickness of 1/4" to 3/8" or less especially gauge thicknesses of sheetmetal. Though I agree that stick is more portable when you consider power supplies, gas cylinders, gun length limitations vs. longer welding leads on stick machines.