Westinghouse any good?

[whiskeywiz]

Came across this in my area. I already have a very nice Esab mig welder, and have found that an arc welder can still be useful for me. Is this welder any good? I've never heard of Westinghouse. Some quick research says they didn't last long and that they are AC only machines? Not sure what that means, I'm setup for 220. The price seems really good @ $75. Let me know if I should go grab this thing or let it go and what I should ask about or look for. Thanks.

http://buffalo.craigslist.org/tls/4930415508.html

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,.... It appears to be a golden Oldie,...

Bein' just AC really limits yer stick weldin' possibilities,....

I rarely to never use the AC side of my AC/ DC Lincoln tombstone welder,....

 

[whiskeywiz]

Wonder if being a Westinghouse means it has to be AC only?

 

[454ragtop]

$50. will probably buy it, probably has enough copper in it to be worth that even if it didn't work. Those old heavy machines tend to be pretty bulletproof anyway. Might see if there are more leads or anything hanging around.
Jim

 

[anodyne33]

Wonder if being a Westinghouse means it has to be AC only?

I lol'd

 

[n8n]

Right, now you need to look for an Edison welder to match

 

[hangfirew8]

Buy it, just keep it away from elephants.

 

[zkling]

Eh, I think I would pass if I was you. If this was your 1st welder and you just wanted to get your feet wet, go for it, but since you have a nice MIG welder, I'd hold out for a more feature packed AC/DC stick machine for the heavy stuff.

 

[RunninOnEmpty]

It was probably nice when it was relatively new, and as others have eluded to, Westinghouse used to be a very reputable name and they were one of the driving forces behind AC power distribution and one of the companies that opposed Edison's VERY STUPID idea of DC power distribution. Today they resell some crappy Chinese electronics like TVs.

I don't think I would buy it, personally.

 

[BJ42LX]

I've never heard of Westinghouse.

You must be younger than ~30.

The Eastern half of Buffalo airport used to be a huge Westinghouse factory. It closed in the mid '80's and was torn down in the late '90's for the airport expansion.

Curtis-Wright built the plan during the WW2 to make P-40 Warhawks.

 

[justanengineer]

I dont know about that particular welder, but honestly cant tell much from the ad or pic. If its AC/DC and has decent leads I wouldnt hesitate, there were quite a few companies that made good welders back in the day and Westinghouse was among them along with GE. Westinghouse made quite a few welders, Ive seen probably a half dozen or so models and like every other transformer it should be nearly indestructible. Realistically, if you price 50'+ anything/0 leads out, if you find a decent machine with decently heavy and long leads $75 might be well worth it.

 

[whiskeywiz]

What about this guy? Is it a steal of a price? (I only go for the steals).
It's been up for atleast a couple of weeks now, so I could probably get it down to $80-$90ish.

http://buffalo.craigslist.org/tls/4886043430.html

 

[zkling]

Essentially the same thing, all though a bit more modern. If it comes with leads and you need a basic buzz box, it's fair. Without leads it is a poor choice IMHO.

 

[CNGsaves]

What about this guy? Is it a steal of a price? (I only go for the steals).
It's been up for atleast a couple of weeks now, so I could probably get it down to $80-$90ish.

http://buffalo.craigslist.org/tls/4886043430.html

^ ^ Better name welder . . . Miller thunderbolt. . . .
. . . . . . AND . . . he's throwing in welding helmet for $125 . . .
. . yes, BUY it, after you negotiate price down under $100 !

Bet he'll throw in any sticks, clamps, etc if you tell a good story !!

 

[whiskeywiz]

Doh!
Didn't even notice that it was AC only.
No need for another pos helmet either.
Pass.

 

[whiskeywiz]

Now I'm a little confused.
I've done stick welding over the years. A lot at work, using buzz boxes that look just like this.:
http://rochester.craigslist.org/tls/4946279709.html

Have I been welding in AC all along? Or are there AC/DC boxes that look just like this? What's up?

 

[zkling]

The AC/DC versions of that have a 2nd selector switch to switch between the polarities. At at glance they look very similar.

 

[454ragtop]

Long as it's not a 2 hour drive, I think you'd be better off going to look at the Westinghouse Judy is selling. She obviously knows nothing about welders, since her only pic is the back of the case. It could be anything, and since it's still up, probably dirt cheap too. I'd be surprised if it only goes to 130 amps, more likely has a high and low range, hell who knows, might even be AC/DC.
Jim

 

[whiskeywiz]

Long as it's not a 2 hour drive, I think you'd be better off going to look at the Westinghouse Judy is selling. She obviously knows nothing about welders, since her only pic is the back of the case. It could be anything, and since it's still up, probably dirt cheap too. I'd be surprised if it only goes to 130 amps, more likely has a high and low range, hell who knows, might even be AC/DC.
Jim

Good point.