Lincoln AC/DC welder

[IslandTractor]

Well money is a HUGE factor, that is why I am looking at Harbor Freight welders also. I have not ruled out the PowerArc's I just have to weigh all the factors of my needs vs funds.

HF may be cheaper but in general I think Everlast is better bang for the buck and value. HF welders are commodity items, Everlast has better and newer design.

 

[Todd727]

Keep an eye out for a used Lincoln IdealArc 250 AC/DC. These will go up to 300 amps for a short time and are bulletproof. Beautiful, smooth arc too.

 

[rankrank1]

Love Harbor Freight - shop there myself for some things.

That said. I absolutely would never buy a welder Harbor Freight as almost all of them are junk. I do not like any of their welding rods or flux core wire feeder wire either - total junk. So if you buy a HF welder; you not only end up with a worthless welder from a useability standpoint - you also end up with a worthless cash asset as you can not sell a used Harbor Freight welder either since everyone else knows they are junk.

If you buy a decent used buzzbox (Lincoln, Miller, Hobart) at a decent price, then it will still be worth what you paid for it 10 years from now if you ever decide to sell it and most importantly (to me anyway) it that will still be working decades from now as they are so durable. Are they the absolute best welder ever made? No, but they sure are hard to beat from their price-point and totally unmatched from a durability perspective.

The recommendation for the Lincoln Idealarc is not necessarily bad advice as they are great welders, but they do have some drawbacks for a homeowner. First they are not portable at all unless you have a nice shop with vast amounts of concrete in which to roll it around. In comparison, I have no issue moving my buzzbox around outside in the grass and dirt for portability- matter of fact I usually just carry it but it is not light. Secondly and Idealarc require serious input power and large wire gaugefor the input service. You can not run an Idealarc off 10 gauge extension cord and even use a dryer plug or a stove plug (in a pinch like when you go to a buddies to weld) like you can when using the smaller units. Again the Idealarcs are great welders just not for everybody.

 

[handirifle]

We're pretty close. I live on Park Hill road, east of Santa Margarita. How much discount are they giving members here?

 

[eastexan]

Secondly and Idealarc require serious input power and large wire gaugefor the input service. You can not run an Idealarc off 10 gauge extension cord and even use a dryer plug or a stove plug (in a pinch like when you go to a buddies to weld) like you can when using the smaller units. Again the Idealarcs are great welders just not for everybody.

Actually, I did exactly that in a pinch one time. I had to make a 2" weld at the house, so I loaded up my Idealarc on the trailer at the shop and carried it to the house and plugged it into the dryer receptical via a 75' #10 extension cord. It did the job nicely, but then it was only a 2" weld at about 150amp.

Funny thing was the extension cord was a fat homemade one that was given to me, and I had always assumed it was #10-2 w/grd. But I found out just recently that it was a #12-3 w/grd.(one wire unused)
I had hesitated using that setup in the first place, but if I had known it was a #12 wire I might not have taken the chance. This is not a recommendation but just a personal experience.

 

[killdozerd11]

I didn't know that everlast ran this forum so any expressing of my experience with them has caused my posts to be deleted

get a miller get a Lincoln get an esab

but if you buy one of there's do it with your credit card so you can get your money back

 

[Shield Arc]

any expressing of my experience with them

How many Everlast machines have you actually run?

 

[Mark @ Everlast]

Kill,
We don't run this forum. But the management here does look dimly on guys spreading the same infection on this site that has taken over other sites. I didn't lift a finger, and in fact I am not even in town. Just popped by the local McD's to check in...so anything you spammed (yes it was sent to my email) was taken care of someone NOT with Everlast.

 

[killdozerd11]

Didn't run either of the 2 the company had one was already in the junk pile and the other blew when one of the other welders went to use it

It was exciting all the smoke and sparks and popping sounds

the other 3 guys in the shop hated the machine plus the owners

i was doing a special order safe and was across the shop

 

[Shield Arc]

What type of machines were they, (model / process)?

 

[killdozerd11]

ain't no infection here bud ain't nothing wrong with me or my judgement of welding machines

there isn't anything wrong with the other websites either

for a long time now everybody who complained about your product posted to your part of the forum and you deleted them

now these guys are posting there complaints on the general forums and unless the moderators move the post to your part of the forum it stays posted now

for everybody to see....now what is so wrong with that...no one build a perfect product...nobody

but when you start deleting posts it smells bad and people will be suspicious of you for it

 

[killdozerd11]

it was a cv machine because all they had there were migs and i was running the Lincoln in my shop area that machine was in another guy named Larry's area

and this was a mig sweat shop and i was low man on the totem pole

oh and just so you know there were a lot of different welding machines on the junk pile

 

[Shield Arc]

oh and just so you know there were a lot of different welding machines on the junk pile

Not a lot of information here to go on, but seems to me someone might want to educate the weldors in that shop. I think I'd be handing out paychecks, and sending weldors to the parking lot!

 

[killdozerd11]

Oh you don't even get this place

When i got the job we were paid piece work and when we made to many they put you back on hourly pay

They had a plasma cutter but took it away because it was eating to many consumables ....It was all the welders fault

it had nothing to do with the fact there was no filter in the lines or that you could water the grass with the air line even after you drained the air tank

Then there was the cold saw that the swivel head would not lock into place solidly (Another piece of Cheap junk) So when making cuts you had to be careful because the thing would move while cutting and bind a break the blade....Also the welders fault

A few weeks later i had a disagreement with the newest boss and was put back to piece work

He brought it some guy who said he could produce 20 doors and frames complete a day all i said to them both was your full of s#@& and they took it badly so i offered him my station and said show me *******

Because you could not make enough parts for 20 doors in a day let alone weld them together...Even with all the jigs we made to make the job faster and better(and they bitched about the time it took to make them) and put it together as a working door with all the levers and the locks ect

i won't go into the story of the press break that they bought that was to small so the boss and another welder cut it in the middle and made it bigger... not just fail epic fail

they bought a lot of used junk equipment never inspected it.....hence the junk pile

After about 5 months maybe 6 the new boss said they had another mig sweat shop that could do a better job cheaper than keeping us so when we walk out on the last day we took all the jigs and stuff that we built flipped off the boss and left

4 months after they went to the other shop they folded

 

[handirifle]

Well, I guess point well taken on the HF models, so I will avoid them. Most likely I will end up with a used tombstone, which is kinda what I had in mind from the very beginning, but got dreamy eyed reading some of the posts on this site. Being forced to retire 3 years ago, money just isn't as free as it used to be.

Don't get me wrong, I am not poor, no where near well off, but somewhere in the middle. We built a new home after retirement, and all my time/ money and energy has been getting this place up to our liking. We are about 90% there, so I hope when we get "there" things will improve. I might even have time to get a part time job, right now, I seriously do not, so I live within my means.

 

[Todd727]

I just switched over from the 225 AC/DC to an IdealArc 250 AC/DC. You can pick them up for the same price, just one is used. My 50 AMP circuit had 6 AWG installed, so all I needed to do was swap in a 70 AMP breaker per the manual. It is a night an day difference on machines. The IdealArc is smooth. The machines are simple and bullet proof. My only regret is I didn't do this sooner.

Since you are on the Central Coast, here is one for you: Lincoln Idealarc 250 AC/DC

It looks like he has $200 worth of leads on it.

 

[handirifle]

I just switched over from the 225 AC/DC to an IdealArc 250 AC/DC. You can pick them up for the same price, just one is used. My 50 AMP circuit had 6 AWG installed, so all I needed to do was swap in a 70 AMP breaker per the manual. It is a night an day difference on machines. The IdealArc is smooth. The machines are simple and bullet proof. My only regret is I didn't do this sooner.

Since you are on the Central Coast, here is one for you: Lincoln Idealarc 250 AC/DC

It looks like he has $200 worth of leads on it.

Thanks for the link.

I had seen that listing, actually, and Santa Maria is only about an hours drive from here. We're getting ready to go on a driving trip to Huntsville, AL, leaving the 13th, and I think it would be a real fight to try and get the $300 past the CFO (wife) before this trip. I have no issue with the weight, especially with leads that long. I do have a shop, not huge, but big enough to park my utility trailer or my double cab Tundra completely inside, so am fortunate that way.

I will have to wire the circuit for whatever I get, so I haven't set any particular size yet. I wanted to see what I needed first. Would really suck to have run 50 amps, when I needed more....

That would be a really nice welder, most likely I would never need anything else.

 

[Shield Arc]

handirifle those IdealArc machines have one of the sweetest arcs you'll ever find. They also make one heck of a Tig welder with a Tig rig!:thumbsup:

 

[Todd727]

If you are driving to Huntsville, there are lots of IdealArcs along the way, so she can let you buy that one, or she's going to have to pack lighter so you have room to take a welder home. :laughing:

 

[handirifle]

If you are driving to Huntsville, there are lots of IdealArcs along the way, so she can let you buy that one, or she's going to have to pack lighter so you have room to take a welder home. :laughing:

I'm afraid the Honda Accord would complain more than the wife.