What should I buy?

[Mike120]

Good friend of mine was construction manager at Bonny Island. He's retired now. I was in Port Harcourt at the B&R yard in the 70's and the Warri yard in the early 80's with McD. I heard they finally built a real airport for Warri. I went back last year a number of times to Lagos for a consulting gig for one of the new E&P companies trying to work there. Our sales guy told me how horrible the place was, but from my perspective, compared to 30 years ago, it was great and I ran into a number of people I knew from the old days. Not much has changed though. Running a project there still has interesting challenges that you find in few other places.

 

[deereman75]

Let me say this. I love my longevity stickweld 250, Simon from longevity is great to deal with, as is mark from everlasting. Both of them are truly enjoyable to deal with, and I would gladly deal with either of them. That said, I hate technology, and if I had the space and power, I would likely have a 300 amp Lincoln or Miller transformer stick/tig machine. Something like an old idealarc tig 300, or a Miller 330a/bp. Don't get me wrong, I love inverters, they have truly made me a far better welder. I will always own one, after seeing how great they are. That said mine is stored in an unheated shop, that the walls don't quite reach the ceiling, and I doubt any inverter will last for 30 years in that. My tombstone already has. It really comes down to your needs. If you need portability, or if you have a heated shop, you can't beat an inverter. If your shop is damp and unheated, and you never move it, I would recommend a transformer. The other point is power supply. With a 30 amp breaker, my tombstone would trip constantly at whatever I was running 7018 at. (it has been six months since I have used either of mine) and the longevity will run beyond 180 amps without tripping the exact same outlet. In my place, I couldn't do most of my projects without the longevity, but no inverter will ever outlast a transformer. I am actually surprised it has survived this long after spending months under a tarp outside in the rain, which got rust on everything. It has been through snow storms, and heat waves, all in what is basically a garden shed, that until a few months ago leaked badly. Both machine styles have their place, and I would never be without either.