220v welder decision to be made

[lowlife]

I have had a great time with my 20+ year old Hobart Handler120 but I feel it is time to upgrade and I just sold my Lincoln buzzbox yesterday. I will be keeping the hobart as it has cost me 0.00 except in consumables for this time and still works great. I was also told to keep it because it is an older hobart of "better" quality.

Money is always a concern. I have gotten by with a 120v unit for a long time so no HUGE upgrade is necessary. I don't see myself welding anything over 1/2 inch but I absolutely need Al welding capability. Here are the contestants:

Hobart Handler 210 with spoolgun- 949.00 delivered...Parts are easy to get

Lincoln 2698-1 with spoolgun- 849.00 + delivery

Longevity arcmate 205 with 8m spoolgun 1100.00 +shipping before offer price. (I need it to be competitively priced) This site has been good to me, but money out is money out.

Any others that could be under a grand with spoolgun ? I can find little used in the area for a decent price. I have no issues used however.

I might add that I was looking at saving for a TIG welder but after some "soul searching" I decided I can probably get by with welding just Al and Steel with a MIG.

Comments?

Thanks Jay

[tomsign]

lowlife,
don't know what spool gun is offerd w/Hobart but spool is mostly used for the Aluminum or Stainless on most Hobarts are only listed to 160 amps
so if you are running thick material you will be out of range on the AL.
Lincoln the same from what I glanced over some specs
as for the 205 LONGEVITY from what I can find out on the web the Spool is rated for 200 and 160 mixed gas
I just received the 205 w/spool and will be running Ar/He through the line but it will not be able till next week, to post a review, when I get to play
as for the 205 mig look at Stan's review on the 205
best I can do for now
Tomsign

[lowlife]

Can you link that review. I am unable to search it.

Looks like a MM180 autoset might be in the running as well price wise. 1000.00 delivered w/spoolgun. The miller appears to be using a better feed system (not plastic)

I still am unable to find much on the Longevity but I'm a bit confused as to why it is 2x the cost of the miller gun

[brucer]

i have a lincoln 180c, has the infinite settings.. this is a pretty nice machine.. you can get one for like $750 without cart..., like $840 with cart...
the miller 211 ,has alot of bang for the buck dual voltage, 210amp, spoolgun ready, this would be a handy machine.. they are around $1000 without spoolgun. have seriously considered this machine when i upgrade, but i would rather get up to 250amps.

the best deals going right now are probably the hobart ironman 230 and the thermal arc fabricator 210, they run about $1400, are old style tap settings and 250amp both are spoolgun ready.. and these machines are known for their durability and performance.

i'm not knocking spoolguns they have their place, but i see any spoolgun sold by a named manufacturer is being completely overpriced for what your buying..

i dont know if these are still available, you would have to check the plug and pinout, but i would almost bet this would work. i've read on a couple forums they work on a lincoln and hobart , but i cant be certain because i havent seen them in use..
GTS Welco - RGU102532 - RealGear Spoolgun - Cyber Monday - Cyber Week Blowouts! - GTS Welco


my 180c is a little on the small side actually.. it does fine, but there have been a few times when a little more amperage would have been nice..
i had a miller 252 years ago and the 300amps was very nice, but this is also a $3000+ welder...

i want to move into at least a 250amp machine again at some point, better to have too much than not enough...

if i had it to do over again i would probably go with an Ironman 230, this is alot of machine for $1400..


the reasoning behind me wanting to hit the 250amp mark is amperage, also every 250amp and bigger machine i have welded with welds so much smoother than the smaller units its ridiculous.. i think its something to do with the larger transformers the bigger machines are running or something.. plus you can but a 250amp machine on 130-180 amps and weld all day long..

[lowlife]

Well I have come full circle and have raised my price. I have looked seriously at the Hobart IM230 at Northern for 1700 delivered with a spoolgun. My local LWS repairman is adamant about staying away from the new line of Hobarts since Miller bought them. I have read great things about them online but Harv has never steered me wrong in 20+ years. If I bought it now and it actually broke I couldn't bear the grin on his face when I walked in.

I am going to look at a lightly used Esab migmaster 250 this weekend. 1000.00 wiht the tank and I will have to add around 5-700 dollars for a spoolgun. Everyone I have talked to who has owned /use/ or repaired one says they are bulletproof and very simple to fix and are also one of the best units out there. Wsab pulled out of the US and quit making the 250 but they have been made for 25 years so we will see....

Tried finding a MM200 miller but no one will part with them. Harv is trying to get a Granger return for half price for me but it would probably be a 212A/S

I too have decided to look at at lezast a 250 amp machine. May not ever use it but........

comments welcome

[WookieWelding]

Esab makes a Wonderful machine anything that i have touched of theres has been pretty much bullet proof from the plasmas to there welders

[lowlife]

I talked to the guy and am pretty comfortable with him on the phone. I need to be comfortable with the seller or there will never be any deal.

He bought it from a local Gov't unit that used it exclusively for welding snowplows. I work for a local Gov't agency so I see where it would be used a lot then sit for a long time.

After he bought it he took it to the LWS and had it checked out. I know the LWS well and will see if this is true, he then used it to build 2 car trailers and said he has never used it above Med range. He has owned it for 5 years and he wants to downsize as this is more welder than he wants and he wants to go "portable" dual voltage (M211).

[Charley Davidson]

I have never used a spool gun but when I asked the guys at miller and lincoln @ Sun-N-Fun they both told me for aluminum they are really not worth the money spent as the range of weldable aluminum is really narrow.

Considering the cost of $700 for spool gun I think I'd buy a mig that was priced really good that is adequate for your needs and use the saved money from there & the spool gun and buy a tig. Just my two copper nuggets

[lowlife]

I will consider the advise about the spool gun. I have a few people that weld with a spool gun but have never looked at their welds. I would be 700.00 closer to a tig. I am the proud owner of an ESAB MM250 now.

[WookieWelding]

Congrats on the machine i have a good feeling you are going to like it