54 series vs 74 series wire feeder

[Tickweld rigging]

Is there a huge difference between these wire feeders to use and in the actual results ? Seems the 54 series is still pretty favored over here in New Zealand , just after an opinion from anyone who's used both ... Worth the extra money ?

[cruizer]

52/54 can be easily repaired with jobber parts and likely will last forever . The 70 can not be repaired easily , however is somewhat reliable.

[Tickweld rigging]

54 series vs 74 series wire feeder

Thats exactly what I've heard bro , that the 54 is a beast , I've only had burnback stuff out on mine but apparently that's common , are the results the same bead wise tho our is there some modern unicorn magic in the 74 ?

[sledsports]

Unfortunately there's no magic unicorn in the 74 feeder. I have a 74dx and it has some bells and whistles but all in all Cruizer is right. A feeder is a feeder is a feeder. It feeds wire. Nothing more. If a 54 delivers wire correctly its going to do the same job as a 74 that delivers wire correctly.

[coxey2]

s74 feeder

Unfortunately there's no magic unicorn in the 74 feeder. I have a 74dx and it has some bells and whistles but all in all Cruizer is right. A feeder is a feeder is a feeder. It feeds wire. Nothing more. If a 54 delivers wire correctly its going to do the same job as a 74 that delivers wire correctly.

I ran 10 of em S-74 feeders in a tech college for 7 years and not a hiccup.

[sledsports]

I ran 10 of em S-74 feeders in a tech college for 7 years and not a hiccup.

I haven't had one problem out of mine either but as fancy as they are it still only provides one true function... Deliver wire.

[cruizer]

I ran 10 of em S-74 feeders in a tech college for 7 years and not a hiccup.

And you would have known they were repaired or maintained? I maintain them for a tech college here. A student doesn't know if a machine is down or not as I switch them out. Mind you these machines are used 8-10 hrs a day everyday.

[GlenC]

AFAIK, the only one to stay away from is the 75 feeders. The company that made the feeder drive assy is no longer in business and there are no parts available!