snapon ya212a mig welder

[down19992000]

looking for info on a snapon ya212a mig welder. are they worth a darn or not? any help would be appreciated.

[projectwelder]

I think the snap ons are made by century, you would be better off buying a miller, hobart, or lincoln.

[MAC702]

Snap-On welding equipment is NOT made by Snap-On, and are from generic companies. They cost far more than they are worth because of the label.

Lincolns, Hobarts, Millers are far superior machines and will save you money as well, unless someone is practically giving away a Snap-On, in which case, you just have to remember to treat it like a Dayton, or Century, or other generic brand.

[weld_13]

centurys are good but you are better off buying it direct from them or getting a name brand

[dabar39]

I have two friends that own snap-on welders, although I don't know what models they have I do know they are out of service more than they are in service. They both own auto body repair shops and only use them for light gauge materials. Now I don't know if the welders are poor quality or if it's because of all the bondo dust and paint overspray that gets into them.
I personally can't say if snap-on welders are good or bad, just that I have lent them my Miller on occasion. Dave

[aametalmaster]

I wouldn't trade my MM185 for 5 new snap on welders...Bob

[Bert]

you get what you pay for

[Slash]

Snap-On (and Mac) buy the cheapest imported welders they can find, slap their name on them and inflate the price by 500%. They mainly sell the machines to body shops. Probably OK for light use, but not up to the task for fabrication work on anything over 1/4".

The tool companies are selling their name. Some guys will buy their welders because they already have a credit account with the tool truck guy. By the time you add interest to the inflated price, you could probably buy TWO Miller machines with similar specs, or ONE big machine that will actually get the job done and last forever.

Another thing to consider is parts/service. My Mac man toted a plasma cutter around on his truck for over two years. The first guy he sold it to decided it was too small and got a refund. Next buyer fries the machine, off the the service center for 4 months. Machine is sold two more times, both buyers unhappy with performance. The tool man tried repeatedly to sell me the unit, each time the price dropped several hundred dollars. His wife ended up selling it at her garage sale.

I own a year's salary worth of Snap-On hand tools, I wouldn't buy one of their welders at any price.

[crawler]

you get what you pay for

Not in this case.. You pay at least 3x more for a new POS welder (snap on, mac, matco) and get MUCH less quality and performance than a Miller or Lincoln...

[wireburner]

Get a Miller, Lincoln, Or a Hobart

[All-about-design]

never, never, never.. nope not me..

My brother-in-law has a small 110v Snap-on welder. NIGHT MARE from day one.

In a nutshell consumables are tough to get...apparently there were 3 mfgs of this model and all are not created equal to to find contact tips even is a pain.

I do countersales at a company and we also sell welding supplies. People come in with HF and other discount welders or in this case off brand welders and cna not find repair parts or as I said even consumable with out just "making do".

Stay with a name brand and in the long run life will be much happier.

[mikek3]

snapon welders are made by CK Systematics in pennsylvania. I have used a 20 year old model that works pretty well. Once the unit needed relays which took about a month to get. A used snapon plasma cutter I was considering buying was made by century. Century doesnt make them anymore so parts are hard to come by. The current Snap on Muscle Mig that is available only welds up to 1/4 inch thickness. A miller or lincoln or hobart welder parts and service are readily available even on twenty year old machines. I would stick with one of the big three welders.

[down19992000]

thanks everyone for the replies. i found this snap on for sale its a 230 amp model they are asking 550.00 for was thinking about getting it but it sounds like they are not that well liked.

[mwccwi]

Hey Ya'll did you know Lincoln owns Century welders and befoer Lincoln got 'em thet was Hobarts

[bpickell]

I have used the Snap-on welder and it was not a very good experience. I'm no professional welder or anything like that, but I can weld a hundred times better on my HH140 than I can on that P.O.S. Snap-on 200 Amp welder.

Also one of my friends is a Mac distributer and I was looking at the 140 amp mig on his truck that he was delivering to a customer the next day. And it looked exactly like my HH140, but with a red paint job. Is it possible that they rebadged the hobart welder for Mac's?