Lincoln/ Miller?

[JWOOD]

Hey all,

Just wanted to start a poop storm! The oilfield is going gangbusters in North Texas an there is lots of welding work available right now. The word on the street is that Millers aren't being allowed on most of the jobs. Most of the guys that I've talked w/ are pipeliners and fabbers of oil rigs. They go and test with their Millers and pass and then are told in order to work they have to have a Lincoln. The rumor on the pipeline is that Miller won't meet "the Specs". I have been told that Lincoln wrote the specs and that is why the Blue Stuff won't do. The irritating part is the static that guys catch from otheer welders over the color of their machine. Just wanted to throw it out there and see if yall had any say on the subject. Also if there is a Miller rep that wants to enlighten us on specs and techs, join in!

JWOOD

[triggerman]

Well......that's the way it is.

Or, so I've heard. The reason I'm hearing is because a Lincoln poopliner will weld every day, all day and never give up. (propaganda) Guys have tried to go out there with Bobcats and burn them up trying to keep up. Mostly IMNSHO it is just prejudice. Be that as it may, that's the requirement.

[TexAg]

times may be a' changin'

True, the gray machines are still the machine "of choice" for most pipeline projects. However, Miller's PipePro 304 is breaking down barriers in this field. Now there are specific drilling outfits/pipeline companies that won't allow blue machines on the job, but I'm skeptical (not positive) that the specs call for Lincoln equipment. According to my pipeline contacts, the machines getting kicked off projects are only the Bobcats and some Trailblazers. They're not allowed by the contracting company because of their AC stick capability....the company does not want to risk someone doing root passes with a sine-wave, which can increase the chance of undercutting leading to cracks and can impact weld metal dilution. Basically, the company doesn't want to pay for reworks that result from the above. Not an issue with the PipePro since it's DC only and does (according to guys in the field) a great job on root welds with red or gray rods. As far as the Bobcat not being able to hold up in the field, I'd say possible but not likely since the 250 series can easily handle the load required to burn 1/8" & 5/32" E6010 and E7018 pipilines use most. I certainly think that as the PipPro's notoriety grows, more pipelines will allow guys to use them.

That's what I'm hearing from the guys in the oil patch...and it's blowing up here in parts of Colorado and Wyoming.

[HMW]

Just have some questions, since i know nothing about oil field work or pipe line welding. All I have worked on has been equipment repair/fabricating. Why will the Bobcats not hold up. We have 6 Bobcat 250s. 5 are diesel and 1 gas. We weld 1/8" 7018 all the time with them. We usually dont weld all day like a pipe line welder would but we've had no trouble with them. The newest welder we bought is the Big BLue air pac. What a welder. ght it mostly for the built in air compressor. Not allowed because of their AC ability. All we ever use is DC. Is that what they require, if so as you know the bobcat has both. As far as the few welding specs I've seen I've never seen them dicatate which welder you had to use, only what Type of weld, process to use,filler metal etc. Just curious?

[jfsmith]

I have mostly Lincoln stuff, never had a failure with Lincoln equipment. My other equipment ranges from ThermoDyne to Miller and other brands that work fine also.

My lincoln PT 275 is a work horse and never fails me.

Where I have problems is with smaller/dinky units and HF brand welders, mainly not enough power for my work.

Buy the one you can afford and has the features you want, ask for a demo with your local dealer.

Jerry

[Iron man]

I work in a welding shop where we manufacture products for the us dep. of defence such as bomb fins, the gov. doesent make us use a certain name of welder so we have lincoln and millers given enough time they will all have trouble.
especially since ours run 10 hours a day at a steady pace, but given the abuse they take, we rarely have a break down. so I think they are both great products

[aametalmaster]

Where i work in the refinery its all Ready Welders diesel's or inverters, don't see many Miller's, a few our maintence dept has, never seen a Lincoln here...Bob

[tsalagi]

just give them one of those new vantage 400's and a 1/4 inch rod. if they can burn it then tuck your tail. i couldn' burn it worth a ****.

[wireburner]

I have a Lincoln 3200 HD and it does just fine for me I have also welded with my cousins` welder a Miller ???? and it is a very good machine I like Millers and Lincolns I guess it just matters what you weld

[wafwot]

I've been lurking and reading all the past posts for a while. I don't have any experience with Miller welders but tend to stick to Lincolns. I have MANY projects going on at once and will post pictures as I get time. A friend of mine is a pipe welder and said he has burned up many Millers with the heavy use they get on the job.

[weld_13]

personally i own a lincon and have used millers but do prefer the lincoln just because they seem to be more economical price, runtime, ect. not to cause any storms thats just my opinion

[infil]

In the past i've always used lincoln mig, and miller tig(most recent was a synchrowave 250). Shop im in now just picked up a lincoln precision tig 375 and honestly, not a huge difference in weld quality, just learning the differences in the machines is biggest hurdle. 90% of what we do in the shop is Tig, mainly turbo manifolds, headers, water lines etc in stainless, roll cages in chromoly and exhaust is stainless, titanium which get tigged or mild which generally gets the mig.

The only thing i'd put over the miller w/ the prec tig is the layout makes it easier for someone who doesn't know what their doni to jump in and figure it out, but all in all, i'd call it personal prefrence.

[Black Wolf]

I've heard similiar rumours

We have the same stuff flying around here too. Rigs getting laughed off the 'line for having blue paint instead of grey or red/black. I haven't seen a whole lot of Vantage 300s and 400s on rigs here maybe a half dozen or so but there are a lot of 305G and 305D. I understand wanting DC only units to avoid the issues with reworking already stated. That being said, it should be open to all "DC Only" welders. That makes it a level playing field. Now if you're kicked off the 'line it's 'cause you just don't cut the mustard. That's fair at least.

Just my $.02
Later,

[HMW]

Need some explaining, as I always do when it comes to pipe line work. Why do they need "DC" only rigs? Why couldnt you set the miller at "Dc" and use it. I must be missing something. In the work I have done [Equipment repair work] we use mostly smaller welders, Bobcat 225D's and 250D's even an old AEAD and they work great and have welded with them all day long set at DC. Most are diesel but a couple of gas ones too. Diesel is nice cause it runs off the truck fuel tank but usually louder it seems. We have a new "Big Blue Air Pac" thats awesome. Why couldnt they use that? Just curious

[weldone]

whatt!!!!

Sounds like a crock to me.probably started by someone that owns a red one and has a buddy he wants to get on the job with a red one also meanwhile being listened to by somebody that dont know their a$$ from their elbow.(not meaning the members of the forum)
From what I know of code work...your machine is suspossed to be checked for calibration by the c.w.i for amprage output reguardless of color.

A 80-100% duty cycle D.C machine that can burn 1/8-5/32 electrode should be able to tackle whatever the oil-patch can throw at it.

Whats next the color of the operator.