Best Stick Welder For Newbie

[jfsmith]

David,

A friend of mine just bought a working tombstone at some kind of winter garage sale. $35. He plugged it in, thinking maybe a winding had let go, or a diode was bad. He started welding with it that day. They don't go bad very often and there are lots of folks who sell the parts to repair the Tomstones.

I am going to have to start looking closer at these sales. I would like a tombstone for me.


Jerry

[RWilliams]

Might want to look on e-bay. Bought a miller AEAD-200LE with a gas engine and doubles as a 240 V ac generator. They are out there and this one looked like it was new. Just be sure to check the armature comutator as they are prone to wear. Mine was like new. The onan engine seems to run really good and holds a good arc. With a tig torch added you can also tig weld in the DC mode.
I have a syncroweld 250 and a 300 that I use in the shop. This I can throw in the back ov my truck and take almost anywhere to fix stuff. (lift it in and out of my truck with a portable engine hoist I got at Ky Motors for $149.00. Just too heavy for an old man to lift by himself)
Welcome to another new comer, from another new comer.

[dsgsr]

Thank you all for the replies, It's nice to have more than one Brian thinking things through. (well I would have to have two of me too have One brain)

TomVeatch, I hope you are right about the amperage. As far as the Trailer & 3pt PTO situation, I would Make the Gen. Stationary In the center of the Trailer maybe in the Tongue if it is Triangle shaped. Leave the PTO shaft hooked to the Gen, Put your draw bar on tow the trailer too where it needs to go, hook up the PTO shaft to the Tractor (takes 5 Seconds) Yup I see a project there

FusionKing, Yes I could sell the Onan Gen and the small Gen. but that would only bring in about 1/3 of what I'd need and budgets tight. I won't sell the Perkins Diesel, thats the hart of the screen I'm going to build (some day). As far as getting welding jobs, I DON'T KNOW HOW TO Weld (gotta learn) Second, around here welding isn't all that profitable cause their are so many of them.

jfsmith, I don't think the old Lincoln Welder/Gen is repairable, I may very well be wrong cause I Know Snot about them but the guy that sold it to me was a welder and let it go for $500. You are right about buying quality up front, I usually do but I paid very little for this equipment although older and having it sitting around I'd like to use it if I can. BUT if I could get a good price for it, than buying a good welder/Gen would not be out of the question.

Again, Thank you all for your input.
David

[jfsmith]

Well, let me say this, if you have old and you like it, it could be like comfortable shoes, maybe worn out, but serviceable.

I have a contractors 15Kw generator, peaks at 22.5Kw. I got it from the House of Generators, it's the Generac 15 K with idle control. Then I checked out TIG welders and got a Lincoln PT 375 Redy Pak, put I added the Stick cable and the control panel. http://www.mylincolnelectric.com/Cat...eet.asp?p=5411

My MIG is a Miller. I gave my Tombstone to my stepson along with about 30 pounds quality electrodes (7018, I think), who really doesn't do anything with it. He is a tractor mechanic for the local ag dealer.

My plasma cutter is Thermadyne, it's Pakmaster 75 XL, works like a champ. Some of my shop is make do stuff, some is from Harbor Freight and some is from the local hardware stores. I even have a couple of tools boxes from the 70s that came from Sears, other wise I use Kennedy.

But back to the subject, I like the Tombstone and still see lots of them out there being used, both versions.

I find it is easier to buy quality stuff up front and than to buy something that will either wear out quickly or not be powerful enough in a year or two. In a couple of weeks, I have to weld the cast iron base for a large old cutting machine, so I have the power with my TIG and I am portable, I have a trailer now. I now have the trial and error experience of using the right kind of nickle electrodes. This took me 10 plus years to get to this point, learned a lot over the years.

Jerry

[FusionKing]

OK I'll bite on this....why don't you get REAL SERIOUS and sell all the old stuff and kill 2 birds (or three or four) and get a Bobcat or even better a Trailblazer...they have 10KW and will weld circles around most buzzboxes. They will run stick ,tig or mig and you can't beat that. The Trailblazer will even do the generatin' whil'a weldin'!!(so will the Bobcat for that matter) All the neighbors will be impressed with it and there is no way in **** that you could talk your way out of ALL the offers throwed at you! (nothing beats that Blue color for drawing attention) Everywhere you go you would have 10KW....few people haul their generator around.
I took the plunge years ago and it was the best move I ever made in my life!
You could do maybe 2 or three little side jobs a month and pay more than the payment if you borrowed the money. By the time you sold your old stuff you wouldn't have that much more in the setup than the welders we've been discussing here. IMHO

[TomVeatch]

...
A poster on another site did point out that my 10K gen, (My OLD 10K gen) may not run a good welder of this size. He said a welder would run about 48 amps X 220 volts which is a bit over 10k.
...

I may be way out in left field with this, and if so, hopefully someone will set me straight, but I don't think the welder would draw that much current unless you had it cranked all the way up to max amperage. You might do that with big rods on thick material, so...

I've not used anything larger than 1/8 rods so far at about 1/2 max output. Haven't tripped a breaker yet, but it's a 50amp circuit so I wouldn't expect to. I have an 11KW PTO driven generator that I expect to eventually use with this welder - when I get it figured out how to pull a trailer while the generator is on the 3pt hitch. Think maybe there's another welding project in there somewhere?

[Sundown]

No one has said anything about the stick welder that many of us grew up on, the Tombstone.

Jerry

I will, the tombstone is a great welder and is bullet proof as many here can attest I am sure, however while I prefer a taped mig welder I like the dial in amperage of the Miller and the Hobart ... of course thats just my mileage, other will vary. If I want to SMAW it will be with my Dynasty anyway.

[TomVeatch]

No one has said anything about the stick welder that many of us grew up on, the Tombstone.

Jerry

No denying that it's very, very popular. Quick web search shows the AC225 is going for mid 300's to 400 and the 225/150 AC/DC in the mid 4's to low 5's with Home Depot being about 100 less than that. Can't comment on the Lincoln as I've never used one. Besides, ain't it the wrong color for this forum?

[dsgsr]

(chicken poop) LOL never heard it referred to like that, Laughed so I almost spilled my BEER. I will look into the other machine, but weight is not a problem. I can lift a ton on my forks and I plan on having the welder and Gen. on a trailer. A poster on another site did point out that my 10K gen, (My OLD 10K gen) may not run a good welder of this size. He said a welder would run about 48 amps X 220 volts which is a bit over 10k. I'm not really sure which way I should turn. My 10K gen needs some adjustment to use, I have a 5k gen. thats too small, I also have an Old Lincoln Welder/Gen that I bought just for the 3 cyl. Perkins Diesel engine. The Engine Runs nice but the welder/gen doesn't work. I want the Engine as a power plant for my Screen. I have been thinking of setting the Engine up with a PTO to run a Gen. and a Hydraulic pump (not at the same time) to run the screen. If that is the case I would need a larger Gen however I do it. Sorry for the lonnngg wind, any Opinions?

David

[jfsmith]

No one has said anything about the stick welder that many of us grew up on, the Tombstone.

Jerry

[TomVeatch]

...
I could'nt find the Miller 235 on their site, is the 225 the same machine?

(Oops! ) Yes, it is. I know I said 235/160, but the only thing worse than my typing accuracy is my proofreading. Seems the spell checker doesn't catch numerical goofs.

This is the one I have (225/150 version). Looks like online prices are currently running right around or a little over $500.

I've built a couple of things with it, and am very pleased with it. Clarification - Pleased with the welder, not my welding. Going to take a stick welding class at the local Vo-Tech beginning next month to see if I can turn that chicken poop into something that I might not be ashamed for someone to see .

[Sundown]

Well, thank you again Flyboy. I looked at those two machines or the Miller 225and Hobart 235, they are only $1.00 diff. I could'nt find the Miller 235 on their site, is the 225 the same machine?

David

The difference is advertizing I spose, if you will notice the DC duty cycles are the same at 150 @ 20% on 60Hz. You are right in that the suggested retail is only $1 difference, but I think you will find the street cost difference is greater between the two. Ray's point is well taken about being sure to get AC/DC vs. just AC as the cost difference is well worth it IMO. The Maxstar 150S is real nice if you need something portable at 13 lbs, it is DC only (probably wouldn't use the AC side much anyway), runs on 120V or 240V automaticly, will probable cost a few hundred more $'s, but if you plan on running lots of 6010 electrodes I would opt for the Stickmate as long as weight and power consumption is not a problem.

[Ray C.]

The Stickmate. Make shure you get DC and not just AC. Another one you might want to look at to run on gen power is a Miller Maxstar 150S.

[dsgsr]

Well, thank you again Flyboy. I looked at those two machines or the Miller 225and Hobart 235, they are only $1.00 diff. I could'nt find the Miller 235 on their site, is the 225 the same machine?

David

[Sundown]

Thank you Sundown for the Big welcome and thank you both for the information, I will look into that machine. I would like to have a welder/generator but couldn't afford it unless I could sell both of my generators. Semper Fi TomVeatch, I'm an ARMY man myself but have the ut most respect for all you Leather necks

David

Army huh, well double welcome from a retired USAF guy.