Cord
Veteran Member
Guys, I'm in the market for a mig welder. I currently have a stick welder, but it's a big mother and doesn't do anything thinner than 1/8". The arc tends to become unstable at the low amperages and if you don't book along you'll burn through. Generally I'm comfortable with anything over 3/16". Although the 7010 rod is multi-position, I really have a tough time with anything other than horizontal. Sometimes this has forced me to rotate the piece so I can keep my weld horizontal. With bigger pieces this can get entertaining... and dangerous. For these reasons, I really want to get into a mig welder. I'm thinking that I'll keep my old welder for hardfacing or nickel rod. I'd really like to get a Miller or Lincoln 250 amp mig, but they're just too expensive for me. I've found a couple of options locally and would like to have your opinion as to which is the best choice for me.
#1 Ltec 225 $675
Just your basic mig welder with 4 heat ranges, a adjustable heat control and wire feed dial. The welder is not spool gun ready, but WeldMart has the panel. The spool gun is obscenely expensive, so I'll probably never own one. As I understand it, the Ltec was a really good welder, but the line has been since discontinued and the company has been sold. Parts are not available from the mfr. but WeldMart advertises that they parts for this unit. I don't know if I can find a owners manual. I believe this welder will handle anything from 16g to 3/8"+. That'll cover most of the material that I weld. When I stick weld thicker sections, I'm already doing multiple passes as I don't have a rod bigger than 5/32".
#2 Lincoln SP-150 $500 w/a tall cylinder
Although this is a older model, it is full featured. This welder has burn back, spot, stitch and it's spool gun ready. This spool gun is about $220 new. But at 150a it is only 20% duty cycle (130a/30%). With that short duty cycle, I doubt if the welder will handle anything over 3/16". Looks like this welder might be comparable to a new 180a unit. One thought is that I could keep some rods on hand for thicker sections, but I still won't be able to do anything but horizontal work. It's my understanding that this welder comes with a short 7' gun and has trouble feeding the wire with longer cables.
#1 Ltec 225 $675
Just your basic mig welder with 4 heat ranges, a adjustable heat control and wire feed dial. The welder is not spool gun ready, but WeldMart has the panel. The spool gun is obscenely expensive, so I'll probably never own one. As I understand it, the Ltec was a really good welder, but the line has been since discontinued and the company has been sold. Parts are not available from the mfr. but WeldMart advertises that they parts for this unit. I don't know if I can find a owners manual. I believe this welder will handle anything from 16g to 3/8"+. That'll cover most of the material that I weld. When I stick weld thicker sections, I'm already doing multiple passes as I don't have a rod bigger than 5/32".
#2 Lincoln SP-150 $500 w/a tall cylinder
Although this is a older model, it is full featured. This welder has burn back, spot, stitch and it's spool gun ready. This spool gun is about $220 new. But at 150a it is only 20% duty cycle (130a/30%). With that short duty cycle, I doubt if the welder will handle anything over 3/16". Looks like this welder might be comparable to a new 180a unit. One thought is that I could keep some rods on hand for thicker sections, but I still won't be able to do anything but horizontal work. It's my understanding that this welder comes with a short 7' gun and has trouble feeding the wire with longer cables.
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