Lincoln 225 AC/DC Welder Comments?

[ninefinger]

Glad to hear your deal went through. I have only tried at one so far and ran into a deadend. HD here locally just is not that interested in "extra mile" effort. Did find a nice looking 1297 on craigslist for $150 that I will get if the fellow will just email me back. If not will try another HD...or not.

 

[mwb]

I have been wanting to upgrade to DC. When I saw this thread i thought "Hotdog!" and checked HD Canada - and that welder is $680 here. I didn't think that there was that much difference in our dollar!

 

[Stampeder]

Glad to here you got your deal.
I've had my Lincoln AC tombstone for 35 years and put lots of rod through it. Leads are getting a little ratty now and will have to replace them. DC is definitely better than AC but as others have said for mild steel it works great. Here in East Texas all fencing is steel pipe hmm maybe because we're in the middle of oil country?
I use my AC tombstone for pipe but for finer stuff up to and including 1/4 to 1/2 inch I use my MIG. Makes much cleaner welds, no knoxious gases and no slag to clean off. My next purchase will be a DC machine with variable controls. Can control the arc length better. This is also a benefit of DC over AC is better arc control.
Being a newbie check out WeldingWeb™ - Welding forum for pros and enthusiasts - Powered by vBulletin. Lots of people that make their living welding as well as a lot of hobby welders. Great ideas and great feedback on your welding progress.
Oh, get yourself a copy of the Beginning welder's handbook. They have it a Lowe's. It is used by many welding schools and it gives a good going over the basics.
I come from a family of welders and my dad and my brother both told me there is only one way to learn to weld and that is to burn plenty of rod.
Get your self a whole bunch of 2X6 pieces of mild steel of varying thicknesses and practice your butt and angle welds. Vertical up, vertical down and horizontal. Also, get some 3 inch pipe and practice some overhead.

Good luck and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

 

[Soundguy]

MIG. Makes much cleaner welds, no knoxious gases .

Don't fool yourself into thinking that there are no noxious gasses on a mig just because there is no flux smoke. Vaporized metals (coatings and in the work piece )and products given of by welding can be bad.. especially zinc...

soundguy

 

[greenmule]

CC doesn't mean it can be used as a mig machine..CC is for stick...by the way.

 

[skippy957]

Hi,
I did bought the welder about ten years ago. Two year ago I did modify it to become AC/DC. I bought 4 diodes, 2 heat sinks, 2 glass fober rods, 2 cable contacts and a chock, total cost $250 CAD, not bad.
This welder is very easy to modify for DC.
After that, i have never use welding rods on AC output again.

 

[Scotty370]

Thanks for the continued input guys! I did finally get it out of the box on Saturday!!! Bought some 6011, and 6013 rod, but haven't fired it up yet. Weather issues! I did buy that book at Lowes, and am through it to Ch5! The guy that wrote it seems real down to earth, and I've picked up lots of great knowledge, but like anything, "Ya gotta DO it". Great web site also Stamper! Bookmarked for sure! I'm still torch cutting parts and pieces for my stump grinder project. Those I can 'rough cut' outside, and grind to fit in the basement. I'm sure the wife loves that sound! What does it mean when someone says "I use DC Negitive"! Other than setting the machine in that mode, I was wondering, does that mean the 'stick' is neg and the work piece is pos, or the reverse? Got to do more reading! Thanx again! ~Scotty

 

[greenmule]

Yeah,dc negative means stinger is hooked to negative,or straight polarity,dc positive means stinger is hooked to positive,or reverse polarity.

 

[SLOWMANDOWN]

Good deal, in Canada $389 is the price for a AC only buzz box.Try this sight for some interesting info on stick welding both AC and DC. http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/arc-welding.html
Here he says that 6011 (runs both) but sweet spot is AC and 6010 for DC. He seems to have real life opion on stick welding. I just not sure about his opion on 6013 rods.

 

[Soundguy]

Thanks for the continued input guys! I did finally get it out of the box on Saturday!!! Bought some 6011, and 6013 rod, but haven't fired it up yet. Weather issues! I did buy that book at Lowes, and am through it to Ch5! The guy that wrote it seems real down to earth, and I've picked up lots of great knowledge, but like anything, "Ya gotta DO it". Great web site also Stamper! Bookmarked for sure! I'm still torch cutting parts and pieces for my stump grinder project. Those I can 'rough cut' outside, and grind to fit in the basement. I'm sure the wife loves that sound! What does it mean when someone says "I use DC Negitive"! Other than setting the machine in that mode, I was wondering, does that mean the 'stick' is neg and the work piece is pos, or the reverse? Got to do more reading! Thanx again! ~Scotty

Think of it like this.. 'dc EN'.. ( electrode negative )

soundguy