opinion on AC arc welder

[Soundguy]

I'm contemplating on getting a better welder for fathersday. I currently only have a 70a jub.. and do all my big work at my day job.

I'm compairing these 2 units.. a hobart stickmate 235, and a lincoln AC225S

Both are same $ I know both are reputable.. with the lincoln bing the stereotypical 'old guy' on the block.

Hobart


Lincoln

As a 'control' compare unit.. compair this Campbel Hausfield AC225A welder.. it is 10$ less than the other 2 units.

CH 225a

( I had considered a chines ac/dc unit that ran off 230v, and provided 140a AC or 110A DC for a price of 99$.. which is less than half of these other units.. but not sure what 140a will let me do int he terms of single pass welding... duty cycle was also low.. )

Opinions?

Pro / con ?

Soundguy

 

[tanglefoot]

Soundguy,
I've read many of your posts in this forum and others. I believe you know more than I do about what's inside of a welder. I have a Lincoln 225 tombstone welder and a Hobart G-180 portable welder. Both are early 70's models. They are both reliable and well made.
I do believe you'll need more lead on your electrode holder than the Hobart in your post describes. I also bet you can find it cheaper at some other store than TSC.
The Lincoln description doesn't say how long the leads are.
Butch

 

[Soundguy]

I've heard that the new lincoln uses aluminum windings.. though can't pin that down anywhere.. Even if it is.. It's not the end of the world. i can deal with a light duty cycle.

As for the hobart. i'm having problems finding people that carry it. In my area... only tsc carries the hobart.. aside from the 2 welding supply places.. and they want alot more for the stickmate than tsc does.. Go figure..

Soundguy

 

[SkyPup]

Get the Lincoln, the Campbel Hausfield is a dive......

 

[3RRL]

I have an old Forney stick which has seen it's day.(bought in 1971) and never serviced. I recently bought that Lincoln AC225 and it is wonderful. In comparing the two, I can weld the same plate with approx 35 less amp setting than the Forney requires? I also do most of my welding with the Lincoln off a 5555W generator on my rural property. I had a real problem trying to get the Forney to weld properly off the generator. It does weld very good off my house 220v current. The Lincoln has been been great for me and I got it at Lowes 10% cheaper after telling them Home Depot had it on sale for $229. I can't comment on Hobart..no experience with it.

Besides those 2 buzz boxes, I also have Oxy/Acet set up and a Miller 330 A/BP TIG welder that does everything including AC and DC arc welding. I was (not anymore) certified on all way back when I was working. Funny, I prefer arc welding in AC much more than in DC...just my preference and I don't mind the splattering at all. Makes me feel I'm getting the penetration I want??? And if you know how to do it right, your welds will be super good.

 

[knute_m]

I think your dilemma is like the choice between Coke and Pepsi. For me, I still prefer the red can better -- drink, or welder.

This time last year, when I was looking hard at what kind of welder to get, stick welders were still near the top of my list (I got a more expensive, but smaller and much lighter MIG/Flux core instead).

I talked to a lot of friends and neighbors who weld a lot more than I ever want to. I talked to a local welding supply counter person. Nobody had anything good to say about the Cambell Hausfelds. But, then none of them owned one either.

I found several welding forums. It seemed to be nothing but grumpiness about the cheapie Chinese units.

So I narrowed down to the same two Lincoln and Hobart models you are looking at.

Thirty-five years ago, I owned a Lincoln 225. Great welder that I'm sure is still sparking and arching today, so I was tending toward the Lincoln -- even though I don't think today's 225 is the same welder. The new one seems lighter, ahh, maybe less heavy. Maybe I'm just stronger -- or maybe it really is aluminum wiring. I think my late 1960s model must have weighed at least 150 lbs, maybe closer to 200 lbs. It would take two of us to wheel the thing up a ramp into my truck.

Except for the color and the box shape, I don't think there is a lot of significant difference between the two brands. Except for a few minor issues that people seemed to say about the other brand, everybody only had good things to say about both brands. I personally seem to like the Lincoln front panel better. From what I found out, both still provide excellent repair and parts support - like for smashed knobs, lost connectors, etc. They don't seem to break. They both have essentially the same specs. They both work virtually the same. As you found, even the prices are identical.

Same up here for dealers as down there. TSC was about $100 less than the local welding supply. Sears, Lowes, and Home Depot all had the Lincolns, but each package was just a little different -- wheels, helmets, rods, hammer, etc. As I recall, all were somewhere right around $250.

Hope you have a fun father's day with your new toy. Don't drop a red hot nugget in your lap!

 

[Highbeam]

I love your coke/pepsi argument. I also prefer red.

I replaced the OEM cord on my 70s tombstone with a 30 foot model. While I was in there I looked at the guts and was impressed by how small the guts were compared to the huge tombstone. There isn't much on the inside. The big transformer was heavily painted with the same red paint as the outside. No way to know if it was iron or aluminum by looking. Lots of cooling fins though and it was easy to lengthen the power cord. Replacing the secondary leads is more difficult though.

I can lift the tombstoneup into the bed of my pickup. It is not easy and I can just barely get it up to the bed level but I have not resorted to using a ramp for it yet.

90% of my welding is on 3/8" or less material and I find that I very seldom need more than 120 amps of AC current. I suppose that will increase the duty cycle. I just weld and weld for hours sometimes and have never experienced a degradation in weld quality or felt the tombstone get warm. It has a cooling fan.

One thing that would be nice on this tombstone is a finer selection of amps. The dial has a bunch of preset amp settings that are sometimes too far apart. The low setting doesn't allow the weld to lay down and the higher setting undercuts a little. Adjustments in arc length usually allow me to make one or the other work well though.

The OEM secondary leads on the Lincoln are pretty short. You need the welder pretty close to the work. I extended the power cord from 6' to 30 feet to minimize this problem but still may investigate longer secondary leads someday.

 

[tanglefoot]

When I bought my Lincoln 225 in the 70's there was a rumor that Lincoln had just changed from using copper windings to aluminum windings. I don't know if that's true, but if it is, mine has given excellent service for all these years. I'm able to weld quarter to half inch steel as much as I need to and never pay attention to the duty cycle. I seldom set mine over 100 amps.
Butch

 

[sandman2234]

3RRl,
I have the same Miller 330 A/BP and wouldn't trade it for the world. I purchased mine in 1988 at a cost of what the welding store gave for it, plus 10 percent. It was a trade in from the University of Florida (Go Gators)
$200. trade in
$20. 10 percent upcharge
$17 repair parts, no installation charge
Had to drive to Gainesville to pick it up, but that is only 75 miles.
I sold a Lincoln "Tombstone" to help pay for the Miller ($100) and six months later found got another, almost new that the local hospital wired into 440v power, instead of 220v.
Welding shop replaced the fuse for me and then gave it to me. Never another problem with it. I just use it and use it.
I disconnected the leads and installed longer leads, using a slightly larger cable. Couldn't go much bigger due to the small holes in the front case.
I lost my contacts at the welding store, when it was sold, so now I have to scrounge like the rest of you guys.
David from jax

 

[chabat124]

I have had the Lincoln 125/225 AC/DC model for about 3 years now. Before that I had the ac only model. They have been good machines for me.

I weld mild steel, 14 guage up to 1/2 inch but 1/8 to 1/4 mostly. Great machine.