[M J D]

For the Life of me,,, I can't understand why anybody (except maybe if you were fulltime welding) would buy a Lincoln or a Miller...

They too are made in China, have ridiculous repair costs, always cost more to buy with the least features, and shorter Warrantees. You can buy something like an Everlast with a 5yr warranty and after it's up still be able to buy a replacement board for a couple of hundred bucks (that Miller people pay a Grand for).

So, OK,,, your Miller goes-down and you run it over to the local welding supply house you bought it from and they take it from there If it's an HTP, Primeweld, Everlast, etc., you're gonna be without it longer because there's no local support. If a turn-around delay costs you money then sure,,, go big Red/Blue. But for most of us, get a bigger Bang-for-the-Buck and enjoy the benefits of what you, for some reason, call a "knockoff" welder

Everlast warranty, that's some funny stuff right there.😂

 

[455dan]

No real personal experience with those machines so they may actually be decent enough for personal/hobby use.. But I still stick with buying a decent name machine that will most likely outlast these Chinese ones. The ironman 240 would be an excellent welder that would likely last you for yrs and yrs and all kinds of power. I'd think if you have the means to make that purchase you'd be quite happy and not regret it. The cheaper one may be ok, but I feel like there's a bigger chance of regret not spending more to get a quality machine

Well I went ahead and ordered the Hobart 240 Ironman yesterday and Cyberweld just responded with a backorder message today.
I am going to see if maybe they have the Ironman 240 with the spool gun in the kit for an extra $500 or so in stock.
I don't want to wait for the welder to get back into stock with no known timeline.
Wish they would put the back order note on the order form before you hit the buy button.

ps. the local craigslist has a supposed "low hour" Lincoln 216 with CO2 cylinder- but he wants $1500 for it. A little less amps but i have always heard real good things about the weld quality of the 215 and 216.

ps. 2 That was quick, Cyberweld just called about the order and I asked about them maybe having the spoolgun with Ironman 240 in stock, she said no and all INE welders are drop ships to reduce delays. She said that recently the delays are running around 4 weeks or so. Very professional at least calling me , but I cancelled the order.

 

[G-ManBart]

For the Life of me,,, I can't understand why anybody (except maybe if you were fulltime welding) would buy a Lincoln or a Miller...

They too are made in China, have ridiculous repair costs, always cost more to buy with the least features, and shorter Warrantees. You can buy something like an Everlast with a 5yr warranty and after it's up still be able to buy a replacement board for a couple of hundred bucks (that Miller people pay a Grand for).

So, OK,,, your Miller goes-down and you run it over to the local welding supply house you bought it from and they take it from there If it's an HTP, Primeweld, Everlast, etc., you're gonna be without it longer because there's no local support. If a turn-around delay costs you money then sure,,, go big Red/Blue. But for most of us, get a bigger Bang-for-the-Buck and enjoy the benefits of what you, for some reason, call a "knockoff" welder

You can't understand, or don't want to admit, that some people are willing to pay more than you are for quality?

My time is valuable and when I want to spend time welding on a project I don't want to be stuck waiting because my welder died. That can happen with any welder, but getting a red, blue or tan one fixed quickly is a lot easier than most of the imported brands. I'd have to go back and look but it took more than a month and a couple of dozen e-mails and phone calls with Everlast when my first welder from them went crazy. Ultimately I shipped it back and bought a more expensive model....all told I was out for two months or so.

Oleg (owner of Everlast) told me that my PowerTIG 210EXT was a copy, feature for feature, of a Dynasty 210. Sounds a lot like a knockoff to me. We were talking about that after my previous Everlast went crazy within the first week or two....I was lucky I was still in the early part of the warranty when they'll actually be reasonable.

I've sold more than a couple of nice Miller TIGs to guys replacing Everlast welders....for a reason. They all went for the bigger bang-for-the-buck and it cost them more in the long run.

 

[clyde r]

For the Life of me,,, I can't understand why anybody (except maybe if you were fulltime welding) would buy a Lincoln or a Miller...

They too are made in China, have ridiculous repair costs, always cost more to buy with the least features, and shorter Warrantees. You can buy something like an Everlast with a 5yr warranty and after it's up still be able to buy a replacement board for a couple of hundred bucks (that Miller people pay a Grand for).

So, OK,,, your Miller goes-down and you run it over to the local welding supply house you bought it from and they take it from there If it's an HTP, Primeweld, Everlast, etc., you're gonna be without it longer because there's no local support. If a turn-around delay costs you money then sure,,, go big Red/Blue. But for most of us, get a bigger Bang-for-the-Buck and enjoy the benefits of what you, for some reason, call a "knockoff" welder

That was just a name I picked to describe ALL the welders and the different names that are out there. Here are a few. HZXVogen HBM 2280 mig welder, Andelimall.com Welder, Everlast, Lotos, Yesweld, Prime Weld, Tolliom, Forney, Names been around a long time, How about today? Vevor, Razor and just as many that I cant think of or don't know about. So I decided to call them knockoffs.

Logic would dictate to me that some are better than others and perform close to what they claim. And I thought some of the folks on here through their experience could direct me to some of the better options out there. I've never owned a MIg welder. And once again thanks to all that have responded, I appreciate it. I am looking into the Blue Demon that Brand x suggested. Right now they are on back order.

 

[G-ManBart]

Logic would dictate to me that some are better than others and perform close to what they claim. And I thought some of the folks on here through their experience could direct me to some of the better options out there. I've never owned a MIg welder. And once again thanks to all that have responded, I appreciate it. I am looking into the Blue Demon that Brand x suggested. Right now they are on back order.

Unfortunately, I doubt you're going to find much information here about many of the imported welders. You'll find some good info about Everlast and Primeweld, and a bit less about Forney, but almost nothing on the other brands. I'm not saying don't ask, but I wouldn't expect a whole lot of input.

I would be more concerned about buying an inexpensive MIG welder than any other kind. The most common cause of problems with a MIG welder involve the wire feed system. The less expensive machines tend to be less robust in that area and wire feed issues can be a huge source of frustration. If anything, I'd look for folks commenting about that topic more than other areas. The reason I say all this is that TIG welders and stick welders are really just power sources with almost no moving parts (barring a water cooling system) to cause grief, so some of the inexpensive versions work pretty darned well.

 

[GoK4rtFanatic]

It seems to me as though those who own a "high-end" machine will only recommend such. Almost always the more you pay for a welder the better the quality, but that isn't to say you can't get by with a cheap one. All this talk of parts breaking mid-weld or terrible customer service can be easily avoided by doing your research before you buy a machine. All of the small inverter machines are probably the same on the inside, but if you pick a company with good customer service and take care of your machine then you should have no issues. I think some people don't understand that not everyone can just drop 3 grand on a brand new Lincoln, as much as they'd like to, it's not in the budget. Now this isn't to say that you shouldn't buy a good welder, but I would say that unless you're doing critical structural welds you'll be fine with a cheaper inverter machine. I personally recommend PrimeWeld because of their customer service, however, I highly doubt everlast is much different (despite what many say). Just my thoughts as a hobbyist.

 

[BaTu]

You can't understand, or don't want to admit, that some people are willing to pay more than you are for quality?

My time is valuable and when I want to spend time welding on a project I don't want to be stuck waiting because my welder died. That can happen with any welder, but getting a red, blue or tan one fixed quickly is a lot easier than most of the imported brands. I'd have to go back and look but it took more than a month and a couple of dozen e-mails and phone calls with Everlast when my first welder from them went crazy. Ultimately I shipped it back and bought a more expensive model....all told I was out for two months or so.

Oleg (owner of Everlast) told me that my PowerTIG 210EXT was a copy, feature for feature, of a Dynasty 210. Sounds a lot like a knockoff to me. We were talking about that after my previous Everlast went crazy within the first week or two....I was lucky I was still in the early part of the warranty when they'll actually be reasonable.

I've sold more than a couple of nice Miller TIGs to guys replacing Everlast welders....for a reason. They all went for the bigger bang-for-the-buck and it cost them more in the long run.

I donno man,,, it's like Ford/Chevy ~vs~ Honda/Toyota in the 80's, and you know how That turned out! Only now they're All made in the same place just with different price tags.

Your experience with Everlast is vastly different than mine, their welders have stood up very well for me for the past 10yrs or so. I would recommend them to anybody and Do Not accept that there's any difference in Quality. In fact, if as you say, that the 210EXT is a copy of the Dynasty 210 I'm sure it's at 1/2 the price, 3X the Warranty, and without the surprise cost of repairs....

 

[G-ManBart]

I would recommend them to anybody and Do Not accept that there's any difference in Quality. In fact, if as you say, that the 210EXT is a copy of the Dynasty 210 I'm sure it's at 1/2 the price, 3X the Warranty, and without the surprise cost of repairs....

That's funny, but I appreciate the laugh. No brand I know of has more warranty horror stories than Everlast. Miller has a 3 year warranty. Everlast claims a 5 year warranty, so it's not even double, much less 3X and just try getting them to honor is past a year or two.

My story with them is very similar to almost every other warranty horror story you'll see about them...I was just lucky enough that it was early on so they didn't have any way to wiggle out of it. It took 54 e-mails and multiple phone calls to resolve the problem...oh, and I had to pay shipping on top of it. That's ridiculous for a machine that was only a few weeks old. Yes, I saved those e-mails.

 

[M J D]

The real question is if Everlast built an airplane would you fly in it? Me, wouldn't catch me within 5 miles of the airport.

 

[BaTu]

That's funny, but I appreciate the laugh. No brand I know of has more warranty horror stories than Everlast. Miller has a 3 year warranty. Everlast claims a 5 year warranty, so it's not even double, much less 3X and just try getting them to honor is past a year or two.

My story with them is very similar to almost every other warranty horror story you'll see about them...I was just lucky enough that it was early on so they didn't have any way to wiggle out of it. It took 54 e-mails and multiple phone calls to resolve the problem...oh, and I had to pay shipping on top of it. That's ridiculous for a machine that was only a few weeks old. Yes, I saved those e-mails.

So first, they can be very difficult people to deal with I know. I'm not sure if it's growing pains or just poor management at the top (I suspect the former). Bad Attitude abounds there with some

But, seriously,,, you had to Pay Shipping to return something that was just a "few weeks" old? Gotta be more to the story than that ~ that's inexcusable

 

[nick121]

I could see buying a cheap brand stick welder, they're simple enough no feed mechanisms to go wrong. I have a princess auto 170 amp stick welder inverter, Made by Razorweld. been a good little unit for what I need it for.
I just wouldn't want the hassle of warranty issues like I've heard on a everlast etc and who knows in a few yrs they may be out of business and no parts around etc. Miller/lincoln and esab likely still be here

 

[nick121]

Well I went ahead and ordered the Hobart 240 Ironman yesterday and Cyberweld just responded with a backorder message today.
I am going to see if maybe they have the Ironman 240 with the spool gun in the kit for an extra $500 or so in stock.
I don't want to wait for the welder to get back into stock with no known timeline.
Wish they would put the back order note on the order form before you hit the buy button.

ps. the local craigslist has a supposed "low hour" Lincoln 216 with CO2 cylinder- but he wants $1500 for it. A little less amps but i have always heard real good things about the weld quality of the 215 and 216.

ps. 2 That was quick, Cyberweld just called about the order and I asked about them maybe having the spoolgun with Ironman 240 in stock, she said no and all INE welders are drop ships to reduce delays. She said that recently the delays are running around 4 weeks or so. Very professional at least calling me , but I cancelled the order.

Oh that's too bad they didn't have any. How about your local weld supply? maybe they have one in stock? or worth the wait but the 4 weeks is pretty long and could turn into longer it seems anymore. I have free use of dads power mig 300, and I've used a 255 powermig and they are great machines. Heard good things about the 216 so might be a good buy.

I picked up a hobart multihandler 200 recently at the local welding supply , welds really nice and quick to change processes, just ordered a spool gun so see how it does with that. Not a high duty cycle but I think for most projects it'll be just fine. Hobart seems to have good value and owned by same company as miller

 

[Oscar]

It seems to me as though those who own a "high-end" machine will only recommend such. Almost always the more you pay for a welder the better the quality, but that isn't to say you can't get by with a cheap one. All this talk of parts breaking mid-weld or terrible customer service can be easily avoided by doing your research before you buy a machine. All of the small inverter machines are probably the same on the inside, but if you pick a company with good customer service and take care of your machine then you should have no issues. I think some people don't understand that not everyone can just drop 3 grand on a brand new Lincoln, as much as they'd like to, it's not in the budget. Now this isn't to say that you shouldn't buy a good welder, but I would say that unless you're doing critical structural welds you'll be fine with a cheaper inverter machine. I personally recommend PrimeWeld because of their customer service, however, I highly doubt everlast is much different (despite what many say). Just my thoughts as a hobbyist.

While at times I have been guilty of that as you describe, I would also say that I objectively look at the person's stated requirements. It is those requirements that almost always are stated in a similar fashion by the person requesting suggestions:

• Their typical welding thicknesses are stated, which are on the "thinner" side
• and then the typical bomb is dropped with the "occasional" need to weld something relatively thick

and therein lies the issue IMO. I like to use the race-car analogy from the more demanding requirement first: If you want to reliably run the ¼ mile in 8 seconds flat, it doesn't matter if you want to do this once a week, once a month, once a year, once every 5 years, once every 10 years....you need the horsepower regardless because you can't dial in the horsepower you don't have. The parallel here is equivalent to wanting to weld relatively thick material in a single pass: you can't do it if you don't have the raw power in the first place, and raw power costs money. How often is irrelevant since it doesn't reduce the requirements with regards to amperage needed. Of course once you are willing to do beveling/pre-heat and do pass after pass after pass changes things of course, but for the most part it is not a consideration of the person asking suggestions, and I would be willing to bet that the length of the weld bead when attempting to weld the thicker part is not just a single 12" long weld bead because they (probably) want to be able to do a welding job on a big, heavy-duty part. Tha's my take on it, and I'm sticking to it.

 

[whtbaron]

I was looking at that too, but then he comes back and says he's got a 250 amp AC/DC Miller stick. Unless some of that 3/8's is aluminum that needs to be mig'd, it seems to me all he really needs is something to MIG light metals.

 

[danielplace]

Did the $400 - $600 budget include the $300 tank of gas.

 

[smithdoor]

There is flux core it work great in the field and outdoors.

Dave

Did the $400 - $600 budget include the $300 tank of gas.

 

[albrightree]

If you're budget is $400 to $600 for a mig with some aluminum, I would recommend the Primeweld 180. $499 gets you 180 amp mig, and a spoolgun ready to roll in one box with regulator, and even a stinger for stick welding. I bought one just to fill in while my Lincoln is being repaired, and so far it has done well. It takes tweco gun parts, and 8" rolls , does fine on 16 ga to 1/4" steel. Aluminum it does OK from 1/8" to 3/16". 90 day money back return, and a 3 year warranty, they pick up the shipping in the US. Some one who speaks english well always seems to pickup the phone when I've called. It looks just like the Eastwood 180 , and the Lotos. Probably from the same factory somewhere in china. It'll do thinner metal fine, and get you into some aluminum. One member has mentioned he didn't like the way the Flux Core welded, but I have found it to be OK.

Here's a piece of 1/4" steel with solid wire, and gas.

View attachment IMG_2565.jpg


Aluminum doing vertical up on some scrap to set up spool gun.

View attachment IMG_2533.jpg

Dual shield .035 with co2 prettty much maxed out.

View attachment IMG_2605.jpg

Just my opinion, lots of machines, and opinions out there. My advice would be to call and talk to someone in customer service before you buy, and see if you feel comfortable buying from them.

good luck with your decision.

 

[shovelon]

If you're budget is $400 to $600 for a mig with some aluminum, I would recommend the Primeweld 180. $499 gets you 180 amp mig, and a spoolgun ready to roll in one box with regulator, and even a stinger for stick welding. I bought one just to fill in while my Lincoln is being repaired, and so far it has done well. It takes tweco gun parts, and 8" rolls , does fine on 16 ga to 1/4" steel. Aluminum it does OK from 1/8" to 3/16". 90 day money back return, and a 3 year warranty, they pick up the shipping in the US. Some one who speaks english well always seems to pickup the phone when I've called. It looks just like the Eastwood 180 , and the Lotos. Probably from the same factory somewhere in china. It'll do thinner metal fine, and get you into some aluminum. One member has mentioned he didn't like the way the Flux Core welded, but I have found it to be OK.

Here's a piece of 1/4" steel with solid wire, and gas.

View attachment 1735387


Aluminum doing vertical up on some scrap to set up spool gun.

View attachment 1735388

Dual shield .035 with co2 prettty much maxed out.

View attachment 1735389

Just my opinion, lots of machines, and opinions out there. My advice would be to call and talk to someone in customer service before you buy, and see if you feel comfortable buying from them.

good luck with your decision.

Hmmm. The more I see of Primeweld, the more I am inclined to recommend them. They seem to be the king of the hobby welders.

Now just a word of advise to anybody in possession of inverter welders. Warm them up for a few minutes before welding to charge the little capacitors on the boards! The point of failure is usually popped board capacitors. The little board capacitors evened the surge load brownout conditions on the boards. The old tranny migs and tigs, with minimal boards had huge PFC capacitor banks before the transformers. If they did not have PFC they could cause brownout conditions to the circuits from surge. One reason the old tranny welders lasted so long because the load was on the transformers. But they ate power like starving crocodiles.

 

[Broccoli1]

ps. 2 That was quick, Cyberweld just called about the order and I asked about them maybe having the spoolgun with Ironman 240 in stock, she said no and all INE welders are drop ships to reduce delays. She said that recently the delays are running around 4 weeks or so. Very professional at least calling me , but I cancelled the order.

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200814136_200814136


It states in stock but they might operate the same way as Cyberweld and you won't actually know until you hit the buy button

 

[Xsbank]

I took a TIG course a while ago and bought a Lincoln SW200. It works great, has adequate power and is dual-powered so it’s sorta portable. I would only buy Chinese at the point of a gun. China has become a nightmare and there is no way I would support them.
That’s political, perhaps, but the trips I’ve taken to return cr*p that doesn’t work, usually Chinesium.
The other thing I find strange is the vast majority on here buy the best that’s available because not only does a good tool do what it’s supposed to, but there is inherent pleasure in using a good tool vs. a pos that slips, doesn’t quite fit or is basically a “one job” tool. Why buy Starrett? Why buy Festool? Why buy Nicholson? Usually, because they work consistently and you rarely need to return them or warranty them. If you have to pay return shipping because your crappy welder failed? That’s not a warranty.
I also get the budget thing, but if you’re short on dosh, why buy crap that will basically be useless too soon? Throw that hard-earned money in the trash? I would look for a used Miller, Lincoln or that European one that I can’t remember the name of. Whatever you pay you will get back if you need to sell it, the cheap-*** stuff, nope.