MIG Welder

-
Cartboy67

Cartboy67

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 26, 2014
Messages
84
Reaction score
1
Location
VA
Just wanted to get some input on this welder I am looking at to see if it is a decent price, asking price is $425.

Lincoln SP-135T welder, cart, tank, hose, gloves, and 2 hoods, tank needs refilled.
 

Attachments

  • 00O0O_7uv37IuYznF_600x450.jpg
    29 KB · Views: 566
Lincoln, Hobart and Miller are the big three. Probably caint go wrong.
 
I have exactly that welder and it works really well for anything less than 1/4 inch, and thicker than that you have to get a little creative with the heat and wire speed.

425 looks like a fair average.
 
Can't go wrong with a Lincoln. I have had a Hobart for about 9 years now, and it works fine. My concern for you is that for only a little more, you can get a new Hobart. The welding carts at Harbor Freight are actually very nice (a friend has one). I would hesitate paying that much for a used one.

I just looked, and I see new Hobart 140s available for around $500 with free shipping.
 
harrisonm said:
Can't go wrong with a Lincoln. I have had a Hobart for about 9 years now, and it works fine. My concern for you is that for only a little more, you can get a new Hobart. The welding carts at Harbor Freight are actually very nice (a friend has one). I would hesitate paying that much for a used one.

I just looked, and I see new Hobart 140s available for around $500 with free shipping.
Click to expand...


X2 I have Hobart 140 it works good.
The welder you are looking at is a good one also, but be careful and look the bottle over real good.
Make damn sure the bottle is from a local company, that you can trade it in to.
If not you are stuck with paying around $150 for the same size bottle.
Bottles are date stamped and it costs stupid money to recert them.

Honestly, I would buy new, then spend a little more for the bottle in your NAME.
 
we have 2 lincolns, a 35 year old+ Stick welder and a new, MIG welder, both work great and flawlessly and you can source consumables for them everywhere.
 
I went ahead and picked up this welder, checked it before buying it, ended up getting it for 400 even, not a steal of the century but not a bad price from what I have seen considering it came with a tank and some helmets and gloves and that wicked ghetto cart.
 
Not bad, is the tank still in date?

If it isn't, you won't be able to fill it, you'll have to get another, or get that one re-certed.
 
I checked that when I went to check it out, it was cert'd 01/07 with a ten year cert. When I called the guy he told me the tank was empty but it actually still had a small charge. I am taking it to Arc3 here in Lynchburg next week to swap or fill.
 
Cartboy67 said:
I am taking it to Arc3 here in Lynchburg next week to swap or fill.
Click to expand...

Cool, a lot of times, unless it's their tank they will fill it but not swap.

I bought my tank from a buddy that owns a local shop. All I do is take it in and swap it, never have to worry about the date.
 
I don't know whether it's a 'this part of the country' or what. Here Ox Arc and another welding store seem to be VERY lenient about swapping "off brand" bottles. Years ago (more than 20 LOL) there were several bottle brands that could not be cross swapped. Co-op / Cenex, another local brand, and whatever the "big" bottle house was called then, none of the three would cross swap bottles.

Another glitch used to be rental vs lease vs owner bottles. Big giant PITA.
 
I have the same welder as well. I am happy with it and what it can do. I have used better machines and there is a difference but not worth the extra $ in my opinion. Already went through one gun assembly and it is still plugging away
 
TrailBeast said:
I have exactly that welder and it works really well for anything less than 1/4 inch, and thicker than that you have to get a little creative with the heat and wire speed.

425 looks like a fair average.
Click to expand...


That's good to know, according to the chart it only does up to 14 gauge with gas lol
 
Fst73_410 said:
That's good to know, according to the chart it only does up to 14 gauge with gas lol
Click to expand...

That's not true at all, as my brother and I both have welded 1/4 with this one easily. (with good burn in)

I have an extra 5 foot tall bottle also, so when the little one goes empty I just hook it up to the big bottle and refill it.
The big one refills the small one on the cart probably 20 times easy.
 
TrailBeast said:
That's not true at all, as my brother and I both have welded 1/4 with this one easily. (with good burn in)

I have an extra 5 foot tall bottle also, so when the little one goes empty I just hook it up to the big bottle and refill it.
The big one refills the small one on the cart probably 20 times easy.
Click to expand...

What mix gas do you run and what do you usually set it at on the welder when you are doing say 1/8th inch
 
Fst73_410 said:
What mix gas do you run and what do you usually set it at on the welder when you are doing say 1/8th inch
Click to expand...

I run 1/3 argon and 2/3 CO2 I think (been awhile and I would have to look at the bottle again to tell you for absolute sure)
Wire speed and heat vary a lot on conditions so I just play with it till it welds nice so I don't pay that much attention to what the knobs say.
For me the clue when I got it is when there is more of a hiss when running the bead than a splatter sound and the weld burns in and lays down.
 
TrailBeast said:
I run 1/3 argon and 2/3 CO2 I think (been awhile and I would have to look at the bottle again to tell you for absolute sure)
Wire speed and heat vary a lot on conditions so I just play with it till it welds nice so I don't pay that much attention to what the knobs say.
For me the clue when I got it is when there is more of a hiss when running the bead than a splatter sound and the weld burns in and lays down.
Click to expand...

Bacon on the stove mmmmm
 
75/25 shielding gas
For welding the 1/8" I would turn the heat on max and the wire speed slightly backed off of max. I have the same lincoln welder. That should get you close enough that you can tune your weld by how fast or slow your hand travels.
These are great welders, I have had mine since 2000 and it gets used a lot.
No replacement parts needed yet. Do keep in mind to never put the wire feed liner
In a tight bend ever. Loose sweeping arcs will keep wire flowing smooth for years.
When welding 1/4 to 1/2" steel I preheat the metal with a oxy acetylene torch
since the machine doesn't generate enough amps for a good weld on these
thicknesses.
You got a good price and will like this brand machine.
 
TrailBeast said:
That's not true at all, as my brother and I both have welded 1/4 with this one easily. (with good burn in)

I have an extra 5 foot tall bottle also, so when the little one goes empty I just hook it up to the big bottle and refill it.
The big one refills the small one on the cart probably 20 times easy.
Click to expand...

Not to be excessively critical, but what sort of joint were you welding?

Even with good joint prep, (beveled, multi-pass), 1/4" is probably not going to pass an open face/open root bend test with only 135amps. Can it be strong enough for it's use? Maybe, good joint design is often more important than the actual welding; great welding doesn't save poorly designed joints. Preheat would help. Running this kind of weld at max power at the 10-20% duty cycle that these MIG's have would be an exercise in extreme patience.

It would be interesting to cut, polish and etch a weld like this to see how much penetration was achieved into the base metal. S/F.....Ken M
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top