Advice on buying a welder

[Chris L]

I was looking at this little 220 wire feed unit. Any opinions on how well it would work for the average garage jeeper? I would convert it to a bottle also.
Thanks for any input.


Weld-Pak 5000 HD


K2191-1 Weld-Pak 5000 HD 208/230/1/60




Want a welder that combines versatility plus a great "work ethic"? Here's your machine! Whether you want to fix, modify, or create, the Lincoln Electric Weld-Pak? 5000 HD puts the welding power and performance you need at your fingertips. It's lightweight and portable, so it's ready to go wherever your projects take you! The Weld-Pak 5000 HD is ready for gasless flux-cored welding on mild steel right out of the box. The optional conversion kits, supply of shielding gas, and proper solid wire let you MIG weld on mild steel, stainless steel, and aluminum. Best of all, the Weld-Pak 5000 HD is built and backed by Lincoln Electric ? the choice of top welding professionals all over the world!


Advantage Lincoln


? Unit Includes: Magnum? 100L welding gun and 10 ft. cable assembly with .035" contact tip installed, 10 ft. work cable and work clamp, 1 lb. spool .035" Innershield? NR-211-MP flux-cored wire, spare .035" contact tip, welding handshield with #10 filter plate and clear glass cover plate, and instructional video.
? 30-175 amps output.
? Welds up to 1/2 in. steel (with Innershield? NR-212 wire electrode - sold separately).
? Welds flux-cored wire. Upgrades to MIG.
? Operates on 208V or 230V single-phase power.
? Gun trigger safety feature keeps welding wire electrically "cold" until trigger is pressed.
? Compact, portable, lightweight and easy-to-use.
? This combination wire feeder/CV power source is recommended for .035" (0.9 mm) and .045" (1.2 mm) Innershield? (gasless flux-cored wire) welding of virtually any light gauge, mild steel material. Many metal items around the farm or workshop are made of mild steel and are easily welded with the Weld-Pak 5000 HD.
? It's quick and easy to upgrade the Weld-Pak 5000 HD for MIG (gas-shielded solid wire) welding. To MIG weld mild steel or stainless steel, install K610-2 MIG Conversion Kit (stainless steel wire sold separately). To weld aluminum, install K610-2 and K664-2 Aluminum Welding Kit. Shielding gas sold separately.
? Welder settings reference chart conveniently located inside wire feed section door makes it easy to set the Weld-Pak 5000 HD for mild steel welding jobs.
? Fan-cooled for long life expectancy.
? Three year warranty on parts and labor. (90 days warranty on gun and cable).


Physical specifications


Weight:57 lbs. (25.9 kgs.)
Dimensions (in) HxWxD:12 x 9.75 x 16.5
Dimensions (mm) HxWxD:305 x 248 x 419











Processes


MIG Flux-Cored

Recommended Options

K520 Utility Cart
M15445-R Spindle for 2 in. Hub
K549-2 .045 Innershield Welding Kit
K610-2 MIG Conversion Kit
K664-2 .035 Aluminum Feeding Kit


Welding Specifications
Rated CV Output
Amps/Volts/Duty Cycle
Output
Range
Wire Feed Speed Range (IPM) Wire Feed Speed Range (M/MIN) Solid Wire Size Range Cored Wire Size Range
208V: 130/20/25%
230V: 130/20/30% 30-175A DC 50-400 1.3-10.2 .025-.035" .035-.045"

[Timzjatl]

Chris-
I have some experience with the lower end version of that machine, and its fine for light duty stuff. Weldpak 125 it was I believe. However At work we just bought a millermatic 135 (115v) and it kicks the lincoln's ass. Seriously I was burning through 3/16" plate at 3/4 power on a 115v welder. I couldn't get close to doing that with the lincoln at full power. I can only guess that the 220v (millermatic 175) would be even better(more powerful) . Plus the Miller has unlimited voltage and wire speed controls, whereas the lincoln had 5 position for each. It's impossble to get the settings just so with that setup. Make sure that that machine has at least infinite wire speed control. If I were buying a welder it'd definitely be the Millermatic 175, which should be a competing machine to that. I found the 175 for around $530 at our local Holox welding supply store, for reference. I believe that included the gas kit. Good Luck-
Tim

[ZUK]

for the average garage jeeper? ....not that one. I'm on my 3rd MIG welder....a couple of cheapie 110 units and now this Millermatic 185 unit which has all the power I should ever need for the next 20 years! BUT...there is one thing I should have thought about and that was portability. The 185 is big and bulky. That Lincoln has nice portability but I am really surprised that the gas is an option. Never seen that on a 220 welder. For portability, power, and price I would do the Hobart 175 for the average garage Jeeper....it would take a long time to outgrow it. your first project should be a cart to hold the mig and the over-sized tank....as well as some shelves/racks to hold tools. see this link http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=42338
.
.
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oh ya...Miller and Hobart are made by the same folks.

[Mark Hinkley]

Chris, as a "crack spackler" you must understand having the right tool is one of the most important thing when it comes to doing the job right. With that in mind buy a "MILLER". the 185 is a great unit and will serve you well.

mark
orgs mfg

[Chris L]

Thanks Mark.
Well I have narrowed it down to the millermatic 210 or the lincoln power mig 200. I am still leaning towards the miller, but would like to hear opinions on these two choices if anyone has one.
Thanks again.

[Mark Hinkley]

Chris,

I used a 210 this last weekend to fix Ron's king shock that broke, it welded real nice. JP Off Road uses it to weld up their cages.

mark
orgs mfg

[Art Welch]

A friend and I went halves on a Lincoln power mig 255 a couple of years ago and it has been exceptional, I'm sure you would be very happy with the 200. The miller is nice too though.

[Timzjatl]

Those are both a little larger units than I thought you were looking at initially... Our Shop welder is a millermatic 250 and is an excelent machine. If I had one here at the house I'd be sooo happy.... The 210 looks to be just a little less powerful, but plenty for what you're looking to do.

Tim

[utahjeepr]

The MM210 and the PM200 aree almost identical machines. They have basically the same duty cycle and most of the same features. Duty cycle is the advantage over the smaller Lincoln you started the post with, but I suppose you know that and that is why you are looking at the bigger rigs now.

I chose the MM210 when I bought. They were offering a great deal on it at the time. I paid around $1050 and got a free spool gun to boot. The best price I could find on the PM200 at that time was closer to $1200. Since the machines are practically the same I went for price.

One feature that the MM has that the PM does not is the secondary gas circuit and separate spool gun connection. I can plug in my spool gun and my regular work lead at the same time, one being fed with CO2/Argon the other running on a separate bottle of straight Argon. Neat feature if you are going to be welding a lot of steel and a lot of Aluminum. You can have both set up ready to go, just pick up the right lead for the job and pull the trigger. I don't do this as I don't weld any Aluminum at this time. I didn't consider it when I made my purchase, I went solely on price. The free spool gun offer is over now I believe. If you plan on welding a lot of Al then it may be something you should consider just because it has the ability built in, otherwise I wouldn't worry about it.

Shop around for both and go with the best price, you can't really lose with whichever unit you get.

[Bruce David]

While were on the subject of equipment.
I just picked up a Miller plasma cutter this week . What an awesome machine !!!
This thing could cut a fender off in 30 seconds.

My only complaint about it is, having to hang the air filter off the back of it.
Why in the hell don't they build a filter into the thing.
What does everyone do just hang a filter off the back?

Anyway, like I said this thing kicks ass and is a nice companion to my old MM 200

[Art Welch]

Originally posted by Bruce David
My only complaint about it is, having to hang the air filter off the back of it.
Why in the hell don't they build a filter into the thing.
What does everyone do just hang a filter off the back?

It's got an integrated compression Bruce? That's pretty cool, my lincoln cutter needs an external compressor.