About time for a new welder

that link is making me want to spend money now too.......i wonder how much I would use the stick and tig feature. The linked model without that seems like a much better deal.
 
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ok guys......24.3V is good output but at 25% duty cycle is laughable. 0n 110 input 20.5V at 20% is even worse......yes yes I know you dont need that heat but it is a window into the longevity of the machine. Now for some potatoes to go with the meat! Mild steel wire diameter .023-.035 good choices excellent for what most car guys do HOWEVER.......at 15-18 volts a very sweet spot you may get 40% duty cycle. So 4 minutes out of ten she'll be happy. It is a very light hobby use welder. Otherwise it would be listed at those outputs nearing 60%

as an addition I had to edit my initial illustration, had my facts skewed. But rewording my argument I stand by my sentiment its just a fancy hobby size machine....like etsy arts and crafts size.
 
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I know we have a few ESAB fanboys here. @Mac5005 , lookin' at you, bud! I've got a question for all y'all ESAB users. Have you ever had to deal with their customer service? I've had to about three or four times in my life as a welder, and it's been bad enough to deter me from ever buying a piece of ESAB equipment. Seems a lot of their equipment gets obsoleted quickly, and that suspicion has been somewhat supported by the fact that they're revising the Rebel line at a ridiculous pace. Dropping welders, adding new ones, etc. Why is that little MIG unit on clearance? Honestly, I'd rather roll the dice with Harbor Freight or one of the other Chinese mfrs.
 
catfishblues said:
I know we have a few ESAB fanboys here. @Mac5005 , lookin' at you, bud! I've got a question for all y'all ESAB users. Have you ever had to deal with their customer service? I've had to about three or four times in my life as a welder, and it's been bad enough to deter me from ever buying a piece of ESAB equipment. Seems a lot of their equipment gets obsoleted quickly, and that suspicion has been somewhat supported by the fact that they're revising the Rebel line at a ridiculous pace. Dropping welders, adding new ones, etc. Why is that little MIG unit on clearance? Honestly, I'd rather roll the dice with Harbor Freight or one of the other Chinese mfrs.
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As far as personally dealing with esab customer service, I’ve dealt with them on our plasma table at school, and they have always managed to help get things fixed over the phone in less than 30 mins at no cost on a 10-15 yr old setup. Even diagnosing and troubleshooting on the phone with a tech.

As far as welder support or a local esab rep support, I’ve never dealt with them.

I think they quickly dropped the caddy mig once everyone started to realize when using an inverter as the power source, the hardware for multiprocess is already there. Just get the connections and programming there, and they could revamp as multiprocess units with better marketing and bump the price up with little cost change.

That’s why I believe the rebel name took over the caddymig line so quickly.

All that said, I still recommend the esab mig unit, because their programming with their smart mig units is far superior to all other brands on the market for a home hobbyist welder.

I’ve welded with all three colors and out of the box, the esab has the best/easiest bead that is the hardest to screw up. The smart mig reading the arc voltage and adjusting output to keep the current consistent despite errors with stickout, work angle etc, is a huge asset to those who don’t weld often. You can pick it up, turn it on, and weld well.

That said, unless Miller accepts their issue and quits denying it exists, and opens up their settings so the end user can actually change run in and inductance to get a decent short circuit weld, I’ll never buy anything blue again.

I just bought the red MP 210, after my local store let me demo it before purchase.

My rep was adamant that esab customer service is in steep decline.

I was set to buy a yellow machine, but after welding with the Lincoln, seeing all the parameters that you can change, and my store rep insisting the customer support is far better with lincoln, I purchased the red 210.

At school we have 7 Miller dynasty 350s, and 6 lincoln aspect 375s.

After welding with all of them, and having the millers for 4 yrs now and the Lincoln’s for 2, if I need to weld with them I’ll grab the Lincoln.

The harbor freight vulcan stuff look like decent machines, and look like almost exact lincoln copies. They have a good price and 1 yr money back warranty.

I’d like to try one to see how they work. The one year money back deal is pretty slick to me. Buy it, try it, if you don’t like it, or it doesn’t work out, return it and go get the Lincoln.

The Lincoln mp210, and the squarewave 200 are direct comparisons to the Vulcan omni220 and tig200.

Both Lincoln units are about $500 more. That seems like a bargain to me, to step up to the Lincoln when choosing to get solid customer support.

Esab is set to release their true ac/dc multiprocess machine with pulse in may/June for $3k.

For the same money you could buy the Lincoln squarewave200 and mp210 and not be completely out of a welder if one were to need service. That is my personal plan.

At this point, for what I weld, I wouldn’t even consider a blue machine.

One man fab/production shop welding thick materials with large wire, I’d maybe consider something blue, just to get preferential service at a repair center, but I’d probably keep buying red.

I think esab makes some killer products, but I haven’t talked to anyone that says their customer support is even marginal.
 
I have an ESAB/Miller dealer about 5 miles from my shop. Had they not been so close for consumables and parts, I would have probably gone with a different brand.
I don't weld much and when I do, it's usually just a small amount. In 15 years of using my Hobart 175, I've had to stop and let it catch up twice.

If I did anything remotely resembling production, I'd get a different unit. But I was due a newer unit and the price was right for my use.
 
I have an esab fabricator 140. Got it for its portability. If esabs bigger machines weld anything like this one I would highly recommend them. I believe they are very underrated. While welding sometimes and look up to see I'm welding at 160 amps.
 
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