Should I buy this welder?

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IHateMayonnaise

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I am eventually planning on building a Brutus 10 type brew-stand, but not anytime soon. I snooped around CL and found a Lincoln ac-225-s arc welder for $80. It's old and well loved, but it works. But, I have several dilemmas..

As I currently live in an apartment I do not have a 230v outlet, which this requires (not that I can weld inside, or even in my parking lot anyway). I might be able to bring it somewhere, although at this point I am not sure where, so I will probably be holding on to it until I figure that out.

I am not sure if this will work for my purposes (I did search). Arc/TIG welding does for sure, just not sure about the power of this unit (225 amps).

Is it a good idea to buy an old welder, in general? Assuming the external leads look okay, I will not however know if everything is working on the inside, until it kills me.

I want to eventually start welding stuff (as a hobby), and really am wondering if this is a good investment. I am really just looking for some advice. Thoughts?

Sorry for the non-linearity I haven't slept in a long time!
 
Based on the inconvenience of it all, I would put your money towards a pre-built brew stand. I've seen steel stands (one tier) as low as $450 on this forumn and $650 for SS.

By the time you purchase the welder and the other necessary items (helmet, gloves, etc.), learn to weld properly, move the welder to a place where you can actually use it and don't forget you have to move all the materials you need to weld and then bring it all home again; I just don't think it would be worth it.

I weld and have a MIG welder and I'm still considering purchasing a pre-built stand. I would like a SS one and welding SS is a whole new animal vs. steel (which I'm good at)+ I would have to install a 230v plug in my garage and those aren't free.
 
A welder is a good investment, even if it's used. However, I recommend buying a HH140. It runs on 110VAC. You can buy it on eBay for $460-480 with free shipping. It's what I bought for my brewstand, and it works like a hot glue gun. Welding is fun, and I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

MIG is all you'll need for building you brutus. It's the easiest to learn and use. I did all the research for you. Trust me: Hobart Handler 140 is all you'll ever need. Cheers!
 
We had a Lincoln AC-225-s arc welder on the farm. It was 12 yrs old when we sold the farm, it was still welding great.
 
. I second the Hobar handler 140. I have it's larger cousin the 180 (now the 185) and it's been a great machine. Those tombstone welders are great but not for a beginner with thinner stuff that you are likely to build a brewstand out of. Especially if you don't have a place to practice very much.
 
Last year I got a estimate for a 15ft iron gate. The guy wanted 1800.00 for everything. I decided to buy a Hobart 185 for 700.00 and the 50.00 auto darking helmet from Northern Tool (free shipping also). I built the gate for 150.00 in supplies. Now I have a welder that will last me a life time. I have lost track of all the things I have built and fixed with the welder since then. It has opened up a whole new world. I'm now making the plans to build a steal framed patio cover.
 
Stainless steel is easyer to weld than regular steel. But it would be handy to have a dc welder. Then you can up grade to a heliarc real easy. Then you can do all of the welding on your kettles etc. I used to work in a cannery and i would rather weld stainless over black iron any day. You can do it with a ac welder and some rod that would run on ac but it is a lot easyer on dc. I have don it over 30 years. $80 is a good price for a welder even if it is old that dosent make them run bad. If you want to get into welding this is a good place to start. I learnt to weld when i was 9 yrs old. My dad was a machinest and he brought home 2 pices of steel tacked them to the bench showed me how to strick an arc and then told me to start welding. O buy the way they were tacked at 90 deg laying down. He said when i run the first pass chip it out and run another pass. When i get to the top i will know how to weld. Heck i didnt even get half way and i had it down pat and have been welding ever sence. Hope this helps.
 
Go take an adult welding class you can weld your rig up there and have someone teach you to weld also, most classes cover mig, tig and stick.
I have all three types of welders and gas welding stuff also but I mostly use the tig neat, clean no sparks and spatter but tig welding is the most difficult.
Take a class and then you can figure out what type of machine you want.

Pat
 
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