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Well my Lincoln died Friday night. Talked to support Monday morning and then dropped it off at my local airgas to be picked up later this week. The big downside is the shop in SC that does all the repair work says it is most like 2-4 months to get the board I need from China. So this is a sad day.
Curious if your Lincoln is still under warranty?
If not, could you post the cost of the repair, when it's eventually done? I'm interested to see how out of warranty repair costs on Red/Blue machines factors in to the overall cost compared to the "cheap" machines.
If not, could you post the cost of the repair, when it's eventually done? I'm interested to see how out of warranty repair costs on Red/Blue machines factors in to the overall cost compared to the "cheap" machines.
It is 100% under warranty. I literally called in to the support line. They gave me the number of the repair shop in the state, which is about 1.5 hours from me. I called that shop and talked to them for a few minutes. They told me to take it back to the AirGas I bought the welder at. I did that and Airgas tagged it, and said it would be picked up later this week from the repair shop. So overall the experience has been positive. Just being told by the repair shop that it could take 2-4 months to get the boards from China they need is annoying.
I think the big thing over cost, is how good the support is. It is annoying dealing with a delay, but I have zero fear that in 20 years I can call in and they will still have no problem supporting the product.
It's all good when it's under warranty, and when it's not, you can always find someone to work on it. The only issue is costs out of warranty. A while back I had a Lincoln plasma cutter I bought used, and it needed a new board... the cost of the board (just the part) was within $50 of a new plasma cutter from Eastwood.
On the other hand, I'm going into my 25th year on my Lincoln MIG with no issues at all... **KNOCKS WOOD**
It is 100% under warranty. I literally called in to the support line. They gave me the number of the repair shop in the state, which is about 1.5 hours from me. I called that shop and talked to them for a few minutes. They told me to take it back to the AirGas I bought the welder at. I did that and Airgas tagged it, and said it would be picked up later this week from the repair shop. So overall the experience has been positive. Just being told by the repair shop that it could take 2-4 months to get the boards from China they need is annoying.
I think the big thing over cost, is how good the support is. It is annoying dealing with a delay, but I have zero fear that in 20 years I can call in and they will still have no problem supporting the product.
It may not necessarily be Lincoln's fault with the delay. Any kind of computer board is a pain in the *** to get right now. Even appliances are seeing delays.
It may not necessarily be Lincoln's fault with the delay. Any kind of computer board is a pain in the *** to get right now. Even appliances are seeing delays.
I don't actually blame Lincoln. Well I do, but I completely understand how fucked up supply lines are currently. In the time of a non-pandemic I have no doubt that they would be able to source the boards much more quickly.
Just an update... got the Lincoln Squarewave. Holy smokes what a great welder! My only comparison is versus the Alpha Tig, but the Lincoln is in a different league. Thanks for the recommendation guys, very happy with it!!!
Just an update... got the Lincoln Squarewave. Holy smokes what a great welder! My only comparison is versus the Alpha Tig, but the Lincoln is in a different league. Thanks for the recommendation guys, very happy with it!!!
Glad you like it. I forget what I had my AC settings at that worked decently. There is a decent youtube video that I grabbed them from.
My AHP should get to me next Wednesday. I am interested in trying it out.
Swapped out my argon tank the other day. 59 dollars out the door so not bad for a 280cf tank. This is only the second time I've attempted to learn aluminum. The first try was horrendous and over a year ago now so I'm pretty happy with my progress. I did one test bead on a flat piece then tried this lap joint, then tried to weld along an edge which went better than I thought it would. It's not pretty but I feel confident enough to stick things together now. I'm still getting used to how I need to significantly back off the pedal as the piece heats up in order to not melt through.
The reason I was practicing is because I've finally got aluminum I need to weld for the car, going to give it a go tomorrow. One other thing to note is that for the tungsten I sharpened it like normal with my Dremel attachment tool, but then slightly blunted the tip so it's got a small flat face instead of a point. After you run a bead a tiny ball forms on that landing that is only a little larger than a ball point pen then it stays like that. No need to purposely ball it or do anything weird either.
Material prep was just stainless steel brush in one direction then wipe with denatured alcohol, and also wiped down the filler with that as well.
Primeweld Tig225x
CK 17 Torch
CK Lazyr 3/32" Tungsten sharpened with blunted tip
Standard #7 cup
21CFH argon
1/4 second preflow 5 second post flow
0.125" unknown scrap aluminum
3/32" ER4043 filler
Machine was set to 125amps available but I felt like I never went past 75% pedal
120hz freq
35% balance (electrode positive)
That looks good to me. I'd be rather happy with beads like that and as you mentioned, can only get better since you haven't had much practice with the stuff. Question: do you think that welder can handle .250" aluminum? I have some future projects on my boat (actual boat, not a NC Miata) that I would like to tackle myself and I'm pretty sure it'll have to be 1/4".
Yeah it can definitely do 1/4" aluminum. It'll go up to 225amps if you're on 50amp 220v service, and if for some reason you need any more oomph than that you can use a helium/argon mix to run hotter. Also pre heating the material can help if you're having any issues getting the weld started.
The problem is how much do you need to weld? Because the torch that it comes with (CK Worldwide #17) is rated to 150 amps but can do short bursts above that. It's an excellent torch but it's just not made to survive a ton of use at higher amperage especially with AC. If you have a lot of beads to run then you would need to look into a water cooler. Primeweld actually makes one though which is nice, $400 bucks for that unit then you'll be dropping like another $150 to $200 depending on what kind of water cooled torch you want.
If I were taking a crack at it, I would probably try 1/8" CK Lazyr Tungsten, 1/8" filler rod, a #7 stubby gas lense kit, 18CFH of argon, 0.25 second pre flow, 10 second post flow because tungsten is going to be hot as hell, amps maxed at 225 so it's all in with the pedal floored, 90 to 100hz for frequency, and start at 30% balance to see if that's enough and adjust from there.
There's plenty of videos on YouTube of people welding 1/4" aluminum with 200 amp machines as well so if there's any problems it's usually in the settings, prep, or technique.
Thanks for the great reply. Much appreciated. I don't have any equipment at the moment so that will help me determine if materials, equipment, labor will be worth getting exactly what I want versus leaving up to someone else and hopefully getting what I want.
There's a difference between being able to do it and being able to do it with any speed. 220a will technically do 1/4, but you will have to preheat every single joint. And lap or fillet joints will be extremely cold and lack root penetration. And that's until your hit the duty cycle of the machine and have to let it sit 30 minutes to cool down.
If you have a bunch of inches that need welded, you will hate your life. You really need 300+a to do 1/4 with any speed.
Here's a good example of the pace at 210 amps on 1/4" aluminum lap joint. Not great but not terrible... the thing is that the feature packed budget welders are usually 200amp range machines. Go higher than that and the price can start to go up and you lose some of the cool *****. But a good compromise can be to just use a helium mix only when you need to "punch above your weight" and you can have the best of both worlds when it comes to cost and features but still capable of doing what you want with a simple bandaid.
Great thread idea, I'm sure we can all learn from each other's experiences. I also ran across a FB page called Fabrication Life. Lots of different contributions on all types of fabrication, plenty of exhaust related content and if your having a problem with welding something, the knowledge base is pretty vast. Check it out.
06-08-2021, 09:56 AM
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