http://www.mylincolnelectric.com/Cat...21=on&42422=on

one is tap and one is continuous control. is that trigger? like one is on/off and the other is variable? or am i way off here.

 

The difference is in the level of adjustability, power output should be identical. To be honest you probably will never need the fine control that the continuous offers, especially if the Tap offers 6 or more settings.

For instance the continuous version would allow you to pick a setting between what taps 4 and 5 offer. It's a nice to have feature but I would hardly say it's a must have feature.

Like my 180 Amp HF special has settings of:

35 amps, 45 amps, 60 amps, 80 amps, 100 amps, 140 amps

Plenty of settings and roughly the same output as a lincoln 180T. Really nice migs let you adjust voltage, amperage, slope, burn-back and wire speed. Mine has burn-back and slope, but uses a T for voltage and amperage.

Mark

PS - Seeing as the price delta is only $75, I would get the continuous version. It's worth the $75 difference.

 

duh. lol ok i get it now. thanks. Yeah i'm still deciding on what to get i just ran across that and didn't see on any of the cheaper brands. with something like a welder i don't want to buy one and wish i got a better one. i know i want mig capable and 220v, that's really where i'm at right now.

question though, about your hf 180amp model's amp settings, how come the highest is 140a?

 

It's what the thing does... I dunno, seems as hot as any other 180A Mig machine. I would shell out the few extra dollars though for a good welder and in my mind that means getting the 180C over the 180T.

I purchased the HF (which I am extremely happy with) as a supplement for my Lincoln 175 Square Wave TIG.

Mark

 

while we're on subject is there anything you'd recommend? i was thinking i'd probably have to spend around ~600 or so. but if you really like your HF i imagine that's a whole bunch cheaper. i figure i'll probably never need more than 180A.

 

They don't make the one I have anymore... which is a shame. The 170A which is essentially the same thing is now overpriced at $549.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=43025

Funny thing is with some quick searching you find the same exact welder for $299. LMAO. These people are too much.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=93793

It takes some looking sometimes. Now I will say this, you do get what you pay for, the Lincoln is easier to add a spool gun to for aluminum welding and is of higher overall quality. The feed will likely be a little smoother when you first pull the trigger, that was the most obvious difference between my welder and the $1200 Millermatic 180 that I used on a regular basis. The Miller was just so much smoother on startup(It was also 3x the cost...). I could weld equally well with both machines, it just was an adjustment in how they started feeding the wire out.

I will say this, for $299, this welder cannot be beaten in it's price range. However when compared with a $650 welder... The Lincoln is the superior machine without regard to cost. If I was buying one and only one welder I would purchase the Lincoln. In my case this was a second welder, as I said I am very happy with it.

Mark

 

what do you think of this deal. there was a thread a little while back and some members here seemed to love their clarke. it's also close to me and i could pick it up if they let me

http://cgi.ebay.com/Clarke-180EN-Mig...QQcmdZViewItem

 

It's a chinese welder IIRC, but it looks pretty good. I would expect it to work well and the price is definately right. I believe it uses the same transformer than is in the 170A HF welder. I would probably pull the trigger on it if you can pickup with no shipping costs.

It comes with the regulator too which is a nice bonus. I have not heard anything bad about them. Thing is that most of these welders really work about the same as the technology is pretty basic. It's all about voltage, amperage, gas and metal... not a real tricky deal to be honest.

Mark

 

Stop by if you want to check out my Lincoln sp175 plus. It's continuous voltage, but honestly I'd probably never know the difference if I had the tapped version. I like to know I have options if I ever want to fine tune my weld. I just picked this welder up new for just over 500 bucks. Deals used 220 volt mig welders pop up all the time. The clarke welders look good and probably will do just fine for hobby projects. I'm the type of guy though who doesn't mind spending a little extra dough for name brand tools. HF seems to be hit or miss from my research. Also, I think you're making a great decision going 220 over 120 the first time around.

 

Yeha i think its a good call to going with 220 the first go around, after using the 220 at school, its been so nice. Its alot easier to learn with alot of heat, just dont be a afriad to turn it up practice and burn through alot of stuff.

 

oh i'm sure i'll **** some **** up. i work for mercedes and we put exhaust pipes in the trash all time so i have plenty of stuff to play with. only thing is it's all stainless so i'd need different wire and gas but no big deal.

 

i picked up the cheapest lincoln ever and now wish i had picked up a better-featured no-name unit. the lincoln is nice, easy to find parts for, but so what if you can't weld well with it.

it has 4 taps and is only like 100 amps max but i always need somewhere in between the taps. maybe 6 is enough.

 

By the way (except for aluminum and exotic metals) you can pretty much use pure CO2 for welding, CO2 is cheaper than the CO2/Argon blend, and works well for all steels. Switching out rolls is pretty easy. Yes, I know that pure CO2 is not the "optimal" gas for either SS or Mild Steel, but it does work well enough to generate good welds.

Mark

 

Ya, the bottom end Lincolns are not better than the upper level chinese welders. For instance that $299 Clarke unit is probably as good as any welder Lincoln makes under $500. If you look at the Lincoln 180C, it starts to become a different ball game, but not till you get into some of the $1000+ units do the name brands really bring alot to the table. If you can avoid a 115v welder, do so! 115v Welders are just underpowered for the job.

Mark