Eastwood Mig175 and Plasma cutter

[BadBlue68]

Overall the welder works well and I have no complaints. I would buy it again.

That's what I was hoping to hear! I don't see myself out growing a welder like that, I will probably never need to weld anything thicker than the 175 can handle. Mostly just sub frame connectors, sheet metal, box control arms, stuff like that.

Unless someone who has owned the Eastwood 175 has had a bad experience with it I will probably order one soon, going to wait and see if Lethal289 chimes in about the one he ordered a while back.

 

[lethal289]

I love it! Its handled everything i've thrown at it with no issue. Im on my second Large bottle of gas. The only thing i can complain about, is don't waste the money on the eastwood cart. Its not really plasma cutter friendly without some modification. Also, its the harbor freight cart with the top shelf installed upside down. Its also double the price.

I've done a lot of things with it, including a kick ass work bench frame out of 4 x 6 angle iron 3/8" thick. I had no problems getting good penetration marks all the way through.

When it was on promo, basically getting a plasma for free, it was a hell of a deal.

 

[BadBlue68]

Well I guess that does it, I have seen your work Lethal (it was actually a post you made about your cowl hood that brought me to Stangfix) and I value your opinion, along with 68EFIvert's. I like seeing people who have actually used the machine and are happy with it, not just people who have read about it on the inter-web-net putting it down for not being a Lincoln/Miller. The only thing that would stop me from buying the 175 is if I can still get the Lincoln 180 I found on clearance for around $550 locally.

 

[Anonymous]

Well I guess that does it, I have seen your work Lethal (it was actually a post you made about your cowl hood that brought me to Stangfix) and I value your opinion, along with 68EFIvert's.

You have GOT to start aiming higher in life :confu

 

[lethal289]

Thanks, The cowl hood was a project i did before i owned this welder. I had a cheapy flux core welder, so i did the hood at work with my boss's miller machine. I believe it was a 212? It's a great machine, but i have yet to find a flaw with my eastwood.

Make sure you stock up on some extra tips and nozzles. They always seem to need replacing at the worst times. Are you local to Western PA?


Oh, and don't mind mark :Mark. He can hear you from his computer desk.

 

[BadBlue68]

I am a couple hours from Pennsylvania, I live in central Ohio so not a bad drive. I have been messing around with the cheapest of cheap flux welders which was frustrating and just plain crap. Mark probably heard me swearing at the thing from my garage the other day :yah

 

[stangg]

The only thing that would stop me from buying the 175 is if I can still get the Lincoln 180 I found on clearance for around $550 locally.

Unless the 180 is the 180C with the variable voltage setting, then you will be far better off with the Eastwood ($574)... at least in terms of features... the variable voltage setting is usually better than $100 more and the spool gun for welding aluminum is also included in the Eastwood welder (another $250).

I've been on the fence for about a year on upgrading my Lincoln 135 plus... My little 135+ has had been trouble free for the 10 years I've had it... I'm not really convinced I need the 180, but the price is almost too good to pass up when they have the big special with the plasma cutter too.

If I were in your shoes, I'd get the Eastwood 180 mainly because I think the variable voltage control is much better than the 4-5 tap settings... Can you imagine having a car that only had a 4 position throttle?

 

[BadBlue68]

If I were in your shoes, I'd get the Eastwood 180 mainly because I think the variable voltage control is much better than the 4-5 tap settings... Can you imagine having a car that only had a 4 position throttle?

I did not realize the Lincoln had such a limited voltage setting, glad you pointed that out! I don't know how much use I will get out of the aluminum spool torch, but I guess it could be one of those things I'll be glad to have someday (especially since it is basically free). Also, I noticed on their site the price is $499 and if you sign up for email newsletter you get free shipping. I guess in the end its the way to go!

 

[BadBlue68]

I've been on the fence for about a year on upgrading my Lincoln 135 plus... My little 135+ has had been trouble free for the 10 years I've had it... I'm not really convinced I need the 180, but the price is almost too good to pass up

I'm still a little on the fence about the Eastwood 175 vs 135. What kind of work have you done with your Lincoln 135? If 175 is overkill for my needs I would love to save the $200 for buying a tank.

 

[68EFIvert]

I started out with a 140 mug and now I have a smaller 140 and the larger 175. Since I weld on suspension parts I wanted the piece of mind of having the larger machine. I have not used the 140 since getting the 175 Mig. Get the larger machine now and you will be glad you spent the extra money in the long run.

 

[stangg]

I'm still a little on the fence about the Eastwood 175 vs 135. What kind of work have you done with your Lincoln 135? If 175 is overkill for my needs I would love to save the $200 for buying a tank.

About 95% of my build was done with the 135+, I also have an old Lincoln 225 stick welder that I use for structural stuff much over an 1/8" thick. I also used my brother in laws Lincoln 175 to do some of the more critical frame welds... primarily in places I didn't want to deal with stick weld slag, and spatter. The 175 did seem to lay a good flat bead with ease. My build thread about covers a good portion of the fab work I did on mine.
http://www.stangfix.com/testforum2/index.php/topic,11618.0.html

If you think you are going to like fabbing critical things that require a lot of strength, definitely go with the 175/180 machine just to have the added capability, but if you think 99% is going to be sheetmetal work, then the 135 will be plenty.

On the 135, You're not really stuck at the 0.105 max thickness that the publish in the users guide. I called Lincoln when I first got mine to see about running 0.035 solid wire with C02/Argon for some stuff greater than the .105" max thickness and they said it was ok. They did reccomend if I had cold joints to preheat the metal with a torch (Mapp gas, Oxy/Acetylene, propane) and the penetration will be much better, and it absolutely did help.

 

[lethal289]

If 175 is overkill for my needs I would love to save the $200 for buying a tank.

My first bottle was a find that somebody didn't want laying around anymore. I got it for free, I just had to pay for a refill. Approximately $50. I see them on craigslist time to time really cheap too.

 

[BadBlue68]

The 175 vs 135 desicion went down without a fight it seems, 175 it is! I have been keeping an eye on craigslilst for gas bottles, no luck yet but I will keep trying.

 

[RyanG85]

As stangg said, check to see if the lincoln is a 180C. That is a great price for an awesome machine. If just a plain 180, then go eastwood.

 

[BadBlue68]

Will do, I will be very surprised if it is still there. I will find out one way or another later this evening. Anyone know if Eastwood does any sales? I would hate to order my welder only for it to go on sale a month or two later. I did receive a free shipping offer from them for signing up for their news letter. Based on the price they list on their eBay add (about $550 with free shipping), the free shipping from their website will save about 50 bucks.

 

[68EFIvert]

They ran a great deal around Christmas last year. If you wait a month or two they may do the same thing again.

 

[BadBlue68]

Waiting is no issue, I have plenty of other projects to do in the mean time! I hope they do it again, it sounds like you guys got a fantastic price on the MIG and plasma last year. I already feel like a kid a Christmas, excited to be able to burn some steel :yah

 

[68EFIvert]

My welder isn't working right now. The wire feed assembly isn't working right. It feeds fast for the first .5 seconds and then slows down. Adjustments don't do a thing. I now get to see how good the 3 year warranty is. I will keep you guys posted.

The plasma cutter continues to work great. It was a great investment.

 

[68EFIvert]

They are sending me a new drive motor. I will report back to see if that fixes the problem. So far I am pleased with the customer service. I ordered new spot weld cutters today when i spoke to them about the welder problem and they are sending my new stuff in the the same box and covering shipping for the entire package. :thu

 

[BadBlue68]

Glad they are taking care you, I hope their service is top notch as I just received my Eastwood mig a few days ago :yah. I'm glad I waited a while as they had it on sale recently, $60 off and free shipping! Picked up a nice sized bottle of 75/25 last week, now I just need to gather some scrap to practice on.