HELP! Miller welder

[lehman live edge slab]

An ac buzz box is a far cry from a DC generator welder those buzz boxes are a waste imo much rather have a Lil flux core machine definitely would not recommend an ac only machine

For home use an ac/dc Lincoln or miller buzz box is plenty for most. Yes the starting voltage is low but they can make nice welds and for most projects are plenty adequate. My Lincoln copper wound 225/125 ac/dc buzz box got its 20% duty cycle pushed to the limit several times and worked great.

 

[Al Smith]

Much ado about buzz boxes but for most people they do just fine .I really can't imagine most posters welding high pressure pipelines or submarine pressure hulls . It's usually something made of mild steel and most of the time it's rusty steel .A buzz box using fast freeze rods like 6011,6012 or 6013 will get the job done .If you want to lay down more faster use 7014,7024 iron powder rods . 7018 for AC/DC does fine but don't get them mixed up with standard 7018 DC rods .You'll find out real quickly that's not what you want .

 

[Junk Meister]

Much ado about buzz boxes but for most people they do just fine .I really can't imagine most posters welding high pressure pipelines or submarine pressure hulls . It's usually something made of mild steel and most of the time it's rusty steel .A buzz box using fast freeze rods like 6011,6012 or 6013 will get the job done .If you want to lay down more faster use 7014,7024 iron powder rods . 7018 for AC/DC does fine but don't get them mixed up with standard 7018 DC rods .You'll find out real quickly that's not what you want .

It is surprising how rare the 7018 "DC" rod has become. Now one has to really look for it .

 

[lehman live edge slab]

It is surprising how rare the 7018 "DC" rod has become. Now one has to really look for it .

Because there’s really no reason to buy the straight dc version anymore, the ac/dc stuff has been tweaked and runs well on most machines. My rod of choice is still atom arc but Lincoln and Hobart are fine also but around home I’ve used about all brands. Local fleet store sells Hobart rod snd Washington alloy rod, believe it or not the wa alloy actually runs really nice.

 

[fredx]

There is a big difference between the atom arc rods and the lincoln excaliber-100 out of 100 welders will pick the excaliber rod
Try them side by side and you will see. Oh- the atom arc are cheap, thats why companys furnish them and not the excaliber.

 

[lehman live edge slab]

That’s your opinion and it’s fine because Excalibur is a decent rod but in no way is atom arc cheap, the only rod we used on boiler jobs when I worked for the boilermakers was atom arc pretty much so no not 100 out of 100 welders would choose Lincoln. They sent the Lincoln back to get atom arc on most of the boiler jobs it showed up on. Most of the welds were 5p or 5p+ root done with Lincoln or esab wirh an atom arc 7018 fill cover or tig root and 7018 the rest of the way out. I’ve welded plenty with both rods since i started doing it for my job in 1998.

 

[fredx]

I worked at a nuclear facility and also couple of coal fired boilers and welded more xxs tubes, steam drum headers , economizer & water wall tubes and high pressure lines through out these facilities than I care to remember , for 35 yrs (started in '82 @ the power plants ) . and its not even close in quality of the two rod brands. Never did I encounter anyone who would take the cheap atom arc rods over the excalibur, the only people who wanted the cheap atom arc were stingy mgmt superviors who were worried about their budget.
I am guessing you just want to go against the grain here-- thats fine with me

 

[lehman live edge slab]

I worked at a nuclear facility and also couple of coal fired boilers and welded more xxs tubes, steam drum headers , economizer & water wall tubes and high pressure lines through out these facilities than I care to remember , for 35 yrs (started in '82 @ the power plants ) . and its not even close in quality of the two rod brands. Never did I encounter anyone who would take the cheap atom arc rods over the excalibur, the only people who wanted the cheap atom arc were stingy mgmt superviors who were worried about their budget.
I am guessing you just want to go against the grain here-- thats fine with me

Not against the grain at all, the 1980’s Lincoln 7018 is completely different than the Excalibur rod. Atom arc is the same price as Lincoln and we have different opinions because we learned differently in different parts of the country. Half my relatives were welders in either the fitters, boilermakers and iron workers. One has owned his own fab shop for 40 years, so it’s all a matter of opinion and how you learned. Just like I bet the Lincoln is the popular machine in your area but up here miller is preferred or old Hobart. Nobody is wrong it’s all opinion because they all work or it wouldn’t exist. So if having a different opinion than you is going against the grain I guess I am then.

 

[fredx]

I will agree to disagree Just a FYI- 90% of the machines on our site were millers with a occasional Lincoln idlearc

 

[Junk Meister]

I don't weld in the field no where close to the conditions Ya'LL have, but I started using 7018 by the 50# tin in the mid 70's . It was sold at beards salvage as excess/reject/scrap from Cooper Nuclear, so CHEAP. I had a Century AC/DC buzz box when they first came out. It was a copper wound X former rectified to do DC. Sears claimed a lot of things but weighed a LOT less (Aluminum wound)
One thought crossed my mind reading all of the comments above. My G'Pa swore by Cast Iron sewer pipe, my Dad was plastic PVC) My Dad swore by FLARE Fit CU, I Preferred sweat, Now Pex is cutting in on the action as well as Shark Bite fitting, OLD farmers back in the day were vehement that a steel lugged Wheel was far better than Rubber, A FELLER gets familiar with what he knows ('Tis a NO BRAINER). and the side blinders keep the squirrels/distractions out of sight.
Forgot to mention It took a while to buy my first wire welder (MillerMatic 250) And I Have to confess being a bit "SET in My WAYS".
No real logic to my post but I Guess the point I am trying to make is " Turpentine ,Corn Cobbs and And Cats Arses" work for you I need No further explanations. My coffee is gone GOTTA GO do something productive..

 

[fearofpavement]

I'd tell the seller you'll pay $600 as is or you'll pay $1000 if he gets it in operating condition. That will make it clear to him how big of a difference there is between an operating unit and a project/parts unit.

 

[drf256]

I worked at a nuclear facility and also couple of coal fired boilers and welded more xxs tubes, steam drum headers , economizer & water wall tubes and high pressure lines through out these facilities than I care to remember , for 35 yrs (started in '82 @ the power plants ) . and its not even close in quality of the two rod brands. Never did I encounter anyone who would take the cheap atom arc rods over the excalibur, the only people who wanted the cheap atom arc were stingy mgmt superviors who were worried about their budget.
I am guessing you just want to go against the grain here-- thats fine with me

I’d have to fully agree with you. I am a hobbyist and by no means a pro. Inadvertently mixed some Lincoln 7108AC rod in with the Excalibur I had. Couldn’t understand how in the world I went from a super readable puddle to none and then back again. Atom arc is pretty good rod, but IMHO, nothing compares to Excalibur. It’s worth the price.

 

[lehman live edge slab]

I’d have to fully agree with you. I am a hobbyist and by no means a pro. Inadvertently mixed some Lincoln 7108AC rod in with the Excalibur I had. Couldn’t understand how in the world I went from a super readable puddle to none and then back again. Atom arc is pretty good rod, but IMHO, nothing compares to Excalibur. It’s worth the price.

I do believe it has a lot to do on what you learn to weld with for rod, Fredx has his opinion and that’s ok and while he thinks I’m only going against the “grain” to do it I’m not. I learned to weld with atom arc we use both atom arc and Excalibur at the mine I work at, but when I was in the boiler makers with a lot of my uncles and cousins we pretty much used strictly atom arc. They did use Excalibur on a couple of pre job tests and the exact same group of guys tested with both Excalibur and atom arc because my uncle was running the job and wanted atom arc but the contractor bought Excalibur because they got a special price. After the X-ray tests came in the same group had 3-4 more bad pictures with the Excalibur. May just be this group had used the atom arc so long that they were used to its specific traits more than Lincoln or maybe it was all in their heads doesn’t matter because the Lincoln got sent back and they got a pallet of atom arc. Seems to be a ford/chevy situation and they both are good rods to say one is utter garbage is a biased statement because they all meet aws standards and can make an excellent weld in the hands of a skilled tradesman.

 

[ErnieG]

So just an update to this I decided to go with a 220volt esab 180i for the garage .
Everything I read and the reviews were really good and I think it'll be just what I need for my repair and hobby needs .


Thanks
Ernie

 

[fredx]

So just an update to this I decided to go with a 220volt esab 180i for the garage .
Everything I read and the reviews were really good and I think it'll be just what I need for my repair and hobby needs .
View attachment 459592

Thanks
Ernie

Not a bad choice @ all for a home owner thats not using it on a daily or semi daily / weekly basis
The main thing you want to look for when buying a "new" machine in my opinion is the duty cycle- and for 99.9999999% of homeowners - they dont need a machine with a high duty cycle. Did you happen to check out the weldmonger or even 6061.com & Pacific arc sites?- these guys offer good tested machines if your not super up to speed on welding.

 

[fredx]

I do believe it has a lot to do on what you learn to weld with for rod, Fredx has his opinion and that’s ok and while he thinks I’m only going against the “grain” to do it I’m not. I learned to weld with atom arc we use both atom arc and Excalibur at the mine I work at, but when I was in the boiler makers with a lot of my uncles and cousins we pretty much used strictly atom arc. They did use Excalibur on a couple of pre job tests and the exact same group of guys tested with both Excalibur and atom arc because my uncle was running the job and wanted atom arc but the contractor bought Excalibur because they got a special price. After the X-ray tests came in the same group had 3-4 more bad pictures with the Excalibur. May just be this group had used the atom arc so long that they were used to its specific traits more than Lincoln or maybe it was all in their heads doesn’t matter because the Lincoln got sent back and they got a pallet of atom arc. Seems to be a ford/chevy situation and they both are good rods to say one is utter garbage is a biased statement because they all meet aws standards and can make an excellent weld in the hands of a skilled tradesman.

For me- my opinion formed over my career for a very long period of time--

Sending back the excalibers and replacing them with atom arcs would be like sending back a delminico and telling them you want salsisbury steak instead

But thats just me--- obviously others have their own opinion formed by their exp.

 

[Al Smith]

What has not been mentioned is 7018 ,no matter who makes it has a tendency to absorb moisture . This can really screw you up .You can store the rods in plastic holders which helps some .However the best method is a warming oven to drive out the moisture . At my shop I store all the rods in an old refridgerator .At the home I just give them a little toasting in the oven if I have any amount to do with a buzz box ..I also have an old oven at the shop .---more

 

[fredx]

My dad use to keep all of his rods in an old fridge also with a light bulb in there on 24/7 , 365, though the 5P's didnt need to be kept out of moisture, he kept them there anyways. @ work everything was kept in rod ovens after opening the can except the 5P's. Most of the rods were the low-hi's 70's,80's or 90's ,some inconel, and a few special alloy rods like nickel for cast.

 

[Al Smith]

It doesn't hurt to warm up any rod like fast freeze 6010-11-12-13 plus nickle if to use it to weld cast iron .On the nickle in my case it was being at the right place at the right time .In my case I must have close to 90 pounds I got for nothing once used to repair faulty cast iron engine blocks .Since cast iron was no longer used they threw out the nickle and I got it all with a scrap pass . Winner winner ,chicken dinner-----

 

[lehman live edge slab]

Have a cabinet at home that’s been insulated and has a 100 watt bulb in it. Seems to stay warm enough in there.