It had to come home with me: Lincoln Weld Pak 180HD

[mccutter]

It had to come home with me: Lincoln Weld Pak 180HD...

I noticed THIS last week in the "Clearance" section of the local Home Depot for 25% off ($502). It is a "refurb"/"open box". I wasn't really needing a 180A 230v welder but having one could be handy.

Anyhow, they must have done their weekly price reduction and I noticed yesterday it was 50% off so into my cart it went at $335! A compatible SPOOLGUN can be had for less than $94.

I'm debating whether or not to get the spoolgun and put it work or should I flip it? I figure I could get a quick $500-$550 or so for it... What do you think?

[toprecycler]

Being the tool whore I am, Keep it. but then again, I am a recovering tool hoarder too. would make a nice gradation present for one of your kids.


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[Rufus]

I myself would keep it. For me it would come in handy for fixing push mower and lawn tractor decks. You never know when you might need it The home Depot up the street from me use to carry welders but not anymore. But on the other hand, like Brian said, it would make a nice graduation gift for one of your kids.

Thanks
Tim

[mccutter]

So I decided to hold on to the WP180 for the time being, especially if it can weld Al with the $93.50 (inc. S/H via FedEx Ground) spoolgun I ended up getting from New Bedford Welding Supply at their Ebay store. I received it within a week. I could have saved a buck or two going with someone else but I used to be a customer when I worked in Fairhaven so I guess I still am a customer. I'm still trying to dial-in the Buck-i and will review it when and if I get it to work.

The same company also makes the Badger for the same price that fits Miller welders. Of note is that the Buck-i takes the same tips/nozzle as the Magnum 100L mig gun the Lincoln came with (Tweco-style).

The Lincoln also came with a regulator and hose and workpiece lead. There was only a fluxcore nozzle and no tip so I had to pick those up and as it was a Friday night, I went to Lowe's who had a variety of sizes and also a nozzle. Everything in the pic was a little over $30. The nozzle that came with the spoolgun is also shown. It is about 1/8" shorter and considerably thinner than the one I picked up.

I had planned on leaving the Lincoln with the spooler hooked up. As it is a recent model, it came with the built-in spoolgun switch but the switch is available separate for $16. I used to have the SM100 spoolgun for my Miller 140 but it was just too underpowered and very "cold" welding until the weld "warmed-up". I figured the 180 would be able to do better and at least do 1/8-3/16 acceptably.

Eager to try out the spoolgun, I loaded the wire into it, plugged in the 180 to a 240V outlet, plugged in the switch connector to be able to jog the wire into the liner so I could put the tip and nozzle on. So I squeeze the trigger and all I hear is the transformers humming and the spoolgun motor not turning. Try installing the MIG gun and the same issue--nothing--drive motor not turning. I did happen to see some sparks fly out of the front grill once or twice so I'm like WTF!?! (con't)

[mccutter]

(con't) At this point, I could either return the welder to Home Depot for a refund or take it apart to see if it was something simple and return it if it was not something simple.

The cover pops right off with the removal of 8 cover screws and 1 handle screw. As soon as it was off the non-running "issue" was readily apparent and would explain the sparks out of the grill. It would appear that the guy responsible for tightening the nuts on the capacitor and buss-to-rectifier took the day off (see arrows). The nuts are tight in the picture but when I found them they were at the top of the studs not clamping anything! Keep in mind that this is a "RECON" but it is obvious they didn't recon shit, let alone test it!

Tightened the nuts, put the Lincoln back together, hooked up the MIG gun and C25 and did the welds shown. It will need a little dialing in but those were just scraps from the pile with NO surface prep...

[moe1942]

Well at least you know why it was returned before...

[digger doug]

Originally Posted by mccutter

Keep in mind that this is a "RECON" but it is obvious they didn't recon shit, let alone test it!

...

John C. Lincoln would be rolling over in his grave....

[Matt Shade]

I'll be interested to hear how that spool gun works. I have the lincoln magnum 100sg spool gun and I'm not very happy with it. They were having a special promotion and it was included for free with my power mig 216. Number one problem is it burns up contact tips in the blink of an eye. I buy a bag of 10 every time I go to the lws. Sometimes, when you are still getting it dialed in you only get one pull of the trigger and a tip is ruined.

2nd problem is it doesn't have a spool brake, so you can't run 5356 wire. 4043 is soft enough it runs ok, but 5356 unwinds like a clock spring and makes a rats nest.

I recently bought a power mig 210 as I've been getting request for portable work. I need to see how the 100SG spool gun works with it. Maybe it will work better on that unit since I can control the run in and a few other parameters.

I have enough occasions to weld aluminum fixing horse trailers and stuff that I can't bring myself to just shit can the 100sg, but at the same time I don't get enough work to justify spending 1200 bucks on the industrial version (magnum 250). I didn't realize anybody else made anything that is compatible.

[mccutter]

Originally Posted by Matt Shade

I'll be interested to hear how that spool gun works.

I'll post a separate review post when and if I get it dialed in. I don't have a problem returning it if it is a piece of shit. And I will likely rate it accordingly (ie: POS).

At first the spooler didn't work and I found the loose wires inside the Lincoln and tightened nuts. Then there was a "no gas" situation which turns out the lock screw in the drive assembly (that secures the MIG gun in place) was impeding the full insertion of the "pin". Backed the screw out a few more turns and the pin slid all the way in and gas flowed out the nozzle when the trigger was squeezed.

To someone not familiar with this spoolgun "system", the MIG gun is removed along with the trigger connector and the spoolgun is inserted and connected the same way. The pin is solid except for the channel machined into it to tap the gas from the solenoid. Arc volts are transferred into the pin same as with the MIG gun. Gas is transferred through the welder the same with either gun but the regulator/gauge will have to be swapped to the other gas when going from one to the other.

A spoolgun/MIGgun selector switch is either equipped stock (in my case) or can be added. The switch turns off the MIG gun drive roller, among other things. As the spoolgun connector is 4-wire versus the 2-wires for the MIG gun switch, I suspect the additional wires variably power the spoolgun drive motor according to the wirefeed setting on the welder.

It is not particularly "easy" to swap from MIG gun to spoolgun because there is the feeding and un-feeding (or cutting) of the wire in the MIG gun. Since either way the melt ball from the end of the wire must be cut and tip removed, I prefer to wind the wire back up onto the spool taking care not to let go of the wire and end up with a mess.

Matt, your story does not bode well for me (us) because once I had power and gas flowing and went to dial the spoolgun in, it promptly roasted the .035 tip that had been installed. I'm talking alloying here... The gun came with a couple .040 "spare" tips which also promptly seized up. Complicating the issue is that I do not have basic settings to refer to (on the cover) as they are for the Lincoln spooler like you have.

I'll take more pics once I get a chance to try it again. This spoolgun greatly resembles something worth $100 (or less) and the pictures will illustrate that...

I should note that I had the Miller Spoolmate 100 for my MM140 and it was a familiar setup in that is was nearly identical to the SM3035 I had with a MM210 with the exception of the MIG gun pin (like the Lincoln). Tips and nozzles were the same. The main issue was that the MM140 just didn't have enough poop for it and welds were less than ideal on material 1/8 and above.

The nozzle that came with the Buck-i is the one in the middle (fluxy on left). The Magnum/Tweco nozzle is on the right and about 1/8" longer and twice as thick. I'm going to try that one and hope that it will help with the melty tip issue. Lowe's did not have .040 tips so I might have to go to the LWS if the .035 give me issues.

PS: those tips from Lowe's were $7/10...

[Norm W]

I know I might have missed something in this thread but if the spool gun is for aluminum what polarity is it supposed to be? The last time I used a spool gun was 20 years ago. We didn't have the correct gas for it and had to try to use tri-mix. It held OK but the finish was frosted.