"Steve B" wrote in message
. ..
Pick a machine, there you go.

My Lincoln 175SP+ is kaput. $75 an hour for diagnosis, circuit boards up
to
$400. Other repairs as needed.

I must first admit to my own stupidity, buying only on brand loyalty, and
the situation at the time, which was an overabundance of cash. I admit
that if I had investigated it at all, I would have NEVER chose the 175.
But, I bought it, then it sat and sat and sat, with heart surgery,
traumatic
brain injury, two year recovery, broken back, yada yada yada.

Now, I need the machine, and it won't work. Warranty expired, but the
machine has been cranky since day one.

I called around, and located a Miller 175. My friend agreed to loan it to
me, as he has used it about three times in the last five years. Or
rather,
someone has used it. He can't get his gloves on the correct hands. He'd
probably sell it to me.

Anyhoo, I got it home, and WHAT A DIFFERENCE in construction and
component parts. Metal components in the drive train. Drive wheels like
the old Miller Matic 200. A nice metal tensioner with substantially more
metal than the Lincoln wingnut. A very nice hub tensioner vs. the $.15
wingnut of Lincoln. A MUCH higher quality gun. A larger box, and heavier.
Again, I admit to stupidity, as if I had looked closer and compared side
by side, Ronnie Milsap could have noticed the difference.

So, I'm back on track to finish my project.

Now, the interesting part. What Lincoln is willing to do to rectify the
situation. I don't expect anything, a lesson I learned early in life.
But
we have an open line of communication, at least whenever this rep gets
back
from his announced time off, which was yesterday.

Somebody kick me. I deserve this one.

Well, it seems that even if Lincoln "made it right", it still wouldn't be
THAT right, due to inherent quality diffs.
Few people get to do a/b comparisons on pricey stuff (or at all), tho, so
you are lucky in that sense.

Try to sell the lincoln at a "fair" price, put that towards your friend's
miller. May really work out to be much less of a loss than you thought.
Or mebbe, since he don't hardly use his miller, your friend would just swap
you, plus mebbe a li'l sumpn....

Pity about Lincoln.... its corporate/employee equity structure was kind of
admirable. Miller seems to have steadily gained market share.

But miller parts ain't cheap either.
--
EA







Steve