mongke wrote:

Hi all

I've been looking around for an used welder. A certain guy advised me
against tombstone welders, stating that due to usage the amps selector is
often worn and unreliable. Since this guy works for a Miller distributor his
opinion has to be biased but in fairness I have seen dozens of Lincolns at
second hand joints yet very rarely a Miller.
Any suggestions please?

I've seen a dozen or so buzzbox-type welders, some quite ancient. They have
a saturating transformer core. There's a big transformer winding and the
core is a slider (that's what is moving when you move the lock knob). I've
heard of these wearing a bit and banging around some in older units, but I've
never yet heard of unreliable. Wiring can get old, cooling fans can wear out,
but all that is replaceable. I wouldn't pass on a Lincoln tombstone if you
found one cheap.

However, I own a Miller Thunderbolt 225 AC/DC unit. I chose it over the Lincoln
tombstone welder for just one reason, now moot. When I bought mine, the Miller
had proper tapered holes for detachable leads, included. The Lincoln tombstones,
then and now, had permanently fixed leads. I like to coil up my welding leads
and hang them on the wall, and put my welder itself neatly into its spot without
it having wiring spilling over the floor all around it. I would choose my little
Miller buzzbox again -- in fact, I did! A few years ago my buddy talked me into
selling him my Miller and I went out and replaced it with a brand new one, same
exact model. I never used the wheel kit or the included power cord. I put on
what seemed like a proper power cord, with the plug I wanted, and I built a
little welder cage out of 1" square tubing. The cage is on casters, and it
bolts to 4 holes on the very bottom of the welder. Much much easier to move
around now.

But now the Millers have integral leads too. Old Airco units, old Oxyweld units,
they were all cool little welders. I'd buy one with DC capability, though. I
never ever use mine on AC. (Maybe I should!!) - GWE