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Hi akb, I've got an old (probably 30 years old, or more) Montgomery Ward Powr-Kraft AC/DC welder made by Century. It was virtually unused when I got it, and in almost perfect condition. It has a vertically sliding lever in the middle of the front face to change amperage. You squeeze the handles together like a caulking gun to move them, then let go to lock it in place---theoretically. In practice, the lever moves when you are welding, changing the amperage. I've had the welder open several times trying to fix the problem. I'm clever, and I can usually fix things, but not this. I have a jury-rig solution to hold the lever in place involving a bar clamp and a pinch clamp; it works, but it doesn't make my opinion of the welder's design failure any better. If the Century welder you are looking at uses this method of amperage selection, expect it to start causing problems, and decide if you're willing to put up with a bizarre looking fix. The welder's quality seems to be closer to the best welders in its class (Lincoln, Miller, & Hobart) than to the worst ones. It is possible to get it to perform well enough to do some good welding---and not drive yourself crazy doing so. Its open circuit voltage (the energy to strike the arc) is 72 volts, which is about 10% lower than optimum, but still pretty respectable. This means it's not too picky about what electrodes it will strike and run, which is one of the most frustrating problems of truly bad cheap welders. Second tier welders often try to compete with the top of the line ones by offering higher amperages. For example, my Century made welder claims to deliver 230 amps AC, 140 DC while Lincoln's classic buzzbox is rated 225/125. I'm not convinced that this is accurate, though. The Lincoln could definitely put out a little more heat on the DC side, but it's such an excellent welder (for the money), that you can make it do most of what you need within its limitations. You'll probably be satisfied with a Century welder, but unless you can save a substantial amount over the cost of a used Lincoln buzzbox, Miller Thunderbolt, or Hobart Stickmate, you might want to hold out for one of those really good machines. All the best, Stan
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