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Lincon welder bought today....Pic.....Deal?

F

FarmallRay

Member
I was an estate auction today with no intention of buying a welder because I have a nice little mig. But I came home with this one for $140.
That included the cart, two helmets,C clamp vice grips, 2 pair of welding gloves and some other small things. $140 I didnt think I did bad.
a37710.jpg
 
Though I'm far from an expert, I believe that you did OK, Ray. I've been watching for a good older Lincoln buzz box, myself.

Dean
 
I think they are $269 new .........thing about them is they are AC only. IMHO that makes these machines not so useful to anyone who is a welder.
 
You are correct. The going rate for a new one at Lowes, etc., is around $270 but these are the new design (low duty cycle, aluminum wound) units.

The older models are more desireable.

Dean
 
According to Lincoln the AC 225's have never had copper wires so there's no such thing as a more desireable one. They were always a low end AC machine with 20% duty cycle. There was/is an AC 225 "S" machine that is smaller and has less duty cycle though. The AC 225's are better than some other low end AC machines though. $140 with the other stuff is about the going rate. The machine alone typically sells for around $100 used. The one in the picture looks like it has larger size and longer cables which would cost a little bit to buy if you had to buy them. It was a good price, not a steal though. It will compliment a smaller MIG machine.
 
I've seen those referred to as the "Tombstone Lincoln"- there's a zillion of them around, and most seem happy with them.
 
I've had my Lincoln AC225 for 32 years. I paid $117 for it at Quality Farm & Fleet. It has done everything I have needed in those 32 years with no problems, doesn't owe me a dime. I've used better welders, but not for $117.
 
Whether it's a low end aluminum wound 20% welder or not, it's one rugged machine. My AC 225 is 40 years old and still welds just fine. I've had it stinking hot more times than I can count and it still works. The selector switch is shot now and I haven't taken the time to replace it, but it's more than earned it's keep in my farm shop. I welded many cattle and hog gates together with that thing, along with a lot of other stuff. Jim
 
(quoted from post at 22:17:20 04/16/11) According to Lincoln the AC 225's have never had copper wires so there's no such thing as a more desireable one. They were always a low end AC machine with 20% duty cycle. There was/is an AC 225 "S" machine that is smaller and has less duty cycle though. The AC 225's are better than some other low end AC machines though. $140 with the other stuff is about the going rate. The machine alone typically sells for around $100 used. The one in the picture looks like it has larger size and longer cables which would cost a little bit to buy if you had to buy them. It was a good price, not a steal though. It will compliment a smaller MIG machine.
Click to expand...

Agreed that the Lincoln AC225 never had true copper windings. Some of the older AC225 were copper clad inside which fooled people into thinking real copper.

Disagree on your duty cycle statement: The duty cyle is actually 100% on the older AC225 like pictured at the 75 amp setting (reason why it is circled) and 20% at every other setting. I can only assume the newer AC225's are the same but do not know for sure. Regardless, many welders have welded with total disregard to duty cycle and never hurt these units - darn near indestructable.

As for price paid: They go for $75-$150 on Craigslist for the AC only units. The cheaper ones are usually very rough. You did okay as your welder looks clean and you got some extras to boot. Plus, I would rather have one of the older AC225's like yours than a brand new one anyway as many people do claim the older ones work better. Your welder will never depreciate lower than it is now so you will never lose any money on it. It will still be working for your grandkids.

If all you currently have is a mig welder, then this welder is worth keeping around even if you never even use it to weld. Add a Twin Carbon Arc torch to it (make for free or buy cheap) and you have an almost free source of intense heat to bend metal, braze, silver solder, flame fill weld, etc. Twin Carbon arc can be used flameless style to heat frozen nuts which is great for paint sensitive areas. Twin carbon arc actually can burn up to 1000 degrees hotter than oxy/acetylene without the cost of buying tanks and expensive gas. Twin Carbon arc works best on AC power too. Twin carbon arc will NOT cut metal, but you can use your AC225 to cut metal or pierce holes by simply sticking 6011 in the stinger and crankin up the amps. Granted cuts will not be plasma quality, but perfect for backyard shop. Hard to find a lower cost way to cut metal.

So for $140 you got a welder that will more than likely outlive you. Can actually do more than weld alone since it can be used to heat metal or to cut metal as well. Plus you got one of the more desirable older units that may actually work better than a brand new one. In short, you did quite okay. I have an older AC225 just like yours pictured and a Lincoln SP-135 Mig welder. If I could have only one welder it would be the AC225. I can simply do more with it and do it cheaper too.
 
i think ya done good. that welder is a tough old gal. your great grand kids will prolly still be using it. here is a pic of my old "tombstone" and it still going strong.

<a href="http://s121.photobucket.com/albums/o234/glennster_01/?action=view&amp;current=DCP01915.jpg" target="_blank">
DCP01915.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket
</a>
Untitled URL Link
 
These selector switches get dirty so take a close look.I worked for a farmer who had a 225 in a dirt floor shop.It acted up. a good cleaning fixed it.I bought one in 1965 for 93 bucks.Dont push the duty cycle, you can burn the tranformer.
 
Theres a place under the 225 for an axle.A carriage bolt servs as a front foot.The leads can be stored in the handles.The fan bushings can use a drop of oil once in a while.
 
Hay glennster
Here's my Lincon that my Grandfather bought new. I also have a Lincon Mig for sheet metal fab work, but this old gal does the heavy welding. I do have to replace the cables someday though. Much too much electrical tape covering cracks in the rubber coating on them.
a37734.jpg
 
Just because it can be used at a higher duty cycle on a lower setting, doesn't mean it isn't rated as a 20% duty cycle machine. Otherwise every machine made would say 100% duty cycle. I think the AC 225 can be used at 100% for only one 10 minute period and then has to cool off. Duty cycle isn't continuous. "Darn near indestructable". Maybe in a farm or hobby shop with occassional use it could last a long time. In a welding shop it could be toast in 5 minutes.

A lower cost way to cut metal? How about a thin cutting disc in a grinder. Faster, highly accurate and much cheaper than using a 220 volt welder. Everybody that welds should have a grinder. A sawzall does a nice job too.

I made a slight error on the smaller version AC 225. It's an AC 225 GLM with lower duty cycle rating than the standard AC 225.
 
I bought a used one 40 years ago for $50 and it is still going. It set for 15 years after I got it. before I had a plase to use it. Since retiring has had a lot of use. The price sounds good. Enjoy the use of a good welder.
 
wow they could be twins!!!! i have 3 0r 4 rolls of electrical tape on my cables too!! must have been something in the owners manual about how to fix cracked insulation!!
 
At least it's made in the US. Can't be too sure anymore. Not a steal, but a good buy. Should last a long time. stan
 
(quoted from post at 01:44:24 04/17/11) Just because it can be used at a higher duty cycle on a lower setting, doesn't mean it isn't rated as a 20% duty cycle machine. Otherwise every machine made would say 100% duty cycle. I think the AC 225 can be used at 100% for only one 10 minute period and then has to cool off. Duty cycle isn't continuous. "Darn near indestructable". Maybe in a farm or hobby shop with occassional use it could last a long time. In a welding shop it could be toast in 5 minutes.

A lower cost way to cut metal? How about a thin cutting disc in a grinder. Faster, highly accurate and much cheaper than using a 220 volt welder. Everybody that welds should have a grinder. A sawzall does a nice job too.

I made a slight error on the smaller version AC 225. It's an AC 225 GLM with lower duty cycle rating than the standard AC 225.
Click to expand...

The 100% duty cyle rating is at 75 amps only. Even at a lower 60 amps or 40 amps setting you are back to 20% duty cycle rating again. I forget the exact details, but it has something to do with how the transformer is wired at that one particular setting - something like it is almost a straight pass through the larger primary windings and the smaller secondary windings are bypassed at that setting so that the duty cycle goes to 100% rating at that one setting only.

I doubt any true professional welding shop would be considering a AC225. It was and always has been a hobby, homeowner, farmer, very light industrial type machine and nothing more. Lincoln markets it accordingly in its literature. It will hold up fine to that market if used as recommended.

As for cutting: If you do not have other cutting tools it will work both fast and cheap for some applications - there are even instructions in the Lincoln manual for recommended technique to use when cutting/piercing metal. Really thin sheet metal can be cut with almost zero slag with practice and some ingenuity by providing a straight edge guide. I do have a 4.5 angle grinder with 0.045" disc that I also use for cutting (FWIW thin discs seem to have increased in price within the last couple of months by approximately 30%). Also have a sawzall which I use on steel and wood, but quality blades are not cheap for it either. I also have a chop saw that I use sometimes, but it is mostly useless on anything except new stock - not so good on an item that already exists.

All my cutting tools have their place - even my manual hacksaw. I try to choose the method that will be easiest on me as the operator, provide my required results, in conjuction with being the cheapest in regards to consumables destroyed in the process since consumables cost me money to replace. In a backyard repair shop, low cost is frequently a necessity. In a business for profit environment, the needs are sometimes very different - quality, appearance, and speed are much more important so better more expensive equipment is very easily justified. In the business world the cost for better equipment can be spread over numerous product lines so it becomes affordable to a business in that regard.
 
Like they say if a person feels like they got a deal, then it's a deal!! You got it at a good price with all the extras that's for sure. My next one will be a small mig!
 
There a step by step description of cleaning up the 225 switch on the Welding Web.mfg products section >Lincoln.Tunda wolfs post on page 14.Lots of pix.I didnt print it out because Ive done many plus my ink supply is low.Its worth printing for Lincoln 225 owners so they can fix the dirty switch problem.I dont have a link.Ive told others that crabbed that they were lucky Ive remembered where where I saw it.
 
Gents,
Got one like it for my birthday back in 74. Still beating it over the back. Put a full bridge rectifier on it around 80. Big differance,
it would burn 7014 goood on AC but much better using DC. Would never burn 7018
 
"IMHO that makes these machines not so useful to anyone who is a welder."

Methinks if you must have a DC welder to make an acceptable weld, you aren't much of a welder.

Brad
 
As long as you got a working welder I think you got a decent deal.
The old Linc's are not for everyone... but they are one tough old AC crackerbox.... and if that does the job then there's no need spending more money.

Rod
 
Of course duty cycle is continous. It's expressed as a percentage of time the machine can operate; this being 20% at maximum amperage. So for any 10 minute period it can weld at full power for 2 minutes.
I'm not sure if Linc recomends an increasing duty cycle to 100% at 75 amps or not... but that IS how Miller rates their welders. What is 20% at 225 amps gradually increases to 100% somewhere around 75 amps.
I've always understood the linc to be 100% duty at 75 amps or below.
In practice there were a lot of them that burned 7018 AC 1/8" steady for hours on end with the only rest being the time it took to change rods and chip welds...
I know that's how mine got treated and it never bothered it on bit.

Rod
 
As I recall...those Lincoln welders sold for
under $100, in the Sixties..when minimum wage
was about $1.05 per hour!
 
I think you did good. I did about the same thing as you did a couple of years ago. $125 for the tombstone, mask and extra leads and $75 for some cutting torch bottles and torch. I did get some old rods that had sat out for to long, but worked great for my practicing running a bead since it had been 25 years since ag class.

By the way, the cutting bottles this size is nice for moving around, but dang you can't work for very long if you're doing allot of cutting.

welder.jpg
 
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