AC 225 said: (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.
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.
This post was edited by rankrank1 at 19:30:11 04/16/11 3 times.
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