Is the Lincoln Mig Pak 180 a good welder? A store local to me has one on sale for $150 off. I'm not really sure if it's a good deal because there are so many welders out there. I've also heard that the Mig Pak series are the lower end models. Is it a good welder to have around the house?

 

Yea its good the automotive shop I work at used to do exhaust work and thats the welder we have. It has worked well for us.

 

A store local to me has a Lincoln Mig Pak 180 on sale for a $150 off, rgular $749 now $599. These are Canadian prices, I now you American guys get them cheaper. Is this a good welder? I've heard somewhere that the Mig Pak series is the lower end. I just don't want to spend that kind of cash on a welder only to need to buy a better one later on down the road. Maybe you guys know of some better ones in that price range. Here's all the stuff it comes with.

 

I used to build this welder when I worked for lincoln electric. I must say it is kick ass unit. I wish they would do that much savings here. my brother has one we and love it when we need it.

the quality control training we went thru was nuts. Every welder gets tested before it even touches a box If it was slightly out of spec it didn't get boxed at all. The parts are all heavy industrial setup. This one is setup for both mig and tig. so you do either. its a very versatile machine. I dont remember how thick it can weld, but I dont think you will have to worry about that. I think the max thinkness is 1/2inch steel.

 

Hmmm.......that's good to hear. Looks like I may go do some Christmas shopping for myself.

 

i havent used that one specificly but i have only used lincoln welders for there durability and reliability. plus i havent seen one portable welding business without out them on the back of their truck

 

I have this same welder, it's more of a welder than I need. You may want to get another mask / shield that is not hand held, they are a pain. Also a grinder to clean up your welds before anyone sees them, at least until you get better at it .

 

Good machine but replace the welding torch with a Tregaskiss " Tough Gun " torch. I work for Tregaskiss and we make the best welding torches in the world....check em' out

 

X2. My family recently bought a Craftsman 115 volt mig/flux welder for me to replace an aging BIG Miller that I have. Since I no longer do the heavy fab work that I used to do, I didn't need a large welder. I was unimpressed though, when I saw the 85 amp welder they got. MUCH to my surprise, it will weld 1/4" steel nicely. It is rated for 3/16", but with experience and finesse, I welded 1/4" without a problem. Although it is made in Italy, it has the Tweco style torch and tips which are readily available everywhere, even Wal Mart. I think it was 379. It included cart and all. I am still shocked at what it can do.

 

I have one of the higher end ones from Lincoln they are great. the major differences are how thick they can weld and duty cycle. the duty cycle is how much you can use it in an hour. I don't know what the duty cycle is on that welder. to clarify lets say it says it has a 30% duty cycle, you can use it for 30% of that hour (15-20 min straight) . At least that is how I understand it. so if you don't plan on doing a lot of thick welding at on time it should be a good unit. I went with the better unit because I was building an external cage on my cherokee and knew I would be welding a lot of thick steel for extended periods of time. we also built a rock buggy with it. If I had not been doing two big projects I would have gotten one like the one you are looking at. My friend used one like that to weld his spider gears in his dana 35 with 35" tires and never broke a weld. I hope that helps you make a decision.