Weldpak 100

[lobsterdmb]

Anyone have a Lincoln Electric Weldpak 100 welder? Looking for opinions on it. Unfortunately 220V is not an option right now with where I live. I am also on a tight budget. It is $325 at Home Depot. I am looking at it as a machine to learn on and do small projects with (roof rack, raised shock mounts, and eventually maybe a rear bumper). TIA

John

 

[Mike L]

Anyone have a Lincoln Electric Weldpak 100 welder? Looking for opinions on it. Unfortunately 220V is not an option right now with where I live. I am also on a tight budget. It is $325 at Home Depot. I am looking at it as a machine to learn on and do small projects with (roof rack, raised shock mounts, and eventually maybe a rear bumper). TIA

John

I know a couple people with that welder and I haven't heard of any problems. You can even upgrade to gas later on, as I beleive the kit with hosaes and regulators is @ $100. Get one, they're pretty easy to learn on.

-Mike

 

[LBEXJ]

That's the same welder I bought this spring. I have done a lot of welding with it ... rear bumper, spring perches, shock brackets, and ladder bar. It's not recommended for welding .25" thick steel, but I just ran the welds slow and hot ... so far they've held up fine.

I like it, but I'm no welder by trade either, so take this recommendation for what it's worth. The 110V and flux core wire works for me because it's convienient.

Les

 

[CheapXJ]

get the 135, the 100 is freakin garbage.

 

[ACE]

I have the Weldpack 100 I got for really cheap as well as the 135. Of course I haven't seen the 135 for about 2 years since my brother borrowed it. I've been doing everything lately on the 100 with .035 flux core wire and it actually has really good penetration. The bad part about it is the duty cycle, no long beads possible without stopping often to let it cool. It's not really designed to do manufacturing.

If you had to just get one 115v unit, I'd save up and spring for the 135 at the very least.

 

[biscuitboy87]

i use that machine for small jobs and it works fine. as your skills grow you may actually outgrow that machine so a 135 should be considered. i am using .035 fluxcore and it seems to be welding 3/16 well enough.

 

[massxj]

i have had one for a few years and it has done well but for the bigger stuff im getting into now i need somthing better. slow and hot has worked never really had it shut down on me just a few times but i was running 4 foot beads on 1/8 inch

 

[Wiley Coyote]

John, It’s not what you were asking for, but I have been using the 100-amp version of this for the last couple of months:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=33224

It’s small and light enough that I’ve seriously considered throwing it in the back of my XJ to use on the trails. It runs just fine on household current and a small generator, I haven’t tried it off of my inverter yet. My 100 amp version will weld two 1/8” pieces of steel together, but that is max. I’ve used the crap out of it and not had any problems. As long as you aren’t trying to weld thick stuff or go more than 30 mins at a time at max power it works great. It’s not the best thing out there, but I don’t think that you can beat it for the money. If you plan on doing some heavy-duty production type stuff spend the big bucks and buy a good MIG welder. If you just want to play around with some small projects in your garage spend the $50 on a stick welder and have a blast.

 

[lobsterdmb]

According to the specs, the weldpak 100 can do 1/4" thick steel. I wanted to be able to do up to 1/4", figuring that is probably enough for a bumper.


John

 

[Beezil]

trust me.

SAVE YOUR MONEY

if you are on a tight budget, then you cannot AFFORD to be cheap.

affluent folks are the ones who are able to make purchasing mistakes, such as buying many items before they arrive at the ones that work for them.

you should BUY ONCE.

don't go off and buy a 325 dollar welder just because you've managed to scrape up 325 dollars.

wait until you have 900 bucks and buy a 175-210 amp 220 VAC welder, and it will be the last welder you ever buy.

I wouldn't rely on a 100amp weld pack to weld coat hangers together.

 

[Sarge]

What about for those of us who will never have a need for something capable of rebuilding the entire XJ with? I've been looking and interested but all i would most likely ever need a welder for is repairing my sewer cables, minor work on a motorcycle and possibly making custom brackets for the bike. Would the 100 or 135 handle that well enough? Plus I've got no access to 220 except in my upstairs apartment and I'm thinking I really don't wanna be welding there!

Sarge

 

[lobsterdmb]

What about for those of us who will never have a need for something capable of rebuilding the entire XJ with? I've been looking and interested but all i would most likely ever need a welder for is repairing my sewer cables, minor work on a motorcycle and possibly making custom brackets for the bike. Would the 100 or 135 handle that well enough? Plus I've got no access to 220 except in my upstairs apartment and I'm thinking I really don't wanna be welding there!

Sarge

exactly right.... I was thinking something similar. I could save all I want, but I still won't have access to 220v. I am just looking for something to meet my needs (i.e a rear bumper and raised shock mounts). The 135 is also an option for me.

 

[Beezil]

exactly right.... I was thinking something similar. I could save all I want, but I still won't have access to 220v. I am just looking for something to meet my needs (i.e a rear bumper and raised shock mounts). The 135 is also an option for me.

anyone who has access to 120 has access to 220

 

[Mike L]

Don't you just need two 120v sockets, and then combine them? (to put it simply)

-Mike

 

[LBEXJ]

Don't you just need two 120v sockets, and then combine them? (to put it simply)

-Mike

As I understand it, a 220V single phase circuit contains two 110 legs and a neutral.

Les

 

[Mike L]

Thats why I said "to put it simply". I assume that is also why Beezil said "if you have 110, then you have 220"

-Mike

 

[LBEXJ]

trust me .... I wouldn't rely on a 100amp weld pack to weld coat hangers together.

Beezil ... You are speaking from experience, but that is one from someone who welds for a living. I bought this same welder because it meets my needs. If I did a lot of welding here at home, or if I did it for a living, yes I'd agree with you. But common sense tells me that because most of the work I am going to do is small and maybe a couple of times a year, this welder is adequate. Most people do not need to spend a bunch of money on something they will only occasionally use. That is a waste and overkill in my opinion ... about like using a 30-30 to kill sparrows ... just buy a 22. A Weldpak 100 is actually overkill for welding hangers if that's all your need is going to be. Lobsterdmb ... just buy a welder that will do that ... spend whatever it will take to do that. If your not sure what your future needs are going to be, get something bigger. Lincoln does makes a well built product.

And BigJeep ... if you knew what you were talking about with 220V ... don't call a circuit a socket ... and don't ask a question. Grow some skin ...

Les

 

[Mike L]

I have skin and I think it is thick enough. I posted it that way because I was unsure. My Dad told me about what it took to get a 220 circuit and that you can split the 220 down to get a clean 110 circuit. I just couldn't remember the 'exact' wording.

-Mike

 

[Sarge]

anyone who has access to 120 has access to 220

*grin* Not everyone of us is an expert at that sorta thing. The following are serious want-a-knows:

How do you use 110 to get a 220 outlet? I'm assuming a separate outlet for two of the legs; what do you use for the third? How sensative is the unit? How the heck would ya wire something like that? What about the breakers? Will the two separate 110 breakers be enough for the welder? Also add in the fact that my apartment is on the second floor so I would have to run 20 foot of extension cord to just get to the work area...how would that affect it?

Also if the unit is to be used rarely and only for fairly light duty things then I would think that getting a big machine is spending money on a machine I'm not gonna actually use to its potential. I repaired my sewer cables with the 220 Lincoln at work, with a stick unit at a local car repair shop (OK, they did the weld), and a 110 unit at a customers garage...can't really tell the difference between any of the welds. My total welding knowledge is that I like whatever the system is that used a wire feed gun and gas. It was the easiest to use.

Sarge

 

[LBEXJ]

It's always best to have a certified electrician wire your circuits and I'm not a certified electrician. But as I understand it, your local Power and Light (or REMC around here) usually sets a 220V transformer for your service and runs power to your meter. The voltage coming into your Breaker panel is 240V. All a 220V circuit is is two legs of 110V and a common (ground). In contrast, a 110V circuit has one leg at 110V and a common. All you have to do to run a 220V circuit is to plug a 20 or 30 amp breaker into the panel strip and (using 10/2 or 10/3 cable) run the wire to an appropriate recepticle for your plug. If you'll notice in your breaker panel, a 220V circuit uses up (2) locations in the panel where 110V circuit uses only (1). The size panel determines the number of locations available for individual circuits. My house has a 100 amp service panel, but most newer homes have 200 amp panel for more available circuits.

For my purpose, I wanted a 100V welder so I could take it with me to do light duty welds. For example, right now my MoM has a damned old swing set she wants to hang a porch swing on. It's wobbly as heck, but she wants to use it. It's just a heck of a lot easier for me to take the welder, run a (good sized) electrical cord out to the swing set, and weld the joints. She, nor do most people for that matter, have a 220V outside plug. I can still do other welding project with this Weldpak 100, it just will be much slower.

Everyone should just buy what will work for what they want to do. Just like building your XJ ... build it to suit the type of wheelin" you want to do.

Les