On Wed, 22 May 1996, Pat Willems wrote:
> Ray Gibbons wrote
> >I think it is important to buy a brand that you can get parts and service
> >for locally. I have a Lincoln SP-100. It has been very reliable and
> >works well. Its only limitation is that it really is for sheet metal.
> >1/8 stock would be really pushing it.
> >
> Ray,
> Isn't the SP-100 the flux-core wire feed welder that you can buy an
> optional gas conversion kit? Did you get the gas conversion kit with
> yours? Have you done sheet metal with just the flux core wire or is
> the gas kit required for sheet metal?
>
> Thanks,
> Pat Willems
>
No, the SP-100 is a MIG welder from the start. I suppose you could put
flux core wire through it, but I never have. I think (not sure) the flux
core one is called something like the "Weld-Pack 100." I haven't really
kept up with what is available since I have not been tempted to replace
mine.
Unless you are really pressed for money, I would get a MIG unit right
away; I suspect you will want it sooner or later and I would worry that
gas conversions might not be integrated as well as units that were gas
from the start. My impression is that flux core welding works ok, but the
weld has to be cleaned very carefully afterward. I would worry about the
effect of any flux or slag that was missed on the paint. I think also
that the gas helps localize the heat.
Either Lincoln or Miller is a very good name. I bought the Lincoln (this
was about 5 or 6 years ago when the SP100 just came out), because it was
less bulky than the equivalent Miller.
Ray Gibbons Dept. of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics
Univ. of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT
gibbons@northpole.med.uvm.edu (802) 656-8910
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