Lincon Electric R3R-400 Arc-stick Welder

Is there any reason you want a stick over mig?

I will agree that stick is a good way to learn to weld because if you can learn stick you can weld mig with your eyes closed.

Also, if your looking for a stick welder, you can get a Lincoln Tombstone welder... (the red box looking one) for around $100 used

edit: just looked up that welder, that is a heavy duty welder for like a jobsite. goes up to 500 amps... that thing is way more welder than you need.
 
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Alright. I was always told that if you really want to learn, use a stick. I'll see if that one is still available.
 
stick welding will help you learn proper technique, but it is also harder and some people have a lot of trouble with it. If you plan to mig weld eventually, you could just buy and learn on a mig now and not waste your time with the stick.
 
What all do you want it for?

I like stick welding, it's what I learned with and I have used a lot of the basic techniques and what not when it comes to other types of processes. Most all stick are 220v (ive only looked at big welder/generators and tombstones to buy) so keep that in mind, you can weld some pretty thick stuff with a Tombstone welder in 1 pass. I didnt think it was to hard to learn on personally as long as you know kinda what your trying to do you should be able to pick it up with practice.

But if all your wanting to do is weld stuff on your jeep with it, pick up a mig, they are easy to use, just pull a trigger. You still gotta know how to use it though properly, or you will have weak welds that will fail. Just bc someone can make a weld look pretty doesnt make it strong.
 
06TJX said:
I found a R3R-400 for 350.00. Is this a good deal? I'm looking for one to learn with. Thanks! Shane.
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Does it work? Thats a $4500 machine, $350 is a hell of a deal. It's 3 phase though which i doubt you have the ability to run.


What i've been told, when buying a stick welder used, take a 7018 rod with you to test the machine out with. If it wont burn it, or doesn't weld right it's not worth buying. When the circuit boards and what not go out with a lot of the machines, it's expensive to replace.
 
if its on the surplus page then that generally means it needs a little tlc, but is not in horrible condition.. but you can always end up with the diamond or the poop in the piles
 
Agreed. I like my hobart 140 but i regretted not going for the 220v soon after i bought it.

If you want to spend a little bit more money, Miller makes a 211 MVP which is a 110/220 machine. Nice for when you don't always have 220. I don't like the auto-set function though.
 
David D said:
The mvp miller is a piece of crap. I would not recommend that to anyone and I love miller mig welders.
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What's the basis for saying that miller MVP is crap, or are you referring to the DVI welder that they came out with a few years ago? I've had my miller 211 and spectrum 375, which are both MVP, for well over a year and have never had an issue with either during this time while building 2 rigs, trailer frames, and a multitude of other things. Granted if I would have been working in a more commercial setting with a dedicated shop and no need for moving my equipment around, then I would have picked up a miller 251 or the newer 252 model.


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Im lucky that when I built my house, I had them run 220v Gauge line to one of the receptacles in the garage. All I have to is change the breaker and the outlet. I've been thinking of the Hobart 180\90.
 
The old DVI welders were real bad, but the new auto sets MVP are only marginally better. They don't have the same smooth arc that most millers have, and I hate the auto set. I have also heard more than a couple people having problems with them. That being said I weld 50+ hours a week, and the average home user may like the auto set, me personally I would skip it.
 
David D said:
The old DVI welders were real bad, but the new auto sets MVP are only marginally better. They don't have the same smooth arc that most millers have, and I hate the auto set. I have also heard more than a couple people having problems with them. That being said I weld 50+ hours a week, and the average home user may like the auto set, me personally I would skip it.
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Yeah the original DVIs were garbage and weren't worth the cash for their minimal amperage output.

The autoset feature is good if you are just learning to mig, but I rarely use it at all. The autoset arc is smoother when running 110, but definitely lacks when running on 220. I like the fact that you don't have to use the autoset and also that the amperage and wire speed are both fully adjustable, unlike other entry level welders that have the 1-5 or A-E preset amperage settings. My first welder was a lincoln 135, and I'll say that the 211 beats the pants off of it in many categories with the caption of the grounding clamp. The grounding clamp that comes on the newer 212 and lower models is crap, and I was surprised that miller would even put that cheap thing on their welders.


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If your set on learning with a stick (which is a good idea, and how I learned) then I'd look around for an old 220 Miller Thunderbolt. You can find them dirt cheap, just about weld bridges with them, and they're damn near indestructable. Also, by learning stick first you always have that to fall back on. My MIG and TIG are only good through about 1/4-3/8", anything that I need more pentration, or for special cases like cast iron, I fall back on my 40 yr old Thunderbolt (its simpler just to switch it on than fiddle with the stick function on the TIG). Plus, anybody who can write their name in cursive can MIG, challenge yourself.
 
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