we've got a syncrowave 250DX back at the main shop in charleston but while I'm here in atlanta I need a more portable welder that can weld aluminum and stainless decently.

I know a mig is much worse than a tig but as long as the welds are functional I dont care.

anyone have any experience with the lincoln 3200HD??
http://content.lincolnelectric...1.pdf

saw it at home depot for $459 and it says it can do aluminum as well. Does it jam often with aluminum wire??

 

They're decent welders. They work pretty good on steel and stainless. They work alright for aluminum right out of the package. I'd get a teflon conduit for the cable to get a smoother feed, as the aluminum wire is very soft and can kink in the cable. With the teflon conduit, you can do some decent aluminum welding.

I have a brand new Lincoln SP135T, which is pretty much the same welder as the 3200HD. I'm looking to sell it. Let me know if you're interested.

Soroush

 

how thick did you try with the mild steel and stainless on it??

oh, and you say right out of the box for aluminum?? so I dont "need" that preferred kit it was talking about?? I think that kit is just the teflon conduit anyway.

aside from a bottle would there be anything else I need to buy for it, I think it comes with the gas lines and solenoids but I couldnt really tell since I didnt have time to really read on it while I was there.

 

I'd go to a welding supply and ask them about the welding on aluminum deal. Aluminum needs to be pulse mig welded (ac current.) and welded with 100% argon. It's a little more complicated of a process to weld pulse mig than you might think. You must take into cosideration of your wire feed speed, trim level, arc control (how fast your puddle freezes and how to set it up.) Unless they have some kind of newfound technology that you can weld aluminum on dc current now for some reason

flux core owns tho. Don't be scared of it, the beads in flux core are very smooth and refines. And can penetrate very deep. It's harder to weld out of position with it tho, due to the puddle being more fluid. But it can be done. I've done it, but beware of falling hot stuff.

 

Mild steel was 1/8" wall thickness. The thickest stainless I welded with it was .065" (what is it, 16 gauge?) to repair a piece of exhaust. It worked good. It wasn't the exact same welder though. It was a Lincoln 135 (not the one I'm selling), which is again a very similar welder to the 3200HD.

The kit that's in that PDF document comes with contact tips and a "non-metal" liner. It doesn't say if it's teflon or not. You wouldn't really need the teflon liner to weld aluminum, but it gives you a much much smoother feed. Smoother feed = better and more consistant results. Aluminum wire is very soft and it kinks easily, that's why on bigger MIGs with longer cables a spool gun is used to get rid of all the distance that the cable has to be pushed through.

Buy the bottle and proper wire for your application (and maybe the proper contact tip size for the wire) and you'll be good to go!