Buying my LN-25 Tomorrow :D :D

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I am buying an LN-25 tomorrow to go with my Lincoln welder/generator I just picked up.I talked the sales guy into throwing on a whip, gun, and the drive rolls I wanted for free.   I'll post pics tomorrow.  I pick it up after work.  I am going to bring it to work and run 30lbs of 1/16" dual-shield through it on thursday to see if it has the balls to keep up with the Miller 12vs X-Tremes that we have been using.  I'll let you know how it holds up.
Reply:Coollet us knowMe!
Reply:My welding supply guy put on the 1/16" and .052" drive rolls, gas solenoid kit, dual-shield/innershield gun with 10' whip free.  All free!  Muhaha!  Pennies when compared to the price of the unit itself.    :stares at empty wallet:
Reply:I´m sure it will hold...after all its RED! Post pics after you get it!My Babies: HF Drill pressHF Pipe Bender3   4.5" Black and Decker angle grindersLincoln Electric PROMIG 175that´s it!
Reply:Originally Posted by elvergonI´m sure it will hold...after all its RED! Post pics after you get it!
Reply:Originally Posted by littlefuzzActually it's black What did it wind up costin ya?
Reply:Originally Posted by WelderBoy I'll let you know how it holds up.
Reply:Originally Posted by WelderBoy$950 slightly used.  About $1,030 after taxes.  It was on their rental fleet for one job.  It is supposedly good condition, we'll see tomorrow.  Either way with the contactor/gas solenoid kit that knocks off about a thousand bucks off sticker price.  More when you look at the fact that I am getting two drive roll kits ($37 each), and the gun/whip ($250-$400) depending on what one they throw on.  I told them i'd be pushing 250amp with 1/16" wire all day long so they better give me the 250amp+ gun.
Reply:I dunno.....I might consider a 400a gun instead of the 250. It would give you room to grow and be a bit cooler to handle. But, if the pennies aren't there, a 250 will get you started. I have only one 250a gun on my feeders, the rest are 400a. Sure helps when I am running dual shield or spray. That 250 gets a tad warm. Get a 15 footer, too. That will keep you from having to move the feeder all the time....but then you probably already know that.
Reply:DDA52, I didn't pay extra for the gun so I am not complaining.  If  it happens to be a 100amp I will just take it off, stick it with my scrap welding equipment and buy a new one, probably in the 400-600amp range, maybe even with smoke evacuation.  But if it is at least 250amp it will do the job for what I need right now.  And i'll be happy until my hands start to catch fire.    The guns we use at work are very beefed up.  I will check today what they are rated at.  But we throw 29.5v, 1/16" wire, 60% wire speed (about 400ipm) and they can get warm.
Reply:It is a 350 amp gun with 60% duty cycle which is PLENTY since my welder only outputs 210amp DC.
Reply:WelderBoy, I have one small suggestion for you and you'll just have to trust me on this. Cut the sensor wire about a foot from the box and then just twist the ends together. No wire nut. No crimp. Just twisted. The reason for this is you WILL trip and hang your foot on it and it WILL pull out of the box at a very bad time. If it is just twisted on it takes about a second to fix. Otherwise, you may bust the clip or the wire or the crimp inside the box and then its 10 or 20 min to fix.Also, I have different length wires. Short ones for when your in a basket 40' up and dont need 20' of wire all tangled around your feet. I usually twist some 12 ga copper wire around the handle to tie the sensor wire up with after its coiled. Also, check the handle bolts on occasion. They will work loose after a few years of heavy use....Too, check if that is the fuse protected circuit board and then get some fuses. I think I have used 2 or 3 in the last 25 or 30 years. I like to tape them, along with extra tips, just inside the cover....Good luck with it...
Reply:TEK, thanks for the suggestions.  We use the Miller 12vs/8vs/s-32P suitcases all day long at work.  I always have a small piece of cord or tie wire on the handle to tie up the rolled up whip/ground and it makes life a lot easier, especially when crawling through the bottom of a boat.
Reply:Originally Posted by WelderBoyIt is a 350 amp gun with 60% duty cycle which is PLENTY since my welder only outputs 210amp DC.
Reply:Thats a K-126 gun. Its for innershield wire only. You'll have to come up with another gun if you're going to run dualshield. The K-126 is an excellent gun though. I've got one thats had around 3000 pounds of 5/64th ran though it with no problems. I think you'll like the LN-25 too.
Reply:Originally Posted by spuddownThats a K-126 gun. Its for innershield wire only. You'll have to come up with another gun if you're going to run dualshield.
Reply:Trade you even up for a used 15' Magnum 300 with lincoln end.DavidLast edited by David R; 08-23-2007 at 06:54 AM.Real world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:Originally Posted by David RTrade you even up for a used 15' Magnum 300 with lincoln end.
Reply:Alrighty, I picked up a 33lb spool of 1/16" innershield today and one last little piece I needed before I ran the feeder.  (female tweco lead end).I got some chunks of steel from work so I will run it this weekend.  I am limited on messing with it because I live in an apartment complex so I can really only run it at my buddy's house or up a logging road in the middle of nowhere, but it is dry as hell right now and there is a burn ban.  So a stray spark would spell disaster.  Would be fine in the winter here since everything is SOAKING wet between the months of october and may.btw, 33lb spools of 1/16" innershield are EXPEN$IVE!!!!  I am used to the price of dual-shield wire.
Reply:about $3.oo per pound of innershield.  NR211-MP is about $65.00 for 25 lb.  NR-233 is more like $89 for a 30 lb coil.  If I use a lot, I charged for it.  Bare .045 with Co2 is included in my rate.DavidReal world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:This stuff I bought was Hobart Fabshield 21b E71T-11 1/16".  It usually retails for almost $4/lb which when multiplied by 33lb is about the price of a 50lb box of 1/8" 7018!  But I got it cheaper on clearance.  If I have the work lined up I usually burn about 25-30lb of wire in an 8hr day.  In the field that will get cut down significantly unless I have already squared up something big like that excavation shoring you are building David.  Either way, that wire will add up.  I will probably have to re-evaluate my going rate since $120(spool of wire)/8hr - $15/h just for wire if I am welding the whole hour.
Reply:Anybody used this wire?http://www.hobartbrothers.com/pdf/da...bshield21B.pdf
Reply:I had a roll of it in .045.  I like the NR211 MP  in 1/16 better.DavidReal world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:That is the wire I prefer. I got my last 30# roll last year. Paid about 110 bucks for it. I run it in .035,.045, and 1/16.WB, with that machine, you would probably do better running .045 as your mainstay. I run my 1/16 harder than that machine will go. It will run it on the low end, no question, but you would have a better range with the .045. I have done some big stuff with .045, so that isn't an issue.Last edited by DDA52; 08-24-2007 at 07:18 PM.
Reply:I've used lincoln wire and I like it a lot.  I used the (I think) E71T-GS for light guage material.  The slag chipped off like dual-shield and underneath was a beautiful shiny weld that you would expect from MIG.  It was very expensive though at the welding store.  It was about $3/lb.  The stuff I got was on clearance for $2/lb, but since I spend so much money there and it was the last roll on the clearance shelf for the past X years he gave it to me for $1.10/lb.Originally Posted by DDA52That is the wire I prefer. I got my last 30# roll last year. Paid about 110 bucks for it. I run it in .035,.045, and 1/16.
Reply:Hobart 21B.  We are posting at the same time.
Reply:Originally Posted by DDA52WB, with that machine, you would probably do better running .045 as your mainstay. I run my 1/16 harder than that machine will go. It will run it on the low end, no question, but you would have a better range with the .045. I have done some big stuff with .045, so that isn't an issue.
Reply:btw, for the past 4 months I have used 1/16" wire exclusively.  Welding on anything from 3/16" to 6" material.  I am really happy with how it performs.  Occasionally I use .052 wire when welding the 3/16" stuff, small pipe, or on publically visible welds that are only required to be 3/16"-1/4" and need to be very uniform and clean.  In that case I turn the power from 29.5 down to 24.1, turn the wirespeed from 70% low to 55% low on the miller suitcases and go real slow.My market will most likely be a lot of heavy equipment from talking to local mobile welding businesses.  So I plan on welding on big thick buckets, hydraulic piston brackets and such.
Reply:I'm not saying you can't use it....I do the same thing with it, except I do 1/4 and up. But when they come up to you with a ton of 16 ga or even 20 ga stuff to weld, that wire will not cut it......the .045 might be ok for the 16 ga, but ...... When you are on your own, you get all kinds and shapes of stuff to do. Start passing things up and they won't come around as much or often. I see no reason that machine wouldn't run .035 or .045 fc, even if you had to use CC. My Bobus CV was burned out, so I was always running fc on CC...it works just fine. FWIW, 3-4 bucks a pound is normal for flux core...get used to it. Don't have to like it...I sure don't. But you have to pay to play.
Reply:The Lincoln 211 is a real sweet running wire, problem is , it's not legal for most structural stuff anymore. The Hobart 21B is almost as smooth and you can use it anywhere.
Reply:Not legal for you in the Peoples Republik of Kalifornia or other left coasty type places....but here, we can use it all day long.   We see some guys that are using it, but not too awful many. It is sorta difficult to get the T-8 wires here. Not that much demand, so the selection and availibility are kinda slim.WB, that is a wire that will be a good one for you to use on equipment. NR-232 or 233. Kinda finiky on the voltage, but once you get used to it, it isn't a problem.
Reply:I have used the 233 when I have to.  Its a bear to run  specially up hill.I welded some 3/16" square tubing with 1/16 NR 211.  Started at minimum setting according to the chart.  Had to go up 2 or 3 heat ranges to get the best weld.  Worked pretty good.  Tozzi had some nr211 at Zaps seminar.  I ran it over head and vertical up.  Nice.DavidReal world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:Originally Posted by DDA52Not legal for you in the Peoples Republik of Kalifornia or other left coasty type places....but here, we can use it all day long.
Reply:Originally Posted by DDA52Not legal for you in the Peoples Republik of Kalifornia or other left coasty type places....but here, we can use it all day long.  .
Reply:Btw, about taking different jobs, I will be getting some smaller wire.  And probably a teeny little 120v wirefeeder with some .030 for welding light gauge material like 16-20g so I don't have to switch whip, drive rolls and other associated parts, wire, settings, etc...  Just plug in and go.    It'll pay itself off after a few light gauge jobs just on the time i'd save switching to and from the different wire sizes.  Maybe a little Clarke 130.  I had one of those and a Clarke 180.  Not bad little box.  Cheap.  Worked.
Reply:EAST????????   Ain't nobody here in the east. Middle, maybe, but I was always told places with deserts are the WEST....definitely SOUTH.Nah, the reason is seismic. Without the seismic incentive, it is still an ok alternative. While we are on a faultline, it is not an active one. Wire on structure in the field is just not done very much here at all. No idea why. Most is stick in field, and some sort of wire feed in shop. Subarc for the big stuff. This area is kinda behind in a lot of stuff. They just won't change easily...and some of it is the LWS's that won't change. You should see the trouble I have to go through to get 98/2Oxy. The smaller feeder will work and is a good alternative. I have one, a MM135, but hardly ever use it. I just swap out drive rolls and wire and run the small stuff through the big gun. Not a single problem feeding that stuff at all.
Reply:Well my gun is .052"-5/64".  The welding supply said .045" is really pushing it for going small but I shouldn't have problems.  I don't even want to try .030/.035.  Plus it'll be cheaper to buy a cheap little mig than the drive rolls, gun, whip, liner etc...
Reply:Do what you want. I would rather buy a 50 buck set of rolls and a 15 buck liner than a new machine,..... but a new machine would be simpler in the long run I suppose. I would get a better unit than a Clark, though. A Hobart 140 at least...maybe even a recon unit. Looking at this from a monetary point, save your money for the unit and extra setup....and then actually get some work for it, then get it. Maybe the jobs will pay for it completely. That would beat spending the money and then never ever needing it maybe. I would be prepared to execute the purchase quickly, though. That one is a hard call. It is good to be prepared, but also is good to have money just in case it is needed for something else. I just had to drop almost 7 thousand bucks on momma's truck this month...sure wish I had it to spend.
Reply:I have one of those guns on my LN-22, it pushes 5/64" NR-211 like it is going out of style without even warming up. Dave got spoiled playing with it at Zap's.Disclaimer; "I am just an a$$hole welder, don't take it personally ."
Reply:My favorite flux core wire is NS-3M Lincoln(E70-T4), it is an in position high deposition rate wire. It is the balls for equipment repair, and big long welds.Disclaimer; "I am just an a$$hole welder, don't take it personally ."
Reply:Tozzi, what do you use for out of position welding?
Reply:Originally Posted by TozziWeldingI have one of those guns on my LN-22, it pushes 5/64" NR-211 like it is going out of style without even warming up. Dave got spoiled playing with it at Zap's.
Reply:Out of position flux core is NR-211 in 5/64". If I want gas I run dual shield, for high deposition. I am going to give .045 bare and CO2 a go for cheapness sake.Disclaimer; "I am just an a$$hole welder, don't take it personally ."
Reply:Is .045 and c02 even cheaper?  I'd think the price of gas plus the price of wire would end up being more expensive or the same.
Reply:I pay a dollar a pound for .o45.  A tank of Co2 is $10 to $15.  Lasts about a 33 lb roll of wire maybe more.  Its cheaper than stick.DavidReal world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:So you run straight CO2?  What size tank?
Reply:we use them all the time at work and I love em.Though Im starting to see millers slowly making there way in. The only thing I like about the miller is the cruise control. If lincoln would put cruise control on ln-25's and figure out how to put 110 outlets on them they would be perfect!!  Most of the problems I see(w/ln-25) are usually in the whip, id get a hold of a couple spares, and it seems like the shorter ones give you less headaches. Good purchase man!!
Reply:Originally Posted by pilebuckwe use them all the time at work and I love em.Though Im starting to see millers slowly making there way in. The only thing I like about the miller is the cruise control. If lincoln would put cruise control on ln-25's and figure out how to put 110 outlets on them they would be perfect!!  Most of the problems I see(w/ln-25) are usually in the whip, id get a hold of a couple spares, and it seems like the shorter ones give you less headaches. Good purchase man!!
Reply:Cruse control, is trigger hold. It keeps your hand from cramping up after a long bead.Disclaimer; "I am just an a$$hole welder, don't take it personally ."