Lincoln Industrial or Lower Quality

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I recently bought the Lincoln Pro Mig 140 at Lowes. After reading some more on the board, I discovered that it is thought that the Lowes and HD model Lincoln Welders are made to a lower standard than the Lincolns bought say at a Welder Dealer that carries Lincolns. How true is this? Also, is say the Hobart Handler 140 rated industrial or the same quality as the supposed Lowes and HD Lincoln Welders? ThanksWhitey
Reply:Well with the mig welders I honestly don't know, but (some years back)  when home depot started carrying the lincoln 225 stick machines.  a buddy of mine bought one, and I had purchased mine through the welding supply, and I paid about $125.00 more than my friend did.  I started hearing rumors of the (cheapened version)  and we pulled the covers on them one night to find out that while mine had mostly copper inside,  his used alot of Aluminum.  Mine was of course an overall heavier unit, but side by side I never could tell a difference in the welding performance.  With that said I did once purchase a  couple of 110V migs for a job I was doing, and as of right now they still run as good as they did when I bought them.   So basically this boils down to nothing, haha  you have a good welder.  Go weld something, post some pics of it, and don't worry about it.   Best of luck to ya...~JacksonI'm a Lover, Fighter, Wild horse Rider, and a pretty good welding man......
Reply:They are the same.Craftsman 230a Buzz-box,  Lincoln 140T & 180T, Century K2789, PUROX W202 O/A14" cheapo chop saw that cuts straight and square!A toolbox of the cheapest Chinese tools money can buy"Real" tools all old reliable Husky/Craftsman/Proto stuff
Reply:The quality of the machines sold at Lowes and Home Depot is the same as other machines sold to the trade through welding equipment stores and on eBay. The main difference is that if you want a machine with variable power control, you have to go to a welding store or shop around on the internet. For some reason, the Lowes and H.D. Lincoln machines sold under various model names are only tapped power control with four or five settings instead of continuously variable power. Quality-wise, I would say they are the same.Miller Millermatic 252Miller Syncrowave 200Liincoln AC-DC 225Victor O-A Set
Reply:Generally speaking, you get what you pay for. Somewhere somehow the lower priced units have to save the manufacturer some money. You're talking about medium to light duty machines and the quality is pretty even. You already have it so.... It will surely work well for you. Like Hammak said, go weld something and let the tension flow out of you as you drift along a quiet stream.Man invented metal, he can do whatever he wants with it.KMAC
Reply:Neither welder is what I would call industrial quality.  Something like a Miller 251, lincoln 255c, esab 250 would be more like it (really, these could be considered commercial welders, with 350 and up being industial like 3phase etc etc).Various GrindersVictor Journeyman torch200cf Acet. 250cf oxygenLincoln 175 plus/alpha2 gunLincoln v205t tigLincoln 350mpEsab 650 plasmaWhen you can get up in the morning, Its a good day.Live each day like its your last.
Reply:Most name brands sold at Lowes, Home depot, Wal-mart have lower quality parts to save money(buying power of the big chains to drive down prices.  Examples Honda lawn mowers at HD, Snapper @ Walley World(Snapper decided not to do this after a year or so because it was hurting their name), Lincoln @ HD & Lowes(made in Mexico).  If you want to find info on this go to a repair shop and ask, most can bring out a list of bogus parts.