thermadine 210 or new iron man 230

admin

Just ran across this 210 on  craiglist suppose to be new demo model never used 500 less than a new Iron man but 250 mi round trip, is it worth it?Thermal Arc 210 - Tweco 211I - Cutmaster 52
Reply:I have a Fabricator 190, same, love it, smoothest Mig welder I ever used, all consumables and nozzles screw in not snap-on, they are always tight, tires are rubber,not cheap plastic moulded, moulded rubber connections on output and feed, well built machine, only negative is no ability to swap in a small roll if need be, only has large roll capability, and getting larger drive rolls like. 045 isn't an overnight deal, parts have to be ordered. Try it out. Also has spot timer. Infinite feed. Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk
Reply:That's good info, didn't know about the large rolls only, that's  a bummer kind of. I just sold my dirt bike and was trying to decide on a Hobart iron man or the Htp 2400 and ran across this one, haven't found any bad news on them.Thermal Arc 210 - Tweco 211I - Cutmaster 52
Reply:IM230 would be my choice.
Reply:I looked at an IM230 at Tractor supply the other day while walking down the aisle.  I was rather surprised just how cheaply made they are.  I checked under the "hood" and looked at the drive rolls.  I'm surprised how flimsy everything fit in there.  Even the door was flimsy.  I'll take Lincoln or Miller over the IM230 any day and I'll gladly pay the extra money for them.  Between the big-3, (Red, Blue or Tan) I still think Lincoln is the "King" of heavy duty solid drive mechanisms.I don't have any experience with the Thermadine.
Reply:Thanks for your input SuperArc, I did the same at Tractor Supply and too was a little iffy on the outer build. I am a little scared of dropping a grand on this unknown  brand to me. I really like my Lincolns. The only one that is even close to my budget is the 216, which I think you have, and not sure if the 7 taps would work if that's the only mig I had, can you give me some of your experience on how they do on the low to middle rangeThermal Arc 210 - Tweco 211I - Cutmaster 52
Reply:12 taps vs 7 taps would have me going with the Ironman 230 over the PowerMIG 216. I don't know how you guys treat your units, but I've had an Ironman 230 for probably at least 5 yrs now, and have had zero issues with it. My Ironman 230 is built as well as my Millermatic 210. They both contain the same wire drive. Based on output charts Lincoln sent me on the PowerMIG 216, I suspect the Ironman 230 offers more top end power, by a noticeable level.The HTP 2400 has a real nice looking wire drive on it. The number of tap selections should give it a good level of adjustability. Not real fond of the design of the wire drive compartment door/cover. HTP has been selling the 2400 for quite a few years, so I'd assume it is a pretty durable unit.If you get it dialed in correctly, with .023 wire and C25, your PM 180C gives you one of the best low end performing MIG units  that I've ran.ESAB Migmaster 250 Hobart Ironman 230Multimatic 215TWECO Fabricator 181i & 211iHH125EZ - nice little fluxcore only unitMaxstar 150 STH - very nice
Reply:Dan you are right on the money about the 180c, I love that mig I put a bigger gun and ground cable on it too and it is nice. I ended up buying the thermal arc 210 today just couldn't pass it up, brand new never even plugged in, the tweco gun and all accessories were still in the unopened bags, it impressed me as a high quality built unit. Did get to try it out some tonight seems really good.Thermal Arc 210 - Tweco 211I - Cutmaster 52
Reply:I allows felt the drive roll setup in the ironman was really top notch ,,the sheet metal case was a little on the light side not that that mattersEsab Multimaster 260Esab Caddy160IEsab 161 STLESAB powercut 650Esab 220i tigLincoln Precision Tig 225Lincoln IdealArc 250INE SKYLINE 1500Klutch 140iMEASURE TWICE IS FOR MORONS
Reply:Originally Posted by Dan12 taps vs 7 taps would have me going with the Ironman 230 over the PowerMIG 216. I don't know how you guys treat your units, but I've had an Ironman 230 for probably at least 5 yrs now, and have had zero issues with it. My Ironman 230 is built as well as my Millermatic 210. They both contain the same wire drive. Based on output charts Lincoln sent me on the PowerMIG 216, I suspect the Ironman 230 offers more top end power, by a noticeable level.The HTP 2400 has a real nice looking wire drive on it. The number of tap selections should give it a good level of adjustability. Not real fond of the design of the wire drive compartment door/cover. HTP has been selling the 2400 for quite a few years, so I'd assume it is a pretty durable unit.If you get it dialed in correctly, with .023 wire and C25, your PM 180C gives you one of the best low end performing MIG units  that I've ran.
Reply:I like taps on Mig and infinite on stick.  I realize the more taps, the less wire speed fiddling required, but all the 5-7 tap machines did the job before the new 12-24 tap machines came out.
Reply:Yeeehaaw, I got you guys going, Good stuff. I learned something too, didn't realize the wire speed and taps worked that way, makes sense now that I think about it, and so true about the 5-7 tap machines. I was spoiled with 180c infinite control. If anyone is interested I will post pictures of the Thermal-Arc 210's drive and gadgets and let you do comparisons, this is the only one I had ever seen, kinda liking it so far.Thermal Arc 210 - Tweco 211I - Cutmaster 52
Reply:Originally Posted by copeI like taps on Mig and infinite on stick.  I realize the more taps, the less wire speed fiddling required, but all the 5-7 tap machines did the job before the new 12-24 tap machines came out.
Reply:Originally Posted by mxpapaDan you are right on the money about the 180c, I love that mig I put a bigger gun and ground cable on it too and it is nice. I ended up buying the thermal arc 210 today just couldn't pass it up, brand new never even plugged in, the tweco gun and all accessories were still in the unopened bags, it impressed me as a high quality built unit. Did get to try it out some tonight seems really good.