To Buy a Welder/Plasma Cutter..New or Used?

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In my quest for welders (MIG/TIG/Stick) and plasma cutters, I have heard many opinions as to whether to buy new or used.What is your opinion as to whether someone should buy new or used?What did you do when it was your turn to sign the check?Have you been happy with the results?Would you have done it again?What would you have done differently, if anything?Thanks for whatever advice you can offer.TMT
Reply:I bought an unused used one, and now I know why. It's slow. That guy on "trucks" must have a high amp unit to cut through what he cuts throught that fast. Consumables are expensive, and when learning I went through them pretty fast. The newer hypertherm, and probably others have an improved start system to help save wear on consumables. I think for what I do O/A is cheaper to use and a lot more versatile. Maybe check out "how to buy a plasma cutter" article on miller website?Bob.Last edited by BobJ; 09-19-2004 at 12:56 AM.
Reply:The beauty of plasma cutters is that the heat is concentrated in a very small area. O/A heats up the surrounding area considerably more. O/A is a cheaper setup to get going with. Both processes have advantages and disadvantages. If you need to cut non ferrous material then O/A is out. If you need the good old tool to heat up material then the plasma cutter won't meet your needs. I bought a Hypertherm plasma cutter. As always stay with a good brand name. My Hypertherm will cut clean to about 3/8" and will severe up to 1/2" depending on material and speed. I bought it about two years ago for $1032 delivered. I do still need to get an O/A setup. The consumable life is substantially increased on a good machine. Buying harbor freight units will only be throwing away good money and the end result will be you'll think plasma cutters are junk or you'll buy the one you should have bought in the first place. Unless you can get a name brand unit through Harbor Freight. That is how I got my Lincoln SquareWave Tig unit. That is another purchase I haven't regretted. One purchase I did regret was a Cambell Hausfeld Mig unit. It is still sitting in my garage. I paid $330 for it from Lowes and it is crap. I haven't had the chance to weld with a decent Mig unit yet. I will eventually own a good one but a Miller Maxstar was calling my name the last time I decided I needed another welder. All my stuff was bought new. I'm not adverse to buying used but you need to know the quality of the unit you are purchasing. In my search via E-bay I found the going prices high compared to the lack of warranty and that the units had some usage already. If you can find one locally for sale cheap and you can go try it out that would be fine.
Reply:Some stick machines (non inverter) I may buy used, but the rest of them I buy new. In a MIG everything is new right down to the tip that way and as was mentioned get brand name. A Chinese hammer may work fine but a MIG or plasma is extrememly sophisticated and thats wherre they skimp, on the critical parts. There is a lot of competition in this industry and they is a good value to a good machine. A CH mig machine,,, well,,, its main selling figure is that itsa cheap not that it works well. When you get to the big 3 they have to work well or they wont sell.www.urkafarms.com
Reply:For welders, if it doesn't say Miller, Lincoln, or Hobart on the front, you probably don't want it. If you go used, don't even consider anything else.I have 3 welders in my garage 2 Miller and a Lincoln. Bought 2 used and one new. I had to do a bit of work on the big, old Miller but all 3 give me good service.
Reply:I recently purchased a used Lincoln Wire-matic 255 mig machine.  I absolutely love the machine, works flawlessly. The place I bought it from, let me test it out before i bought it. They told me if for any reason i was not happy with it bring it back and they'd give me my money back or trade for something else.I think that's a big thing in buying a used machine, a dealer that will stand behind their stuff, whether it's new or used. I was told by two different friends that weld for a living to go to that place, and was happy i did.