Or was the salesman just being a jerk??

admin

I am a hobby welder with probably a few hundred hours under the hood and fabricating.  I've done a couple of bumpers, roofrack, built a gate/fence around the house, you know, the usual.  I have a little stick time, but mostly I just use my Hobart Handler 135, which is small, uses 120V, is pretty easy to troubleshoot, and is a MIG welder.A buddy drove his commercial duty truck over the gun cord, and smushed it flat.  The drive motor for the wire was laboring a bit, but I did okay and it welded fine until I ran out of spool.  I couldn't get the new wire past the smushed part of the gun cable, so down to the welding supplier I went.  The salesman recommended a Pro-Fax gun for $124, rather than the OEM Miller gun for $190.  Apparently Pro-Fax is a local manufacturer, and I have to say, so far I've been pretty impressed with the gun (plus it has a 15 foot cord, rather than the OEM 8 footer).  The Pro-Fax gun seems superior in every aspect that I can recognize, so far.Before I leave the store, I confirm the new gun has a couple of spare tips, and I ask the salesman about replacements.  I run a .030 or .035 wire mostly, and I ask him if the Pro-Fax gun will use the same tips I already have (Miller), or do I need some.  He says "No" (with a suspicious grin), and that I will have to buy additional tips.  Not a problem, but he's out, and I'll have to go to another welding supply to get "1135 or 1130 tips", depending on what wire I'm running.  He tells me they are highly specialized and I have to get Pro-fax tips only.  No easy task on Good friday, but I find a place, buy a pack of 25 for each size, and spent the rest of the day under the hood, wondering why in the hell I got a full-time job behind a desk.  So, finally, MY QUESTION:  After throwing away the old gun, and putting the new tips in the toolbox, I compare the new tips (for which I made a special stop) to the old tips that I buy at Home Depot (Lincoln Brand).  I just don't see a difference.  The thread looks exactly the same, the length, everything.  They look exactly identical.  So, was the salesman just being a jerk, telling me I needed some special tip, intentionally sending me off on a wild goose chase, or was he doing me a favor and stopping me from making a beginners mistake??Last edited by WildernessJeep; 04-06-2007 at 08:23 PM.
Reply:Originally Posted by WildernessJeepA buddy drove his commercial duty truck over the gun cord, and smushed it flat.  The drive motor for the wire was laboring a bit, but I did okay and it welded fine until I ran out of spool.  I couldn't get the new wire past the smushed part of the gun cable, so down to the welding supplier I went.
Reply:My guess is that your salesman is full of crap. Why not just give one of your Lincoln tips a try? Don't force anything. If it goes together smoothly and welds fine I'd use them.
Reply:Originally Posted by WeldordieYou couldn't just replace the wire liner in the gun cable, instead of buying a new gun and cable?
Reply:Originally Posted by tresiMy guess is that your salesman is full of crap. Why not just give one of your Lincoln tips a try? Don't force anything. If it goes together smoothly and welds fine I'd use them.
Reply:I don't use profax stuff, but there are lots of guns with their very own tips...he might not have known enough to tell you the correct info.  I doubt he was sending you to find a left handed baseball bat or the like.  Most likely he was misinformed.  Lots of guns use tweeco tips.  My tregaskiss guns use their own tips and my miller gun uses miller fastips.Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:We've got a profax 1260 on one of our LN 25s and its the same gun as a Lincoln K-126. We use Lincoln tips on it. I didn't even know Profax made tips.
Reply:I use Profax tips on my Miller guns as well. They are perzactly the same as the Millers, just a little cheaper. Never rely on sales types solely. They are there to sell stuff and rarely know exactly how to use what they sell. They just go by what everyone tells them...even if it is wrong. If they were so good at welding, they sure wouldn't be behind the counter.
Reply:Salesmen are just that - they work in sales. Only the top 5% know their product and technical information. This applies for anything - cars, houses, tools, etc. If you can remember this, you'll always end up being a happier shopper.John -  fabricator extraordinaire, car nut!-  bleeding Miller blue! http://www.weldfabzone.com
Reply:Not to fan a flame, and now it is a moot point, but I get the feeling that this particular salesman knew exactly what the answer was, and was just being cruel to an uninformed customer.  I learned two things,  1)  Be a better informed customer,2)  Never buy anything from that salesman again.
Reply:Originally Posted by WildernessJeep...A buddy drove his commercial duty truck over the gun cord, and smushed it flat. ...(plus it has a 15 foot cord, rather than the OEM 8 footer).
Reply:I never liked the miller guns I have change the trigger about three times on my miller 251 my suppler suggests going to a twico when this guns let's go