FIRSTLY, LET ME SAY THAT I HAVE NO INTEREST IN THE ARGUMENT ABOUT WHY I SHOULD BUY A LINCOLN OR A MILLER! DON'T WASTE TIME IF YOU INTEND TO TELL ME THESE ARE "BETTER" WELDERS, AS ESAB HAS BEEN AROUND FOR JUST AS LONG, AND WAS KNOWN AS THE COMPANY WITH THE SMOOTHEST ARC FOR MANY YEARS!!! Anyhow, does anyone else have any experience with this welder... or other welders in its series? I've run some p***es on it, and the arc seems smooth as (if not more smooth) than anything else in this range. The price is definitely right at $1080.00 on ebay with free shipping. You can run a larger spool than the compe***ors for the price and size range so you save $$ on your wire for sure... Just wondering if anyone else has any specific experience as an owner of this welder? Sure it won't cook you breakfast, and doesn't rub your feet (see: missing all the useless doodads the other welders have) and it's just a quality bare bones machine... but that's kinda what I want. Infinite adjustability and quality at a good price.
I weld for a living, so the usage of this and that welder is not a mystery to me. My question was more about the long term quality and/or the manufacturers willingness to step up and help should something happen and need to be repaired/replaced. Thanks for the reply though. Oh, and a word of wisdom from my welding instructor when I was in school... "Always buy the biggest welder you can afford, cause the day will come when you will need it." I COULD go for the 253.... but frankly, I don't have any interest in anything that I would be doing that needs that much juice.
i know esab machines are pretty good, the only other thing iknow is that any parts cost way more than one of the other top brands. i never really cared much about brand myself, as long as it does what i want it to do.
As long as you have a source for consumables and someone local to you that can provide service and/or parts SHOULD you ever need them, go for it. If you have to wait a few days or a week until a needed part comes from (insert country of origin here) arrives so you can get back to welding, however sweet the original deal was will be a painful memory. I can have any part I need, or a replacement machine to use, for either of my millers in an hour. That doesn't come from buying on ebay. Gene
Good points. I could also buy locally since we have a dealer around here that sells Esab and has all consumables available from what I know.
I've had an Esab (about 180 or 185) for around 8 years. Had one problem and it was taken care of by a repairmen other than Esab (it was out of warrenty). At the time he was closer than the nearest dealer. My son has a Miller and I Really liked it when I did some welding with it. But I'll keep what I have as it works fine,
I've used ESAB for 20 years and never had any problems. Actually the company makes their thread not far from where I live in Sweden. And your teacher was right.
There are good ESABs, but the 203 in my opinion isn't one of them. I just got an ESAB MigMaster 203 (online vendor will remain nameless until outcome of customer service) and it has some design flaws like not-very-tight slip on internal electrical connectors and HORRID PC board workmanship/QC. It arrived with zero visible damage, but wire feed motor only worked intermittently after wiggling connectors feeding the control board. One connector base wasn't even soldered flush with the board, and stands off at about a 1/8" angle. Bottom line is the connectors are junk (I have many years avionics and other relevant experience by which to judge) so even if the maker cared about proper PC board ***embly it wouldn't matter. It is labelled as being made in Sweden, so I would have expected better. The hardware, gun, etc looked well built, but that means squat due to other deficiencies. Our MultiMaster 260s at work are pretty good machines, but this thing (although listed as an "industrial" welder) is awful. I bought it based on good reports from a weldor who owned one a couple of years older, but after experiencing one in person, my opinion is they are a hobby welder at best, and I wouldn't buy one for that either. MigMaster 203: not better than nothing, because "nothing" doesn't cost over a grand and waste your time. Note: The 173 and 253 share cases at least, (I haven't seen them naked), so I wouldn't touch them either on the ***umtion they share the same general design. I had not been able to find any bad reviews on the internet to warn me off this junk, but I'll enthusiastically fix that problem for the next potential victim. I don't regard ESAB as a bad company, but I am not expecting sloppy hobby-welder quality from them. "Its had the smoothest arc for years - buy it" Our MultiMaster 260s have a very smooth arc, and survive welding school abuse with very few problems. I recommend THOSE, but the 203 is a different beast entirely.
I've had an L-TEC Migmaster 250 for 15 yrs now, and it's always been a dependable welder. When ESAB bought them out, they look to have kept the Migmaster line intact with little or no changes. I wouldn't worry about buying one of the 250's, but I have no experience with the smaller machines.
Currently using an older mig master a lot and have had zero problems except for my below average welding skills.
Have my 2nd migmaster.1st was junk given the runaround by NATIONAL WELDERS.Took it to ESAB factory in Florence,SC.Had to threaten to take them to court.They gave me a reman welder.It welds,when you give 1700 dollar you should get better service than the salesman telling you that you need to get use to welding with it.If anyone has their phone #s i would like to have it.Do not plan to buy ESAB again.TNKS JIIMMIE KING
Thank you, Jimmie. I'm more than happy to drive up to Florence for a visit if the retailer does not take care of the problem. Here's their feedback form link including phone numbers: http://www.esabna.com/html/address.cfm Welding & Cutting Equipment P.O. Box 100545 411 South Ebenezer Rd. Florence, SC 29501-0545 Phone: (843)-669-4411 Fax: (843)-664-4258
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