[roger1]

Originally Posted by 327NUT

roger1...timely post, I called Eastwood today and asked the same thing as others, "Who makes this rig". The guy wouldn't give a name but said that its made by a big name company. I said it looks like a Lincoln, again he said ...its made by a big name company. So my question to you, can you weld 1/4" plate with your 135...and whats the listed duty cycle. You have a nice outfit with the argon gas and cart. Looks like I have some research to do.

I bought my Lincoln in 2005 after doing a lot of research. I paid $530 for it and that was the best price I could find at the time.
I bought the cart and autodark helmet from HF. Had to modify the cart a little to fit the welder and the 80cf tank.

My primary need for this welder was to weld sheetmetal. And this welder does that absolutely great. In my research I found statements that this welder was better for sheetmetal than the larger 220 Volt units were.

The thickest I've need to weld with it so far has been 3/16" thick brackets (side motor mounts, transmission crossmember and rear shock mount bar) to the frame of my '55 Chevy Bel Air. I think the frame is probably 14 gauge or so. This welder performed perfectly doing this too.

IMO, if your primary welding will be welding 1/4" to 1/4", then you should consider a larger welder. But, if 1/4" is only occasional and your primary welding is smaller, then this is a great size to get.

Specs:
"Rated at 90 amps, 18 volts, at 20% duty cycle on a ten minute basis. It is capable of higher duty cycles at lower output currents."

I can tell you I have NEVER had this welder cycle off on me.

Edit:
Here's a link to the product sheet on my welder:
Lincoln SP 135 Plus

[gow589]

I have the Hobart 135 (before the 140). All an all very similar. I have used it to weld a 1000 things and would do it all over again.

In a word about duty cycle, if you exceed duty cycle it means you are operating the machine beyond what it is intended and if you melt it, the manufacturer may not be so kind to repair your machine.

Some time AFTER you exceed the "Rated" duty cycle, if you continue to weld, it will heat up and trigger a breaker.

I can tell you welding plows, tractors and many things I should have never been welding, for the duration I was welding, that MY Hobart 135 clicks off, till it cools and has caused no damage. I have exceeded this many times doing extensive heavy welding which I surely could use a larger machine for.

I don't think Hobart would support my welder for how I have treated it but it has more then stood up to my abuse and paid for itself a 100x over.

Not bad I don't think for a low budget machine.

[oldred]

Originally Posted by roger1

IMO, if your primary welding will be welding 1/4" to 1/4", then you should consider a larger welder. But, if 1/4" is only occasional and your primary welding is smaller, then this is a great size to get.

That is a very good point and one that I should have made when talking about using that 110 machine to weld 1/4" and thicker, I just assumed that his primary purpose was to weld thin sheet. My point was that the 110 outfit could weld heavier stuff in a pinch with proper prep but you are exactly right a 110 volt MIG should not be considered for heavier than light sheet metal except for an occasional small job.

[Native Dave]

Originally Posted by Matt@Eastwood

I responded to similar questions in another thread on here a week ago. Seen here: Eastwood Welders?? . I copy and responded my response from that thread below, covering most of the same questions you were asking. Feel free to ask me any additional questions, and I can answer them.

Hi guys,

I wanted to clear up a few of the concerns on our new Eastwood welders.

1.These are NOT rebadged or rebranded welders made by another large company for us with our name on it.
-These welders we designed and tested in house here at Eastwood. They were designed to be EQUIVALENT to the Lincoln Mig Pak 10 (our 135) and the Mig Pak 15 (our 175). We oversaw every step of the production process to make sure these were designed to our specs and expectations. Our main concern is to give you a welder that is built to the same specs and quality as a industrial welder, but priced towards a serious hobbyist.
-We go so far as to back our welders with a 3 year warranty. That is backed by Eastwood Company, not by a 3rd party company, like people seemed to be confused about. We didn't begin offering these for a "quick buck", in fact we are working on designing further products to add to our welding product line (can you say affordable TIG and Plasma cutters?)

2. Consumables- Our welders are made with a Tweco style gun (the same as most major companies including Lincoln use). Therefore all consumable parts (nozzle, tips, etc) are available at any local welding supply store. We are enthusiasts here ourselves, and we know the frustration of needing a part or supplies halfway through the job and not being able to get it! (for me this past weekend it was running out of mig wire at 5:30PM on a Sunday and realizing the only local "Farm" store that would have wire closed at 5 )

If you guys have any other questions or concerns feel free to ask me and I'll do my best to answer them!

***In fact I can offer anyone that is on the fence about one of our welders the chance to try it for 30 days with a hassle free return policy. Buy it, use it to weld your rusty project car, patch a frame on the same project, your sons go-kart, your fence in your yard, your neighbor's shed doors, whatever... If you don't like it or it doesn't meet your expectations (which I highly doubt!), than give us a call and we will be gladly take it back and refund your money.***

Hope that cleared up a few questions and concerns.

-Matt/EW

I dont see a "Made in the USA" anywhere here. I am so sick of buying Chinese crap I really check it out before I lay down any money. I SENT BACK 3 ITEMS LAST YEAR. All made in China and all failed within a few months. The Craftsman lawnmower almost made it through the lawn one time. The tread mill broke after two weeks and the washing machine bearings were out inside of 6:smash months. Chinese? No thanks.

[tuske427]

For what it's worth I can vouch for Eastwood's backing up their products, especially the welders. I have the 135 MIG welder, and after a year and a half of use, the welder did fail. It kept pumping gas out the nozzle even with the trigger off. I called them up, talked to their tech line and they gave me a choice- either send me a replacement valve, or a replacement welder. I went with the valve as that is all I really needed, but they were willing to replace the entire welder. I was impressed.

[sedanbob]

I might have missed this in the discussion, but did anyone consider that the cheap Chinese-made similar welder was in fact a copy of the Lincoln and/or Eastwood. They do a lot of re-engineering of good products, producing a cheaper (inferior) copy. For example - I talked to the folks at Trique Mfg - they make bear claw latch kits for classic trucks. They used to buy the latch mechanism from a supplier - turns out the supplier started getting copies of the latches made in China. The Chinese latches were inferior, and would pop open. As soon as they realized this, they started manufacturing the latch in-house to insure the quality. The Chinese latches looked the same, but internally were made of inferior materials.

[matt167]

The welder in question, is most closely related to the Century Wire feed/ Mig 140, actually it's exactly the same. A welder I think that has been discontinued ( cent 140 ). Century is made in China basically as a cheaper line to Lincoln. These 'knockoff's started coming in, around the time the Century model was discontinued and it's price was around $450 at that time. They could have fired up production of the knockoff's after Century shut down the production using the same tooling.. All I can attest to is, mine works well.

[roger1]

When it comes to welders, I think going with a Lincoln, Hobart or Miller is worth it in the long run.

I think this is a case where it's just best not to go with an off-shore knockoff.

[JohnnyK81]

Originally Posted by oldred

BTW, When the guy at Eastwood said those machines are made by a "Big company" he might want you to think that they are made by Lincoln because they look like Lincoln but the reason these machines (all the brands not just Lincoln and Eastwood) look the same is that they are all just rebranded Chinese imports that they all buy from the same "Big (Chinese) company!

This!

There are some gullible people if you think these are different machines than all the other chinese machines.

Now, that being said, I am quite happy with 99% of all my chinese machines/tools (HF Plasma comes to mind!). Just do your research. I'm sure this mig is fine. Nobody seems to have any problems with it.

And to the guy who keeps breaking everything, and couldn't make it through his lawn once.. I think he's doing something wrong.

[roger1]

Originally Posted by JohnnyK81

I'm sure this mig is fine. Nobody seems to have any problems with it.

But what about parts?
How about getting parts 5 years from now?

When it comes to welders, stick with Hobart, Miller or Lincoln.

[JohnnyK81]

Well chances are you won't need parts in 5 years (I mean, I've never used this welder, but you know what I mean).

However, most welders all use the same parts. My Solar uses lincoln gun parts.. I assume this does as well (Tweeco? That what I'm thinking of).. Everything INSIDE the welder can be bought from any electronics place.. I wouldn't be too cnocerned with parts, except maybe the whole circuit board, but in that case, Lincoln and miller would charge you an arm and a leg for their boards anyways.

[scotzz]

They look very similar to this old Lincoln Weld-Pak 100 I just picked up at a yard sale. Actually a flux-core wire feeder without gas.

[gow589]

I just finished about my 50th 10lb spool of .024 wire in my Hobart 134. I am always amazed at how well these 110v units do thick metal. I have abused mine to no end and it has always done well. Here is a typical thick metal project, bucket from 1/2". Yea, I put the sharp edge on the inside (brain dead) But I later re-cut it with the hand held grinder again:










Narrow bucket good for removing trees; over 20 large trees so far: