Is this a good proposition?

[SiPMerlin150]

Got an old MIG in work, about 10 years old , (Lincoln Electric Compact 185) Its not working, ( contactor relay clicks, there is power, but the wire feed doesn't work.) The wire feed motor works, as 12 volts to the motor makes it run.

A few months ago this same welder was fixed at BOC gases for this exact same problem, didn't tell me us what was wrong, they just fixed it, popped a new contact tip in the torch and fitted a new earthing clamp, and was charged £70.

Anyway, its sat in the back of the garage collecting dust. Anyways spoke to my boss who thinks that his dad (garage owner) will let me have the welder for £90-£100.....

This was the first MIG welder I ever MiG welded on and I found it a real pleasure to weld with. Its fitted with a Euro torch MB25 Binzel torch, will take 15KG spools, 180 amp single phase and just the simple beauty of a wire speed knob, and a volts selector. Even has its own trolley built in too.

Is it worth a giving this machine a new lease of life for £100 + the repair parts? Its full of dust inside which may be another cause of problems, most likely grinding dust shorting the circuits? Theres not much inside it.

 

[mike 109444]

Gotta be worth a punt. Can't be that much worng with it. Might be worth putting a meter on the tip and earth clamp to make sure there is welding voltage (go through the power steps aprox 16vDC through to 30vDC ish) that way you atleast know the main transformer is ok. Then post pics of pcb (electronic porn to some ). Well better than looking at tractors.....

 

[astro_al]

That's a 200 quid gamble. I'd just look elsewhere or try to knock the price down to something sensible.

Al

 

[SiPMerlin150]

I'll speak to his dad tommorow about it then, He and his son are two completely different people and can never see eachother eye to eye, just always contradicting eachother..but thats family business, I'm sure I'll be able to persuade him, I'm sure £100 quid in his pocket sounds better than a dead welder sat in the back taking up space..

 

[brightspark]

it will be off his books anyhow so it wont owe him anything. bid him down as its cash in his pocket

 

[SiPMerlin150]

it will be off his books anyhow so it wont owe him anything. bid him down as its cash in his pocket

He's not majorly daft, but originally I thought £80, but in the back of his mind, he knows what its actually worth..hmmm... he's not one to let go of things easily We'll see

 

[SiPMerlin150]

That's a 200 quid gamble. I'd just look elsewhere or try to knock the price down to something sensible.

Al

I don't need the welder, I just thought I'd upgrade rather majorly from the powercraft MIG I have at them moment, and these Lincolns sell for £360-400 on the 'bay...

 

[SiPMerlin150]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/LINCOLN-COMPACT-185-MIG-WELDER-/170913453738

Have a look, I mean once I'm done with it, i'm sure someone will tear my arm off for it if I ever wanted to sell it..

 

[astro_al]

You don't need to convince me! It was just my opinion.

I normally reckon about a pound per amp is about right for good quality old kit. This one is broken. I think 200 is pretty strong money, that's all. The choice is yours.

Al

 

[Wozzaaah]

I think I'd do what Brightspark says and try and get the price down a bit.
At the moment it's useless to him, he either sells it for scrap or spends money to repair it.
The problem you have is that it might be a simple fix (and therefore cheap) or it may cost you an arm and a leg and not be worth bothering with.
Difficult call really.
The good thing is there's people on here who will most likely be able to diagnose and repair the PCB if it's that that's at fault.

Decent machines they may be but I'm amazed someone paid that much for one!

 

[SiPMerlin150]

You don't need to convince me! It was just my opinion.

I normally reckon about a pound per amp is about right for good quality old kit. This one is broken. I think 200 is pretty strong money, that's all. The choice is yours.

Al

Sorry, didn't mean to offend you Al, Sometimes its hard to judge emotion through reading words on a screen Hopefully it shouldn't be something dear inside that gone wrong.. Wonder what caused the new 'part' (if any) to go wrong again? I'd be on the floor rolling with laughter if its a fuse!

I'll have to have a peek inside the welder and see if any less than dusty parts are present, indicating a new part.. It couldn't of been much if £70 was including labour and a ground clamp...

 

[F.J.]

Why dont you see if you can take it back to BOC and explain that they fixed it last time and could they have a look at it again and tell you how much it would cost to repair. Diagnosing a problem doesnt cost a thing. That way you will have an idea on what you want to offer your boss's dad

Dean

 

[snowcat]

Id offer peanuts for it TBH, could be a simple fix could be a PCB which will being a Lincoln make the machine beyond economic repair.

Buying non working kit, (unless you know the fault) fraught with problems, you may end up with just a S/H torch.

If you don't really want it, bid him small..

 

[astro_al]

No worries mate, I'm not offended. Just think you could be into a bad bargain if you're not careful, or just unlucky. Don't let your heart rule your head! There are a gazzillion mig welders out there, many of which are good quality.

Sounds like a good plan. See if you can spend some time cleaning it out and checking it over before committing, you might be able to figure out the problem (without letting on), price up a solution and grab yourself a bargain.

Cheers, Al

 

[SiPMerlin150]

Why dont you see if you can take it back to BOC and explain that they fixed it last time and could they have a look at it again and tell you how much it would cost to repair. Diagnosing a problem doesnt cost a thing. That way you will have an idea on what you want to offer your boss's dad

Dean

Good idea, I'll give them a ring tommorow and see if I can get the BOC desk bloke to recall what exactly was done to it AND and arrange to have it looked at by on of their technicians. Garage has an account with BOC so they should be able to recall exactly what we were billed for too.

 

[mike 109444]

I thought it was a oner then plus parts cost (BOC fixed it for 70 inc labour, ok it went again but cant be that much wrong with it). If you broke it for parts, Feed motor asy ££'s Main transformer ££'s, Tourch ££'s, Powerr selector switch £. You only have to look at the price some of the "for spares or repair" small welders go for on the bay, silly money

 

[SiPMerlin150]

No worries mate, I'm not offended. Just think you could be into a bad bargain if you're not careful, or just unlucky. Don't let your heart rule your head! There are a gazzillion mig welders out there, many of which are good quality.

Sounds like a good plan. See if you can spend some time cleaning it out and checking it over before committing, you might be able to figure out the problem (without letting on), price up a solution and grab yourself a bargain.

Cheers, Al

I like your style! I'll wheel it into the back of the garage where I work and have a mooch through it on my breaks.. We have multimeters in there too. Were shall I take power readings from if fail to visually spot something wrong?

 

[SiPMerlin150]

I thought it was a oner then plus parts cost (BOC fixed it for 70 inc labour, ok it went again but cant be that much wrong with it). If you broke it for parts, Feed motor asy ££'s Main transformer ££'s, Tourch ££'s, Powerr selector switch £. You only have to look at the price some of the "for spares or repair" small welders go for on the bay, silly money

It'll be less than a oner if I can barter him down to £80 asking for less might be seen as cheeky! hehehe. The BOC guy had no idea what work was done on it, nor was it recorded on the invoice according to the manager... doesn't that just sound fishy? Especially with a free fitted new earth clamp and contact tips?...

 

[Lewis Medlock]

I normally reckon about a pound per amp is about right for good quality old kit.

Wahey! Not just me then



Jim

 

[SiPMerlin150]

Wahey! Not just me then



Jim

This thing is 180 amp...won't be paying £180 for its though..