What do you guys think about a little Maxstar 140STR stick/tig unit for occasional stainless tube welding. A fellow down the street wants to sell his so he can upgrade to a bigger AC/DC machine and wants $600 for it. I have a good MIG unit for the heavy stuff but I really need something for finer work.
While I am not sure what the STR denotes, I have used one of those Maxstar
140's and loved it! Most of what I welded with it was 12-18 gage SS and some carbon. This was in a fab. shop setting, so I may have been welding the better part of 4-6 hours in an eight hour day. The Maxstar worked very well, and I believe a new one is in the $1,800-$2,000US range, so $600 sounds pretty good if it works right and is not beat up too bad.
I'm sure Ernie will be along soon, he can tell you what the STR stands for.
I've recently downloaded and printed manuals for both the Maxstar 140 and the Maxstar 140 STR.
What appears to be the difference is that the STR has a connector for a remote control of the current (set on the TIG torch -- though I suspect that it could be connected to a foot control as well.) It is said to be only for the Lift-Start TIG welding, not for the stick welding. While the manual is not too clear on it, I suspect that it allows adjustment from zero current up through the maximum set on the front panel control.
I am quite tempted by that little machine. I can provide it with 240V, but the tiny size makes a difference in my shop. (And it would probably be carried outside for any welding, because there are living quarters above the shop, without a fully tight air seal.
Were you doing stick welding or TIG? If only stick, the STR option does not seem necessary for you. From the outside, the difference is all on the front panel a tiny toggle switch below the AMPs control knob, and a small multi-pin connector to the left of the switch -- seven pins, IIRC.
Based on the schematics in the manual, the internal difference is an additional board connected into the control circuits and to the front panel switch and connector.
I'll be interested to see what he says about that -- and what he thinks of the welder itself. Granted that it is noticeably smaller than would be needed for a proper general purpose welder, but as a small one, it seems really nice to me.
Can't tell you off hand what the STR stands for, but I can tell you the Maxstar150 is available bare for well under $1000, and loaded (torch, case, HF start, the works) for about $1300. It's a very nice machine, and the 140 has quite a good reputation as well.
The STR replaced the original 140. I had the first version of the Maxstar 140 which did not have the remote option.
It was a great little machine, both for TIG and Stick welding.
I eventually found I really needed remote capabilities because arc starting and ending with no remote has a bad habit of causing arc scars. On SS those scars can look pretty bad.
I upgraded to a Maxstar 200DX, and 3.5 years later I still love it.
The 140 was amazingly small, and with the STR's added remote trigger capability it is much more useful for TIG on thin materiels.
FYI. The Maxstar 140 was made by Fronius in Austria for Miller. Fronius makes the most expensive inverters in Europe. Very nice machines indeed.
Miller had to discontinue the 140 because Fronius could not maintain the supply of repair and replacement parts that Miller required. Miller is very demanding of subcontractors because they maintain a very high standard of parts availability for the repair shops across the US. Miller garauntees replacement parts in 3 days or less.
The Maxstar 140 never had a foot pedal option, only a remote pendant control that was velcroed to the torch handle.
I believe there is a foot pedal available now from Miller for that machine, but you could easily make your own for a lot less.
The 140 ws a good stick machine but suffered from a common failing in inverters on stick welding. Due to a low open-circuit-voltage it did not like 6010 at all.
The Maxstar 150 replaced the 140 and is made in Appleton Wisconsin. The 150 comes in 3 types... The 150S is a basic Stick welder with no TIG features. The 150STL has remote control, lift-arc and a built in gas solenoid. The 150STH has all the above plus high frequency start, and simple pulsing capability.
All the Maxstar 150s are garaunteed to run 1/8" 6010 and 7018 from a
110 volt input. Something no other inverter maker can claim.
I still miss the compact size of my little 140, and often think I will buy a 150 someday.
I still think a Maxstar 150STH and a Readywelder spoolgun is the ultimate in versatility and portability for Stick, TIG and MIG on 110 or 220 volt input.
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