Miller Roughneck 2E/2F?

You were very generous with the price.

A lot of these guys are like this, they think that this worn, rusted stuff is worth its weight in gold.

I am sure that he will be spamming craigslist for months with this POS.

i

I used to work on small engines, and Tecumseh engines always seemed to run hotter, burn exhaust valves, blow head gaskets, throw rods, and have crappy ignition problems a lot more often than Briggs, Onan, Wisconsin, and Kohler did. For some reason they always seem more noisy than other engines also. I would tend to stay away from Tecumseh except maybe for occasional snow blower use.

Fair welder. The good thing about engine is parts are available. The bad thing is that if it's the one I think it is they're expensive (and it was prone to ignition problems to boot). Better than having a Onan but barely.

About right as far as I'm concerned.

Normal.

Not really.

Good luck. I've heard of a few good deals but it's rare to find one worth the money.

If there's anyone on this NG that can find the good deal, its Gunner. I bet he scores a five year old one that's never been used for $100.

Karl

26 years old? And it still runs? Either it has really not been used much, or it is a miracle. You can be absolutely sure no one-cyl engine-driven anything will still be running if it was used daily for serious work. I guess if it was used once every other month, oil and filters were changed religiously, etc. it might still be in decent condition, but.....

I have a tractor that is nearly 40 years old (Bolens "husky") with a single Cyl Wisconsin that is still in very good shape. I replaced the insane updraft carb years ago with a motorcycle carb, and added a spark supressor to the voltage regulator so I didn't need to keep adjusting the regulator points, but other than that it has had no maintenance. But, I don't use it a lot, maybe 10 hours a year.

So, I guess "milage" is a pretty important factor.

Jon

You do OK yerself, Karl!

Patience is a good thing, so is not blinking when a good deal is found.

A seller that won't talk to you or even take your name is not seriously interested in selling. Market is what it happens to be regardless of what a seller might wish it might be.

I prowled craigslist for 5 years before I snagged my 1986 Miller AEAD200LE for $650. For once I was the first one to call. I bought it because it really had seen very little use. Mainly backup power at a mountain cabin, and maybe welding once every other year. I had to replace a lot of the heavy internal wires just from age, and add some new paint and a better muffle, but other than that everything was fine, and it has worked great for me.

Fires up every time and just purrs along. The Onan engine hasn't given me any trouble.

It does weigh around 600 lbs, but it lives on a small trailer I built for it.

If the engine craps out I'll just retrofit another engine.

Can you buy a wire welder and a gasoline generator? May not be any kind of savings there, but do you need 200 amps for light structural work and some fence repair?And you can always use a generator. I bought one of those cheap wire welders and it welds up to 1/4" material very well, in the hands of a skilled welder.

I am a terrible welder. I told my wife, if I ever get re-married, I'm marrying some who can weld.

I've got a ~32 yr old Deere riding mower with a Kohler 10hp engine in it that still runs fine. I use it quite a bit between mowing, vacuuming leaves and whatnot.

I missed the first of this message (due to our cursed spammer), but I wanted to chime in:

I've been running a Lincoln Ranger 8 for about 4 years. I got it used for $1500 (probably too much), but they can be found for less on eBay today. Look for one with few hours.

Mine has the Onan engine, which was also used on some Miller welders. So, for parts, I can go to a Miller or a Lincoln store. The welding machine itself seems just about indistructable: It pumps out 8000 watts (if you want to use it as a 220V single phase generator), provides AC, DC, CC and CV. I think it is fantastic!

I put maybe 100 hours a year on the machine. It still runs fine, and I am very happy with it. I put a tank of gas in every couple of months along with some fuel stabalizer, and change the oil and filter every spring using a good Synthetic.

My dad has one of the Miller Roughnecks, and he's had it over 15 years! He bought his as scrap because it would not crank. He replaced the points, and his $100 investment has been working ever since. His machine does not have the automatic idle control like mine, doesn't pump out the wattage mine does, and I believe it is DC only. But, it's a good machine, too!

~Joe

Gunner Asch wrote:

The seller called me today..said he had talked to the owner..and he would take $400 for it.

I told him Id ponder on it.

Gunner

My networking is paying off, maybe. Buddy of mine (who owes me some BIG favors, just called, says he has a Linde AC/DC gasoline welder, with a bad Onan engine, and a good Onan engine to replace it with. I told him I dont need another hobby as I start a New Project Monday (building a factory in a big assed empty 35,000 square foot building) and would be tied up for a while. Id swap him out some of the favors he owes me if it puts it together, turn keys it to me. He said he would.

Now if he actually does.....Im golden

Gunner

Shesh! Wished someone owed me favors like that!

~Joe (formerly jp2express)

"Gunner" wrote:

His machine shop is 90% machines owned by me.

Shrug...

I figure I've been collecting favours all my life and will be lucky to be able to pass half of them along in the time remaining. Gerry :-)} London, Canada

Sometimes, I have to blast through a rusted 6/8 I beam with something like 6010 or 6011. Takes a pretty good sized mig to do this, but any

200 amp stick welder will take this in stride, even outdoors in a driving rain and high wind. By "light structural", I meant I dont do it every day. 1/2" plate welding is pretty common for me to do.

Ive a Lincoln weldpac 100, which is rated for 1/4" with flux core. Trying to stick a 1/4" support flange on a 6x12" I beam, is a lesson in futility with that machine. By the time Ive burned into the I beam..Ive already used 100ft of wire..look like stalagtites...

Yet Ive done it with a 110vt 90amp inverter dc only stick welder with 3/32" 6010

Gunner

"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire. Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us) off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the shit out of you for torturing the cat." Gunner