A little help ................

I had the one with the crank on the front. Thunderbolt XL (300Amp) that model is actually made by Hobart. Understand it to be the next (cheaper) generation of the top-crank model. The front crank is infinate withing the range of the switch. I keep the switch in on position. Its a great welder for its cheap price, and a little more cheesy;y made, but I loved it, and smoothest stick welder I've ever used.

And how much was the price?

Steve

"Steve B" wrote in message news:1rl0g.611$QP4.323@fed1read12...

Cheap dude. Actually, if you are interested, get the Hobart branded one - its about $50 cheaper. (wow, they've gone up in price)

Hobart stamped:

Miller stamped: The Thunderbolt/Stickmate is one of the few Milller welders made by somebody else. They are great! I can't tell you how many hours I put on mine. The dial (crank) is *really* linier, and infinite in control. Its like 20-30 turns from one end to the other. Very rarely will you very get rod stick - this welder's magnetic design makes for damn near automatic welding. I can't say enough about this welder. Only issue I every had with it was that after about a year of very heavy welding, the crank started to move counter-clockwise by itself while you were welding - it was very strange. Had someone else run some rods so that I could watch it - sure enough, crank going backwards real slow on its own. Come to find out, the friction bolts on the sliding armature inside were a little loose. These are a maintenance item that is covered very wel in the instruction manual. One day we decided to run it at 300 Amps at 100% duty cycle for about 1/2 hour to see how it would do. It ran fine, but back in the shop (where the welder was) whole place smelled like burning windings. Said uh-oh... Took the cover off, and it stilll looked like brand new, not one iota of discoloring on any winding/wire anywhere. Again, great machine, super smooth current regulation, and you just wouldn't expect it from something like this. And all copper windings too! I was lucky to get mine on a scratch/dent (*really* dented), and in ass end all smashed in (fell off truck). Love that machine, and the way it welds.