Used Welder Advice

I never heard of anyone burning 1/8" 7018 at 300 amps. The maximum that I went to was about 150-155. I am not an expert but I would expect that your welding rod would melt at that amperage.

Old CC welders typically sell for not too much at liquidations, worth taking a risk:

Thanks for the links.

I know the range on the rods, I just like to use a larger machine than a machine that is running right at the top of its capacity.

When I used to dive, we used to use the underwater hollow copper alloy cutting rods with 60 psi down the center of the rod, and we'd use them at highest setting on the machine, usually a SA200.

Steve

My first suggestion is that you rethink your requirements, which are conflicting. If you primarily want to run 1/8" 7018, you will never need 300 amps. Also, high duty cycle generally conflicts with cheap. You might find a decent used DialArc 250 for under $400 - maybe.

I own five welders in a home shop. For stick welding I run a Miller Thunderbolt AC/DC. If I had to weld up a bunch of 1" plate vee grooved (meaning, lay in bead after bead as fast as you can) I'd pick up another buzzbox and use them in tandem. Around here I see them used for around $100 a lot. I have never found a clean used DialArc 250 for what I considered a good deal.

You could also go slightly outside your red/blue spec. Here, for example, is an example of what may well be a rebadged Miller machine with an Airco brand:

GWE

Okay. I live in Las Vegas, and I need a good used machine for general shop use. I have heard the DialArc name quite a few times before.

Steve