Appreciation post: that old Lincoln 225 AC buzzbox I nearly threw out

Picked up a Lincoln 225 AC tombstone at an estate sale in Kalamazoo for $40. Fired it up on a repair job last week and it ran smoother than my inverter unit on 1/8 inch 7018 rods. Learned that sometimes older gear just has a steadier arc for field work, no frills. Anyone else keep an old transformer machine around for backup?

3 comments

3 Comments

gibson.morgan1mo ago

So I've still got an old Miller dialarc from the 80s in my barn, thing weighs a ton but I swear it's welded everything from tractor hitches to mailbox posts without ever complaining once.

blakestone1mo ago

Wait, you've got a Dialarc from the 80s that still works? I don't believe you. Those old transformer machines were bulletproof but 40 years of barn humidity and dust should have killed it by now. I've seen a hundred of those things with cracked cases and corroded connections where the fan quit and they just cooked themselves. The fact that yours is still striking an arc on mailbox posts, well, that's just stubborn old iron refusing to die. I'd love to see a picture of the serial plate if you ever get a chance.

bennett.harper1mo ago

Nail it on the head @blakestone, but fans don't quit on Dialarcs they just hum louder.