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Up Topic Welding Industry / General Welding Discussion / Ln25
- - By rcwelding (***) Date 12-22-2010 03:07
I have a chance to pick up an Ln25 wire feeder dirt cheep...( $350)   I have never run one... Its in a pawn/bail bond shop... They are supposed to Email me serial numbers before I go look at it... I want to run it through the local PD and make sure its not HOT before I go look at it... Talking to them on the phone they don't have a clue what they have...  What do I look for when I test it out..???  I haven't seen it in person yet but from the pictures it looks in good shape...

  It may be a hunk of junk, but I wont know till I go look at it...
  
  So whats good and whats bad about them.. What gos out on them and are they hard to fix..??

   Any info would help...

   Thanks

   RC
Parent - By 99205 (***) Date 12-22-2010 05:02
With a unknown like that I wouldn't give them more than $200.
Parent - - By aevald (*****) Date 12-22-2010 07:48
Hello RC, I believe most pawnshops have a return policy for tools and such. As long as they do, the price that they are asking on that unit is well worth it. In the area that I am from a similar unit would probably bring between 550 to 800 dollars all day long. Good call on your part to check on the status of the unit with the police department.
     As to the unit itself, the LN-25 is one of the premier suitcase feeders and has been well-proven in the field/shop for many years. They are able to operate on either CC or CV current and either polarity, so you can weld with solid wires, self and gas-shielded flux cored wires, and even aluminum in some cases with the appropriate gun/liner/wire grade combination. I would say the majority of them also had the contactor/gas solenoid kit installed, if not, you would have current present all the time at the contact tip and if it doesn't have the gas solenoid kit it would limit you to self-shielded flux cored wires. Check the Lincoln welding site and you can probably download the manual for it and get a really good idea of how it operates and it's limitations and capabilities. It is a voltage sensing feeder and as such it does require using welding current from a power source to drive it and provide welding current to make it weld. It also has a seperate wire with a ground clip that must be connected to the work piece along with the machine ground(essentially 2 workpiece connections). The manual can provide you with all of the operational and connection information. Good find, good luck, and best regards, Allan
Parent - - By Cumminsguy71 (*****) Date 02-20-2011 12:42
Good info Allan, just found one myself for $400 o.b.o with flux gun and solid wire gun then I came here to search on this type of unit.
Parent - By hillbilly (**) Date 02-20-2011 22:19
Do you own that one yet? I'm pretty sure that's the same that was listed for 800 awhile back. Its priced right now.
Parent - - By aevald (*****) Date 02-21-2011 03:56
Hello Shawn, sounds as if you did real well on that deal. Have you tried it out yet? That is, I am assuming that you bought it? Best regards, Allan
Parent - - By Cumminsguy71 (*****) Date 02-21-2011 11:22
Yeah, I could not resist buying it. We hooked it up and pulled the trigger, rollers turned, voltage meter on front worked, wire speed knob when turned sped up rollers, slowed down was just missing one thing......wire! Hahaha! Guy bought it from a friend to use on his service truck then got laid off, so he no longer had a welder to run the suitcase and never bought any wire for it cause he never needed to use it. Gonna get out today and see if I can scrounge up some wire, seems like there was a wire everybody on here was talking about using flux core for CC, esab maybe, I'll have to research on here.
Parent - - By Rig Hand (***) Date 02-21-2011 18:13
ESAB coreshield 8

http://products.esabna.com/EN/home/filler_metals_catalog/filler_metals_product_detail/q/display_id.id4367f2a9663534.21346743/category_id.796/path.filler_metals_cored_wire_carbon_low_alloy_steel_selfshielded_flux_core_coreshield_8_71t8

It takes a little getting use to but, by the end of your first roll you'll have it down. I would look into a CV adapter for your 250 it will be worth the money.

Don't give up on the wire, I bought a roll of .072 and ran a few pounds. I thought it was JUNK!!! So I put it back in the oven, I tried it a few weeks later, I was still not very impressed, Then I had some down time and was determined that I was going to use it (at least the rest of the roll). Now I swear by it, if ESAB made a CS-8 t-shirt I'd wear one every day :)  Some folks will tell you that self shielding wire is junk, but its like the vantages, if you take the time to learn it there ain't a whole lot that can stand in your way. You might try 1/16 for all position work. I still use the .072 (cause thats what my consumables/drive rolls are) but I would think that the 1/16 would be a little easier for out of position and thinner material.

PS: Try some NS-3M. You'll never buy jetrod again :)
And don't forget to swap your leads to DC-
Parent - - By Lawrence (*****) Date 02-21-2011 18:32
Agreed!

I love the 1/16th Coreshield 8.    It runs vertical like no other electrode I've seen.

Less spatter, puddle easier to read, can weld unlimited thickness, very high out of position wire speeds compared to NR's  (exept 233 which is also pretty good)

The ESAB data sheets are right on the money for paramter selection. (paying close attention to electrode extension and voltage)
Parent - By jffluxcore (**) Date 02-22-2011 11:18
Lawerence coreshield 8, a very popular wire.
Parent - - By J Hall (***) Date 02-22-2011 03:11
What Righand said; Coreshield8. It runs real nice, but I don't know about running CC.
Parent - - By crahner (**) Date 02-22-2011 03:36
Core shield 11 runs as nice as 8 does and both run great cc
Parent - By Superflux (****) Date 02-22-2011 07:24
OK, the LN 25 experience I have is possibly outdated. But, by flipping the internal switch to CC (with a CC machine without cv contactor installed) on the LN 25, FCAW works ok, but gun angle and electrical stickout are VERY CRITICAL! Once you find that "sweet spot"...Do Not Deviate! Which of course is easier said than done, unless you duct tape the trigger with the gun on a Bug-O motorized track system. "Sweet Spot" on the settings are also tough to dial in. 2 "sweet spots" can be an exercise in patience and tenacity. Sitting crosslegged on a lonely mountain top contemplating why men have nipples, like the Dali Lama might be easier.
LN 25's get my highest endorsement. They are as Coal Miner and Boilermaker Proof as any machine I've witnessed. Both these professions are quite capable of destroying a wrecking ball with a rubber mallet. I know, I've seen it, I've done it. Ashamed to admit it.
Parent - - By Rig Hand (***) Date 02-22-2011 22:53
Thanks, I haven't tried ESAB's CS 11 yet, but I was wondering about it.
Parent - By crahner (**) Date 02-23-2011 03:08
I ran 3 rolls of it, all vertical and overhead.  Very smooth and easy to use.
Parent - By Iron Head 49 (***) Date 12-22-2010 10:56
If the feeder is dead when you try it out, under the spool of wire is a philips head screw, that holds down a little hatch cover. Under this hatch cover is an 1/8 amp fuse. This fuse is the “Circuit Protection and Automatic Shutdown”. If this fuse is blown, the feeder will not work!

On G1757-2 through -5 it is an 1/8-amp fuse. On G1757-1 it is a 5-amp fuse.
- - By burleigh26 (**) Date 02-22-2011 19:18
anyone know if lincoln make the LN-25 that hooks up to leads for power.  i been looking at de ln-25 dual power, have the miller passport plus but not the biggest fan of it.
Parent - By Mat (***) Date 02-23-2011 06:05 Edited 02-23-2011 06:13
The LN-25 does indeed work off of the leads, and it works like a hot damn!  It has a smaller lead that you connect to the grounded base metal, and that completes the circuit to power the drive rolls, etc.
Up Topic Welding Industry / General Welding Discussion / Ln25

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