i have been away from the welding world as a full time job for 12 years or so. and i am loosing my current job, so it looks like i am going to rejoin the ranks of welders. i have all kind of pipe line work going on around me and i think i want a peice of the pie. i have been looking at getting a diesel welder and i have seen every type in the world on the welding rigs running all around my house. i am thinking about just breaking down and buying a new machine. the main reason is that i need a reliable machine to keep me working. but i have found some old lincolns that weld like a dream. what do you all recomend??
i have been leaning towards the new compact water cooled deisels, but man they cost some coin. i really liked a miller 304 pipeliner but my god they are high. the lincoln 305d as more reasonably priced but they seem a bunch louder by the factory decible ratings.
and i can say how much this site as all ready helped me get back in the welding world. there is a weath of info here, thanks again, mike
Find an SA-200(if you need diesel look at an SA-250 with a Perkins), mine is from the early 70's and is every bit as reliable as my new Miller. The Pipe Pro 304 from what I have heard has some reliability issues with the electronics, and 12 grand is steep. If I had to do it over again I don't think I would have bought a new machine out of the box, because there are plenty of bargans to be had out there.
Check out my ad in the for sale section. I'm selling a classic 300 w/Kubota engine.
Go with the old sa200 they may be alittle thirsty on gas but they are worth every cent.I ran a 300d and i was not very impressed with it did try rolling the rack and it helped but i did not ever feel it stacked like the sa200 if i was going to buy a new machine it would be the 200d though i have a few friends who run them and they are about as close to the sa200 as you can get.well i hope you get rigged up and crack out soon.
By ZCat 
Date 03-24-2007 14:29
Edited 03-24-2007 14:46
I have a Classic 3D. A friend of mine talked me into getting it when I rigged out, I knew nothing about welding machines other than how to start it and weld with it.
Well, it worked out OK when I was in Texas working at the refineries, but when I got to Wyoming and started welding around the downhill pipeline wizards, it didn't take long to find out I had the wrong machine. It has higher voltage than the 200's, and wouldn't stack metal right, and undercut the root bead on the bottom of the pipe. Those guys with the old 200's were smoking my doors off.
I found an aftermarket voltage resistor some guy in Odessa Texas makes specifically for the Classic 3D and installed that, I forget now how much it cost. That helped out a lot in taming the machine, I got to where I could keep up with the other guys a little better.
If I was gonna buy a machine now, I would look into getting something different.
edit: My machine is a '97, maybe the newer ones are different?
Definately go diesel and save some coin on fuel . I've been running a 300d and its been a very reliable machine. A friend of mine runs a vantage 300 , and its probably better because you can adjust the arc -stiff or soft and its 300 lbs lighter. Both machines run Quiet . The miller trailblazer 302 and ranger 305g would be my choice if i were to buy a gas machine , as they are also quiet and you can adjust the arc setting. Diesel machine saves about 40 % in fuel cost , so figure that cost saving into the price and youré getting a machine for the same price as gas one that lasts twice as long . Have a good day - WS
I agree with sparky. Diesel machines save you a bunch in the long run. I also agree that the chopper technology makes for a very versitile machine. Running downhill pipe, you can soften or harden up the arc for your root, hot, fill, and caps accordingly. BUT, the big engine classic allows you to do a lot of serious work without it even breaking a sweat. My buddy has a classic 3 with the Perkins that has a little under 12,000 hrs on it. All he has done was regular maintainence on it and it still purrs like a kitten. I've never put that amount of hours on a rig without a rebuild. Mine's got a Kubota, and I heard they last even longer...
I'm going to start a new thread on Perkins vs Kubota, because I want to know why the Kubota is a more expensive option than Perkins.
I run two sa200s a guy can also dig or have a soft arc if a guy knows how to have his rheostat settings and what hole to runn in i agree the diesel perkins and kubota are more fuel efficent but also i have over 10,000 hours on one sa200 and she still purrs also not oil burning i have a freind with a 300reddarc with 9000 hrs kubota and shes burnin oil.i guess everyone has there own prefrences on machines but i do know that diesel is not as cheap as it used to be and in most cases it is usually alot higher than gas,also for the diesel a zexel inj pump is upwards close to 1000,whats a zenith carb cost mabey 300.aslo the fuel today is so dry the inj pumps get internal parts beat up due to lack of lubricity so a guy has or should runn fuel additive,well i have rattled on enough the bottom line is whatever machine will work out for you is the right machine.
Well, I used to have one of those 300D machines, great machine but wouldn't pipeline for crap. My opinion, if yer into pipelineing at all, get an old SA-200, or if you're feeling wealthy a new 200D pipeliner machine.
I know what you are saying the 300d was always a hot machine i never could get the machine calmed down i am not a welder machine expert but i think alot of it has to do with the rpm range and also ac to dc process,like the old timers say are you buying a welder or a power source?there is no replacing a dc excitor!
ok what about the 400 stainless chassie lincoln????? the more i think about it, the more i would like the ability to run a plasma or both of my ac's on my 44' enclosed trailer.
I run a miller big 40D Deluxe with a perkins engine. It offers all the options you could want tig, mig,etc and 15kws of aux power. It is most likley more welder then a guy needs in alot of cases but it is quite and has lots of power for the odd time I have to gauge or melt something together with some fat rod.. As of yet I have not had any proplems welding pipe with this machine and it allows you to fine tune the arc as well it weighs in at 1500 lbs aprox so it is a little heaver then some other machines. I would have to say that what ever machine you choose go desiel and if you are looking for aux power to run other machines off of that would be your best bet just make sure you are producung enough kws for your needs..
Well, everytime some solicitor gets on this site I shut them down. Now you all did it to me! - DANG IT!
Guess I better just keep that classic 3 in the yard.
I have never heard any complaint about the Vantage line yet. My buddy has a vantage 300/kubota, but only has 2000 hrs on it. He loves it, and it's REALLY quiet, man!
I don't have as much experience as many on here I'm sure, but I've been doing the mobile thing for 7 years now, the last two have been on my own. I used to be a strong Miller fan, so when I went on my own I bought a new Trailblazer 302. I know its not a pipepro 304, but generaly they seem to be reported as being more reliable than the pipepro 304 and I bought new because I thought it would take care of me for many years if I took good care of it. Anyways, long story short, I had quiet a few issues with it, and I had issues with the arc too. It would do what I wanted, but you had to fight it depeding on what you were doing with it, it especially liked to undercut in vertical up smaw. I recently switched to a redface SA-200 with a rebuilt continental in it, and its a seriously better machine, even if its 45 years old. On top of all this it is probably 10 times more reliable than my Miller was (yes I pulled that number out of thin air), but I don't loose any sleep now worrying about PC boards and funny blips that cuase me to mysteriously loose welding power and I smile every time I start up that straightpiped redface. Miller in itself is a good company and always took care of me, but the point I'm trying to make is I found out that new doesn't necessarily mean better and when a machine is down, warranty or not, you're still up a creek until you get it fixed or find a replacement. Good luck in whichever way you decide to go.
When I got to Wyoming I got schooled like never before. There was a young hotshot there that had a '58 Lincoln he had put some higher output brushes or something in, I'm not real sure what he did, but that guy was putting out twice the production I was with my Classic 3D. He made me look stupid, and I had already been welding pipe for 20 years.
I wasn't really a downhill pipeline dude, but I had done some downhilling in Alaska and I thought I knew a little something about it. I came up welding uphill and TIG in the refineries on the Gulf Coast, I knew how to do some stuff they didn't, but when I got in their world I was pretty much a worm for a while. Picking the right machine makes a whole lot of difference. That young guy with the '58 asked me: Why'd you buy that machine? I really didn't have a good answer for him.
well i guess i will just find a sa 200 and call it done.
