Had the misfortune to run one of these high tech....heaps the other day. Working on 12" pipe, downhill, 5P+, 1/8" and 5/32". Going by Lincolns website a "280" machine is more than capable.

After spending half the day trying to dial it in, things seemed to be alright. Caps were frustrating part of that due to the very inconsistent bevel angles on the factory tees. 1/2" wide gap on one side and the other side has a 3/4" gap. Root gap consistent all around, what???

I noticed arc blow at first and other little things in the morning session. They wanted me to try it out as the other welder in the shop said it was all wishy washy, up, down, hot, cold. I started running more 5/32's, machine set where they were running fairly well and it happened. It was like I was welding with a arc gouger with no air. I don't think the flames of Hayde's were near as hot. Backed it down and still roasting hot. Had this thing dialed down to 75 and was flowing right, on a 5/32 rod! I bailed on that machine, talked with the other guy about the symptoms and he just said, "yep, yep".

Today I'm running a trailblazer, going well. The other two welders are running these Miller's. The guy in the back shop welding 7018, 1/8 and 5/32 would weld a rod or two then take a mandatory break because the "280" shut down. The guy welding pipe in the front shop is using 1/8" on 6" and 4" pipe. Today his machine started acting up. Three different "inverter" machines, all the same model and all having the same issues.

With a 280 amp rating with us running 95 to 140 amps it does not seem like we would be pushing them that hard even with the duty cycle. They are all wired in three phase so they are getting the max amount of juice.

Anybody running these things notice issues. They said they had them in the shop and were told that they are working fine. If it was one guy with one machine, me for instance and never in my life using one then I might say its me, not the machine. I see they seem to be popular with the hobby welder, rock crawler, etcetera and they have given it rave reviews. This is the second type of Miller inverter I have seen like this. The first was the Maxstar 150. Guy was putting a flange on an 8" pipe and was running 3/32-7018. I asked him why he wasn't using 1/8 so I could get back to the hotel and sleep instead of hanging around on the roof of a building in downtown Atlanta all night. He said, "I can't run 1/8", it kills the duty cycle". Said he could only run a rod or two before it shutdown.

They are compact I will give them that but darn, trying to actually use one for work and I give the ole "Blue machine" a thumbs down. Just my two cents!!