Yes, Millers are easier to repair for me. This is due to thier reliable wiring numbering and good schematics. Lincoln seems to used disappearing ink on their wires. FWIW.
The new Miller's are not of the same quality as those before the ITW buyout. I know I'll hear screming about this. Remember, I have worked on Miller (and other) equipment for 25 years.
The current Lincoln's are much better than they were just a few years ago. Reading a Lincoln schematic is the same as reading an Italian or other european schematic. Is this a real problem for a real repair tech-no.
We have learned over the years to decipher schematics of all kinds.
If your repair tech cannot read a Lincoln or Miller schematic, perhaps collecting soda bottles might be his next assignment.
Really shouldn't have said that.. Repair techs of any competency are going to to be rare in the future. The factory's are doing thier best to steer customers into new machines, rather than repairing what they got.
How do I know this??-Parts are much harder to get in reasonable time period. Parts prices are also going up, exceeding inflation.
Many parts that I replace are now generic-I get them from many electrical and electronic places, and make them work. The factories seem to be little help anymore.
OK-all that is said.....
You really can't go wrong buying either a Miller or Lincoln. Things are much different now.
Each company has strong points and weak points.
Best tig comes from Miller-although the new Lincoln Precision tig can give them a real run for the money.
Best mig is still Miller-as far as pulse goes, Lincoln has the upper hand-Invertec V350 and STT.
Stick welding can go either way
Flux core still can go either way.
Sub arc has been Lincoln's thing for years-they are still the best.
Engine drives, 300 amp or less-nod has to go to Lincoln, bigger machines, Miller has the edge.
These are just my observations over the past few years.
Good Luck
brande
no doubt a miller is easier to repair. if only because while the lincoln's may have an acceptable schematic glued without care to the inside of a panel, it will not be protected in any way by a nice plastic sheet as with most all millers. so a few years down the road (as with my current problem commander 400) the schematic is damaged just thru age and i need to get another one from lincoln. on a miller, the paper would have been protected by a plastic shhet, and years form now, even if a steam cleaner washed it, it would still be readable. thusly, given that the quaility of both brands is the same. a miller is superior. more.... a miller comes with an operatoers manual, and inside of it is a section called "theory of operation" (and another schematic) very useful and not avail for lincoln customers. more.... a service manual is easily avail to miller customers, with it you should be able to fix the vast percentage of issues that will arise over the years. NOT easily avail, if at all, for lincoln's.
miller parts list make sense and the parts have numbers. lincoln's do not. lincoln parts are on a CD that exists only at the authorised service center, miller's come in the operators manual.
unless there is a SPECIFIC technical (and there can be a few) reason to buy a lincoln, i shove my boss towards big blue.
cheers
The thing that bugs me is the schematics that show the circuit board as a rectangle with just the wires going in and out. I reversed engineered the board in a Lincoln high freq unit so I could repair it. I won't buy a new circuit board when all it needed was a couple of $.25 capacitors.
Welding machines should be bought to perform, not to make life easier for some mechanic that may or may not ever have to work on the machine.
Everything we use is Lincoln, for very specific reasons, and when they do require a trip to the repair shop they are always fixed easily and quickly.
JTMcC.
I have to agree. Perhaps a Miller is easier to repair than a Lincoln. That is a good thing since the Millers in my past have always required more service attention than the Lincolns. And, as you eluded to, the performance is not equal, so even if the stats were reversed, the performance advantages of the Lincolns would balance the scales.
As an 'outside' interest, surely some of the other producers' of welding generators must meet your spec. by now!!!?? What about ESAB and KEMPII etc?
I think that maybe I was misunderstood.
Personally, I don't care what I have to work on. A machine is a machine.
They all require certain components to function. That is as far as it goes.
So as far as I am concerned, brand does not matter.
Welder brand choice depends on numerous factors. Each shop has it's own particular work, conditions, power and so on. Regional preferences and available technical support enter into it as well. Many shops choose one brand over another because of past machines performance. These are all valid considerations. Shops buy what fits best, and that is how it should be.
Yes-you buy a particular welding machine for what it can do for you. Absolutely.
Repair should not be the deciding factor. A competent repair shop should be able to handle all. Competent key word here.
Things are changing rapidly in the welding machine arena. Keep your eyes open-these changes may surprise.
I think you will see the industry and machines much different in the coming years.
A good thing? Don't know. Could be.
Good Luck
brande
