Welding Tips and Tricks

I picked this up a couple weeks ago to replace my old Miller Diversion 165. I was looking for an easy, affordable machine that has a better duty cycle, a little more power, and a little more adjustability. I also wanted something that i could buy and have serviced locally, so the other cheaper online purchased were out of the question for me. This new Lincoln Square Wave 200 really fit the bill at the price of $1399. I really liked the fact that it came with a flex head #17 torch. The power cable/hose is very lightweight and flexible covered in a nice zippered nylon covering. Much higher quality than i was used to on my Diversion. I have only used it on the A/C setting so far so i cant really speak of the DC and stick modes. The amperage is adjustable from 10-200 amps, pulse mode is adjustable from 0.01 to 20 pps, balance is adjustable from 60 to 90en, and frequency from 60hz to 150hz. The only downfall about this machine is that the fan is running all the time compared to Miller's "Fan on Demand" that the Diversion has. It takes some getting used to, but it is not all that loud. You need to place the welder in a location lower than your table because the air blowing out of the louvers on each side will distrupt your shielding gas. This thing moves a lot of air. The controls are very easy to use, except for the buttons to navigate through the modes. They are hard to press with gloves on. They work great with a bare finger though. The insides are very protected. I took the case cover off to find the electronics are enclosed in plexiglass. I am very happy with my purchase.



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Looks good, Got anymore pics of the inside? Where is the fan mounted. They even put a plastic idiot protection device on the inside

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The fan is mounted facing straight out the back. This is the only other picture i have.

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Not trying to hi-jack your post but I'd like to add to this. I just bought this same welder, and just like you, to replace my miller diversion 180, and I am also very pleased with it. I've already welded two cast aluminum jobs with great results. One of my students also welded with it for 3 hours, pausing only between passes, dc- at 125 amps off a 120v plug and it never hit the duty cycle. This is a nice machine and worth every penny.

I welcome any other input in this thread. It helps out everyone. Thanks

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It is a nice tig welder but my PTA-17 torch handle has a crack in it after only 3 days at the flex end. Funny thing is I don't even know how it happened. Didn't really even flex the head yet. I guess I have to see what Lincoln will do about it.

I've been using mine for a couple of weeks. I've used every function throughout all settings. It seems to be a nice solid welding machine. My only complaints are that the arc stinger lead separated from the electrode holder and you have to completely disassemble the holder to replace the cable. There is no external access to tighten the set screw. My other complaint is more of a personal preference that the ground lead is far too short. Another 6 feet or so would be much more convenient to be able to lay the cable out of the way.
Good luck in finding one. I had to have mine shipped from Canada. The best I could find was a 6 week maybe from US distributors.

I bought one about 2 months ago and am also very happy with it, thanks for the pictures of the insides. I've done a lot of tig on thin wall steel tubing so far. I also tried out the arc welding with 6010 and 7018. I found it comparable to my old Lincoln tombstone, it amazes me how that much power can be in such a little package. On the tig side, I think the arc start is a bit harsh, I would think they could turn down the amperage on that a little with no ill effects. When I have to weld on something thin, I start on a thicker piece of scrap right next to my work, then slide over to start welding. The other thing I don't care for is the 15 second post flow. That uses a lot of gas when I'm tacking, or welding at low amperage on thin material. Maybe it's necessary to cool the torch or tungsten or something, not sure why they did that. I think the controls are really nice, I've used the pulse quite a bit already. It would be nice to be able to change the % on the pulse, but for the money I'm just glad it has the feature. I also really would have liked 2T/4T because I'm often laying down or in some crazy location where it's hard to work the foot pedal. I switched to a gas lens because the original cup on mine wasn't concentric around the tungsten and I felt there was more contamination and popping in the weld than there should be. The gas lens completely cured that, so my suspicions were correct. I think they didn't get the threads machined true on either the cup or the collet holder.

This machine was a tough choice for me because for the same money there are several imports that really have many more features and more power. In the end I decided to go with something that is supported locally and has a good warranty even if I have to sacrifice some features. I also got a very good deal from the local Airgas store, I'm a welding student at the local community college so they threw in a free bottle of gas with the purchase.

Glad to hear the good reviews. Just sold my older machine and was looking to this as a replacement. Anyone here also look at Precision 225? I know they are different price points but I could probably swing it. Trying to decide if I should spend the extra $$$. I hate to buy something and a year down the road regret not spending the extra money.

I'm heading to my local dealer Friday to talk to them but I figured I'd ask if anyone here had an opinion.

Thanks.

My guess would be it is based on the same inverter from the PM210. They may have added an AC chopper & HF generation stage and have a common DC inverter.

Made in China?

I'd be interested in seeing the internals when someone gets one.

Looks like a nice machine, and a great price point -- should put a bit of price pressure on the importers even.