Older Thunderbolt or new Stickmate
Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2011 11:58 pm
Hi Guys:
I'm a wannabe which means I don't own a welder (yet). I stopped at a little welding supply shop to browse. I wanna get a "new" stick welder. The owner of this store was an older fella and seemed very knowledgeable. But he had his prejudices and biasses. He had a few new Miller's on the floor along with just a ton of used welders, of all types, makes, and models, some very big. He also repairs all types of welders. He wasn't to impressed with the current crop of Miller Thunderbolt XL 225/150 AC/DC. Something about plastic parts in the crank mechanism to adjust the amps. He showed me a used Miller Thunderbolt AC/DC (circa 1990 he said) which was very clean. See pic below. He claims it doesn't have all the "plastic" like the new models have. He said he took it in trade from the local high school. He said it worked just fine and I could have it for $250 (without leads and no warranty). He said 15 foot leads would cost me $60.00, for a total of $310.00.
So.......... Is this a good deal? Are these older units really better than the new models? I can get a new Hobart Stickmate AC/DC for $445 from my local fleet farm. What say you all.
Thanks Guys,
Don <><
I'm a wannabe which means I don't own a welder (yet). I stopped at a little welding supply shop to browse. I wanna get a "new" stick welder. The owner of this store was an older fella and seemed very knowledgeable. But he had his prejudices and biasses. He had a few new Miller's on the floor along with just a ton of used welders, of all types, makes, and models, some very big. He also repairs all types of welders. He wasn't to impressed with the current crop of Miller Thunderbolt XL 225/150 AC/DC. Something about plastic parts in the crank mechanism to adjust the amps. He showed me a used Miller Thunderbolt AC/DC (circa 1990 he said) which was very clean. See pic below. He claims it doesn't have all the "plastic" like the new models have. He said he took it in trade from the local high school. He said it worked just fine and I could have it for $250 (without leads and no warranty). He said 15 foot leads would cost me $60.00, for a total of $310.00.
So.......... Is this a good deal? Are these older units really better than the new models? I can get a new Hobart Stickmate AC/DC for $445 from my local fleet farm. What say you all.
Thanks Guys,
Don <><