Esab

[Skipper]

I have never seen anyone mention esab on this forum. I am in the market for a 200-250 amp mig welder. Yeah, I know,I still have'nt got one. Is esab worth considering?

[Zrexxer]

I have never seen anyone mention esab on this forum

Try doing a search for posts by the member "Brand X." You'll find plenty about Esab...

[Brand X]

Try doing a search for posts by the member "Brand X." You'll find plenty about Esab...

You might be able to google Dan pretty soon!!!!!!

[MMW]

We had an ESAB mig, I think it was a 300. Bought it about 6 to 8 yrs ago. After a while it just got pushed into a corner & only used if no other choice. Everybody used the Miller 250 or the (25 yr old maybe) Miller 200. The ESAB always had trouble starting & just didn't work like the Millers. Just got rid of it a couple weeks ago after sitting for about 2 yrs without being used. I would never buy one.---MMW---

[Sundown]

My friend has a ESAB 250 that he has had for a long time, I use it all the time and while I prefer my MM210 his ESAB works just fine and over the years he has had no problem with it.

[Brand X]

We had an ESAB mig, I think it was a 300. Bought it about 6 to 8 yrs ago. After a while it just got pushed into a corner & only used if no other choice. Everybody used the Miller 250 or the (25 yr old maybe) Miller 200. The ESAB always had trouble starting & just didn't work like the Millers. Just got rid of it a couple weeks ago after sitting for about 2 yrs without being used. I would never buy one.---MMW---

That must of been this model?
It's a inverter in the 250 case and was pretty hard to dial in.
I traded my Migmaster 250 for one. It did not matter to me
because I was selling mine anyway. I traded it to one of the
top Airgas demo/sales tech guys. He wanted the Migmaster 250
because it was easier to dial in then the 300. (L-TEC= same thing) This Airgas guy can
flat out weld and has used every machine out. Here is one
of his flux-core welds. He was the guy that help me get a handle
on the 210 when I had a problem with .035 wire. I set up a 210
with .030 wire and let him use it. He liked it but still prefers
the esab over the 210. I ran the Esab 250 with .023 through .045 solid
wire with many gases and you would be hard pressed to find
any 250 mig that does it all as well. It runs 90/10 short-arc great
because it is somewhat bitey (sharp) arc

[ventureline]

ESAB has a good 250 and dual purpose 260, Anything below 200amps in a mig is a waste of money though. The only quirk with the 250 is the cap bank loosening off, a bit of loctite on the screws stops this.

ESAB also tends to use alot of silicon to protect live parts. This causes dust tracking and failture if the machines aren't cleaned out once in a while.

[MMW]

The esab we had was yellow & very similar to the Miller 250 in size & output but it just never worked as well. Just my opinion. It was not an inverter machine.---MMW---

[north1]

Have had an esab 250 plus for three years now. Pushed alot of .035 regular and .045 hard surface wire through her in that time and she has worked flawlessly. Not a speck of trouble. Arc quality and starts are exceptional. Have friends with miller 200, 251 and esab 360. Tried them and wouldn't even consider getting rid of it. Wasn't afraid of getting esab because local dealer sells miller, hobart, lincoln and esab and services them all. He recommended esab for reliability, durability and customer service. I am very happy I listened to his advice!!

[Skipper]

Well,

Its esab migmaster 250, IM 210, mm210, or lincoln power mig 215. I just have to decide now. This deal is gonna go down in a few days. I have looked at everything, spool gun prices, the actual prices of the welders, the duty cycle and its not much difference in any of them except the opinions I have got from various folks on the forums. I would like the 250 amps of of penetration if needed and the only way I can get it for the money is either the esab or the lincoln. The lincoln's output from what I read can go up to 250 amps. The esab and the lincolns duty cycle at 215amps is 30 percent. Its a tough decision

[Brand X]

The esab duty-cycle is 250 amps at 50% (Migmaster 250)
You must be looking at the import 253 Esab.

[chiliuno]

i tried both yellow and blue, both were good, but...the miller machine seemed a bit smoother. the arc started a little easier and seemed to be hot from the word go, where the esab i used took a split second of crackle to get rolling well.
probably just my inexperienced hand, but hey- i don't do this for a living, i just want it to work when i squeeze the trigger without knowing exactly where every bell and whistle has to be set!
i definitely prefer the yellow plasma cutter though...

[TOMWELDS]

Hi, im Jesse James, and i like yellow.......

[Brand X]

No he doesn't, he likes this god awful thing.
Reminds me of his other work.

[Dan]

Lincoln's 250 amp rating on the PM 215 is going to be useless with solid wire. The unit doesn t output a high enough voltage to run a solid wire at that amperage level. A self shielded fluxcore is the only way the PM 215 would be any good at 250 amps. Honestly, on this unit I would consider the 250 amp rating total marketing hype. Don't you find it somewhat interesting that Lincoln doesn t provide info on the duty cycle at this 250 amp output? BTW, Miller's 210 is fully capable of outputting close to 250 amps too. Realistically though both units are best considered around 200 amp units. Based on the output #'s ( voltage and amperage), with a solid wire, the MM 210 is the more powerful unit. Also, don't draw in by the slight advertised difference in the duty cycles between the MM 210 and the PM 215. the 210's rating is conservative. If you ran the units side by side at the same output you'd probably discover the duty cycle rating is very similar.

If top end power is one of your highest priorities, I don't think the MM 210 or the PM 215 are going to be competition for ESAB'S 253. The Max OCV on the 253 is around 42V if I remember right. Where as, the MM 210 and PM 215 are in the 34 to 35 volt range. To me this means the 253 is going to have more top end voltage available to play with, making it a more powerful 200+ amp solid wire unit in comparison to the other two units.

OK, I just looked at the ESAB owners manual it shows 23V at 250 amp. The volt/ amp curve in the MM 210 owners manual shows 23+ V @250 amps. Info on the PM 215 that Lincoln provided me shows 21.2V @ 250 amps. So based strictly on #'s being supplied the 210 is the more powerful unit between the 3 . However, Miller doesn t rated the 210 for this output, and past dealings with Miller leads me to believe, if you wanted a 250 amp unit, they'd recommend the MM 251. Honestly though @ 200+ amps and around 25 V that my MM 210 is capable of outputting I can easily weld 1/2" material in multiple passes. Of course a 250 amp unit, with it high duty cyle would be better suited for the task if a large volume of work was required.

I will say one definite advantage the 253 has over the other 2 units are 12 voltage taps instead of 7. If you ever want to do automotive sheet metal thicknesses, the 253 is advertised at 40 amps for it lowend, where as the 210 and 215 are advertised as 30 amps low end units. I know from experience, the the 210 is an excellent unit on this thin ga material.