Lincoln 140C initial impressions

[Sundown]

I said that I would try to give my initial impressions of the Lincoln 140C tonight so here goes. I picked up the machine from my LWS about noon, looks to be a solid case and the controls on the front are well placed and seem to be of good quality, as I would expect from Lincoln. First things first, the 8” spool adapter has been rubbing on settings decal inside the door. As Dan pointed out it is easily fixed by removing 1/16” off the end of the adapter, point is it shouldn’t need to be modified by the user.

The drive looks to be a great improvement especially if you consider the nice wire support, that is until you have to change wire sizes from .023 to .030-.045 or back again. Too many parts to deal with if the rear wire support needs to be changed to accommodate the new wire size. To do this you will need to loosen the screw that holds the gun in, pull the gun back about ¼”, change the wire support, then push back the gun until it seats and tighten it up again. Changing the drive wheel is just ok, and this only after you get the hang of it (which only takes a few minutes). What are they thinking not providing a .030 drive wheel? You get a .023, .035. & a .035-.045 combo VK wheel. Seems to me that most who want this machine will be going to use either .023 or .030 wire, .035 not so much … and you can’t use the .045 wire unless you change the liner that is also not provided?

The gun is straight from the SP135+, which is good IMO, both flux core and regular nozzles are provided, also a fairly nice ground clamp is provided (Hobart take notice). I did have a chance to load some .023 and the found the alignment of the wire groove and the liner could be better (is it not user adjustable from what I can see), but it will go though if you slide it back and forth a few times, problem is you can't see the end of the wire. I like that they finally provided a latch on the door as the old one bugged me flapping around as it did. I did turn it on to feed the wire and it is very quiet compared to the previous models, not obtrusive at all, must be the wind tunnel thingy.

The Lincoln 8” spool I tried fit ok, the Hobart and the weldit spools needed a 1/16” spacer (which I made) in front to keep them from sliding forward enough to disengage the lug on the adapter and causing it to free wheel. I do want to try some .030 wire so I guess I will go get some .030 tips (not provided either) and try to feed it with the .035-.045 VK drive wheel.

Summary: Looks like a solid welder, nice wire support and drive, even though it’s a bit too fussy for my taste; it is a pain to need to order a .030 drive wheel; the 8” adapter needs a serious redesign to bring it to the standard of the Miller/Hobart adapter; I would like bigger dials with a bit more drag; the reset button is in the right place and easy to find; I like the gun and the work clamp; I haven’t seen anything that would keep me from buying one so far. I will be adding performance comments to this thread by Friday (I hope) and checking out the Millermatic 140 Auto-Set as soon as my LWS gets one that isn’t already spoken for.

Disclaimer: For those who read this and don’t know who I am (fat chance I guess) I have lots of time with both the Lincoln SP-135+ and the Hobart Handler 140 . These are my opinions only and if anyone disagrees with what I have said, that’s OK by me go ahead and fire away, I welcome constructive criticism. I am providing this information because I am trying to decide if I want to buy a HH140, MM140 Auto Set, or this one and thought it could be useful to those who need and/or want a 115V mig welder.

[KB Fabrications]

George,
As far as I know, there is not a drive roll for .030. At least my manual doesn't show one as being available. My literature says to use the .035" roll for both wire sizes although that little tidbit was hard to find. Nice review though. I think you are right on the money about it being a small wire unit. Even on my 180C I like running the .025": wire better than even the .030.

[wallythacker]

George,

Thanks for the initial comments. If my old Century is unsafe/broken I'll be looking to buy either the 140c or the HH140 so all the info I can get is welcomed.

[Dan]

George,

Kevin is correct, use the the .035 V- groove drive roll to feed .030. To this point I've only ran .030 on the PM 180C using this drive roll, and have had no negative experiences using it. Meaning the arc starts and arc quality have been solid.

Pretty scary though, that all the issue you have with the unit are the same that I have with the PM 180C.

[Sundown]

Originally Posted by KB Fabrications

George,
As far as I know, there is not a drive roll for .030. At least my manual doesn't show one as being available. My literature says to use the .035" roll for both wire sizes although that little tidbit was hard to find. Nice review though. I think you are right on the money about it being a small wire unit. Even on my 180C I like running the .025": wire better than even the .030.

\

I guess I need to download the manual and have a look see, dumb old me told the LWS, Na, I don't need the stinkin' manual .

Added: Looks like Lincoln dosen't have the new mig operator manuals on line yet ... oh well I will just muddle through.

[Sundown]

Originally Posted by Dan

George,

Kevin is correct, use the the .035 V- groove drive roll to feed .030. To this point I've only ran .030 on the PM 180C using this drive roll, and have had no negative experiences using it. Meaning the arc starts and arc quality have been solid.

Pretty scary though, that all the issue you have with the unit are the same that I have with the PM 180C.

Got it, thanks I will change my plan to use the VK and will use the .035 V groove. I still need to visit the big box on the corner and get some .030 tips. The issues I have with the drive may not bother anyone else, but the fit of the 8" adapter is interesting ... good deal it's any easy fix for those who might have that problem ... looks like some, like Kevin, don't have the rubbing problem. Anyway I am anxious to fire it up tomorrow if I get the rest of the snow shoveled off the drive.

[Sundown]

Had a chance to run some wire today so might as well get this over with. Performance seems a better than the SP-135+ (which I still think is good), at least the two wire sizes I tried out. I ran some weldit .023 on 22ga, 16ga, and 10ga, starts were good with only a few pops and they might have been my fault, the door chart for .023 wire is only a notch or two off, mostly in the O|O suggestion as I needed to increase it two steps or so. 22ga was no problem and produced 1" beads with no burn thru and no splatter (I don't go longer than 1" on this gauge as I put spots 1" apart and just close the gap). 16ga tubing was no problem with just a bit more fine splatter. 10ga likes .030 wire better IMO, I couldn't get the toes to wet properly with .023 wire whereas it was no problem with .030 (weldit wire also). I did not try out any fluxcore as I have a EZ125 for that job, I think that some Lincoln .025 wire to leave in it would be about right.

Bottom line for me is that while it is a nice improvement over the previous model I still like the Handler 140 better, and it's less expensive. The Hobart is easier to use, the arc quality is a bit softer which I like, and while the drive it does not support the wire as good as the Lincoln I never had any problems with it, and the drive is still more user friendly IMO. The quality overall quality of the Lincoln is fine and anyone who likes the Lincoln arc quality will probably like it fine, I can recommend it to those who test it and find it to their liking.

I took it back to my LWS this afternoon and they sold it almost before I could get it out of the car. The MM140 Auto-Set should be here tomorrow or the next day and I will test it at the LWS, I want to check the smooth-start and auto-set features and see how it is without the dreaded WST feature. It is going to have to be very good to get me to spend the extra money (about the cost of a new 150CF tank, or more) it would cost over the HH140.

[Dan]

George, Logan isn't very pleased with you.

Hmmm, the HH 140 has a softer arc. I'm wondering if Hobart is using the same choke design in the HH 140 and HH 187? I guess I could E mail Darrell and maybe find out.

[Sundown]

Originally Posted by Dan

George, Logan isn't very pleased with you.

Hmmm, the HH 140 has a softer arc. I'm wondering if Hobart is using the same choke design in the HH 140 and HH 187? I guess I could E mail Darrell and maybe find out.

Why is he unhappy with me? I like the Lincoln, it just isn't for me , I think it has a softer arc than the Lincolns, but not quite as soft as the MM251 I tested before I purchased the MM210 years ago.

[Sundown]

Originally Posted by Dan

George, Logan isn't very pleased with you.

Hmmm, the HH 140 has a softer arc. I'm wondering if Hobart is using the same choke design in the HH 140 and HH 187? I guess I could E mail Darrell and maybe find out.

I doubt it, but it wouldn't hurt to ask him.

[Brand X]

Originally Posted by Sundown

Why is he unhappy with me? I like the Lincoln, it just isn't for me , I think it has a softer arc than the Lincolns, but not quite as soft as the MM251 I tested before I purchased the MM210 years ago.

George,
I don't think the Lincoln responds to HB-28 type wire. The weld-it wire I used seemed about
like that stuff. Radnor .030 was really good in the 140C I used. I think the 140 Hobart is a really good unit for bodywork with HB-28 wire. It's the old kid on the block now, and probably
the most refined overall. I liked the Lincoln 140 better when running flat out and the Hobart
everywhere else. I think I would probably save the extra money and just get the Hobart
myself. They have had some problems with arc starts at the college, with a few of the 140C
units. I still think it (140C) needs a bit more time to get everything sorted. I will say the 140C
I used worked very nice in that area.

[Sundown]

Originally Posted by Brand X

George,
I don't think the Lincoln responds to HB-28 type wire. The weld-it wire I used seemed about like that stuff. Radnor .030 was really good in the 140C I used. I think the 140 Hobart is a really good unit for bodywork with HB-28 wire. It's the old kid on the block now, and probably the most refined overall. I liked the Lincoln 140 better when running flat out and the Hobart everywhere else. I think I would probably save the extra money and just get the Hobart myself. They have had some problems with arc starts at the college, with a few of the 140C units. I still think it (140C) needs a bit more time to get everything sorted. I will say the 140C I used worked very nice in that area.

You are probably right about the 140C being better with Lincoln wire, but the fussy wire drive kinda put me off even though the wire support looks better any anyone elses, it just has too many parts for me to loose . Like I said I kinda like the machine but it's just not for me, I will try the Miller 140 as I want to try out the soft start and the Auto-Set. Kinda like a tapped machine without WST, just set the V dial to the .030 tap and O|O speed to the work thickness combined with soft-start it sounds good if it works as advertized. And you also have the option to run it full manual, what could be better, of course all this cost extra .

I can't get Weldit wire locally anymore since the local HF manager pulled all the Hobart stuff from the store as it was affecting sales of the CE junk . I am getting HB-28 from my LWS at a ok price and I like the way it works with the MM210, they check the way all the rolls are wound and send back any that are over or loosly wound so that works also. They also sell Harris wire so I have a good choice there.