Couple of questions. I have the stock gun on mine and have had for many years. Does a gun like tweco or something do better than stock lincoln. Or is upgrading the gun worth it? Looking for opinions was thinking of upgrading but not sure if it’s worth it.
I work in the welding supply business. Unless your gun is damaged, there is nothing to be gained from replacing it with another brand. A Tweco gun won't make better welds. The gas nozzle, contact tip, gas diffuser, and liner are wear parts and should be replaced when worn. Are you having some issue?
Not having any issues just see people talk about Tweco and others how great. Didn’t know if there was a advantage. Mine welds great just wanted to know what all the hype was about. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Unless you are changing to a more compact gun to get into tighter places, there’s no need to change it. KevKo is telling you straight up. When I bought my Miller mig, it had a pretty big gun on it, and since most of my welding is running smaller wire/lower amps, I opted to put a smaller Profax on it.
SMH, there are many different applications. In an industrial manufacturing setting, your gun wouldn't last one shift. But home/hobby is altogether different. And you own it, so you take care of it. Tweco is a great product, been around a long time. But yours isn't broke, so don't fix it.
There are different tips depending on the type of gun you have, and they don't interchange. I have a Miller 350P and the tips are shaped differently and much larger. I assume it's just to deal with the higher amp rating (more mass). The gun is also larger. I bought it because of the pulse feature, so the larger gun is actually a little clumbsier (did I spell that right). Not a big problem though. I wanted to be able to use .023 wire for sheet metal. I'm too lazy to change everything back and forth on the Miller, so I found a deal on an ESAB Rebel and bought it. I set it up for the .023 and it's great for sheet metal. The gun is smaller and lighter and I doubt it would be good on my 350. It seems that the guns are somewhat sized for the capacity of the welders rather than one size fits all. A friend once bought a Clark welder on line. Big disappointment. Looked great in the picture, but when it arrived, it was like everything was scaled down. Best way I can describe it was "rinkydink". The gun was "small" and the cables were "small" ........and the guy immediately sent it back. My point here is that it can't be said that all guns that come with welders are satisfactory.......but if the one you have is doing what you want it to do, then there really isn't any reason to change. If sometime in the future the moving parts wear and become problematic, then you might consider a better one. Just remember that a lighter gun seems handier for light duty work.
I've had a Lincoln 180 for a number of years and haven't had any trouble with it that I didn't cause. I bought some "too large" tips for mine at the local Ace in one of those race in and grab, pay and race home to get the job done things one day and .045 doesn't work with .o35 wire worth a damn. They sure weld to the wire good though. Other than that it may boil down to what you are comfortable with. Fitting your hand and balanced in your hand has a lotst to do with any tool you use no matter what the name on it or it's price. I've got a rack full of body hammers and my favorite is still the one I bought at Sears in 1971 or 2. Paid 7.95 for it which was about 3 hours pay at that time at the job I had. As long as the gun feels good in you hand and isn't giving problems why change? If it doesn't feel good, then it might be time to see what is available.
Yes, guns are sized to the machine. Bigger machine/more amps requires a bigger gun. Contact tips are sized to the wire. Parts are not usually interchangeable from one brand to another.
The Miller I use works like it should with original gun,all though being short in length. It’s my vision that needs replacing. Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
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