Longevity Mig welder & Spool gun showed up!

[Gamble97]

Super excited to try out this spool gun since I've never used one before.
So I unboxed it all and first impression is this mig welder is HEAVY. The cheap harbor freight units you can juggle with they are so light, but this one is heavier than my hobart 140.

Came with the usual:
Cheap helmet (still a must if you don't have one, probably have to include it by law?)
No extra nozzles or tips for the mig gun. But extra tips for the spoolgun.
Same regulator and clamp as the tig weld 160sx. Smaller clamp than the miller came with, but seemed to have more spring tension or maybe just because it's new. Either way it's not a bad clamp at all.
Regulator is standard, gauges are a little small for my liking, but it works just fine.
Argon hose is only about 4 or 5 feet. This doesn't work for me, but if it's on a mig cart it's just fine.

Setup for mig gun. Nothing unusual about setup, except when you tighten down the wing nut your hand may hit the switch for the spool gun. This happened to me and I had to figure out why the wire wasn't feeding in. And that was why.

I welded some 1/8" flat stock and keep in mig I hardly mig weld. Haven't touched mine in awhile to be perfectly honest. Well haven't done much welding at all besides those two lamps because it's so damn cold. This thing is not rated for 1/8" with c25. Probably could do it with flux since it burns hotter, but this is the scrap I had sitting around so I tried it out.

My impressions: I like it. I just turned the voltage all the way up and the wire speed pretty high as a starting point and didn't have to move it from there. It did not penetrate all the way through on 1/8". However with a bevel, preheat, flux core it could be a different story. It has a smooth and crisp arc. Welds great to be honest. I honestly thought before it got here it would be an ok el cheapo machine, but so far that isn't the case. I like it a lot.

I'll post up my video when it's done editing of the unboxing. I did a welding video, but it still needs to be edited, and uploaded and I'll get to that this week. I'll do another short video of the spool gun then a comparison of this machine to my hobart handler. That will be a good video.

Here are a few bead pics, keep in mind I'm no pro and have't mig welded in a bit. So aside from being a little cold because of the metal thickness it's a good machine.

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[FIBA M - EC17PSE]

Ive never used a spool gun but arent they really for mig/aluminum? Whats it like on mild steel? Have you used it on stainless yet? As ive never used a spool gun I dont know there limits or there useage! Any pics of the welder

 

[Gamble97]

Ive never used a spool gun but arent they really for mig/aluminum? Whats it like on mild steel? Have you used it on stainless yet? As ive never used a spool gun I dont know there limits or there useage! Any pics of the welder

Yes they are for aluminum.
I'll let you know what it's like when I hook it up.

Unboxing video here; not really much to see; just subscribe and I'll have better videos coming soon

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmJJnD10K8E]Longevity MigWeld140 Unboxing. Spool Gun. 110v mig welder - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Gamble97]

Wow, I spent a good hour writing this and came back later and tried to post and my token expired so it deleted it all.



What I like about each machine:

Hobart: Purge option. Made in USA. No tools to change drive roll.

Longevity: Inexpensive. Rheostat for voltage. Inexpensive spool gun. Fan is on when needed and quiet.



What I don't like about each one:

Hobart: Expensive. Fan is on full time. Pre-selected heat settings.

Longevity: Cheaper drive roll and wing nut instead of a knob.



Which is a better unit:

Can't really say. They both have good/bad points. And weld so close it's not even comparable for the most part. The hobart may have more penetration and it's so minimal it's not even worth stating.
Neither does 1/8" really well, so I probably wouldn't be putting a roll cage in on this. However for thinner material or if you can bevel each end on 1/8" or slightly larger I have no doubt you can get full penetration.

Bottom line:
They are both great units and very very similar. Either one is great for a hobby, shop, weekend fabricator or whatever you plan on welding. If money isn't an object, the hobart seems like a good choice. If you plan on getting a spool and want to stay on a budget and have a machine that do everything just as good as the other 110v mig welders the longevity is a great choice. In this economy I don't see any real advantage to the hobart as everyone is trying to save a buck. If the hobart came with a spool gun at the listed price (around $549) then I'd say it's worth while, but nothing about it is that much different that it warrants a $220 price increase.


Keep in mind I am not a professional welder. I'm self taught. I don't care where the machine is made, and like to budget shop. As long as it works and works well I'll own it. Doesn't matter if it's made in China or not. I'm also not affiliated with any company in any way shape or form. I just do this to help everyone else out and build up my tool collection.

Don't forget to subscribe as I will have more videos coming soon. And give a thumbs up please!


[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Tcft1c6LEE[/ame]

 

[Gamble97]

I talked to my sales rep and he agreed if you guys email him and say you saw my video or reviews on dsmtuners that he will give you a discount off the internet price. Just mention me and the review. Seems like a sweet deal on any welder longevity sells.

Now you guys have no excuse not to buy one and learn how it's done!

[email protected]

 

[InfiniteGSX]

Very good video's. Although its a MIG and I really don't care for mig anymore, I love seeing well put together video's like this.