Thanks for your review mate. Appreciate you taking the time to make these videos. Did some welding with a small BOC DC stick welder over the weekend and got fedup with burning through, and then spending ages to fix it up.Was welding on 1.6mm square tubing. Spoke to the wife and she gave the thumbs up for the Lincoln powercraft. Went out today(before she changes her mind) and negotiated at the first store I went into, and got one for $1800 ( Bless you Daniel - the salesman)
Great honest review. Happy i found this before making a decision, all the other media on RU-vid are by sellers if the product or lincoln which is just marketing not a genuine unsponsored review. Cheers.
The reason Fluxcore and MIG are considerred different processes is because of welding standards. In ISO 4063, the main standards describing welding processes, Self shielded processes are the 11X family, Gas shielded metal electrode are the 13X family. So stick is 111, Flux core is 114, MIG is 131 (and MAG, which is the correct name for welding steel with MIG 'cause the CO2 in your shielding makes the gaz active) is 135, and TIG is 141. Hence the 4 in 1 : 111, 114, 135 and 141.
I apprecite you going into detail about the balance, sine wave shapes and frequency of the tig functions. I wasn't sure you could fine tune those parameters until I saw this so thankyou.
Hey mate, cheers for the video. Decided to go with this machine after seeing your review, and I will be picking it up today! I appreciate the effort that went into making this.
Great video I think I will buy one of these my other machine is 21 years old now. When you were talking about welding the thick aluminum I used to preheat the thick bit carefully and it welded spot on.
Yeah I have been preheating the 6mm alloy too. Definitely helps. They also say you can use an argon/helium gas blend which helps also. Haven’t tried that yet. Managed to get by so far.
@@Kenny_B When I was apprentice [many years ago] we were taught to get a match stick and run along the surface and when the match starts to char on the surface that was the correct temp for welding. Still use that method today.
@@danielb8901 I was taught similarly; we would soot the area with a straight acetylene flame then heat until the soot burns off, and use a wooden splint to check temperature. Then I went and bought some of those thermo check crayons, they are quick, easy, and consistent 👍🏻
Easy to get an F26 flexi head and swap it out. Also there is a second white plastic collar especially for those large gas diffusers which keeps everything nice and tidy and insulates the diffuser all the way up. That gap you were talking about is live when you push the button so not the right way to run those big ones. Been running Tig gear professionally for over 40 years and never had an issue cooking torches. Great info on this welder though so thanks for taking the time to post it as I’m sure lots of guys and girls will pick up useful tips from it.
Thanks for the video ken , have recently bought the 191c 4n1 welder. Working fine at moment .1 of my worst problems was short reaching hand piece, so I built an overhead diagonal roller all direction manuvering rail with a wooden platform attachment strong enuff to hold the welding plant and 2 gas bottles with toolbox Where ever I worked in my workshop it was at my disposal. It had a height adjustable rachet rope from ground to 2.8 meters (esp suited for camper van roof repairs) also a gantry block and tackle type lifting hoist rail to flip single or double axle trailers for welding awkward angles these overhead rails gave me an edge in time consuming jobs . Bit of a mission to build but well worth it
That sounds like an epic solution to the short torch lead problem! Well done! Before the Lincoln, I had a Cigweld TIG machine. It didn't have as many features as the Lincoln, but it did have an 8 metre torch lead 👍
@@Kenny_B yup I got sick of cluttered projects and grinders drills lying in my way . That was almost 30 years ago , bought a new house now and currently built another workshop and be making another setup like the old one. So if you want to make one , it doesn't have to be fancy. Just straight forward simple on rollers or skid's will do thanks for the video all the same much appreciated 👍
Yeah no complaint from me so far and I’ve used it non stop every afternoon and weekend for a few months. An 8m tig lead would have been nice but it’s not a show stopper
Thanks for the review, based on your information presented about the machine. (Take note Lincoln, as your video is pretty crappy) I purchased one today from National Welding $1850 Total Tools couldn't match it. Looking forward to giving it a run.
Great video mate. Brought one second hand. Looks new. No introduction on cable connection. More the ACDC tig side of hook up. I believe the earth cable for dc in in the positive so is it reverse for ac. Cheerz 🍺
Hey mate, picked up the machine after seeing your review thanks for the in-depth review. Have you tried stick welding with it yet? I am having trouble striking my rods. Any advice would be appreciated
Thanks mate. I have only used it for AC tig and mig welding so far. Maybe check you have the polarity correct? The manual isn't great but it does show setup configurations for each welding mode. Maybe check that.
Great video mate, toying up this or the multi Unimig 230 haven’t found anybody that’s given such a great review over on the Unimig 230, kinda sucks the spoll gun didn’t work out is what’s putting me off of the Lincoln
Just got this welder from Sydney tools, hoping it last longer than the warranty period, but finally an affordable AC welder shame it doesn't come with a foot peddle and a consumables kit
@@Kenny_B Yeah you they are about $260-$300, just ashamed its not included or that they not have a promo with all the consumables and a foot pedal like other brands do.
If you go to 3.30 you see a spider scampering away fast. He's thinking like "hell no not that welding guy again, half my eyes still hurt from the last time he welded"
Excellent vid Kenny. As soon as I saw AC/DC Tig all in 1 I was interested and it's the only vid out there atm from a real world use. I'd be interested to see how the pulse TIG goes on stainless steel sheet and tubing. I think I've already made the decision to get one and will ask for an 8m TIG lead from the get go. Will cover most of my shed + the wrap around and will see about a longer earth lead. Not sure if a heavier gauge will be needed over a longer distance
Thanks mate. Yeah i haven't got around to doing anything except aluminium yet cuz i'm in the middle of my big toy hauler build still. Very keen to try some staino though. I'm sure it would do it fine based on it's performance so far 👍
Hey mate, I had a play with mine last night and it looks like you can’t adjust wire speed in Synergic mode, only voltage. You could write down the suggest settings off the screen in synergic mode, flick it to MIG manual and do it there tho 👍🏼
Thanks for the video. Have done some welding over the years but not enough to remember settings for different material thicknesses etc. On this machine can you nominate for example MIG, wire size, material thickness and it sets / recommends settings re voltage and wire feed? similar to CIGweld 185 Ultra.
Has anyone found a competitor to this product? From what I can see it’s the only thing on the market that does MIG, Stick and AC TIG. All the rest are DC TIG only. It’s seems like a great option but it’s almost too good to be true that it has this great extra functionality for very little in extra dollars.
Yeah you're right there Michael. I just had a bit of a google search and there definitely doesn't seem to be any equivalents to this one. It's still performing well by the way. No issues 👍
@@Kenny_B Actually looking through my survey of features and prices, the catch (if anything) with the 200M is the amps and duty cycle. Other multi-process welders at around the $2000 mark have more amps and/or a better duty cycle. So I guess it's trade off between that and AC TIG
In my experience you need at least +30 to ball up then of a 2.4mm zirconiated tungsten. I believe they are referring to 30% of the wave on the positive side.
I was thinking about getting one for myself to do general panel beating for rust repairs and I was also looking at welding up some aluminium manifolds I’m only a hobbyist not very experienced I think I leaned Maybe towards this machine because the aluminium Side of things How do you reckon it would go doing manifold’s
I’ve got the same machine and your review totally put my mind at ease ! I’m having some troubles figuring what settings to use for mig and tig… It’s 3mm aluminium, I just can’t seem to get the settings right - it’s either way hot or just doesn’t seem to run right… have you got any suggested settings for running this machine ? I’m using 100% argon and the supplied equipment…
Hey mate, sorry for the slow reply. Catching up on comments. I'm not expert but i sort of use this calculator from Miller to get in the ballpark. www.millerwelds.com/resources/weld-setting-calculators/tig-welding-calculator Frequency and balance is probably where your issue is. Going to a higher frequency will narrow the arc and reduce the penetration a bit. On 3mm i currently run mine between 80hz and 120hz. My balance i usually run at -1 or -2. Amp is usually 100 to 120 depending on the type of weld. I'm happy to send you screenshots of my settings if it helps. Just drop me an email. kenny@kennybrodie.com Cheers, Kenny.
@@Kenny_B if you make a follow up video, can you go through how to adjust all the settings - it would really round off the series and I’m sure there’s some others who would also appreciate the additional information - unless Lincoln decide to - but that’s probably unlikely…
Great vid mate. I am almost sold on buying one for home. Can you tell me what the standard wire size for mig is? I was hoping to run 0.9 solid and 1.2 flux core? can it handle that or is it 0.8mm standard?
Hi Kenny thanks for the Great review. Apologies for asking but I could not find the info on the Lincoln website or videos. does this welder have a pulse function for the TIG?
Hey mate, yeah it has pulse mode. You got into the menu and turn it on. It’s not one of the main mode settings if that make sense. It’s in the sub menu
Hey champ,, I have the same machine just wanted to ask when you killed your torch, what didn't work? I'm in the process trying to figure out why gas works when on mig but on tig you press button on torch and everything except the gas won't feed.. 😢 trying to figure if it could be the torch fried or something in machine. What you think? Loved it before this happened and don't know how as everything is standard set up
Hey mate, the torch issues I had were on my previous machine to this one. It was a cigweld unit. This Lincoln one hasn’t had any issues at all so far. That’s a weird issue with the gas flow. Maybe check your pre and post flow settings in the menu but I doubt that’s it. It’s probably the gas solenoid in the machine itself. When I’m mig welding the gas flows all the time. TiG welding seems to be controlled by the valve.
@@ANTHONYPEREZZZZ Yeah, it was mostly when i was welding the deck frame on my toy hauler build which was 100's of welds about 2 inches long. If you are welding off and on, the duty cycle is higher. It's only if you are continuously pushing the machine that it will eventually cut out on thermal overload protection.
Hey mate, nah I don’t bother to ball it properly. I just knocked the edges off a new tungsten and let it ball during normal use and go from there. A lot of articles I have read online say they do the same thing.
Hey mate, nah no issues. Just had to play with it a bit. I can send you photos of my settings if that helps? I’m also working on a short video covering it also
Hey mate, yeah still no complaints or issues with it so far 👍🏼 You can see I’ve done plenty of welding with it if you’ve been following my toy hauler build
Cheers for the video I picked one up on the weekend. It is a great MIG but if you are considering a video for someone who has never tried TIG I will be all over that as the Manuel is crap and the videos on RU-vid don't have the details. I will sign up if you want to run a tig course :)
Cheers for the review, mucking around with the lift tig function on my stick inverter machine before investing in something like this. Out of interest, do you have a trade background in welding or just like having a crack?
Hey mate, originally i did my trade as a fitter machinist which meant i did basic welding training but that's when i was just outta high school. Never TIG welded before until building the huge alloy toy hauler that i'm building on here now. Just watching RU-vid tutorials and having a crack.
@@Kenny_B Yeah ok, pretty much how Im teaching myself to TIG steel, once I work out if its in my capabilities I'll probably get this machine, then I can learn to work with ally. Cheers
I’m trying to decide if I should go down this path or get a good mig with better duty cycle and a seperate tig which can do AC also Lincoln makes a 250m now too but no info on it anywhere. Not even their web page
Good day Kenny... 12 months down the line... With some more AC/DC multi-process machines available on the market... If you had the $2000 in your pocket today, will you still buy the 200M? Or will you have a look at something else? Thanks
Hey mate, I’d still buy the 200M. I’m looking at getting a dedicated aluminium MIG weld as the duty cycle is better for large projects but I get by with the Lincoln unit just fine 👍🏼
G’day mate, thx for the video. I have a little experience with a migraine machine, getting there slowly! Am keen to tig weld aluminium and this machine looks right, there is one for sale at half price second hand and would like your opinion: would this suit someone with no tig experience and only going to weld small to medium thicknesses??
Hey mate, yeah it’s a great all round machine. Due to it having HF TIG it’s great for new starters instead of the ‘lift TIG’ standard option. Makes it easier to start a weld. I have welded 6mm with mine but that’s at max output. Normal 2/3/4mm it does great.
Great video review Kenny, how do you find that only 10% duty cycle on mig ? As I am looking at getting one, like the ac/dc tig, just have to learn how to tig weld lol. Thanks for taking the time to share mate. Cheers
The 20% duty cycle is only when you are welding 6mm thickness which is pretty substantial. Normal welding on 2, 3 or 4mm is fine. The natural pauses between welds is enough break for it to keep going for ages 👍🏼
Love the review, I have been trying to do alli for the first time and am having a "interesting" time with it. I am trying to weld the 2mm to the 6mm I am getting zero penetration on the 6mm, the stick is bonding well to the 2mm but the 6mm is doing nothing. I have set it to pulse mode which gave me the balance % which I set to 35 for more penetration but still no joy. Any assistance would be extremely greatly appreciated.
Hey mate, welding 2mm to 6mm is going to be trick as the 2mm will melt much quicker in the puddle. I'm no expert but it's possibly worth trying to grind the oxide layer off the 6mm and pre-heat it with a gas torch a bit so it gets the weld going quicker. I wouldn't use pulse mode, just standard. And i'd run the earth clamp on the 6mm piece if you aren't doing that already.
@@Kenny_B Thank you so much, changing off pulse mode definitely started me down the right path. I previously used my Dremel to clean the aluminium but then tried my grinder and discovered it was actually anodised 😂 (told you I had an hours experience) after that the machine just belted through it. I honestly can't thank you enough, you sir are a legend.
@@Kenny_B thank you..i think i will decide to buy this..is it the trigger control only the pre and post flow? Or it is for tig trigger switch..im not use to it with this kind of switch ( lift arc) .i used to otc daihen tig machine..thanks
gday Kenny loved the review mate im thinking of investing in one of these Lincolns powercraft im glade u did this review because there is nothing on youtube on this model so thanx mate buy the way just want to ask do you work for ampcontrol i work for melbourne brunch and on our lunch room tv there is a picture of a bloke that looks prity dam similar to u just wondering if it was u take care mate again thanx for the video have a good one
Thanks mate. Nah i don't work for them. I have been told many times i look like other people. Some of the best has been Willem Powerfish and Adam Reynolds lol!
Hey mate I ordered the cig 205 and was thinking about swapping to the Lincoln. Is the Lincoln way better in your opinion. I have a mig already but would be sick to have an all in one like the Lincoln I am thinking. Cheers mate
The Cigweld is fine. I think my issue with it was due to me using stubby gas lenses which transferred too much heat into the torch. If you already have a decent MIG I’d stay with the cigweld cuz it has an 8m TIG lead and flex head. My old MIG was terrible so this 4in1 suited me 👍🏼
@@Kenny_B sweet as man but they both do the same thing pretty much ? It’s my dad cig weld and he always takes it so I thought if I can have one that does everything. Cause I wanna keen tig then he can take his whenever he wants and maybe I’ll buy a kinder lead for the Lincoln if they have one or bring one out
Ah ok. Yeah they are both great machines. I’d go the Lincoln then. If you already had a good MIG sitting there all the time then I’d go and even better TIG but sounds like the 4in1 would suit you
@@Kenny_B yeah I’m not too keen on spending anymore than $2000 on something better tho I’m just starting at tig so don’t wanna blow my money on something when I’m not good at it yet haha cheers for your thoughts man love the vids to
I've currently (and very recently) set myself up with a Unimig 185 Viper multi. I didn't want to spend $2K at the time and wanted a 10 amp machine ... then as I've spent crap loads on related gear (welding table, cutting table, plasma cutter, clamps, safety, etc) it would've been a small increment to got to the Lincoln Powercraft ;/ Problem now is that I really want an AC/DC TIG machine and I'm stuck with dodgy poor man's pretend TIG gear. Where I sit now I'm considering the Unimig AC/DC TIG 200 Razor v's the Lincoln as my next investment ... but certainly not in the next short while. My thinking is that the Unimig will have a better duty cycle being a 15 amp machine. Any thoughts out there?
Hi Kevin, I just did some research one both the Unimig and Lincoln websites for ya (and cuz i was interested to know too). The Unimig is only 5% higher in duty cycle than the Lincoln (TIG welding at max output (200A)) I would say that's worth the inconvenience of having to be near a 15amp outlet. Both machines are identical for all the TIG capabilities but the Lincoln also does MIG where the Unimig doesn't. Both can take a foot pedal as an optional extra. Both have the same length TIG lead and handpiece. The CIG 200HF i had previously had an 8m lead with a flex head which was nice, but the unit blew up twice under warranty. Hope that helps 👍
@@Kenny_B thanks so much for that :) I actually feel quite daft for buying the viper 185 now :( … about the only positive feature I can offer is that it fits on my trolley! I’ve never TIG welded and I wasn’t particularly thoughtful when I went shopping though I suppose the $999 bundle for the viper was ok as there was ~$400 of bonus gear. Now I’ve sat glued to RU-vid watching heaps of cool TIG stuff and I’ve realized that without AC/DC TIG my viper three process machine is really only two and a half. Fortunately MIG will cover most of what I “need” to do and I have a learning curve with that as I’m just a stick guy from long ago. I’ll pay more attention when I venture towards a proper TIG machine and I’ll keep an eye on how you go with yours. Thanks again. By the way I’d be really surprised if Lincoln didn’t have a longer lead as an option, albeit probably quite expensive.
Hey mate, yeah I’ve done a fair bit with it. Built some outdoor furniture from 44 gal drums, built a tub rack for a roof top tent and built a steel rack. It’s still going great. No complaint or issues 👍🏼
@@Kenny_Bnice, what I wanted to hear. You sound cluey so I need your idea. I've currently got a unimig 205 smart set (had for few years) than grabbed a Lincoln 255 redimig (picked it up at an auction for $60). But I am wanting a Tig to get into that side, just some ally work and bits and pieces, budget about 2k. Been looking at either Unimig razor 200 or Lincoln 2-1. My question is which one? Or do I get rid of my unimig smart set and grab the new Lincoln (one you reviewed) to minimise the amount of machines?
@@jacksargeant6741 All depends mate. Tough question. I'm limited for room in my shed and my old MIG was very basic, so i went for the 4in1 and it suits me great. It really depends what your going to be welding (material and maximum thickness) and how much welding you are going to do. If i had the cash, i'd be buying a double-pulse alloy MIG as it's much for efficient for welding lots of aluminium. I make do with the Lincoln 4in1 though. It's just a bit slower doing it all by TIG. Unimig and Lincoln are both good brands. Hard to go wrong with either one.
Hard to say mate. Somewhere around 40 amps is my bet but it depends on the type of weld (butt, fillet, etc). I’d suggest googling a tig welding settings chart. Heaps of them online. That should get you in the ballpark then adjust from there based on how your welds are looking 👍🏼
Hey mate do you know why i cant find a 1.2mm aluminum setting in synergic mig the tech spec clearly states 1.2 Al? and thanks again for the review its a great machine@@Kenny_B
Awesome video mate, I’m very close to pulling the trigger and buying this machine. The only thing is no one at total tools and nothing on the net suggests I can use a foot pedal with this machine. So basically I’m asking can I use a foot pedal with this machine for tig purposes obviously?? Thanks again
They appear to sell foot pedals for the 200M mate. I don’t have one yet, just did a bit of google searching www.gasweld.com.au/foot-amptrol-9-pin-plug-7-6m-suits-4-in-1-powercraft
Ah awesome, I’ve been trying to get info on that for ages. I currently have a Lincoln power craft tig201 ac/dc machine with a foot pedal and I’m looking and upgrading to the 4in1 because this machine I have is soooooo complicated to use. I wonder if my pedal is compatible with the 4 in 1
Hey Kenny I’m going to purchase this welder tomorrow based on your awesome review. Just a quick question. Are there any pre-programmed Tig settings on this machine? Cheers Mick
@@mickwright1525 Did you end up getting it? I also have the powercraft 201 ac/dc. I'm wondering if the foot pedal and the 8m lead/ flexible torch from from will work with the 200m? Also I know what you mean about the 201 being complicated. Clicking the wheel in to bring up each setting sh!ts me. It welds well once dialed in but I need to weld more mild these days and would prefer to just have one machine in the workshop. Will sell the 201 if the 200m AC tigs as good or better.
@@mickwright1525 I read in the manual that it just has to be 10k ohm. so if your pedal is 10k ohm it'll work. You might have to just change the plug to a 9 pin. theres a diagram in the manual.
Hey mate, when you weld aluminium with a MIG welder it is still actually just DC welding. Yes this welder does it but i couldn't get results as good as TIG welding it. It does have an optional spool gun which may work better but i haven't tried that yet.
@@Kenny_B Hey Kenny, where is the machine made, I was also looking at the 200C but the powercraft seems to have better specs, and is cheaper than 200c,
@@zaneh6224 it says online that they have manufacturing locations throughout the US and also in Poland, Mexico, Brazil and Italy but yeah not sure where this specific model is made out of those options