thermalarc by thermadyne

[jwr2200]

am looking for reviews of thermal arc mig welders particularly the 251 fabricator as compared with the miller251 or lincoln 255. thanks in advance, jwr2200

[Doolittle]

Well, I looked at that too. Nice specs for the price. What also caught my eye was the upped amperage rating (matches the 281). XBrand said he had used one, but preferred his esab 260 over it (think it has a sweeter arc). The esab is an extra 1000 bucks though.

I say go for it. FYI its a tapped machine, so youll not have as much adjustablility as the miller, lincoln or esab unit. The esab migmaster 250 (its about 300~400 bucks more) is close to the specs of the thermal arc solution. Let us know how you make out. BTW, all these welders are very nice, and can do whatever you want em too. A couple of the gas dealers around here sell thermal arc, but I usually only see there little welders and plasma stuff on the floor (i.e. you should be able to get it serviced through them).

[Brand X]

I prefer the Esab 260 over the 281 I used. The 281 is the same power supply as the 251 Thermal. The Esab is a different machine with more adjustments like inductance and pulse. I am a bit leery of the Thermal being made in Malaysia and all. I only ran just a bit of wire through one and did not give it a fair shakedown run. I would buy one over the new MM-252 because I dislike the arc on that Miller. I not bashing Miller because I really like how the new MM-180 welds. (they know how to make a machine that I like) If the MM-252 had that kind of short-arc I would like to own one.

The Lincoln seems like a real decent machine to me. I happen to like it over the PM-350 I used at the same time. (You could not give me that particular PM-350, because it welded like crap) More issues then I care to go into. I had a PM-300 and liked it.

If you want a machine with a real crisp arc the Thermal is probably your best bet of that group. I not saying it's a better machine then a Miller or Lincoln, just that I kind of like how the tapped unit welds. The softness of the Miller arc might be preferred by some people but not me.

All the machines above will make somebody happy. None of them will make everyone happy.

[WelderBoy]

I never used any ThermalArc mig welders but my TIG/Stick welder by ThermaDyne is very good. Worth every penny I paid for it. I am happy with their products and would buy from them again.