Northern Industrial MIG/Stick 200 Welder

[WVVan]

Hi All,
This machine was briefly mentioned in a previous thread in this forum.

Northern Industrial MIG/Stick 200 Welder

Wondering if anyone has any experience or insight into this particular model. I'm a noob and planning on buying this as my training machine. I've searched through the postings here at WeldingWeb and find that Northern Tool machines, though made in china, don't have the same bad reputation as Harbor Freight equipment.

Yes I know that I could spend more money and get a Holbert/Lincoln/Miller but $599.99 (current price) is the near max I want to spent and I didn't see a name brand with both MIG and Stick close to this price.

Of course when you add in all the extras I'll need (hood, leathers, gas bottle, clamps, consumables, new fire extinguisher) the $599.99 is just the beginning of it all.

Thanks for your time.
Dave

[WVVan]

Just dropped the hammer on this purchase. If there's any interest I'll post updates.

[larry08]

I would certainly be interested, this is one of the welders i've been looking at for a while, just haven't seen any reviews on it to justify purchasing

[WVVan]

Received the MIG/Stick welder the other day.

The shipping weight listed on the Northern Tool web page for this welder is 36 lds. It's really 51 lds.

Box arrived not to badly banged up.


Front of welder


Close up




Rear of welder






Plug style


Right side of welder with access door raised




continued in next post:

[WVVan]

continued -

Wire feed grooves


Various labels








Welder extras that came in the box.


MIG gun and grounding cable


Gas hose and stinger


Gas regulators


continued in next post:

[WVVan]

continued -

Extra tips and allen wrench for drive roll set screw


Two rolls of flux core wire


Welding rods


That pretty much covers everything so far. I was at Lowes last night buying the 30 amp breakers and socket needed to wire this up. An electrician friend looked at the plug and told me it's a 50 amp plug but the welder's instructions call for a 30 amp circuit.

One more picture that doesn't have anything to do with this welder but then again does.

My Dad's 1946 life insurance policy.


It measures in at 19" x 12". They really knew how to make an official looking document back then. I'm thinking of framing it since it looks so cool. While $2000 is still nothing to sneeze at I bet it seemed like a whole lot of money back in 1946.

The reason I mention it is because this welder comes to me via my share, I'm not the only heir.
Thanks Dad.

[smawgmaw]

Good pics and info on this unit. This will help those who are interested in this unit. A lot of the items and design of parts and setup look very similar to what Lincoln does with its portable mig/flux core units. Please update us with more info and pics when you have used the unit and give us your thoughts on satisfaction/dissatisfaction with its use and performance.

[smawgmaw]

Any updates on this unit? How is it working out? Also for anyone interested, I saw on Northern Tool's website that these units are now on sale for $569.99. Here is the link: http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...5739_200395739

[WVVan]

Haven't had a chance to use it yet. I'm having to reconfigure my garage/workspace to make it as fire safe as I can. Up till now I just did car repair and wood working in it. I may be a total noob but I know enough to be real careful especially since my house sits on top of my garage.

[WVVan]

Let's open this puppy up and see what it's like inside.





Bank of large capacitors




Construction looks OK except for the power switch (top) and circuit breaker.


Neither are as secure as I'd like and the circuit breaker is especially flimsy. It can be wiggled so much it feels like it's about to pop out.

Here was the biggest problem I found.


This screw was just bouncing around inside the unit. It didn't seem to have come loose from anything. It was just left inside. Not a good sign of quality control. It could have easily caused a short.

I made one upgrade to the welder. Here is the original plug.


It's a 12/3 cable with a 50 amp plug.

I upgraded to a longer 10/3 cable and attached a 30 amp plug to match the 30 amp outlet I installed in the garage for this welder.


Used similar terminals on the new cable. In case I had to send the unit back for any reason I wanted to be sure I could just swap back the old power cable.


The 10/3 wires will fit through strain relief connector after removing the outer insulation. It snugged up just fine.

[Jay O]

I there was a standard welder plug/recepticle it would have been the one that you had removed, but if your machine never leave the shop then its not a problem.

[WVVan]

Thanks for the info Jay O. I plan to just keep this welder in the garage/shop. I can always just go back to the old plug if needed. Wasn't that much work to change them around.

Back to business.
The welder manual reads that the polarity will be setup for flux core usage when unpacked. It wasn't. It was setup for gas/stick. Had to change it around for my first trial with the flux core wire.


One thing the manual doesn't mention is that the plastic spacer on the bolt that holds the wire spool in place has a inner ridge.


It corresponds with the groove in the bolt.


Not a big deal but it at first I couldn't figure out why the #$%@! spacer wouldn't go back on the bolt when I had just taken it off.

I'll be using the .030 flux core wire that came with the welder. I found a stack of the sheet metal plates I'm using for practice in my folks basement. The thickness is around .035". I can't find my micrometer so used a caliper on the edge. Not the most accurate but in the ballpark.

OK, here's the first time I've ever used a welder.


As a friend pointed out to me, welding is the joining of two pieces of metal. I should have written, "1st bead" instead. Point taken. While the results may not be pretty the machine obviously lets a total noob lay down some beads on his first ever try.

Here is how I have the dials set. Mig voltage is at "1" and wire speed is at "2".


Obviously this isn't stressing the welder much. So I went to the local machine shop and they were kind enough to give me a bunch of scrap pieces of thicker metal to practice with.

For a test I figured I'd just keep upping the voltage on the welder and seeing what it does.
Flipped over the metal sheet I had been using and start laying done one straight bead after another. I'd up the voltage one notch with each line.
Here's the results.


Going from right to left, I'm blowing through the metal at setting 4 and by setting 5 it's acting like plasma cutter.

I next used a piece of .125" scrap.


Going from left to right are settings 5,6 and then 7. I'm doing a "U" shaped bead. It starts blowing through at 7.

I then moved to .35" metal scrap (remember thickness is approximate). Used settings 7,8,9 and 10. Never got close to blowing through but saw some real penetration on the "10" setting.

Here's how they all looked after using a wire brush to remove the flux.


The welder never sounded like it was under a heavy load. These are short welds though.
Next up gas.

[smawgmaw]

Thanks for the updates! If you get around to welding on some thicker metal, about 1/4 or more with the mig, flux core, or stick; please post up the pics. Also, if you come across any dislikes or likes about the unit, please share your opions. Thanks again.

[WVVan]

So far I really like the unit. As a total beginner I find it very easy to use. Of course I don't really have anything to compare it to.

Now with gas.
Attachment of the included gauges to the new tank was easy enough. From what I've read I was sure to be off to the side as pressurized the gauges and not looking straight at them. Screw in the adjustment knob then add the hose.


Attach the hose to the welder.


I bought a 10lb roll of .030 wire for gas welding which means I'll need the plastic spacer that came with the welder.




Except for the spare tips and small allen wrench I've now got all the extra bits that came with the welder in use.

Lay down some beads.


I found dialing in the wire/voltage just a bit more difficult when using the gas. I had to raise the voltage to "5" where with the flux I only needed a "1".


Since I already had the welder at "5" there were less beads to run as I worked my way up to "10".
I blew through the thin sheet at a setting of "7" using gas.


Moving up to the .125 scrap I didn't blow through it till I got to "10"


To do a direct comparison between gas and flux core I did my first ever tee joint using two pieces of .125 scrap.
Flux core side.


Gas side


Next up is stick.

[WVVan]

Time to try stick welding.


Stick welding is definitely a different animal than MIG welding. Didn't have any problems starting or sustaining arcs with 6011 and 6013 rods.


Welder had plenty of power to spare. Crank up the current and with a 6011 rod you blow right through.


Had problems with the 7018 rods sticking which from what I've read is to be expected with a newbie like myself. Notice the curved rod at the top left of this picture.


When a rod would stick I'd work it back and forth to get it free. If I didn't get it free right away I'd turn off the welder then knock it free. The curved rod is from the time I didn't turn the welder off and kept trying to break the rod free. The rod started glowing bright red and then going soft and bending. That's when I shut down the welder.

The welder never popped it's breaker or even sounded any different when the rod was glowing. Thing is I don't know if that's a good or bad sign. It must show that the welder has plenty of power but I don't know enough about welding to state whether getting the rod to glow without tripping the breaker is a common occurrence.

Hopefully someone else will post a followup and let me know.

OK, that's about it for my review. I couldn't be more happy with the welder. I never had to wait for the machine to catchup. Plenty of power and I never ht the duty cycle limit. Obviously I'll need a lot more practice but for a first time welder who wants to try both MIG and stick this machine fits the bill.

If anyone has any questions just let me know. I'll be happy to answer them if I can.

Dave

[smilexelectric]

When the electrode sticks NEVER turn the welder off under load. Just for future reference.

[WVVan]

OK, but what are you supposed to when the rod does stick, won't come loose and starts glowing bright red?

[Jay O]

You pull or yank on the stinger with out squeezing it open. If you squeeze it open to release it will arc on the face of the jaws and wear them out faster. The idea of this combo machine is interesting but you really haven't done it any justice. If you can get in some quality practice in then post some pics that way we can see what the machine can really do.

[WVVan]

Thanks JayO,

If you squeeze it open to release it will arc on the face of the jaws and wear them out faster.

I already found this out the hard way. That's why I went to turning off the machine. I'll do the quick yank on the stinger next time it happens. When (if) I get any better, I'll post again.

Dave

[WVVan]

Thanks to smawgmaw for pointing out that the welder went on sale a couple weeks after I bought mine. I brought this to Northern Tool's attention and they just issued a $30 refund.

Hey Smawgmaw,
I believe you're due a 10% finders fee. Where should I send the check?
Dave

[smawgmaw]

Originally Posted by WVVan

Thanks to smawgmaw for pointing out that the welder went on sale a couple weeks after I bought mine. I brought this to Northern Tool's attention and they just issued a $30 refund.

Hey Smawgmaw,
I believe you're due a 10% finders fee. Where should I send the check?
Dave

Hey Dave, thanks for the offer, but go ahead and keep it and enjoy a with it or use it to buy some wire or rods or something welding related for your machine. I am glad Northern Tool stepped up to the plate and took care of you. Thats what I call good customer service and it goes a long way in my book. They didnt have to do it, but they did.
Mike

[WVVan]

Hey Mike,
Ordering more wire and rods is just what I'll be doing later today with the refund. I understand why they call those things "consumables" seeing how I'm eating through mine like they were chips n' dip. I'm starting to wonder what that first electric bill is going to look like.
Dave

[smawgmaw]

Yeah, you are going to use up a few more contact tips and nozzles in the begining, but once you get more practice and time under your belt, the frequency of having to replace them should slow down a bit to a lesser rate. I have been looking at this unit pretty hard and if the mig gun is similar to what Lincoln puts on their portable units, you might be able to use the Lincoln brand/style contact tips and nozzles if they thread up correctly to the connecting points. If this is the case and you have a Lowes or Home Depot near you, you could get them at either (they stock these Lincon parts at a fairly reasonable price) maybe for less money and no shipping charge. They also stock the Lincoln brand of welding rods. Might be something to check into. I have been keeping up with your thread on this unit and checking it out on the Northern Tool site. Seriously considering adding this unit to my collection of equipment I already have. I like the design, the ouput and duty cycle seem to be reasonable and acceptable, the warranty is pretty good, the price is not bad, and I like the way Northern Tool Customer Service took care of you. Do I really need it? No, but I could put it to use and it would be another nice "toy" to have and play with. I will decide soon, maybe an early Christmas gift to myself!

PS: Just checked Northern Tool site and listing for replacement mig gun parts states their kit of consumables can be used with Northern Industrial, Lincoln and Clarke mig welders. So, I take it that the Lincoln brand/style contact tips and nozzles should work just fine on this unit. Northern's price is really not bad for what is included in the kit. I guess it would depend on what shipping to your location would cost added to the price. To my area, it would be about $26 total for kit and shipping. Still not too bad.

[mn welder]

ive got the baby brother to yours the smaller stick welder paid 100 bukx for it just to play around with it in the garage. It fixed and exhaust leak and paid for itself .Now its sitting on a shelf no regrets in buying just dont use it enough but its paid for.

[WVVan]

I bought this welder not only because I wanted to learn but also with a specific project in mind. I'm converting a cargo van into a RV.
Here is a thread on the conversion. Be warned that it's long. I've been at this over a year. I'd be a lot father along if I don't go camping in it so much.
Converting a 1999 Ford E-250 into a RV

Gotten to a point in the conversion where there are some things I'd like to try that can only work if welding is involved. With my new welder, and some more practice, I'll be able to construct and try out some of those ideas.

Speaking of practice, with the garage/workshop at 17 degrees lately I'm a bit behind. It's supposed to get into the 30's soon so I'll be back at it.