Trading go kart for welder, is it worth it?

[KartFab]

Trade my manco dingo model 812 for millermatic 251 ...looks like it comes with the cart, mig gun, possibly bottle?.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B18ybsN8Sf0
http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/bar/4097416715.html

Looking at the figures alone (im not attached to the kart, dont care about intrinsic value etc) I think this is worth it... the welder in my opinion is worth between 1,000 and 1,200.... but want some reassurance that this is a good trade for me. (again looking at numbers). Looks like there is a newer model the 252, and the 251 may need a lot of money/extras to do aluminum with the spool gun and what not.....

What would you say my kart is worth? The welder?

Manco dingo model 812. All of it is stock except the engine. It originally had a 11 hp Tecumseh w/electric start. I swapped that out for a pull start honda gx390 (no electric start)

Has a 40 series comet torque converter, 13 hp engine, adjustable bench seat(2 seater) live axle, disc brakes. 22 inch knobby tires and a top speed of 40 mph

The welder was part of an exhaust shop. the guy died, his friend is selling stuff off for his widow, so i would say its safe to assume the welder has some hours on it.

I want to come out ahead on this trade, and my little millermatic 135 isnt cutting it with its duty cycle on items I am making right now.... (I plan on making a few BBQ smokers and selling them as well).


ramble ramble ramble I need some honest opinions

 

[OzFab]

If the welder works ok, I think it's a good deal, I mean, seriously, what is the buggy worth (have you checked similar local listings)? What has it cost you (numbers wise)?

The only thing that concerns me is the potential for a trade; will the other party be open to it? Will they want a mini buggy?

 

[KartFab]

If the welder works ok, I think it's a good deal, I mean, seriously, what is the buggy worth (have you checked similar local listings)? What has it cost you (numbers wise)?

The only thing that concerns me is the potential for a trade; will the other party be open to it? Will they want a mini buggy?

Other party is more than open to it they want to trade me wednesday, and seem very excited. I brought up the go kart as a trade.... I am concerned about the welder though (I was told it works when he first got it, and that as far as he knows it works, this could mean he screwed it up somehow, or he has zero use for or interest in it... he also mentioned he had some smaller welders....) I will probably have him meet me at a welding store and fire this guy up, I'm positive my house only has a 30 amp 220V breaker and this beast needs at least a 50 amp, not to mention a different receptacle....

I paid $75 for the GX390 motor, probably $50 in gas just to get there and $50 in parts to get it back in great shape.

I paid $250 for the kart, and sold the old motor for $200.

I also have probably put $75 in tires, $120 in bearings and misc parts..., and $40 for the belt....... and time, but my time isn't worth much when you do the math ... I think all in all I have about $700 in the kart (minus 200 for the motor swap) so $500 actual cost in the kart, it is heavy duty, but at the same time, a very old/worn kart.

I feel a little sick thinking about this, I think I'm going to make the deal happen at the welding store I go to.... ill tell them that Ill trade in a 80 cf tank 75/25 co2 and a 220 cu ft tank of 100% argon for their trouble.... i really hope they can give me some good news on the welder or tell me if there are any major issues...

 

[OzFab]

Other party is more than open to it they want to trade me wednesday, and seem very excited.

Sweet, no problem then

I feel a little sick thinking about this

In a good way I hope...

I think I'm going to make the deal happen at the welding store I go to....

Great idea

 

[KartFab]

Well, It looks like I'm Keeping the go kart. Someone showed up last night and with $1,400 and bought the guys welder, so no trade for me.

I feel a little relieved, but still need to find a bigger welder in the future.

 

[OzFab]

Bummer...

 

[KartFab]

Is everything bigger in TX?

I have lived in TX for 4 years now, and I think its starting to wear off on me.

The guy selling the welder even fooled me! So the guy that showed up with $1400, actually just said he would pay the man $1,400... but he only gave him $300 and never came back, when the seller tried to contact him again, a woman answered the phone and told him to never call back and that man was long gone......

So I followed up with the guy just hoping that the deal fell through, and it did! Only problem was we couldn't test it out, but he said it did work when he first got it and had tried it out.... and he seemed to be an honest older guy with values (I was trying not to be blinded by the awesomeness of the welder).

Long story short, I traded the yerf dog 3203 for it (not the manco in the above video). I had upgraded shocks on it and replaced the engine w/212CC honda clone, and welded on disc brakes, fixed up the seat and throttle, so it was running like a champ.

Now i have this giant welder in my garage with a GIANT bottle of 75/25 AR/CO2 .... and no 220v plug for it. The 30 amp dryer outlet isnt even good enough for this guy. I was surprised at how gigantic this welder was. I cant wait to test it out!!! yayayayayaya! Best trade EVER!

Also, the guy that got the go kart/mini buggy had 3 of his granddaughters there drooling wanting to ride it at 11 pm! He was so happy too! I'm glad it worked out for both of us, we both got what would make us happy.

My old (still keeping it for small mobile jobs) Millermatic 135 on the left, and my 'new' Millermatic 251 on the right, omg more than i could have ever hoped or dreamed for I feel so giddy right now muahahaha!

 

[OzFab]

Hmm, ok... well... I'll retract my previous statement & replace it with:

AWESOME! Were you a cat in a previous life coz you seem to have landed on your feet

 

[machinist@large]

Nice!!!

There isn't much that could go wrong on that machine; and if the local Miller rep can't sort any potential bugs out, they shouldn't have the distributorship......

If I were you, I'd set the 135 up for sheet metal type work, and the 251 with heavier wire for more structural stuff. That's the way I have my machine's placed; the Lincoln 135 mig for the light stuff, the Miller Dial Arc 250 AC/DC stick machine for the heavy work.

The only question I have is about the tank; if the previous owner was just leasing the tank, you might have some issues when you go to refill it. If he owned the tank out right, make sure it's called out on the receipt so the welding supply house won't call the cops on you. This is a concern; replacement cost for a full size "T" cylinder like that (last I checked) was ~ $200 to $300 dollars, and if the serial # on the tank comes up as stolen, things can get ugly pretty quickly.....

 

[KartFab]

Hmm, ok... well... I'll retract my previous statement & replace it with:

AWESOME! Were you a cat in a previous life coz you seem to have landed on your feet

Thanks!

There isn't much that could go wrong on that machine; and if the local Miller rep can't sort any potential bugs out, they shouldn't have the distributorship......

I will take the welder in to my local welding shop that doesnt completely rip you off (like AirGas does).

If I were you, I'd set the 135 up for sheet metal type work, and the 251 with heavier wire for more structural stuff. That's the way I have my machine's placed; the Lincoln 135 mig for the light stuff, the Miller Dial Arc 250 AC/DC stick machine for the heavy work.

I will try and weld up a smoker 'someday' with the bigger machine, but as of right now it has .030 wire in it so I'll just keep it in the garage for when people come by to have stuff fixed. The little guy is for mobile welding. If I didn't do mobile welding, I would just sell the 135 because the 251 does everything the 135 does but without that pesky duty cycle to worry about. Plus I have a honda civic I do my mobile welding with, people laugh yea yea, but hey does your rig get 36 mpg?

The only question I have is about the tank; if the previous owner was just leasing the tank, you might have some issues when you go to refill it. If he owned the tank out right, make sure it's called out on the receipt so the welding supply house won't call the cops on you. This is a concern; replacement cost for a full size "T" cylinder like that (last I checked) was ~ $200 to $300 dollars, and if the serial # on the tank comes up as stolen, things can get ugly pretty quickly.....

I'm calling in on Monday with the serial number for the welder and the bottle, as they can look up previous repairs etc in their system.

 

[machinist@large]

I will take the welder in to my local welding shop that doesnt completely rip you off (like AirGas does).


I will try and weld up a smoker 'someday' with the bigger machine, but as of right now it has .030 wire in it so I'll just keep it in the garage for when people come by to have stuff fixed. The little guy is for mobile welding. If I didn't do mobile welding, I would just sell the 135 because the 251 does everything the 135 does but without that pesky duty cycle to worry about. Plus I have a honda civic I do my mobile welding with, people laugh yea yea, but hey does your rig get 36 mpg?


I'm calling in on Monday with the serial number for the welder and the bottle, as they can look up previous repairs etc in their system.

Sounds like you have a plan!! The reason I bought the Lincoln was because my neighbor had a factory weld fail on his hay mower (three months out of warranty), and the quotes he was getting from some of the local mobile outfit's were totally out of line. Cost to replace the head frame was in the range of $7000; the mobiles wanted between $3500 to $5000.

My cost, time & material, including purchasing the welder? $640.00 And that included plating the whole section on the back side for more strength.

 

[KartFab]

Well guys, here is a quick update. I called Miller, and the welder isn't stolen. The one service it has ever had was the sticker replaced that said what the operating voltages were. I called up the gas company and they can exchange the bottle for $100. It seems a little steep, but its the biggest one I think.

I re routed the wire for the oven to a small junction box in the attic, tied it to some new 3 wire 10 ga copper wire, then ran the longer new wire down the wall into the sub panel. I finished up everything in the sub panel, then connected the hots to a 100 amp breaker on the main panel, I flipped the switch and nothing caught fire, and the oven still works. I plugged the Millermatic 251 in and it powered up. It has a faint buzzing sound, just like a transformer sounds. Ill have to open it up and clean it out. I did a quick test weld and it performed great, but is louder than my millermatic 135. Im guessing its the wire feed and or wire size (0.035). Thanks again everyone for your help. I spent about $150 for the panel, breakers, wire, receptacle, and junction boxes when it was all said and done.

 

[OzFab]

Let the fun begin...

Sweet, glad everything worked out... I guess we'll never see you here now, you'll be too busy looking for excuses to weld a bit like me with my polisher...

 

[landuse]

Let the fun begin...

Sweet, glad everything worked out... I guess we'll never see you here now, you'll be too busy looking for excuses to weld a bit like me with my polisher...

So what have you polished lately?

 

[Half-breeder]

lol.... he's gonna be welding forks to spoons just to have something to weld for fun...lol (that is the same welder Ive been using on my welds at the shop... awesome welder). ONLY issue w/ that welder is welding in 'tight' spaces... that gas tends to not wanna enter cramped areas... IMO... AWESOME deal!

 

[Metal_Rott]

Sick trade, Grats!

 

[KartFab]

Well, I haven't been using this thing to weld silverware together, BUT I have welded up:
1) 1/2" plate to a hydraulic press so a guy could make custom leather briefcases.
2) a steel ramada with my little millermatic 135, and
3) a big bumper (just welded/fabbed brackets to mount it, he already had the actual bumper) for a guy with the millermatic 251,

im pretty happy with the 251, it welds so smooth!

 

[landuse]

Awesome!! I wish I had a better welder than the 130A Einhell stick welder I got

 

[machinist@large]

Well, I haven't been using this thing to weld silverware together, BUT I have welded up:
1) 1/2" plate to a hydraulic press so a guy could make custom leather briefcases.
2) a steel ramada with my little millermatic 135, and
3) a big bumper (just welded/fabbed brackets to mount it, he already had the actual bumper) for a guy with the millermatic 251,

im pretty happy with the 251, it welds so smooth!

It looks like you've made out nicely!!! Enjoy!!

Awesome!! I wish I had a better welder than the 130A Einhell stick welder I got

Paul, I can really feel for you. For all that we have (here in the States) a really awesome selection of welding technologies, the only way the price seems to come down is when you have an aggressive marketer like HF, which you don't have in your part of the world.

Even with HF trying to take over the world from the bottom up, real welders, built by some of the best MFG'rs of their type in the world command real price tags; anything that you know you have at least a 50/50 chance of it working the day after Armageddon always seems to have a waiting list for purchase...

 

[Br@ndoM@n]

Your washer outlet will work you just need to replace your 30amp fuse with a 50 amp one. Those bigger migs require bigger fuse. also look on back of the welder cause those units were available with a 208/220 volt input and 400/500volt input single phase and 3 phase. if its a 3 phase only machine its useless to you.