Am I the only one who thinks the new Lincoln Ranger 305G is overpriced junk?

I dropped almost $4,500 on one for a big job in Spokane and the wire feed motor gave out after three weeks. The local shop said it's a common fault with this year's model. What's a better portable welder that can actually handle daily site work?

4 comments

4 Comments

wade_clark3826d ago

My cousin in Boise bought a 305G for his farm shop and the ground clamp literally melted during its first real use. He said it looked like a sad chocolate bar left in the sun. He ended up with an old Miller Bobcat from an auction and that thing just won't quit, even with all the abuse. Makes you wonder what they're building these things out of nowadays.

thompson.julia26d ago

Ugh, that's brutal. I had the exact same thing happen with my 305G last fall. I mean, it's basically a known issue they won't fix. I switched to a Miller Multimatic 220 and it's been a total tank for over a year now, just daily stuff. It's more money up front, but I haven't lost a single day of work with it. Maybe look for a used one if new is too steep.

bettymiller25d ago

My ground clamp looked like a burnt marshmallow.

fiona7493d ago

Remember when people said the 305G was a solid little machine? I used to believe that too until my buddy's clamp basically vaporized on a simple trailer repair. It wasn't even a big job, just some patch work. Seeing that melted mess up close totally changed my mind about what "reliable" means. Now I get why folks are so loyal to the older stuff.