Miller Thunderbolt 225

[highland512]

I was cruising the local craigslist tool section and saw an add for "welder". I asked for pictures and gladly got in the truck and took them $50. I will get more pictures when I get home but just by judging from the cover this Thunderbolt has spent its life in a hobby garage with very little use. The old Miller blue still has shine to it and the leads look perfect. It will be nice to have a machine that can actually penetrate into some heavy gauge material.   

[goodfellow]

You got a deal on that machine. It was Miller's equivalent to the Lincoln AC225, but in many respects it was a much more versatile homeowner grade machine. Fifty dollars were well spent -- congrats "highland"!

Take the cover off and blow it out thoroughly -- they are notorious for accumulating dirt and debris, due to the fan design.

[walrus]

50 bucks for that is a steal, very nice

[jabberwoki]

You suck....there I`ve said it.

[DeadNutz]

You did very well on that buy.

[slip knot]

Nice older low mileage machine. For $50 ya did good.

Stay mindful of the 30ish% duty cycle and you can weld some pretty big stuff with that machine

[muddy]

Great find I would have grabbed it as well!

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[highland512]

Got it home and unloaded, I think I could get my money back in scrap. I swear it weighs 50-60 lbs. the deal was even better when the ol’boy showed up with two each 5lb sleeves of 7018 and 6013 rods still sealed.


The face is very clean with some minimal stains.




It is dirty inside but not nearly as bad as you would think for its age. I know it’s older than me but I’m not sure by how much, early 80’s maybe??

I blowed it out real good and that left it looking good. I would like to clean the old grease out and put in new. Any suggestions? To me it’s to nice for repainting, I think I will just clean it up real good and regrease the insides and have fun.

[slip knot]

if the 7018s aren't marked for AC they're not gonna work with that machine.


It really not that dirty inside. I've seen way worse.

[muddy]

That Oliver is still in pieces....how come?



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[highland512]

That Oliver is still in pieces....how come?

Like most things time and money. I need to get the crank to the crank doctor, but he works Banker hours and I haven't had the time to get it to him. Plus the wife is due to have kiddo #2 late July so most of my time and $$ has been wrapped up in getting ready for that. Hopefully after baby girl is here and Im off a few days for that I can load the crank up and take it to the shop.

[goodfellow]

simple and robust design - that thing will easily last another 50 years.

[muddy]

That Oliver is still in pieces....how come?

Like most things time and money. I need to get the crank to the crank doctor, but he works Banker hours and I haven't had the time to get it to him. Plus the wife is due to have kiddo #2 late July so most of my time and $$ has been wrapped up in getting ready for that. Hopefully after baby girl is here and Im off a few days for that I can load the crank up and take it to the shop.

Congratulations! I know the feeling my to do list is long and #2 is due in December.

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[highland512]

Machine cleaned up nicely, lots of shine left in the paint with just a few stains I couldn’t remove.



Welds good to, I just need to brush up on my stick skills. Upon closer inspection all the rods the seller gave me where ac so plenty to practice with.

[Heiny57]

Looks good.