Old Idealarc 250 round top welder

reggie_obe · Nov 25, 2014

Is a very old Idealarc 250 amp AC/DC welder with cables, working condition with a 2'x4' 1" thick steel welding table worth buying for $150? Just bought a bunch of shop tools at a farm liquidation. Original owner (deceased) was said to have owned it for 25+ years, still working, did many heavy repairs on his equipment and for neighboring farmers. Core move in the coil when hand wheel cranked, doesn't seem rusted out, long cables, they look good, extra ground clamp and electrode holder. Home made table, very heavy construction, top is at least 1" plate. Should I go back? Probably get the son to toss in some cans of rods as well. Just unsure because of it's age.

mrjbug · Nov 25, 2014

Had an Idealarc around here that was bought new in 1975. Used here till around 2000, sold it to an employee and its still going strong. Sounds like a deal.

Michael

PlasmaOnTheBrain · Nov 25, 2014

If you can plug it in and it holds an arc then its a steal.
Old solid state welders are hard to kill...
The table alone sounds like its worth $150, but any rods are more than likely shot unless they are still sealed up in original packages... Even then...

reggie_obe · Nov 25, 2014

PlasmaOnTheBrain said:
If you can plug it in and it holds an arc then its a steal.
Old solid state welders are hard to kill...
The table alone sounds like its worth $150, but any rods are more than likely shot unless they are still sealed up in original packages... Even then...

Thanks for all the advice.

He had three refrigerators that he had converted, two for rod storage, one for related welding related tools and stuff. I'd be looking to buy any brass brazing rod, silver braze and maybe some nickle rod, plus a starting variety of "regular" rod. So far, the daughter and son of the deceased have been very fair and generous with the stuff I already purchased, I don't expect the next deal to be any different.

Graham08 · Nov 26, 2014

You're down in the area of scrap price for the welder. There's a lot of copper in the older machines. I don't think you could really go wrong.

JMG · Nov 26, 2014

We have one at work and it's the favorite for everyone to use. Smooth! We call it big red. Grab it.

John

reggie_obe · Nov 28, 2014

Seller backed out of the deal and sold the welder and bench to another guy. We had an agreed upon price and he was offered more by a landscaper. Arrived just in time to see the bench and welder leave.

axkiker · Nov 28, 2014

reggie_obe said:
Seller backed out of the deal and sold the welder and bench to another guy. We had an agreed upon price and he was offered more by a landscaper. Arrived just in time to see the bench and welder leave.

Then the seller is a D#$K

If you agree to sell something at a price you should honor that price no matter what someone else offers.

DaveKamp · Nov 30, 2014

axkiker said:
Then the seller is a D#$K

If you agree to sell something at a price you should honor that price no matter what someone else offers.

No, Reggie noted the offer on 11-25. If he didn't jump on it then, and returned later to find out too late, that just makes him too late.

As Reg noted, they'd treated him well on other things. The landscaper offered more, after Reggie didn't respond.

I'm sure that if the welder and table would have been priced 2x what she offered Reg, it would have sold just as quickly. Snooze=Loose.

reggie_obe · Dec 1, 2014

DaveKamp said:
No, Reggie noted the offer on 11-25. If he didn't jump on it then, and returned later to find out too late, that just makes him too late.

As Reg noted, they'd treated him well on other things. The landscaper offered more, after Reggie didn't respond.
I'm sure that if the welder and table would have been priced 2x what she offered Reg, it would have sold just as quickly. Snooze=Loose.

Well, maybe it's my fault, but maybe not 100%.

I'm the only guy left at the farm sale on the afternoon of the 25th, my truck bed is full, the son says I'll save it for you, I won't put it on Fleabay until the weekend, go home and empty your truck, think about it. That evening, I send him an email, saying I'll take it, he admits receiving it. The 26th, it snows and rains all day, not a lot, but it would be very sloppy for a dirt farmyard, the 27th, well that was Thanksgiving..... Friday, the BS starts, son says, "Have to keep it in the family.", "....two guys offered more than you", etc., etc., I never made an offer he set the price, not wanting to scrap it.

Yeah, coulda, shoulda, woulda..... Next time an opportunity appears, I'll hit a cash machine for more money, go back and buy the item and have the person sign a receipt.

DaveKamp · Dec 1, 2014

Yep. The biggest bummer, is that a good table is a good table, and with a 1" top, I'm thinkin' it probably was pretty stout.

An SRH-333 would be a good find, and they're really sweet runners on single-phase. If you hunt around, you'd likely find 'em for $75 or less, possibly several for that price... snag one and look up my conversion... easy, and they're beastly powerful.

anoldcrank · Dec 2, 2014

25 years old is not 'very old'.

Welders turn up often at auctions. You'll find another deal. The welding machines I avoid are the newer ones with lots of electronics in them.

reggie_obe · Dec 2, 2014

anoldcrank said:
25 years old is not 'very old'.

Problem one, I didn't know how old the machine really was or what value to put on it. Problem two, while the steel bench looked real solid and a deal for $50, my single car garage shop is jammed. With a snow/rain storm coming, I didn't want the bench sitting outside.

When did Lincoln stop making the round top tombstone style welders?

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