Lotos Welders? Anyone actually use one?

I've been looking at adding a cheap MIG welder to my arsenal after getting some time in on a friend's Lincoln MIG recently. I could borrow his again, but I sorta want my own at this point. 

I was looking around today and saw a welder from Lotos (the MIG 140) and it seems to have some good features for the money, and even surpasses some of the much more expensive machines. Home Depot currently has them on sale for under $300.

Linky

I was thinking of ordering one from them, because if it sucks, I can just bring it back! 

Now, I've seen a couple video reviews of it that praise it, and lots of what seems to be bogus "welding blogs" that offer the same praise. Not sure what to believe. There's not much on the welding forums I've perused, either. 

Anyone ever use one? If so, are they complete E36 M3, or should I snag one immediately?

For what it's worth the H.D is a good test bed for something like this as there return policy is very liberal. 

In reply to Donebrokeit :

Exact-a-mundo, dude. 

I'm at a real computer and not my phone now, so here's a couple of pics of the welder that make it look appealing. 

There's also an optional spool gun for doing aluminum. 

Donebrokeit said:

For what it's worth the H.D is a good test bed for something like this as there return policy is very liberal. 

It says it has a 30 day no hassles return period.  That won't be long enough to determine durability issues, but at least it would be long enough to tell you whether or not it sucks.  This thing looks a lot like the old Lincoln SP-100 I bought years ago, but has a good bit moah powa.  Since then, Lincoln has cheapened the line as "Weld Pak" models.  You can't beat the price of the Loto.   My Lincoln was $675 out the door with a bottle from a real welding store.  .   

They can't spell aluminum. 

In reply to spitfirebill :

Nope, they can't. 

In reply to spitfirebill :

Oh, is that in case it doesn't weld aluminium? They can point to the ad and tell you that it was only meant to be used for alumium (whatever that is)!

The harbor freight Vulcan welders are pretty decent hobby welder rigs. I have a ProTig200 that I've run one and a half 125CF argon tanks through and it's still going strong.  The arc stability is frankly amazing for a budget machine, the torch and ground clamp are some of the best I've seen on entry level machines and I really like the the power cord detaches from the welder, it makes it so much more mobile without worrying about the power cable.  I've thought about picking up their 200 MIG but I don't need a third welder right now.

The biggest thing with cheap inverter welders is getting over infant failure, since the cheapo welders don't have the quality control of the big names. Torture test it, max duty cycle out and even exceed it slightly, very early on and you generally won't have too many issues later on. 

In reply to Ram50Ron :

Learned something new: infant failure.

I have a quality name brand welder and a cheap off brand model that I picked up from the Canadian equivalent to Harbour Freight. I keep flux core wire in the cheap one and use it around the farm for field repairs. It’s been bounced around,in the back of the truck, dropped, neglected and it still works well. It looks very similar to what you’ve linked. I’ve never had a bottle on it or tried to weld “alumium” but it’s survived 5 years of abuse pretty well.

In reply to Floating Doc :

Basically DOA or if it lets the smoke out very early in life.

Sounds like this is a good candidate for the "replacement plan" that covers it for 2 years. If it breaks, they just give you your money back. 

I would want to know what type consumables it uses (tips, rollers, hose fittings). If they are proprietary you may well be screwed in the future. For that type of money I would look for a good used Lincoln, Miller, Hobart, ESAB. That being said I own a Thermal Arc 181i.

In reply to pilotbraden :

From what I've seen, people were using Lincoln tips on them, found just about anywhere. Not sure on the other stuff. 

In reply to Tony Sestito :

Good, the other parts likely follow suit.

I was going to also say check on consumables. A cheap welder is going to have cheap parts. Make sure you can get rollers, liners, a new whip. It is probably a fine welder for a hobbiest, just make sure it isn't a throw away.

Why does a Mig need  a2T/4T switch? 

(no foot pedal Tig, right?)

In reply to wheelsmithy :

2T is momentary, press and hold for on, let go for off. 4T is toggle, press for on press for off.  4T would be helpful for long runs or tight maneuvers between several nodes on a cage where changing your grip mid weld could be very helpful.

Can you run a bottle on this one? I see the Flux-core label

In reply to Ram50Ron :

Ah-ha! Thanks for that. Learning is fun.

In reply to Grtechguy :

Yes, you can run a bottle. It comes with the hose and regulator. It's a slight step up from the cheapo "MIG" ones you see for $99 on fleabay that only do flux core. 

Its kind of strange, but I had a banner ad pop up the other day with welder at HD that looked a lot like that one, but a different name and more expensive.  Curious.   

In reply to spitfirebill :

It was $400-something last week and they dropped the price. Could have been the same one. 

In reply to Tony Sestito :

It was not a Loto.  It was some other name. 

EDIT:  It was the Longevity welder.  It looks kind like the unimproved Loto.