Deals on returned items
 

I found a NEW Hobart 210 MVP welding machine at Tractor Supply with a tag saying "$500.00 wire feed problems".
So I took a gamble that the person that bought it didn't know what he was doing.
I opened the box and looked at the wire feed wheel, there was black dust in 1 of 3 grooves, that groove was for .023 wire, also above the feed wheel it was wired for Flux core wire. The 110v plug and flux core wire where missing and I didn't have 220V yet but had the makings for it so I ordered the 110v plug and---- BINGO it works fine.
I bought a 220V 25' extension cord and a cheep cart for it and I've been using it for a while.
$1100.00 machine for half price :metal:

Re: Deals on returned items
 

good score!

Re: Deals on returned items
 

Sometimes people are just stupid....

Sometimes they use an item for a project then lie and return it....

BUT SOME people have very poor reading comprehension skills and no matter how hard they try, it just seems like a bunch of words and they just don't understand......and I feel bad for those folks. BUT somebody else will get a great deal! Congrats!

Re: Deals on returned items
 

If the guy wasn't that bright he may have had it plugged into and extension cord that wouldn't carry the amps or even had house wiring that wouldn't handle the amps and kicked the breaker.
I fought with a pressure washer on the dairy I worked on 25 years ago for most of a day because it would kick it's breaker in it's plug out. Drug the thing to the shop to try and figure it out, plugged it into a plug in in the shop and hooked a hose to it and it fired right up and worked perfect. Come to find out the wire running out to the plug in where the boss wanted the guys to wash the equipment wasn't up to the load that the pressure washer put on it. It was about equal to a 16 gauge extension cord and may have been. Here at the house my normal extension cord won't fire up my 8 gallon HF air compressor if it sits for a while. It will fire right up if I plug it in in the garage and run it for a few minutes then it will work on the extenson cord. There is a good chance that among other mistakes that guy was trying to use a light weight extension cord along with the wrong drive wheel. Bad part is that the instrctions for switching the drive wheels around for what wire you use are right on the inside of the lid for the wire.

Another place to bargain hunt if you shop Amazon is over in the "other buying options" section for some things. I've bought a number of things that came in boxes that were damaged but put inside and Amazon box to ship for serous discounts. These jack stands are just and example.

Re: Deals on returned items
 

Just thinking, one more thing to watch for especially at this time of year is assembled floor display items being put on sale at big discounts. I got my English wheel that way and have seen stuff like welders discounted pretty good at welding supplies when there are slight changes made to the new years models.

Re: Deals on returned items
 

Funny you mention the power issue, My dad questioned why I needed a 20a dedicated circuit on the side of my house and up to the carport. I use a 110v welder, and it requires a 20a circuit. I will use it in either place, but not at the same time.

Re: Deals on returned items
 

Yep

I got lucky on mine

Re: Deals on returned items
 

Funny part for me is that both of my brothers are journemen electricians. One of them deals with industrial and commercial installations all the time and is super sharp on what you need to do the job right. He's the one who ran the 220 to my garage. Back when I was fighting that problem on the dairy I should have called him and asked rather than fight with it. That whole place outside of the shop was a bit of a mess in more ways than one and you could see where the previous owners had either neglected things or cut corners when they did things all too often.

Re: Deals on returned items
 

I have that exact same welder. Got it from "Blains farm and fleet" on a tip from Slick Deals for 750ish. Just looked up my order confirmation, from Dec of 2014. Holy moly, that things been amazing for over 8 years with zero issues. I love that machine. Deal hunting is fun and I too sometimes take advantage of amazon open box items. Sometimes its literally an open box item, in perfect shape, with some added tape. Other times you find out why the last guy returned it, or receive an open, and empty, box. Win some, lose some.

Re: Deals on returned items
 

That's really a good score. I used to pick up parts from local machine shops by checking in to see what had been on the shelves for too long. I've bought a bunch of SBC parts that had been abandoned by their former owner after authorizing work.

Re: Deals on returned items
 

I purchased a new DRO for my lathe. Listed as the screen only blinks.
That is what they do without at least one scale plugged in.
Plugged the scales in and it works perfect.

Re: Deals on returned items
 

I've been using the welding machine and it works good