Lincoln Handy MIG Welder Reviews in 2024: Electric K2185-1

Last Updated on April 16, 2024 by John Patterson

In this Lincoln electric k2185-1 handy Mig Review in 2024, I have written my practical experience after using the Electric K2185-1. As mentioned in my several review articles, I am always trying to write an honest and unbiased review. We believe in quality, not quantity.

Metal Inter Gas (MIG) welding is one of the tradesmen’s favorite ways to achieve fast and accurate welding without any entrapment of slag. It’s based on argon or helium mixture with oxygen, and for this type of welder, particular safety is required.

On that note of safety and reliability, Lincoln Electric is one of the most famous brands and the name of trust in the welding industry for the past 120 years. They have their pride in manufacturing quality welding machines, like with the safest system that is convenient for the users.

And one of the brand’s remarkable production is the lincoln electric k2185-1 handy Mig, the MIG welder that we’re about to talk about in this post.

We will be talking about all the features, specifications of this Lincoln welder, and yes, the drawbacks too! This Lincoln electric k2185-1 handy Mig Review will provide you with all the necessary information about this Lincoln electric k2185-1 handy Mig welder.

Lincoln Handy MIG Welder Reviews of 2024

Lincoln  Electric K2185-1

What We Liked about this Lincoln welder

Works with household outlets:

Once I had to weld on my kitchen, and it was easy to fit right there as all I needed to do is to put the plug into a 115-120 volt socket on the wall. So, you can quickly cover any job at household outlets, and it is the best benefit of being compact and portable.

Long Life Expectancy:

The high-quality material of this welder makes it vulnerable in any critical situation. It is built with highly durable steel material, and all the parts are easily mountable. So, the life expectancy of this product is longer than other welders in this price range.

Other Benefits:

When I unboxed the welder, I got six contact tips, three of them were 0.035 inches, and the other three was of 0.025 inches, a spool of 3lbs, and a chipping brush.  A nozzle with a gas-less feature for flux-cored welding is provided in the box. Besides, a regulator and a hose are there for MIG welding. Doesn’t the package seem neat and attractive?

What We Didn’t Like

As a reviewer, I came across a few drawbacks of this fantastic electric welder, and these don’t bother anyway ranking on top of the list. These are:

No Gas Gauge:

A gas gauge is a small-sized measuring tool that shows the level of your gas. As it is an electric welder with a gas welding advantage, this is not a big deal for most of the users. But the most convenient part is, it’s easy to add a gauge.

Limited Spool Capacity:

As it is a compact and portable welder, it can’t contain large wire spools. That’s why you need to re-spool it while working, and I found it annoying. But the secure transport, binary welding options made things up for me, and I got used to it after using a while.

Key Features and Benefits

Diverse Use of Both MIG and Flux Core Welding:

Lincoln electric k2185-1 handy Mig welder allows you to do both MIG welding and Flux-Cored welding at the same time with the help of shield gas. While testing, our professionals welded it by swapping in those two options, and that was smooth, with no issues in it.

Portability and Flexibility:

As it is made for handy jobs and light welding, the design is very compact and portable. The user can easily roam around from one corner to another of the garage with this 26 pound weighed welder. In my opinion, this Lincoln electric k2185-1 handy Mig welder gives you full flexibility while working, and the welding quality is outstanding.

Cold Contactor Safety:

There is a cold contactor attached to this welder that allows the wires to remain cold during the welding process. This feature makes sure all the wires don’t get heated before pulling the trigger. I found this feature useful to weld for hours regarding the durability of the product and safety to the user.

Affordable Price for Budget-friendly Purchase:

When it comes to affordability, this one comes on top of the list without any doubt. I have reviewed more than hundreds of various types, including Esab Rebel welders, and from my experience, Lincoln electric k2185-1 handy Mig is the highest value for money. The craftsmanship and features that it offers make it the best choice in the medium price range.

Usability:

This product from Lincoln Electric offers versatile usage of the welder as it can do flux-coded welding that makes porosity-less welding and MIG welding for light jobs. The user-friendly design makes it an excellent choice for both beginners and pros.

Power and Applications:

There is a 120-volt power unit that can plug right into the wall to power up, and the output is 35-88 Amp. As for Metal Inter Gas (MIG), welding is a concern; light welding is what it can do best. And for flux-cored welding, you will get no porosity in your welding.

Transport:

For easy transporting your welder, Lincoln Electric provided a solid handle on top of it. It has proper gripping, and the position helps to balance the weight while carrying. This is why it is not stressful, even if you take it for a while.

Other Features:

I liked the control mechanism on the Lincoln electric k2185-1 handy Mig weolder; it is comfortable and neat. I’m sure this will be easy to cope up with this when you just replaced the old one. And for beginners, it is like a blessing to have this around because you can learn the control quickly. All the necessary cords and feeds are included in the box. So, you don’t have to worry about buying extra parts for it.

Lincoln Mig welders Safety and Security

For protection, you will get a fine coating over all the cords in it. They also have a cold contactor for protection which keeps those wires cold before triggering the heat up. The regulator included in the box helps to control the gas intensity in MIG welding.

As you are welding, you need to use a mask to protect your eyes and a long-sleeved dress to protect the skin from accidental sparks. Remember, in this job safety is the number one priority.

Who makes Lincoln Welders?

Talking about the brand Lincoln Electric, people in this field love it as a manufacturer. All the expectations of consumers like a reasonable price, high built quality, conventional welding, secure handling, versatile usage, convenient design, the safety of the user and the product itself, etc. have equal priority to them.

They are sincere in it and make a better one on their each upgraded version. One hundred twenty years of dominance in welding tool manufacturing is created in this way, by prioritizing the consumer’s desire.

How I Wrote This Review?

As I am a reviewer, I research the product, and there are a few steps I follow. Firstly, I collect data, and to do so; I roam around online to check out what people are buying recently and read customer’s comments about the products. This way, I get to know about all the preferred brand names of the users.

Then, I ask some professionals who use that product daily, and I believe they can suggest being the finest one for the job. I do some welding in my garage, but to write this review, I went to the workshop of my uncle, who is doing this for 20 years. He suggested some brand names, and I tried some of them there.

According to the research, one of the best brand names for electric welding that came out to the light is ‘Lincoln Electric.’

Frequently Asked Questions

#1. Question: How to swap between flux-core to MIG?

Answer: There is a switch where you can choose any of this easily without issue.

#2. Question: Does the welder require gas?

Answer: It comes with an inner-shield wire that does not require gas.

#3. Question: What measurement system it supports?

Answer: Metric.

#4. Question: How long are the welding leads?

Answer: They are 8 feet long to the tip of the torch from the machine.

#5. Question: Is it strictly a flux-core welding machine, or can I use gas?

Answer: This model has the options and features to make flux-core welding or gas welding available. It was the first gas well I did and as comfortable as a first-timer.

#6. Question: What are the limitations of this welder?

Answer:  I found a limitation of up to 1/8 inches of steel, and I won’t recommend using it beyond that thickness.

Final Verdict

Circumspectly, we are on the verge of this Lincoln electric k2185-1 handy Mig Review of 2024. Till now, we have known about all the features, specifications, and learned about a few drawbacks.

The drawbacks are tolerable as the benefits of the features are sky touching in this price range. What do you expect from a mid-range priced electric welder? Not that premium performance you get from a welder worth of thousand bucks. In that sense, this Lincoln Electric K2185-1 Handy MIG Welder will give you that premium feel of using in its price range.

As I used it before writing the review, my experience is positive, and this is why I want to recommend this one. For those who are looking for a mid-range quality electric welder, definitely this is one of the best choices.

As Lincoln handy Mig k2185-1 is one of the best MIG welders on the market, we are recommending reading the customer reviews before buying.