Time for a new threader....

heatpro02920

One of my 300's is getting old, just needed to change the switch and today when I was using it I noticed the chuck is getting loose so I just ordered a set of jaws, before this machine costs more than a new one to fix, I figure I will grab a new one, but I just got a call back from the supply house and they are almost $4000 now!!!



This year seems like I am spending a lot in equipment, I still need a couple new combustion testers too, an easy $3k, and now a new threader...



Anyone know the best place to buy a ridgid 300... I can get away with just a drive, but I would rather buy at least the drive and carriage so I don't have to rebuild my carriage, I dont mind using my stand and oiler...

icesailor

Ridgid 300's.

I bought my 300 in the mid 70's. I only bought the machine and stand. All the rest was separate. 1" to 2" die stock threader for reasons stated before, individual drop in dies from 1" to 3/8". I worked alone. I liked the portability of the 300. I always looked longingly at the carriage threader but snapped back to reality when I saw the price. I bought a wheeled carriage that one end went into the jaws and I could wheel it around easily. Like up and down stairs and in and out of my truck. As I got older and weaker, it was nice to have the wheels. I could never have moved it around with a carriage.

How often (if ever) did the boys grease the fittings on the front and back of the machine? There's quite a few grease fittings inside a 300. They need grease.

The proper grease lubricant can be a beautiful thing.

heatpro02920

It is well taken care of

just seen a lot of pipe in its day, this one I bought used about 10 years ago and use it more than any other, because it always ended up being closest to the door, lol...



I have a couple small pony units that we never use {690 and a 700}, I have a 1215 that I keep in my sheet metal trailer, a 1210 that I used a lot when I first got it, but I always go back to the 300, its fast, cuts great, with the carriage is really easy to use, the only downside to the machine is its weight, but with the stand and the wheel set its not that bad to move around...

icesailor

Machine threaders:

If you think your 300 is heavy, buy a 400. Puts big muscles in your back. You'll need ramps to get it in and out of the truck.

If weight is an issue, I'd still buy a new 300 without the carriages and just use the single accessories. I'd rather pick up a single 400 than a 300 with a carriage. Even if it might be easy to get off. If I was threading gas pipe, I only need drop in dies, the die stock, oiler, reamer and cutter. If a boiler, I need the 1" to 2" adjustable die stock. I made nipple holders out of old pipe and running couplings. I can make any size nipple if I need to with the die stock I have.

Rich_49

Not one

loyal 300 user has not agreed after using this that this is the machine to have .  I was one and am still converting 2-3 guys a year .  We now have three , the oldest is right around 12 years old and still going strong . One piece of equipment to buy and you're done .  We put a 90 and ball valve on the reservoir so it can be drained to go back in the truck . Suggest purchasing a second head for 1"-2" pipe . Fastest , lightest , easiest machine I have seen .  Wheeler Rex  # 6090 .  Every one we have purchased cost about the same as the 300 Power drive only .



http://www.wheelerrex.com/wheeler-rex-professional-tools/catalog/pages/wheeler-rex-professional-tools-catalog-page-19.html

icesailor

Threading machines:

How well does that machine work on 2" pipe?

How well does it worked with a 2 1/2" to 4" geared threader?

How easy is it to use if you want to wind on a fitting on a new piece of pipe?

I guess a machine that threads bigger pipe and can spin a geared threader needs bigger gears and a bigger motor. I used to thread a lot of 2" Galvanized well pipe and do 2" fills on oil tanks. All machines work as advertised. Its how bad someone can abuse the machine that counts.

I once hired a student from the High School. I had a brand new #2 Earth Guitar. He broke the handle off the first time he ever stuck it into a pile of screened hill sand. A few days later, he broke the handle of a 8"X8" Ground Pounder ( Tamper). The next week, he broke the reciprocating gears on a Sawzall. I still have one of the first Sawzall's I bought and still have my original Hole Hawg. If yu don't beat the crap out of tools, they treat you right.

Rich_49

My son

was working for you too ? That boy can break anything but not this machine .  Threads 2" the same as 1" , real smooth machine . Have not used it with geared threaders for larger pipe . Have larger machines for those jobs that usually take a bit of time and the machines address changes .  No problem using the carriage as a lever to tighten fittings on the machine . We take good care of our stuff too , at least I do .  

 Some real Samsonite Gorillas use our machines and they continue to perform better than the guys who use them .

heatpro02920

I like the ridgid 300

I have used the others, and the 300 gets my vote, if its setup correctly, and you use ss dies, it threads great, one person can move it around and put it up or down... The rex machine is like the 300 compact....



I have all ridgid threaders, plus I like having all the threaders matching, and I have at least 10 811a's set up with various dies...

delta T

Good old 300

Have a 300 and a 270 for taking to jobs. Mainly what we end up using them for is gas lines (not that many steam systems out here) so not that often that we need to thread over 1 1/2. My dad bought both of them and all the dies/ratchets/reemers/cutters etc. used, thirty years ago and they are still kicking strong. about once every two years we dissasemble the 270 and grease it up (no zircs on that one) and the 300 gets all the zircs hit about once every six months. They are great machines and I hope to have them for another 30 years.

heatpro02920

I am just a ridgid guy

Not sure why, just grew up with it in my hands and feel comfortable with it... Lifetime warranties don't hurt either, I had a shop vac that was at least 8 years old, I called up to see how much a new motor was because the ss can and plastic housings were all still good, but the motor dies {we used it a lot}, they said "its free", I got it in about 2 weeks, threw it in and still have that vac...



Also I had a ridgid 300 stand wear out, just opened and closed too much I guess, sent me a new middle section and hardware kit for it, no questions asked...



Obviously they are not going to cover my second hand 300, lol but maybe I should give it a shot...



Anyway just to add insult to injury one of my pipe welders smoked today, just a puff of smoke and no longer works, probably some kind of inverter failure....

heatpro02920

I tried a couple different machines..

I tried a Rothenberger supertronic, they brought up 2 of them to my shop for me to try, I felt bad they had to wait an hour and a half for me to get back there to test it out, but we bought them lunch... The brought a 2" and a 3", the 3" machine is pretty nice, almost identical just larger, and they also make a 4"... The 2" machine that would compare to a 300 was nice, I have to say I like their die head and auto oiler, plus the automatic release, although when I asked how hard it was to rebuild the die head they said its easy to change dies but not so easy to disassemble and rebuild it all together, there are balls and springs and all kinds of stuff in there...

The prices were fair, considering comparing the 4" model to a 1224, the ridgid would be around double the cost!! But also the 1224 is 510 lbs and the 4" rothenberger is 250....

same goes for the 300 vs the 2" machine the 300 is around 80lbs heavier...



Although the ridgid supposingly has a 1/2hp motor and the rothenbergers have 1 and a 1/2 hp!!! BUT I showed them my 300 that is old and used, turns pipe easier, not sure why {they said its gearing} but the 300's just spin with ease and the others sound like they are working....



I also took a ride to a friend of mines shop after work and he showed me his wheeler 8097, it works very well, but I don't think it will be as easy to break down and setup although I like the self oilers a lot, it would be nice not to have to cart around the oil buckets...



I have some thinking to do...

heatpro02920

I miss my old 270

that thing was great, worked like a horse, easy to setup and move around, simple to use, I always wondered why they never made an adapter for the ridgid 700 on the idea of the 270? That would be a great little threader.... you dont see 270s around anymore, I got rid of mine years ago because it needed a cord and a switch, sold it for $300 to the kid that worked at grainger..

hot_rod

REMS Tornado

was my favorite all time threader. Super quiet sealed motor, nicely built. Mine folded down into a two wheeled cart.

icesailor

Threading Crooked:

FWIW, and not much to others, my one over riding need and like of my straight Rigid #300 and separate die stocks (etc) was portability and ability to make crooked threads. I cut crooked threads constantly to bring things back in to alignment, Whether vertical or Horizontally. I even made my own nipple holders and cut crooked nipples. I've never encountered the aggravation some must go through to get something straight.

If you rise out of a boiler and the boiler or the tapping isn't straight, 2-45's won't properly offset back), what do you do? If you have a knock down boiler, and you connect the two ends, and they don't mate (in alignment), what do you do? Get out a 10# mall and beat the crap out of it?

Just my thoughts.

Alan (California Radiant) Forbes

Ridgid 300 and crooked threads

I've had two 300's and they are my favorites over the years. The first one didn't wear out, but got lifted off the back of my truck in East Oakland. I didn't make much money on that job. Now, I have a REMS Amigo II which is a handheld, but I hardly do any large gas jobs anymore and along with the advent of CSST (flexible) pipe, I hardly ever pull it out of the case.



I'm not as much of a craftsman as others, but if I encounter a non-plumb or non-level take-off, I install a swing joint to make my work straight.

heatpro02920

New threader came yesterday

The new ridgid 300 arrived yesterday one of my guys threw it together and made a few nipples with it to make sure everything was good...



It is amazing at how much these have gone up in price since I bought my first one...

if you buy a 300, with an extra 811, the nipple chuck, and a 141 with the drive bar and keeper loop you will spend almost $7000, and you will still need a tristand and a roller stand which is another $500 or so plus a 4s and a large reamer thats another $400 onto of that!!!!

Granted that will get you threading from 1/2" to 4" which will do for 90% of residential and medium commercial stuff, but its a good sized investment for a pipe threader...



http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00140TQNW/ref=pe_808750_118750230_em_1p_0_ti

http://www.amazon.com/Ridgid-51005-Nipple-Chuck-2-inch-2-inch/dp/B0015BGEDU/ref=pd_bxgy_hi_img_y

http://www.amazon.com/Ridgid-36620-Receding-Geared-Threader/dp/B001AI241O/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1400757185&sr=1-1&keywords=ridgid+141

http://www.amazon.com/Power-Threading-Geared-Threader-Accessories/dp/B004FCLFOE/ref=sr_1_2?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1400757228&sr=1-2&keywords=ridgid+drive+844

http://www.amazon.com/Ridgid-19366-Replacement-Threader-Machines/dp/B001ASD3BE/ref=sr_1_3?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1400757263&sr=1-3&keywords=ridgid+141

http://www.amazon.com/Ridgid-97065-Universal-Opening-Oiling/dp/B0002DOK5G/ref=sr_1_2?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1400757289&sr=1-2&keywords=ridgid+811a





They did a demo of the Ridgid 258 for me, and I like it a lot, but the price is kind of steep since I hardly do any big pipe threading any more.... But it works awesome...