princess auto welder?

[metalonmetal]

for all you canadians out there, anybody have experience with the welders that princess auto sells? i don't know jack about welding, but on the back page of the new catalogue it's got a welder (doesn't say what brand) for $177.77 i shoulda brought the flyer with me to work, i believe it was a 90 amp, flux core mig welder, 115v.

waste of money? good chance to buy something cheap as a stepping stone?

 

[sisukid1975]

90 amp, flux core mig welder, 115v.

waste of money? good chance to buy something cheap as a stepping stone?

I'm not in Canada, and don't know about that store or their welders...

... but if you're planning on using the welder for auto body work on sheet metal you want a gas sheilded rig.

Fred

 

[metalonmetal]

I'm not in Canada, and don't know about that store or their welders...

... but if you're planning on using the welder for auto body work on sheet metal you want a gas sheilded rig.

Fred

excuse my newbiness... why's that?

 

[metalonmetal]

looked up the catalogue online, it says:
90amp wire feed welder
115v, 20a input
duty: 90a ac @ 10%
60a ac @ 15%
welds up to 1/8" single pass
auto thermal shutdown protection
2 heat settings, variable wire speed, live wire trigger
flux core, does not require gas/regulator

i don't know how much of this is relevant, princess auto is known for exaggerating the most basic things in their descriptions....

 

[baxter650]

I have never had any luck with flux core wire feeds ( borrowed units ) I find them to be a pain. However at $177.77 i guess its cheap enough to try.
Make sure that the metal to be welded is as clean as the cats ass.
Be carefull with the wire feed tension mechanism as well, it will most likely be made out of plastic so don't over tighten feed rollers.

 

[oldIron]

IMO you get what you pay for. Sheilding gas mig welders are better for sheetmetal or so I have read. Do a search and you will find a ton of reading. Check out the outfitting section, much discussion on equipment.

GL

Pete

 

[45Kevin]

Hi, I did a lot of shopping before I bought my Hobart. If you are satified with flux core for ever the PA one might be OK, but price out the cost of adding gas to it. You will need a guage, hoses and a regulator. I don't know if this PA model has the capability to convert to gas. Just some questions you need to ask yourself.

 

[73fj]

It's from Princess Auto, it's not gonna be a quality unit. Flux core can be a bitch to use, lot's of spitting and spatter. Spend a little more at Canadian Tire for a Lincoln. Just my 2 cent's.

 

[Relix]

So what's a flux core welder? Like a Wire fed arc welder?

 

[oldIron]

So what's a flux core welder? Like a Wire fed arc welder?

It's basically a mig without a bottle using a flux filled core wire. Like a reverse stick welder where the flux is inside the rod, not outside.

 

[honk]

90amp wire feed welder
115v, 20a input
duty: 90a ac @ 10%
60a ac @ 15%
welds up to 1/8" single pass
auto thermal shutdown protection
2 heat settings, variable wire speed, live wire trigger
flux core, does not require gas/regulator


This is junk - do not buy one. The important specifications are the duty cycle specifications and 10% at 2/3 power is the worst I've ever seen. It means that cheap components for carrying and transforming electrical power are inside.

The 'welder' is rated to run for one minute out of each ten minutes at 90% of it's available current and a whopping minute and a half at only 60% witthout a thermal overload? GARBAGE!

I wouldn't even go to a store that would sell such a crappy piece of equipment.

 

[Enigma]

princess auto for those who dont know, originated as a mail order store for farmers in the prairies to get cheap stuff to repair tractors, farm implements etc etc. Its evolved into a thriving business with stores all over western canada now.
They sell a lot of cheap stuff, 'power fist' being their house brand and its all made in china. But having said that, its a damn cool store as you can go in and buy damn near anything you want for home build jobs. Complete hydraulic systems, cylinders, trailer components, tons of surplus equipment, tons and tons of cheap tools in every shape and form. They are generally cheap stuff, but their warrantly is pretty damn good.

www.princessauto.com

no affiliation yadayadayadayada, just a satisfied customer

edit: but yah, I wouldnt buy one of their welders. In the Vancouver area , go to KMS tools for high quality stuff (welders, air compressors etc)

www.kmstools.com

 

[brownbear]

I got a Lincoln from crappy tire. Mig pak 15. its ok, uses a bottle of c25 with it. I weld almost 1/4 to 5/16 but the heat settings are not as high as a SP175(although they look almost identical) the switch doesn't got higher than E

I found I have to taper the weld areas and do multiple passes to weld thick stuff.

But this welder is great on bodywork. I never had a duty cycle issue to date.

The mig pak 10 at crappy tire is the 110v one. If your only doing sheetmetal it would work. But don't think you can do thicker steel tho.

Crappy tire puts these on sale regularly, if you watch the flyers it generally happens every few weeks, so if you have time sit back and wait. Its generally on sale for 599.00 cnd (mig pak 15)

 

[gladly]

hey , just happened across this thread, thought I'd revive it, I've got the princess auto flux core rig, it's fine as flux core goes, built in italy I think, my issues with it are: normally ON confguration, therefore if you ground the electrode, it starts to weld and feed,regardless of trigger. once you get used to it it's okay, but kind of annoying at first. also, it doesn't have the option to be set up with gas, it's not just that it doesn't come with a regulator, it has no switching, and the lead isn't set up to be a gas conduit. hindsight being 20/20, I would have gone with the canadian tire unit, however I paid $400 for my princess auto kit. for 177 I would buy it again

 

[rachel1027]

hmm thought this was gonna be about chicks who know how to weld

 

[bundy18]

if you don't have a welder and know little you probably aren't going to be building a roll cage with it tomorrow. with that said it is a great price and i would BUY IT. i have both a flux and regular mig welder, yes i love my mig but the 110 flux can be thrown in the truck and ran over to a buddies that doesn't have one super easy. it will take a little getting used to but i can do up to 3/8" with my 110 (pays to know what your doing).
ps/ one trick with all the splatter on flux is to spray the area with a light oil or such before you weld and the splatter no sticky, just brush away

 

[Martin White]

Another option is to pick up a used industrial oriented unit. If you know anyone in the business, they can usually point you in the right direction.