would you trust a harbor freight welder?

[haryv]

There are so many projects and times when I needed a welder and just did not have one. I am not in a good position to afford a miller or Lincoln but would love to support the US and its workers

Was considering these Chinese knock off welders. Want it to weld steel, aluminum, and possibly stainless steel. Prefer it to be a 120/240 model that can be flux or gas.

Has anyone had good luck with the welders from harborfrieght tools? There prices are almost to good to be true.

Thanks

 

[tornadoalleycruiser]

Craigslist is your friend.
There is sooooo Much better to be had for that price than harbor freight. Buy used. get an older Miller 185 or 200 or something. Century or dayton, or lincoln etc..
That's like wanting to buy a Taurus pistol cause it's new and shiny and you can buy a used glock for $100 cheaper.. DON"T do it.. Disposable tools from harbor freight? Yes.. Something that you need to buy once..? Not a good idea.

 

[Ebag333]

x2

The better HF welders are decent, but still not worth it. Look for a used buzz box in your area. I picked up my Lincoln stick welder for $100, you can buy 'em new from Lowes for about $250 or so. Stick welding is about the cheapest way to get into it.

The thing I've found about gasless welders is that the rating is optimistic. 85 amps would actually be decent if you had gas to go along with it, but without gas it's maybe the equivalent of half that. My stick welder will do far better than my cheap gasless MIG ever did, even at half the amp setting or less. (Not exactly fair considering they are two different types of welding, and you're comparing 110 to 220.)

 

[splitshot]

HF=pos, agree with^^^

 

[RHINO]

agreed, buy used for the price range you want.

 

[haryv]

You are probably right. Also, finding States with the absolute highest unemployment rates will mean shop or owners will be desperate to sell theirs at bargain rates

Can a high wattage 12 volt to 120 volt inverter have enough power to run a 85 watt mig welder?

 

[Ebag333]

Would be very inefficient. There are on-vehicle welders, or you could just learn how to battery weld.

 

[batcon]

I had a h.f. 220v mig years ago and did a few projects with it. It performed ok, but when it broke it was done. I had taken it to a shop to be repaired and they couldn't get parts for it. These were Itaian made at the time. I bought a Miller 210 second hand that looks brand new with 2 tanks, hoods and misc. clamps and tools for a great price. Keep your eyes open and buy quality.

 

[haryv]

I was reading that if I was to weld 1/4 inch or thicker metal, then I would need a 220 volt version.

In this case, 115 volt is fine for me. I want to weld aluminum,stainless steel and steel and the welder will need to be compact. Lincoln or miller is what I am aiming for. I have read that just number settings on the dials makes it hard to dial in the appropriate voltage is this correct?

What compact models should I be looking at?

 

[Ebag333]

You can weld 1/4" without getting a 220 version, it just takes more than one pass.

If you want to weld aluminum, you'll need a DC stick welder or a good gas MIG welder. Stay away from the gasless. Aluminum is also much more difficult to weld, a higher quality welder will make things much easier for you (often why aluminum is done with TIG instead of MIG/Arc).

Define "compact." My Lincoln buzz box has a small footprint, but is rather tall.

The number settings on the dial will vary from welder to welder, the size of wire or stick, the material, and how you weld. You'll just need to practice and see what works for you. I've read many a guide online that suggests certain amps for a certain material with a certain stick (for a Lincoln buzz box), and found that I needed to be higher or lower to get a good clean weld. No two situations are exactly the same, that's one huge advantage to one of the infinitely adjustable welders. Sometimes I want to be a bit higher or lower than what I'm currently at, but one step up/down is too much. Then I have to adjust the arc length, speed, etc.

 

[haryv]

Yes, read that welders with infinte settings is something to look for. Small footprint so I can stuff it inside my truck with other gear and tools. I think Tig welders are a bit pricy correct?

 

[Ebag333]

Tig's are expensive.

If you want to weld on the go, read up on battery welding, or get fancy and install something like below:

Readywelder.com | There's nothing like it!
On-Board Welder

A Mig will be your best bet for more portable, but they're much more expensive. Gas is not very portable unless you get a little tank, and you do not want that tank loose or sitting in your truck on hot days. Those tanks can be quite dangerous. Even the little tanks are heavy.

 

[haryv]

so in a case like that a

a mig that uses gas can also use flux core ?

 

[Ebag333]

a mig that uses gas can also use flux core ?

Sure, but I would not use flux core unless that was quite literally all I had. Plus changing wire on a MIG is something of a pain unless you use a spool gun. Quite a few welders have multiple welding machines because it's easier to switch machines than wire! (Assuming you do enough welding.)


To me, it sounds like you're you're wanting fine wine on a cheap beer budget. Honestly, look into stick welding. If you learn how to arc weld with a machine, then you can do it with batteries, and you don't need to carry anything with you that you would not normally.

 

[haryv]

Stick welding is of interest

Well, I will be doing some find body work ie, sheet metal work but also, exaust work from time to time. I am also in the process of building a large metal box.

I know stick is cheap, but what are the disadvantages of that over a miller mig?

Just checked out this vidio. Not bad! http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/stick-welding.html

So If I just used a battery, I can weld for example, my exaust and the thickness of the metal and voltage
detirmines my rod number?

readwelder mmmm that is something I can use if it works well.

 

[Ebag333]

Stick can do anything. I had to do some sheet metal thickness stuff the other day, just dropped the amperage and stick size, came out nicely.

Mig is dead easy. Anyone can make a pretty weld with mig. The difficulty is making a solid weld with mig. I've had lots of welds with mig that looked pretty...but snapped the instant any pressure was applied to them. With arc, your welds won't be anywhere near as pretty (unless you're a pro). but 99% of the time if the weld looks halfway decent then you have an absolutely solid weld.

For battery welding, you adjust the voltage and the stick to match what you're welding. If you need to weld some quarter inch frame mounts, then you'll want 3 batteries and a pretty decent sized stick. If you're welding thin exhaust, then you'll want only one or two batteries and a thinner stick. You can also switch types of stick, such as using a 6013 instead of 6010.

See:
Dual Battery Installation

IMHO that's the really cool thing about stick welding. I can weld some sheet metal, then switch sticks and crank up the amps and weld 1/2 inch steel in about 30 seconds. With a mig setup you either have to have two different machines, or spend 15+ minutes swapping wire and adjusting settings.

 

[Leaping Deer]

I started with stick welding before I picked up a good cheap Millermatic 210 on craigslist.

I really don't think that using a stick welded for sheetmetal will be easy for a beginner. I would pratice ALOT before putting that electrode to anything you care about as you will be buring through and warping the sheet metal. Yes it can be done but it would be much easier with a Mig.

If I could have one welder I would get a 220v brand name mig. If I had to do it all over again and didn't have the money for a nice 220v unit, I would get a brand name 110v machine off CL figuring that I could sell it when I had the money to upgrade to a 220v unit.

Also when buying off CL know what the welder cost new. He will help you to see which items are over price. I have well used/beat Lincoln tomb stone welders for more than what the sell for new. I picked up my Millermatic 210 for $750