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Equipment & Gear => Power Equipment & RV => Topic started by: Stein on June 14, 2017, 07:46:50 AM

Title: Harbor Freight welders
Post by: Stein on June 14, 2017, 07:46:50 AM: Anyone have experience with this:

https://www.harborfreight.com/90-amp-flux-welder-61849.html

With a coupon it isn't much more than renting one for the weekend. I need to use it maybe 1-2 times a year for light duty random stuff and don't have 240 in the garage.
Title: Re: Harbor Freight welders
Post by: coop2424 on June 14, 2017, 08:06:44 AM: I have had one for 4-5 years and it gets the job done for the price. When it comes to welding I don't know what I am doing other than high school welding class 15 years ago. With the lighter stuff I have used it on I have had no complaints. It does have a good amount of splatter compared to other welders I have used that requires a little more cleanup.
Title: Re: Harbor Freight welders
Post by: lokidog on June 14, 2017, 08:42:10 AM: Similar experience as above. I'm not an expert, but it has gotten the job done for me when needed.
Title: Re: Harbor Freight welders
Post by: Mudman on June 14, 2017, 08:43:32 AM: Had one, feed system worked sometimes. No power for serious welds, low duty cycles. I threw it in my scrap pile. Lincoln wire feed 100% better. Only use for these is to tack weld sheet steel 1/8" or smaller. Try a Hobart from TSC if looking for decent budget friendly welder. MVP maybe?
Title: Re: Harbor Freight welders
Post by: lokidog on June 14, 2017, 08:57:44 AM: I welded 1/4 inch angle iron onto my boat trailer and the bunk brackets to that, seemed to work fine. It might have been easier with a higher quality welder, but for the price, it works for my needs.
Title: Re: Harbor Freight welders
Post by: Skillet on June 14, 2017, 10:33:19 AM: They work, I have as a quickie/portable 110v unit for light work. Feed mechanism is mostly plastic and touchy, but can be made to work tho. Depending on what you want to do with it, it might be good enough.
Title: Re: Harbor Freight welders
Post by: huntandjeep on June 14, 2017, 10:37:43 AM: Quote from: coop2424 on June 14, 2017, 08:06:44 AM
. It does have a good amount of splatter compared to other welders I have used that requires a little more cleanup.
That's all Flux core welders that use flux wire. If you run a shielding gas and solid wire there is no splatter , however flux core is great for welding outside where the wind would otherwise blow your shielding has away.
Title: Re: Harbor Freight welders
Post by: Skillet on June 14, 2017, 10:43:22 AM: I actually think this one had a good deal more splatter than my lincoln 210mp when i run the same .030 flux core through it. Possibly has to do with the difference in consistency of the power from both machines?

Just my $.02
Title: Re: Harbor Freight welders
Post by: BigGoonTuna on June 14, 2017, 04:13:47 PM: i bought one about 10 years ago, for what i use it for it's OK. if you turn the juice down it works pretty good for welding exhaust tubing.

would i love to have a nice miller or lincoln? absolutely! but this thing gets the job done on most of the welding tasks i run across and i think i paid less than $100 for it.

i want to say i modified the feed rollers in some way to make it feed more reliably, but i can't remember any more.
Title: Re: Harbor Freight welders
Post by: Ice Cap on June 14, 2017, 04:21:28 PM: To get a good flux core weld you must use DC electrode negative. HF units are AC.
With A/C flux core the arc changes direction 60 times per second, moving from the wire to the work then from the work to the wire. When it jumps back and forth like that it causes the hottest point to move back and forth. Electrons moving through air cause heat, and when they move from the wire to the work, the hottest point is near the work. This oscillation causes an unstable arc, it causes the wire to pop 60 times per second, and that is the cause of the massive spatter with a stock HF unit (combined with really low quality wire). The weld ends up being colder, less penetration, the slag gets dispersed everywhere causing weld contamination, oxidation, brittle welds. Worm holes.
If you buy one, do your self a favor and get some quality flux core wire from your local weld shop!
Title: Re: Harbor Freight welders
Post by: rtspring on June 14, 2017, 04:25:16 PM: I welded for 20 years, still do some side stuff. I would not touch one of those cheap things, they are cheap and do chitty work! A welder is not something I would try to save money on. For a once in a while weld they do work, but really your just sticking metal together with them not really WELDING as far as quality!

My personal setup is 6k but I know how to weld virtually anything and everything. I've used almost every 110 plug in welder and none of them work like they should. Poor welds, they get hot from low cycle, and weld quality just plain sucks!

Just my thoughts.
Title: Re: Harbor Freight welders
Post by: Zardoz on June 15, 2017, 12:51:02 PM: Quote from: Ice Cap on June 14, 2017, 04:21:28 PM
To get a good flux core weld you must use DC electrode negative. HF units are AC.
With A/C flux core the arc changes direction 60 times per second, moving from the wire to the work then from the work to the wire. When it jumps back and forth like that it causes the hottest point to move back and forth. Electrons moving through air cause heat, and when they move from the wire to the work, the hottest point is near the work. This oscillation causes an unstable arc, it causes the wire to pop 60 times per second, and that is the cause of the massive spatter with a stock HF unit (combined with really low quality wire). The weld ends up being colder, less penetration, the slag gets dispersed everywhere causing weld contamination, oxidation, brittle welds. Worm holes.
If you buy one, do your self a favor and get some quality flux core wire from your local weld shop!
:yeah: There are also youtube vids to do mods to them to help improve their performance.
Title: Re: Harbor Freight welders
Post by: Stein on June 27, 2017, 07:32:39 AM: Picked it up for $80 and it did the trick. I'm sure there are better welders out there (both machines and operators), but it did what I needed it to do.
Title: Re: Harbor Freight welders
Post by: Mudman on June 27, 2017, 09:02:17 PM: Might as well super glued it... :twocents: