Harbor Freight FCAW welder

[Buggs67]

Thanks Oliver. My BIL is a self taught welder but his friend is a pro and willing to give me some help and pointers. I'm gonna practice, practice, practice.

If I get half good I have some rusted out spots on my jeep I'd like to fix. I think sheet metal might be a challenge.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Gary did you get a .035 tip and wire for it? Do you happen to know if these tips are interchangeable with other brands? I saw tips at TSC and they looked the same. I can get tips at HF but I won't be by there for awhile.

And would .035 wire be better when welding thicker steel, say 1/4?

As far as I can tell, they interchange with some other brands, Hobart brand seems to work. Just take one with you to compare the threads which might be different on some brands. I actually had one of the guys from Welding Site send me a 10 pack that he couldn't use. A couple of them had wrong threads for some reason (the rest were OK)which I just used a thread die on to fix and then, they all worked well. I think that he got to bad thread ones when he tried them so he believed they were different tips but were actually just a quality control problem.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Gary did you get a .035 tip and wire for it? Do you happen to know if these tips are interchangeable with other brands? I saw tips at TSC and they looked the same. I can get tips at HF but I won't be by there for awhile.

And would .035 wire be better when welding thicker steel, say 1/4?

If a machine has the power to run it, .035 or even .045 will work better for thicker stuff but for 1/4" thick , .030 will be fine and the HF Titanium 125 will run it all day long without overheating. You really dont want to try to fill a 1/4" groove in one pass anyway, just make multiple passes and clean the slag really well between passes.

 

[Oaktree]

Another thing make sure helmet has replaceable batteries.... Bought $89 helmet 7 years ago when I bough welder.... Even with solar cell recharge batteries died, unit was sealed, could not get at batteries and when I did unit was pretty well destroyed and batteries were put in in a way it made them to difficult to replace..... Well it cost me $39 for new lens unit (which manufacture discounted by about 50% (according to them) when I purchased replacement ).......

Agree on replaceable batteries. Most of the lower priced ones aren't (or at least not easily).
Another thing to consider is an adjustable helmet. The Hobart I have is fixed, 11 I think which is a little too dark to see the bead easily for me. I end up having to use a lot of spotlights on the work to see what I'm doing.
My next one will be adjustable.

 

[Buggs67]

Thanks Gary.

 

[yomax4]

Looking at the HF Migs, I'd say they use the Tweco 11 Series "style" tips. They are available everywhere. Miller tips will not fit but Tweco, Lincoln and most import welder tips are the 11 series copies.

 

[GeneV]

Thanks Oliver. My BIL is a self taught welder but his friend is a pro and willing to give me some help and pointers. I'm gonna practice, practice, practice.

If I get half good I have some rusted out spots on my jeep I'd like to fix. I think sheet metal might be a challenge.

Hey Buggs, as a fairly new welder myself, the only advise I'm in position to give you is to just start welding stuff. Just dive into it...since you want to do bodywork on the jeep, get some thin gauge steels to practice on a little bit, and then just dive into work on the jeep. The welds don't have to be perfect to be good enough, and good enough is perfectly fine for what most of us here are doing with welders. Just make sure you have an angle grinder with both cut-off and flap sanding discs, you'll be using all that. Some people will call you a grinder, not a welder, oh well. All self-taught welders start off as grinders, it's fine. Go on Youtube, there's a lot of welders out there sharing great tips. Strange Garage and Love2boat92, those guys on youtube have some good fcaw vids, check them out.

Here's vids I have on my favorites list on youtube, for welding (instructionals), there's some real good flux core topics in there: welding - YouTube

 

[DXN1EL]

I want to try flux core as i have to weld outside.
What size machine do I need to weld 1/8" to 1/4"
Have anybody bought a cheap machine of ebay? Like this one Mig Welder Welding Machine 27A MIG MMA TIG 3 In 1Welder Combo 11V/22V | eBay
Maybe i should just wait and buy the Everlast I mig 200

 

[user.69169]

Bunch of things DON'T exist in welding are "good enough" and cheap.

Either one get somebody dead easy or bad hurt.

 

[GeneV]

I want to try flux core as i have to weld outside.
What size machine do I need to weld 1/8" to 1/4"
Have anybody bought a cheap machine of ebay? Like this one Mig Welder Welding Machine 27A MIG MMA TIG 3 In 1Welder Combo 11V/22V | eBay
Maybe i should just wait and buy the Everlast I mig 200

Century FC90 (that's what I had) or Titanium Easy Flux 125. Around $200.

 

[fried1765]

I want to try flux core as i have to weld outside.
What size machine do I need to weld 1/8" to 1/4"
Have anybody bought a cheap machine of ebay? Like this one Mig Welder Welding Machine 27A MIG MMA TIG 3 In 1Welder Combo 11V/22V | eBay
Maybe i should just wait and buy the Everlast I mig 200

I think your Everlast idea is a GOOD one!
They seem to have a good reputation.
I have a Hobart Handler (transformer) 190 Amp Mig (220V) ....a tried & true style machine.

I would definitely stay away from the el-cheapo stuff, unless you want to buy TWO welders!

 

[WranglerX]

a rechargeable battery can go dead at the wrong moment too, and will take a while to charge, perhaps that's why they only use replaceable batteries, because it's faster to replace a battery than recharge it..

That can happen with any battery, what is the issue other than "Oh S#!+"...

My AD helmet with replaceable batteries has a "Battery Test Button", if other helmets has/had same feature the should not be a problem...

Dale

 

[WranglerX]

I want to try flux core as i have to weld outside.
What size machine do I need to weld 1/8" to 1/4"
Have anybody bought a cheap machine of ebay? Like this one Mig Welder Welding Machine 27A MIG MMA TIG 3 In 1Welder Combo 11V/22V | eBay
Maybe i should just wait and buy the Everlast I mig 200

If you are planning on a lot of 1/4 inch work, go top end 120V, 140 amp (or so) minimum..... I have Hobart Handler 140 and in the 7 years I have had it, its been a great machine, but at times it is a little small when it comes to big material...

Handler(R) 14 MIG Welder | HobartWelders

At time's I almost wish I have gotten the Handler 210MPV...

Handler(R) 21 MVP™ MIG Welder | HobartWelders

Becasue welding project seem to get bigger and bigger....

So a bit of shopping around, the are some real deals out there

Dale

 

[DXN1EL]

Thanks guys
Think i am going to wait untill Christmas to get myself a Hobart Ironman 240, it looks like Millermatic 252 without digital readout.

 

[fried1765]

If you are planning on a lot of 1/4 inch work, go top end 120V, 140 amp (or so) minimum..... I have Hobart Handler 140 and in the 7 years I have had it, its been a great machine, but at times it is a little small when it comes to big material...

Handler(R) 14 MIG Welder | HobartWelders

At time's I almost wish I have gotten the Handler 210MPV...

Handler(R) 21 MVP™ MIG Welder | HobartWelders

Becasue welding project seem to get bigger and bigger....

So a bit of shopping around, the are some real deals out there

Dale

In early 2019, I bought a NEW Hobart Handler 190 on E-bay, with the Aluminum spool gun.
I then immediately sold the spool gun, because I knew I would never use it.
My net cost, for the NEW in box, Hobart Handler 190 (220V) then became $444.
That was a GREAT deal!
There are welder deals to be found.

 

[fried1765]

Thanks guys
Think i am going to wait untill Christmas to get myself a Hobart Ironman 240, it looks like Millermatic 252 without digital readout.View attachment 684076

Miller owns Hobart!

 

[WranglerX]

Miller owns Hobart!

Not really..... Miller and Hobart are owned by Illinois Tool Works, Though they do share some facilities and parts and manufacturing supplies the are separate companies under ITW...

Dale

 

[DXN1EL]

I was checking marketace. The guys that resale returned stuff from Harbor Freight, Lowes, Home depot etc. Have some welders

The Lincoln Weldpak 180HD new with the plastic wrap and the leads still zip tied they sell it for $450
Is this thing a good welder? Would this thing weld 1/4"?

I'll ask about the Harbor Freight ones.

 

[fried1765]

I was checking marketace. The guys that resale returned stuff from Harbor Freight, Lowes, Home depot etc. Have some welders

The Lincoln Weldpak 180HD new with the plastic wrap and the leads still zip tied they sell it for $450
Is this thing a good welder? Would this thing weld 1/4"?

I'll ask about the Harbor Freight ones.

The Lincoln Weldpak 180HD is reported to be a decent low cost unit.
The Lincoln will weld 1/4" .
I would absolutely steer clear of the cheapo HF welders.
Some claim that the HF "Vulcan" welders are good, but they are not cheap.

 

[user.69169]

I was checking marketace. The guys that resale returned stuff from Harbor Freight, Lowes, Home depot etc. Have some welders

The Lincoln Weldpak 180HD new with the plastic wrap and the leads still zip tied they sell it for $450
Is this thing a good welder? Would this thing weld 1/4"?

I'll ask about the Harbor Freight ones.

180 is homeowner version of de 175 machine. I got no idea how Linclon play wid der numbers probably some skirt in sales make dem up.
175 is a rock solid machine, nice lightweight gun & flexible cable. Will weld 1/4 but dats top end for sure wid Co2. Machine likes Co2 because it cools tips & nozzle. Sweet arc dat blows HoFart away in dis class of machine. Switch & 2 knobs, no entertainment center on board for cell dwellers. Only drawback heavy but easy to build cart under wid 4 casters.