el-cheapo- tig / arc welder at HF

[Soundguy]

I just got an email add from harbor freight :


Tig/arc welder

Might be good for someone wanting to get their feet wet?

Soundguy

 

[MadReferee]

About all that unit is good for is a cheap AC arc welder.

It's TIG functionality is very limited and it does not come with all the accessories either. Spec information is non-existant so it is difficult to determine exactly what that unit will do, either in AC arc mode or so called TIG mode.

But then, you get what you pay for. Cheap price = extremely limited functionality.

 

[davesisk]

I've actually retrofitted an HF inverter very similar to this one to do TIG welding once. It worked OK...it was far from great. For $200 (plus the cost of a regulator), this would actually TIG weld 1/8" steel OK. It's duty cycle is likely very limited, which becomes pretty important in TIG welding...TIG takes longer than stick or MIG, and it's frustrating to have to stop to let the machine cool. I doubt it has a gas solenoid, which means you'd have to open a little gas valve on the torch (wastes Argon), and there's no HF arc starting so you could only do scratch-start (which can get frustrating). It's probably got enough juice to actually weld 3/16" steel (my thrown together rig did), but the duty cycle shuts it off too quickly with thicker material...it would take all day to run a long bead.

It worked, but I returned mine and spent the $1500 on an ESAB Heliarc 161 AC/DC. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Dave

 

[GaryE]

Might be fun to play with, but with a "Rated duty cycle: 35%" I would be a bit concerned about doing any serious work. But as a leaning tool.... not a bad price!

Gary

 

[have_blue]

Sounds like what I need. Looks like a neat little package.

I need an occasional repair,,, just weld a 2" long bead or something. It doesn't make sense to spend way over $1000 to make an occasional repair on a $30 tool using a $1000 welder. You'll just have an expensive toy for which you will never be paid back.

Now, if I welded every day, fabbed large projects, or got paid for using a fancy welder, I might be looking for something with a 100% duty cycle. To tell you the truth, yours truly doesn't even have a 100% duty cycle. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Dargo]

You may want to read some of the posts here http://www.hobartwelders.com/mboard/ (a board dedicated to welding and welding equipment). The huge majority of people there are pretty much against anything from HF other than if HF happens to sell a brand name. The common opinion on anything "Chicago Electric", or unknown name is to avoid under any circumstance.

 

[Soundguy]

I wasn't purchasing it.. just posting it... I have no interest in tig welding.. etc.

Soundguy

 

[Dargo]

Uh, sorry, I didn't mean to reply to you in particular. I actually found that welding forum when I was considering one of the HF Chicago Electric units a while back. I posted there and the replies were about 100 to 1 that I'd be better off lighting my money on fire and trying to use that to weld with than buying the Chicago Electric stuff. I'd had some pretty sad luck with other Chicago Electric items, but I figured that "Chicago Electric" probably actually didn't actually make most of their stuff. It seems that is true, but they strive to be the absolute price leader in everything they sell. One guy posted that overall, Chicago Electic items had a failure rate of over 70% in the first year. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

They thrashed me about it not being possible to be cheap enough. CE products were likened to a lesser version of a Yugo. If it won't work, it doesn't matter how cheap you got it. Whatever you spent, you wasted. Again, my post was in general, not to you in specific. My bad. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

However, it is funny to see some guys new on that site post about how proud they are to be the new owner of a new CE (enter the paticular product). Rather than make fun of the new poster, I think most of the veteren people there try to catch that sort of poster to warn them and see if they still have time to take it back so they didn't just waste their money. Apparently there is another company called "Homier" (sp?) that puts out products that are just as poor in quality. I have never bought anything by Homier, but I will admit that everything I've ever bought that was made by Chicago Electric promptly broke and was pitched. I took some back at first, only to find that the replacement broke just as fast. With gas prices as high as they are now, I just figured that I'd cut my losses and throw the stuff away. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[Soundguy]

About the only CE stuff I have are those little 4" angle grinders that are about 9$

I have 2.. one is about 10ys old.. the bearing makes noise.. but it runs.. the other one is new.. in anticipation of the old one dieing.

i abuse those little hand grinders about like you do your tractor /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif I have a feeling if I had a makita. I'd not do about 75% of the things I do with the chineese one.

I have one of those clamps that turns your grinder into a cheapy chop saw.. so I usually leave one in that with the skinny cutting disc on it.. and the other beater one I leave with a meaty surfacing disc on it. It gets the duties like cutting welds out..and removing rust prior to welding sh#tty metal.. etc.. and sharpening brush hog blades.. cutting wrenches down.. re-sizeing round bolt heads.. etc. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I expect them to fail. At this point each of them has given me more than 9$ worth of work.. So I figured I've actually beaten the curve... with my luck.. I'll go home today to use them and both will have died in their sleep! /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

Soundguy

 

[davesisk]

Great post. Ya know, this is a decision that each person has to make for themselves given their objectives and budget. Seriously. For instance, if you want to try TIG welding and you only have $300 to spend ($200 for the machine and $100 for a cheap reg and small argon cylinder), then you either buy a cheap machine like this and give it a try, or you never try TIG welding in the first place. I personally think that's it's worse to never try something than it is to waste a little money, if it is indeed "wasted". If you took a welding class for $200 and decided that it wasn't your cup of tea, was that a wasted $200? I dunno. At least with this cheap machine, you could try it out for 2 weeks (or 30 days? can't recall), and then send it back if you don't like it. You can't generally get a refund on a class.

If you can afford a good machine to even see if it's something you think you can learn, go for it. But realize that you'll probably buy it new, and then sell it at a loss if you realize that it's not something you want to pursue. Is that wasted cash also? My answer is "yes"...other folks' answer may be different.

Now, keep in mind this perspective is the hobby-welder's perspective, and "you" is anyone, including me. If you've been welding for many years and already have it mastered, know why you need it, etc., then don't bother with a $200 machine...save your money and get a good machine to start with. If you're as experienced as you think you are, then you ought to be able to accurately assess exactly what you need to do what you want. If you're trying to figure out if it's something you want/can learn, then a $200 machine might be a candidate to being learning on. That's the approach I took, and when I felt like "yes, this is something I can become proficient at", I then sold the cheapo (for more than I bought if for, actually) and bought a high-end machine that I didn't think I would outgrow. This was my approach and it might not work for everyone. YMMV!

The one caveat that I should mention here is that TIG welding on a cheap machine (not enough power, not enough duty cycle, no gas solenoid, and no high-frequency arc starting) can be a really frustrating experience, and could very well make someone decide "this isn't for me". However, if you can manage to run a halfway decent TIG bead with one of these cheapo's, you ought to be able to rock-n-roll with a good machine.

As always, IMHO. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Regards,
Dave