jobsmart welder at TSC

[Soundguy]

I see tsc has a lil flux welder on sale for 99$ or fathers day.

anyone got one of these?

99$ is darn cheap.

I have a lil 70a stick i do sheet metal with and a big crackerbox for the thick stuff.

had always though of toying around with a lil wire feed welder for prettier sheet metal work.

next question.. anyone make aluminum flux core wire ( that's what i wouldn't mind is welding aluminum. i know you can get stick electrodes for aluminum.. but i think they are dc only... )

opinions..

soundguy

 

[2manyrocks]

I've never had success welding thin material with flux wire--too easy to burn through. If you're going to do sheet metal, you'll be much happier with solid wire and shielding gas.

 

[rankrank1]

Have no idea about that particular welder, but look at the output of the welder to verify that it is a DC output welder if you are even remotely considering it.

As you already know by your Stickmate, Stick welding is fine with AC power if you use the appropiate rods that are designed for AC. However, all flux core wire feed wire is designed for DC so why Harbor Freight and others would make the cheap wire feeders have an AC output is not really a good idea except for price - but it will never work well. I am not against a cheap welder or even Harbor Freight as I shop there, but I absolutely would not buy an AC output wire feeder.

That said, I run Flux core in my little Lincoln 115 volt wire feeder and like flux core as I do most all of my welding outside. Welding outside with Mig using shielding gas does not work well - wind blows the gas away.

 

[brianMO]

I also seen that and thought it was reasonable. You need a spoolgun to do aluminum well. You will have all kinds of problems otherwise trying to feed that soft wire. You will also need more then a 110v machine.

 

[MMagis]

You will also need more then a 110v machine.

Why?

I'm not aware of flux core aluminum wire. I'm sure there's areason it's not made, though I don't know what it is. Could be that the flux would cause impurities? Sure would be nice if it worked.

 

[2manyrocks]

Flux core Aluminum - WeldingWeb™ - Welding forum for pros and enthusiasts At least some of the guys there don't know of any flux core aluminum mig wire, either.

TSC sometimes puts the Hobart 187 mig on sale for $549. That's the one to get. Add a tank and you can weld sheet metal.

 

[Soundguy]

Have no idea about that particular welder, but look at the output of the welder to verify that it is a DC output welder if you are even remotely considering it.
.

I don't think i've ever seen a wire welder that wasn't DC ??

as for getting a huge mig with bottles setup.

not gonna happen.

If the lil flux welder was gonna be better tat welding 18 ga to 1/8 better (easier) than my lil 30/70a stick welder.. for 100$ I'd pick it up.

if it's not better.. I can keep using the small stick. been welding sheet metal with it for 10 ys now...

can't justify the cost of a full mig setup... there are 40 thousand other tools I need first ahead of a full mig setup.

soundguy

 

[rankrank1]

I don't think i've ever seen a wire welder that wasn't DC ??.....

soundguy

Well most of them are, and absolutely all of them should be! That said, when the price gets really cheap you need to be very careful. See this thread and make sure you read the whole thing as there are many posters who even posted the wrong info within the thread based on their preconceived assumptions that it is already DC simply because it is a wire feeder - look at the pic in post #16 which even clearly shows the dataplate indicating an AC output wire feeder.

It is comical to see some of the posters who have actually posted pics in other threads showing their welds with an AC output wirefeeder - Yuck. An AC wire feeder will simply never work well because all the wire is designed for DC. The level of Spatter is ridiculous.

In this case, I am not trying to pick on Harbor Freight as I like some of their stuff, but there are much better choices in the low cost realm of wire feeders than a POS like this one.

If the TSC welder is a DC output welder then it is a relative bargain for the price - simply look at the dataplate on the machine and it should tell the tale.

Converting 90 amp AC welder to DC - WeldingWeb - Welding forum for pros and enthusiasts

 

[Soundguy]

will go take a look this weekend and post back.

simply can't imagine an ac wire welder....


soudnguy

 

[2manyrocks]

Some of the smaller welders basically have two power settings and maybe 4 wire speed settings. Flux core burns hotter than solid wire. That's why flux core isn't a good choice for sheet metal. The other thing about smaller migs is the limited duty cycle. I don't know if this particular unit allows you to use gas with it or not.

I blew a couple of hundred on a small HF mig and then went to the Hobart 187. I would have saved money and done better welding if I just bought the 187, a Lincoln or a Miller to start with.