Does anybody have experience with HF mig welders. I'm 79 going on 80 and can't see spending a lot of money on a welder that I might not be able to use that long. I still like working in the garage but money is a little tight.
Search for a used hobart handler 140. I had a HF flux core welder break in 3 days. They also only have 2 power settings. If you just want to experiment then thats ok, but in a week or less you'll want a machine to do its job better in my opinion.
My dad has the 220 unit and it's been a good machine. There are quite a few "Tool snobs" around here that will shun anything not name brand.
I had their flux core wire welder for about 5 years. Never had any trouble with it but didn't use it much. Wasn't good for thin sheet metal welding but would stick thicker pieces and tubing together pretty good ( but not prettily) I bought a more expensive machine with gas capabilities and gave the flux core to a friend that still uses it.
"You get what you pay for............if you're lucky..........certainly no more than that" IMO, it isn't being a snob to choose higher quality goods over poorer quality items. Ray
Everyone I have cautioned against this specific purchase came back later to tell me that I was right. Every. Single. One. If suggesting that people do not waste their money on an inferior device makes me a snob, then I will wear that mantle like a crown.
I have heard the HF welders are hard to get parts for. I picked my Miller up at a pawn shop and it's great.
Fender and Texas are steering you right. Get a small bottle of gas with the Handler 140 and you'll be right where you want to be. Just performs so much better, you'll be happy.
Don't be afraid of an older Lincoln, Hobart, ESAB, or Miller. MIG welders mostly have gotten smaller, more than anything else. As long as it is not some huge honkin' monster designed to weld 3/4", and as long as it has a good range of settings, you should be fine. Avoid the "consumer grade" Linclons, sold at the big-box stores. They have WAY too much plastic in the wire feeder. Deals are out there.
Around here you can buy a Miller or Lincoln 110 volt for around $300 used off craigslist or at garage sales. Better to do that than a new Harbo Frieght I think.
The single biggest factor in favour of the HF, or any brand, flux core wire feeder is the ability to use it out-of-doors where the wind blows. Gas machines are pretty much useless at that point. Additionally, small units, like the HF, are easy to haul around. The biggest issue with any flux core welding is the incredibly messy product...buy alot of anti-spatter if you go gasless. If you need to work in and outside then a stick machine is a good standby to have in addition to a gas unit and some really good machines go cheap. Not long ago I bought a Miller 250A AC/DC at an estate sale for $60....... .
Too bad you're not closer, I'd GIVE you the 110V one I have. Only used it once to make some big "nails" out of washers and re-bar; it did fine for doing that. Have't used it since, and it's been at least 3 years now. I've talked to a couple of weldors who said the cheaper, name brand units, are't really much better than the HF ones. Even the cheapest HF goes for about $20.00 more than it used to go for on sale. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
I heard that a Harbor Freight welder reliability and duty cycle can be improved by adding a cooling fan. HF welders are hard to get serviced. I think getting parts would be possible on a newer HF welder, but you would likely have to diagnose and do the repair yourself. The best advice to get a used name brand welder. But I've heard good comments for the HF DC inverter welder that are the size of a lunchbox. These stick welders can work with a not so large generator set.
Check out the Eastwood line I have had very good experiences with mine. Think they still have a three year guarantee.
My opinion, gas shielding is a must as opposed to flux core. Usually, the more expensive the machine, the greater the duty cycle. I would not be to concerned as to the make. Lots of good used machines on the market.
Hobart, Miller or Lincoln new or used. Those you can get parts and service for at any welding supply's parts/repair center. Esab makes a great machine but locally I haven't seen any of their small units in use. Most of their migs out in this area are the big units capable of welding semi truck frames or bridge beams. The failure rate of the HF units is universally known on all boards that I have been on. Also there are no real parts available for them outside of disposable parts. The repair guy at the welders supply tends to go into uncontrollable laughter when you pack one in the door before he tells you No he won't work on it. I would consider one if I didn't have much for welding skills and I planned to tack things together and then take them to someone else to weld up though. They might hold up for that. I used to do that with a little monkey Wards stick welder that had one heat range. Tack the parts together in my garage and then carry them to my buddy's garage where he welded them up with his Lincoln welder. I bought my Lincoln 185 used for 400 a few years ago from a guy who decided he needed a bigger unit to do what he intended to do. It's a box store unit but the seller only built a few hand rails with it and I so far haven't put a lot of hours on it in the four or so years I've had it. I've also got a Forney stick welder for real serious heavy duty welding that will handle any large job you want to attempt.
I have quite a few things I have bought from HF. The best ones seem to be the ones with no moving parts! I cautioned my buddy against buying the HF wire feed (gassless) welder, but he bought one anyway. I will admit that you can weld light angle (around 1/8th inch or so) but sheetmetal work is out of the question for a couple of reasons: flux core welding is messy as all getout and the cheap HF machines have like almost no heat control. Please don't waste your money on this machine. My buddy returned his and bought a used Lincoln, that was actually worth more than the car he was fixing, but that's another story. Also, what was mentioned about the wire feeders on the big box Lincolns is true. They're not as rugged as a welding supply house unit but that's why they're cheaper at the box stores. I had 2 big box Lincolns and one of them has some issues with the wire feeder but I grabbed them both for 100 bucks apiece new, so I'm not complaining.
I just have to say, if you purchase a gas ready welder you always have the option to run fluxcore wire in it or you can also run fluxcore with gas as in dual shield process. My advice is to buy the best welder you can afford ,learn to use it properly, and enjoy the process. You will be surprised how much you will use it after you become proficient with it. ............................. Jack
For the money I have gotten many years of service out of my Lincoln weld pack 130.. An I see them all the time on craigslist for about the same as a new harbour freight unit... If you are gona weld sheet metal body panels I wouldn't wana use flux core...
At 79 going on 80, I can't see spending money on a welder that might not work for what you want it to work on. I've got that little HF welder and all it's good for, sometimes, is making rough welds on little tools I make in the shop. I've stopped using it for tacking too at this point. It just does not penetrate reliably on lap or tee joints. It's only really reliable with edge and corner welds. It also likes to blow through sheetmetal about a third of the time even turned all the way down. Spend a little more money and get something with a name on it.
I tend to agree with exception for the sheet metal shears. I've got both of them and they do just fine. But the angle grinder I got from them a long time ago, that thing's crap.
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