Harbor Freight Horror Story (MIG Wire)

So a cheaper product is inferior. The horror!

 

This is Harbor Freight's Ebay site that sell's all the returned crap!



http://stores.ebay.com/Empire-Liquidators?_rdc=1

 

hahahahahaha.......hahahaha!

 

i gotta admit, i love these harbor freight bashing threads.

 

Really guys, China crap comes from every store known to man. I have made it a point to ask for "made in the USA" products from my welding shop supplier after getting some messed up welding wire from them. These days, I look to see where everything I buy was made, company names means nothing anymore. If you buy a product on a brand name only, you will find a lot of Chinese crap coming in with American brand names on the boxes.

More and more things are being made in the USA again, but most are produced by companies you have never heard of before. Many companies that have been producing quality made in the USA products for years are now marketing them under their own company name instead of the big brand name they used to wear. Check where the product was made and not the name on the box, support American companies that are making things in the USA, and let the rest die with their china crap. Gene

 

i had just the opposite,i had harbor wire in mine, i swithed to miller and it wouldnt weld, i switched back and it works fine, (this is on my little portable gas'less mig tho)

the larger home welder doesnt seem to care what wire is in it.

 

I've got a 2 year old HF welder that welds great. It paid for itself right off the bat so if it dies tomorrow all is good. Sorry guys, I can't add to the slam fest.

 

I run HF 23 thou instead of 24 works great in my 110 Miller

 

I had a HF pair of pliers break in my bare hands while wrenching! Man did I feel like SuperMan! I did not know my hands were that strong.I threw it against the wall.

 

Hokay guys
I know this started as a HF bashing and evolved into a Chinese tool bashing as well...problem is, ain't nothing left made in the good ole USA...When my DeWalt 18v stuff took a dump, I figured I'd switch to Milwaukee 18M...love the drill and impact...great battery life, good power, comfortable to use...just a nice tool...COO is China...I was pissed when I realized that, but had been using tools for a couple of months and couldn't just return...It's a shame we've F$&#%@ up so bad we can't make decent stuff here in the USA

 

I think I have some HF wire in my Mig and it does ok but will look into better wire when its gone.

 

Fredb, you must have missed my post about name brands. To assume a name brand still has everything made in the USA is foolish. You need to look at the product/box and see where each item was made. Many things made in the USA are now being marketed by the company that actually produces the product, so your going to see names you may have never heard of before making stuff in the USA. If you want to continue to buy things made here, you need to buy from those that are doing it, weather or not they are a name you know.

Before you buy a product, look to see where it was made. Then, buy the made in the USA one, regardless of the name on the box. Gene

 

I was just at the local welding store here and asked for american wire. He said it's all made in China.

 

You guys might want to read the packaging HF mig wire is made in Italy yet Central welding has just switched over to wire made in China

 

Maybe HF will start carying Snap on since they are made in China too.
When is the last time you saw the words "Made in USA"?
I don't shop at HF but you don't have much of a choice on where it is made anymore.
SAD.

 

The .025 that came with my Lincoln welder is copper colored.

 

Lincoln Electric makes wire in several plants. Who knows where it comes from. A guy I work with now, worked there in Euclid Ohio winding up mig wire. He was there 30 days and got fired cause he couldn't load/unload the spools fast enough off the proccessing machine.

 

Me too - I always have the 20% off coupons in my wallet just in case. I'm a little picky about the stuff I buy from there nowadays, but I have a pipe bender (the one with the reputation for kinking) that works fine with a homemade strap to hold the tube in the die, a shop press that was a great deal on sale, engine hoist, drill press, grinder, 1/2" drill, sander, a multitude of air tools, and more hand tools than I really have space for - all from HF. If I didn't shop there I wouldn't have half the tools I do, and that's the sad part.

 

If your mild steel weld wire is NOT flash copper coated, it becomes rusted. Not sure about the fumes deal, but all fume exposure should be minimized. And some of the best weld wire (both steel and alloy) comes from Japan.

True story . . . . , one of my weld shops changed from Kobe wire to a Lincoln product a few years back. Their weld UT repair rate tripled when they did, all that to save a few $$$!! Take care, K

 

I agree with many HF tools being crap, but i also still buy there dependent on what i need and budget.I have my engine lift, engine stand, air sander, a miter/grinder saw[craps out when humid out, and i have to hit it with something heavy to work] a sand blaster gun, some gloves, welding blanket and so on with little things.

I wouldn't buy expensive important tools there tho. My current mig is a relatively cheap Clarke welder, [made in italy, although some models are made in china]. But with all the money i saved on other stuff i was able to by a Miller Tig.

 

Damn i guess i lied about my mig being cheap, summit sells them for 522, i guess i got a deal since i got mine new, not referb or anything for around 350.

 

I generally stay away from HF stuff except for a few selected items or if I'm in a pinch. My brother in law, on the other hand, loves to bring home crap from there. I mostly consider their stuff to be throw away tools and don't have any expectations about long tool life.

I have to say though that my BIL brought me home a 3/8 electric drill with a keyless chuck and I thought that the POS would only last for a week (if that). I've been beating the crap out of it for several months and it's still going strong so far. It even came with an extra set of brushes. Like I said, I don't have any great expectations but for the dollars spent the quality seems okay, in this case.

That being said, I personally hate giving money to the reds and try to make a conscious effort to buy from American companies when I can. Even if it costs a little more.

I don't know what any of this has to do with MIG wire, in particular.

 

I use only Lincoln on flux core. The difference is like night and day. In fact the lincoln NR211 wire is so good I rarely bother with gas on the mig. I have tried the cheap stuff from wiki fung lo land, Liquid air stuff. Tractor suppply stuff so now no matter what, if I need wire and even if it is out of stock I wait. It is just that much better.
Don