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I'm looking for opinions and advice about buying a MIG welder. I already have a big Lincoln stick welder, and a small hand held spot welder, but I am thinking I need a small MIG welder for sheet metal work. Right now I'm looking at a 170 amp flux core welder from Harbor Freight. I realize it's probably not the highest quality, but I won't be using it for production work, just an occasional repair job. And the price is good, only about $140 after using a coupon.

So, has anyone had experience with these? Good or bad? I'm a pretty decent welder, and have used MIG machines before, but have never owned one.

I'm heading for Harbor Freight on Thursday, so I'd appreciate a response ASAP.

Thanks

Tim

That sounds like not much money for a welder, question if it is any good, or for how long?
I'd want to hear from several people who have used it, may or may not be a waste of money, (I have no experience with one)

If your budget increases you may enjoy welding sheet metal with shielding gas more than with flux core.

Tim,

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I would heed Grigg's advice: if it's cheap, it's probably cheap. I would save my pennies. A welder is something you want to last and use for a long time. I got a really good deal on a used Miller 250 ten years ago. Classifieds are great if you're patient.

I also agree with Grigg, get a gas shielding mig. You can use the flux core wire in it also, if you are in a windy area.
But, you'll go back to gas cover as soon as you can.
Mid Missouri?

Don

Welder is on my wish list too. Hobart 140 seems to be well liked entry level unit.

Anybody have one?

I use a Lincoln 175 gas shielded MIG. Works great. I don't think 110v really gets great penetration when you work on thicker materials. But, I'm not a certified welder either. What I do know is that I tried a friends Harbor Freight welder about three years ago. That would be the second time I've tried one. Both times they were horrible. Even at max amperage dialed in and running on a 30-50 amp wall circuit we had a terrible time welding clean scale-free steel. Might as well have used a stripped extension cord as the welder and old clothes hangers as welding rod!!

If you want a welder just for occasional repairs I would suggest finding a used quality welder rather than a crappy welder. You'll get good welds rather than crappy ones.

I also received a Chinese plasma cutter from a friend for helping him build a truck. I truly appreciate the thought and the gift. But as far as quality goes it leaves a lot to be desired. IF it cuts it cuts well on thin material. It does not cut well on 1/8" thick material. I say IF because what I call the "trigger to fire ratio" is agonizingly frustrating. Pull the trigger and no fire! Ground is excellent. Air pressure is very good and regulated correctly. Water separator is working well. Wall circuit is 50 amps. Pull the trigger and no fire! This could repeat itself once before firing or numerous times. It's so frustrating I dread using the thing. I'll save my money and buy a new quality plasma.

One more thing on plasmas that I was told by the Lincoln rep at the SEMA show in Vegas. The entry-level machines put all the circuits on one board. If that board fails it's about an $800 repair on a $1200 machine. He said the higher level plasmas they offer have the functions separated onto separate boards to make repairs more economical. Trade show bullsh*t? Don't know, but I still haven't repaired my Lincoln entry-level plasma because the repair quote I got locally was going to be $800!

Get gas or gas compatible so you can add if desired. You sure don't need a 170A 220V mig for what you are using it for and you already have a stick. I assume you have 220V outlets near where you weld. If you weld inside , the wind is no factor. I weld sheet metal all the time with 135A 110V miller/gas. Gas is cheap'ish. Get one from Craigslist that someone never used much (which is most people). I have a 220V miller arc welder for structural.
Sorry, I know it's Thursday, but I just saw this.

I've burned a few hundred lbs of wire in my two little machines. One is a Lincoln 175 on gas, the other a HF Century 150, 220v machine made in Italy (as I recall). It's loaded with flux core wire for use outside.

In my experience, it's a pain to do acceptible work with flux core wire on thin metal like newer car sheet metal. Now if you need to weld outside in the wind on less than perfect white metal, flux wire is your friend. Particulary if you can crank it up and let it run.

Also on the low end welders be sure and check duty cycle. It's no fun to work 5 minutes and wait 15.

Good Luck,
RonR

The Vulcan line of welders from Harbor Freight do appear to be alot better quality than what they had before. Better torches, case, etc... As far as internals, there may or a may not be any difference. I can't say.

If you're planning on buying a welder and keeping it a lifetime, I would stick with a name brand, Miller, Lincoln, Hobart, etc... They've more than proven their worth over the years.

I have a Lincoln 180 that I couldn't be more pleased with. One thing that I've found is the quality of wire makes a big difference, especially with flux core. I ran out of the Lincoln brand wire so picked up some Forney at the hardware store. The Forney was terrible couldn't hardly hold an arc.

Anyhow, my $.02

Miller, Lincoln or Hobart would be my recommendation. Great quality and parts availability.

John

Well, I ended up buying the HF welder. It's set up for either gas or flux core, and other than having to re-wire my 220 outlet it was a breeze setting it up. I don't expect this to get heavy use. I use my old Lincoln for repairs on the tractor and such, this will be use mainly for small sheet metal stuff.

I used it to weld in the bracket for the drivers side cowl vent, and it did a great job. Nice clean weld, good and solid. After doing some grinding it looks great.

The only thing I find bothersome about it is that it has a very short power cord, only 6' long. I decided I wanted a bit more length, so I replaced it with a 12' cord, and I'm happy now. Although it was kind of scary getting inside and seeing what small gauge wire is used in there!

Tim