[alexfm]

Well,
Im not sure if Im posting this in the right section, but here it goes anyway.

Im looking to buy a welder soon, and came across an ad in a magazine I subscribe to. it was for Harbor Freight, and they have the Chicago Electric 90 Amp MIG/Flux welder on sale for $89.99. The last time I bought something that was on sale, I got to use a 30% coupon on it, and Im gonna try that on the welder, which would bring it down to 71.99. My question is, do any of you have or use this welder? If so, how do you like it? If you guys wanna look it up, the item numbers are: 98871 or 94056.

Thanks,

alex.

 

[Guerrilla]

Do you plan on using it alot? If so, either learn to fix it, or spend the extra money on a lincoln. I have alot of harbor freight stuff, but only because I know how to fix it. My important tools I will NOT buy from HF.

 

[MangledMind]

Oh no:

Miller vs Lincoln time ... Blue vs Red LOL

Buy a Miller, they'll last longer ... :thumb:

 

[alexfm]

Initially, I dont plan to do a lot of welding, because Im just starting out. A lot of what I would probably be doing is light sheetmetal work, like fabricating bumpers, mounts, things like that. Thats why I am leaning towards the cheaper one, so if it breaks, thats ok. I can probably fix it, or know someone that can.

Alex.

 

[roxors]

JUNK. I have known several people who have bought these and they have died with less than 50 hours of usage. Do yourself a HUGE favor and pick up a used miller or lincoln machine off of craigslist.

 

[alexfm]

I'd like to have the miller or a lincoln, but they cost way more than I can afford. College+Car+Prepping=Poor for me.

 

[Varmit]

No experience with Harbor Freight's welder, but I've had several
other electrical tools from them. Most went up in smoke after a
relatively short time. Some Harbor Freight stuff is ok, but electrical
stuff is usually a loser. Save up your money a little longer and buy
some professional grade gear like the other posters have recommended.

 

[Guerrilla]

I can't remeber who had it on a tagline on here, but:

Only a rich man can afford cheap tools.

$80 on a broken piece of metal versus 175 on a working, if old welder doesn't seem like a choice to me.

And yes, I agree, I use a miller. But they are way more than lincolns, and I learned on a lincoln wirefeed entry model. Remember: about fixing it, it can be VERY hard to get harbor freight parts.

 

[alexfm]

Well, my dad just got home, so Im going to talk to him about it, but I think I might just do like you guys suggested and save for a brand name rig. Whats a good price to pay for a used lincoln welder? just the basic wire feed MIG/flux welder? There is one on craigslist here that is for $400. Just wondering if thats a good price?

 

[Musicguy]

I can't speak for the Harbor Freight one but......................

Flux only (which is the model you're looking at) is generally OK for 1/8-1/4" stuff. 1/4" you might have to chamfer the edges before welding for complete penetration.

For anything thinner you really need one with a gas option. You can start out with flux and then add the gas as your funds allow.

Flux welding is much dirtier and you'll end up with a bit of cleanup of spatter and crud. The advantage to flux is that you can generally weld on dirtier metal and thicker metal, as well as use it outdoors in a breeze.

Gas shielded is WAY cleaner and a better weld (more structurally sound).

The best thing you can do is go to a welding/metalworking forum and post the question. You'll have to sift through the guys who (like me) only like Miller or only like Lincoln and find someone who actually has one.

As you're looking around it may or may not be usefull to know that Miller and Hobart are the same company these days. I bought my Miller for about $400.00 new and they were running a special that got me a free cart. I added gas about 6 months later with the purchas of a tank.

 

[Pawiscoming]

I have a little red 110V Lincoln Flux core welder and love it. When I weld with it, it sounds like a big brass jacket zipper being zipped. I do a lot of metal fabricating and when I weld something with little red stays welded. I have a big old 220V arc welder that weighs about a ton and I have not even plugged it in in the last 5 years.

 

[trukboss]

i had one of those, you wont like it. there not bad for sheet metal but anything heavier and your fighting it. i bought a hobart 6 yrs ago and it works great and will anything i want to.

 

[Crutch]

Just two days ago, I got my HF magazine.

I have only used a welder once, and that was to heat up a bar that I had to bend for a trailer.

It kind of bothers me that I don't know how to do something. I was thinking also of getting the cheap (I guess its called) flux welder. I think its just under 100.00 bucks.

I will have to also do some more research.

 

[MangledMind]

don't rule out Hobart as Musicguy pointed out, same machine different target market $$$ ..
and Guerrilla is right about price, Lincoln is less expensive and if you can find an older one, they tend to last longer than the newer models with all the electronics ... Had Lincolns - Millers in school that we TORTURED to death, old school machines ... the new jazzy ones couldn't hold up to our abuse ...

 

[jitterbug5157]

My husband heads up a steel fabrication company and has done alot of welding over the past30 years. He said Harbor Freight's products are known for being cheaply made and not durable enough. You should invest the money in a better product such as the ones mentioned above. Good luck to you. Learning a skill such as welding is a valuable skill.

 

[Simple Jack]

Farm sale

There is at least one welder on every farm sale bill I see.

I'd start looking at the auction listings and pick a used one up that way.

 

[alexfm]

I think I might look into the Hobarts, that might be a better alternative. I asked my dad about them, and he said the same as you guys, that it would be better to invest in a good machine. Hopefully, we'll get the axle off his Scout so we can have a friend weld it. Hopefully she can provide some helpful advice, and possibly instructions.

 

[BrowserCat]

Can't speak to the quality of the welder, but in the welding class I took, I found MIG to be fairly easy. Biggest problem was not having enough clamps to hold stuff together for my project.

Go for quality; you get what you pay for.

 

[celticroots]

Kind of pricey for a BOAT ANCHOR.

Save your money and headaches get a good name brand new or used off of CL
I gave $80 for a 110 lincoln that will run flux or gas on CL thats what Im teaching my son to weld with.

So I would suggest either a

Lincoln
Hobart (made by miller but with lower grade parts)
Miller
Esab (cost the most but IMO the best out there)

I have used all of the above except the hobart

MIller and Esab at work
Lincoln at the house

Cant go wrong with any of those If you run across a old Miller 200 that is one
of the best older used welders you can find.

1 more thing save money for a good helmet not that crap they sell at HF
you cant put a price on your eyes

 

[stant]

i bought one works pretty good,taught my boys how to weld with one. just becarfull and not pull on the handle trigger to hard. it can pull the wires and short the 12 volt wire feed. [there is a fuse] insde just take the screws off the housing you will see it . then check the stinger and electric tape exposed wire . thats the most common problem