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Harbor Freight welders

T

tracto-man

Member
Has anyone had any experience with some of the harbor freight might welders? Would like to not spend more then $200 if possible. Been watching for used Hobart, miller, or Lincoln's on CL for a while now but if there ever one for under $300 they sell pretty quick.

I have the stick welder right now but would like to be able to weld some thinner stuff.

Anyone think it'd be worth trying a harbor freight one, or should I just break down and spend the money on a Lincoln or some such?

Also, it would see light and occasional use. Preferably would be able to do some fairly thin sheet metal.

Thanks!
 
Picked a flux core wire welder from Northern Tool last year. Irontron model, $150.00, extra wire spool, helmet, gloves, hammer/brush came to $225.00. Handles sheet metal (exhaust pipes), and up to 3/8 plate. Good rig!
 

And if you ever want to weld over 1/8" material, don't waste your money on one that plugs into 110V. You just can't get enough power out of a standard 15A outlet, not even really 20. I know, you have the stick for that, but once you get used to a MIG the stick will just gather dust and rust.
 
The saving grace about buying HF/Century welders is that someone that would know so little about welding as to buy one won't know how bad they are.
 
Many of the mig welders are flux core and they are still a MIG. But yes only good mig welder is a gas shield type. I have a cheap HF mig welder which is a flux core that i use maybe once every year if that much but i got it cheap as in less then $25
 
I started off about 15 years ago with a HF buzz box welder. Can't remember for sure now, but think it was 110A model. I had finally pushed it far beyond a few too many times, so bought a refurbished Hobart mig welder, the 125EZ (now discontinued). It works AWESOME for thin metal, but still missed having a stick welder. So not too long ago I bought this one off of Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HCFOSR6/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
While I haven't yet used this welder (projects start this Fall), I certainly am impressed with the apparent quality of the unit over that of my old HF buzz box. In addition, this is a 220V-only model (Amazon has some that are 110V or 220V), and 200A, but also has a 60% duty cycle!! WOW!! Add to that this thing only weighs about 10 lbs. and costs $115 with free Prime shipping, and I simply couldn't go wrong! Have purchased fresh Hobart 6013 rod to use with it also. Still have some of the old rod (6013, 7018, etc), but has been sitting for several years now in a damp building, do don't really trust it even though in a PVC pipe storage case. Might try drying them out some day as an experiment, but rod is MUCH cheaper on Amazon than it is locally for me.
 
Don't waste your money,be presistant and buy a name brand 220 volt that use's both flux and gas.
 
This forum is not the place to ask a question like this as it is generally anti-Harbor Freight anything.

If you want some more encouraging discussion, go over on the "Welding Web" forum and look up the Harbor Freight section. Although the discussion is about 50/50 for/against there, it's better than the 99/1 you'll get here.
 
If you buy a cheap welder like that you will struggle with it and likely be dissaoiinted. If you buy a good mig welder, Lincoln is my favorite, you will think you became a pro welder. There is that much difference.
 
(quoted from post at 09:36:31 08/08/17) This forum is not the place to ask a question like this as it is generally anti-Harbor Freight anything.

If you want some more encouraging discussion, go over on the "Welding Web" forum and look up the Harbor Freight section. Although the discussion is about 50/50 for/against there, it's better than the 99/1 you'll get here.
Click to expand...


I agree. There are people using HF welders and doing fine, but you won't see anyone reporting that here.
 
(quoted from post at 20:48:21 08/07/17) Many of the mig welders are flux core and they are still a MIG. But yes only good mig welder is a gas shield type. I have a cheap HF mig welder which is a flux core that i use maybe once every year if that much but i got it cheap as in less then $25
Click to expand...
Sorry, only a gas-type is Metal Inert Gas. No reason you couldn't run flux-core wire if you didn't mind poor results. It spatters terribly.
 
(quoted from post at 08:45:50 08/08/17)
(quoted from post at 09:36:31 08/08/17) This forum is not the place to ask a question like this as it is generally anti-Harbor Freight anything.

If you want some more encouraging discussion, go over on the "Welding Web" forum and look up the Harbor Freight section. Although the discussion is about 50/50 for/against there, it's better than the 99/1 you'll get here.
Click to expand...


I agree. There are people using HF welders and doing fine, but you won't see anyone reporting that here.
Click to expand...
have bought, "tried" to use & returned those el-cheapos and still say that anyone happy with one has never used a really fine machine. P.S. I do not bad mouth anything HF.....for some uses & items, I find them more than adequate. Own many HF items, but not their MIGs anymore.
 

My wire welder is not a Lincoln as such, but was built by Lincoln. I am using the flux core wire because I didn't want to be bothered with needing to replace the bottle of gas. The flux core is very good for welding heavier gauge steel, but is pretty much worthless on things such as exhaust pipe. Just burns a hole right through it.
 
Look at eastwood; they have been running some great sales on their 120 V mig welders I think I picked one up shipped on sale for 200 (http://www.eastwood.com/mig-welder-110vac-135a-output.html), looks a little bit more but good one for the $.

I have the 240 version as well (was 500) and it is a good machine for the money - use it quite regularly. Better than the Home Depot Hobart I had which was 500, and gave away (that bad, the cheapskate in me did not even want any money for it)
 
bought the harber freight mig.. 140?? i think.. CRAPOLI... Dont do it.. the aggrivation isnt worth it.. Sold it on craigs and bought a hobart.. which I love...
 
Your advantage of getting a name brand is parts and service if something happens. Some of this off brand stuff may be fine till it breaks.
 
I bought some cheap off brand mig used. I could not get it to weld ? IIRC it was originally sold at a welding supply shop so I went there to see if they could show me what I was doing wrong. He couldn't get it working right either ! He gave me what I paid for it on trade in on a Brand new just out at that time Lincoln SP100. I still have it. Only thing I regret about that was not getting a bigger machine as I'm always trying to weld too heavy of stuff with it ! LOL.
I would buy from a welding supply shop because if something is not right they seem to help you make it right. At least the couple around here do. They even let you try them before you buy them.
 
Try stitch welding the thinner metal. When you see the red start to dim hit it again half way up. I weld light weight gates for my mini horses out of thin wall conduit.
 
BarnyardEngineering; That hasn't been my experience on this site, and I read it all the time. People on this site who are anti-Harbor Freight are often belligerent about it, which might create the impression that there is more negative sentiment here than there actually is. I would estimate that the favorable opinion of H.F. here runs to two thirds or more, with a lot of people acknowledging that you don't get a Cadillac for the price of a Chevrolet, but sometimes a Chevrolet is good enough.

If you're just talking about welders, then that's a different story. The general attitude here is quite negative toward Harbor Freight welders. That isn't prejudice, though, it's informed opinion. With one or two exceptions for their stick welders, and no exceptions for their wire feed welders, Harbor Freight welders are terrible! A highly skilled user might be able to make one work, barely, but a new user will have so much trouble that they might give up welding altogether, not knowing that it isn't them, it's the equipment.

Stan
 
(quoted from post at 11:18:14 08/08/17)
(quoted from post at 08:45:50 08/08/17)
(quoted from post at 09:36:31 08/08/17) This forum is not the place to ask a question like this as it is generally anti-Harbor Freight anything.

If you want some more encouraging discussion, go over on the "Welding Web" forum and look up the Harbor Freight section. Although the discussion is about 50/50 for/against there, it's better than the 99/1 you'll get here.
Click to expand...


I agree. There are people using HF welders and doing fine, but you won't see anyone reporting that here.
Click to expand...
have bought, "tried" to use & returned those el-cheapos and still say that anyone happy with one has never used a really fine machine. P.S. I do not bad mouth anything HF.....for some uses & items, I find them more than adequate. Own many HF items, but not their MIGs anymore.
Click to expand...

Many people cannot afford "a really fine machine" and get by nicely with the cheap crap. I would be one of those people. I use an off brand Italian MIG I was given. Took some learning, but I do fine with it. The bad mouthing of anything form HF is the norm here. While I'd love to buy the high dollar stuff, I can't . So guys like me get by with what we can afford.
 
I have their model 151, 240V. It's my first MIG so I had the full learning curve. Best thing I did was to buy a bottle of gas and use solid core wire. .030 works best for me rather than the .035. 2# spools work better than the 10# and I get them from HF also at a great price.

Each usage requires getting the speed and temp right but once I get that the set works just fine. I have never had an expensive welder. My stick is a Miller 130 AC-DC 200A and works for me. Most of my welding was with a 3/32 7018 but now that I have a fair knowledge of my MIG, I find myself using it for everything and the Miller just sits.

Instructions talk about only using the MIG for thin material. Well on that phoey. I've run ⅜-⅜ plate and had a beautiful bead....yeah it takes awhile but considering the sacrificial material is only 0.030 in diameter vs 0.1875 (3/16 with a stick) no biggie. MIG does need clean material for a clean burn. Also their el cheapo helments with adjustable speed work just fine for MIG welding..work for me.
 
Not a big fan of Harbor Freight. I have bought maybe a dozen things from them and only two items turned out good and the rest went to the dump.
 
I used to have very good luck with items from HF, so long as they didn't require either AC or DC electric! My little buzz box was perfect for learning on. It still works, but not as much power as it should - my fault completely! And where I used to swear by their pneumatic nailers/staplers, the last couple I got I only swore "at". Have finally just moved on from the HF products. I'm not current on their quality, but have to believe it can't be far off from the quality you get from the box stores.
 
I have a 110V fluxcore harbor freight welder and it works for what I use it for. I can tack projects up and later weld with stick or light repairs. It does not weld thick pieces well. A gas shielded is a better machine but this cost $88.00 and will do most quick projects. I have had it 2 years and am on my third roll of wire.
 
I have the Farmhand Brand 90 amp from TSC and it performs like yours and requires flux wire. I started with that and with a little experience realized I needed to go to more power and gas shielding.
 
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