mbdblue Posted February 14, 2012 Report Share Posted February 14, 2012 wondering if anyone has experience with one, and if they are worth it. Just looking to use it for body work (non-structural) to replace some rusted out panels like 20 gauge sheetmetal and such, but Ive only had experience with MIG/TIG with shielding gas. harbor freight has 2 little 90 amps for only 100 bucks each, and I don't feel like dropping at least a couple hundred on a 130+ amp if Im not gonna get a lot of use out of it. AA-Atomic-Clif Designs-DC-Diamond-Digital Designs-Directed-Eclipse-Fi-Hertz-Hifonics-Kenwood-Memphis-Phoenix Gold-Pioneer-PPI-PSi-Stinger-Sundown-TC Sounds-Viper-Zapco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sprkn_ranger Posted February 14, 2012 Report Share Posted February 14, 2012 (edited) From what I have heard, the cheap harbor freight welders are complete crap. But I don't have any personal experience with them, just what some guys I work with have told me. Edited February 14, 2012 by sprkn_ranger Check out my build log! 4 Havocs in a blowthrough http://www.stevemeadedesigns.com/board/topic/187506-sprkn-rangers-blowthrough-build/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbdblue Posted February 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2012 From what I have heard, the cheap harbor freight welders are complete crap. But I don't have any personal experience with them, just what some guys I work with have told me. see thats what I assumed, but they have 165 reviews on the site and a lot of them are 4-5 outta 5. i dont know for 100 bucks I may just pick one up and return it if I don't like it. they have a 90 day return policy anyway AA-Atomic-Clif Designs-DC-Diamond-Digital Designs-Directed-Eclipse-Fi-Hertz-Hifonics-Kenwood-Memphis-Phoenix Gold-Pioneer-PPI-PSi-Stinger-Sundown-TC Sounds-Viper-Zapco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speeddemon0308 Posted February 14, 2012 Report Share Posted February 14, 2012 if your forking out money for a welder, do it once ad do it right. spend the money on something good, if you only plan on body work then get a 110v unit.. if yoru going to be doing anything thicker then 1/4| get a 220v/ or if you have a 220v plug i would just get the 220v anyways.. also fluxcore welding seems to burn hotter then mig welding, so it wouldent be the best for doing body work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sprkn_ranger Posted February 14, 2012 Report Share Posted February 14, 2012 Yea harbor freight has a real good return policy, and hey if it works for your needs then that's all that matters! Check out my build log! 4 Havocs in a blowthrough http://www.stevemeadedesigns.com/board/topic/187506-sprkn-rangers-blowthrough-build/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smoove Posted February 14, 2012 Report Share Posted February 14, 2012 Good topic. I was wondering the samething. I just need to weld in the patches for my shaved door handles and also plan on welding in my roll pan. I was looking at the harbor frieght deal also. 2 Team Fi 15's v1 2 DD M5's 970amps of Alt 6th order blowthroughThe truck Blowthrough build : http://www.stevemeadedesigns.com/board/topic/155555-smooves-1996-chevy-ext-cab-c1500-slow-build/The 350z build : http://www.stevemeadedesigns.com/board/topic/170694-smooves-2003-nissan-350z/ My FB page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Smooves-Car-Audio-and-performance/719746144805343 Team Fi Audio http://www.ficaraudio.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbdblue Posted February 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2012 theres always the option of renting a MIG...but that will also add up quickly...doing some research on it, I see a couple people saying practice with it and it won't be bad, just more slag to deal with. and other people saying just buy a MIG and not giving reasons why. as for whether or not flux-core burns hotter, I can't really address because there doesn't seem to be any reason why it would...then again Ive never used it before so I don't know. AA-Atomic-Clif Designs-DC-Diamond-Digital Designs-Directed-Eclipse-Fi-Hertz-Hifonics-Kenwood-Memphis-Phoenix Gold-Pioneer-PPI-PSi-Stinger-Sundown-TC Sounds-Viper-Zapco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speeddemon0308 Posted February 14, 2012 Report Share Posted February 14, 2012 i have used both, i usually find myself using more heat with flux core then i do with mig wire. its much harder to get a flux core weld to look nice. and when your doing body panels you spread the tacks apart. so you could only do so many before you would need to clean the flux off of the steel. think of flux core welding as arc welding.. but with a wire rather then a rod. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airborne Posted February 26, 2012 Report Share Posted February 26, 2012 I had a Harbor Freight welder for a few years and it did body panels just fine. The flux is what shields the molten metal from oxygen. With MIG (GMAW) an inert gas does this. Gasless welding creates a good bit of spatter but is pretty easy to clean up with a flap wheel. That welder will also be good for welding exhaust. I made a "test pipe" for my Toyota with the little welder. It has a shit duty cycle, meaning it won't run much of a bead for very long but it will stitch weld (also not for very long). In short, yes. It will be perfect for doing the door handle patches, I used mine on an S10 years ago. It's a good little learner to tell you the truth. I have since upgraded to an ESAB Migmaster! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airborne Posted February 26, 2012 Report Share Posted February 26, 2012 one thing I forgot, IT IS ALWAYS LIVE! The tip is ALWAYS on, meaning it has electricity going to it the WHOLE time it is switched on. If your piece is grounded and the switch is on it WILL arc without the trigger being pulled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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