welders

[Partycattin]

Anyone have one of the mig welders from Harbor freight?
I'm looking to pickup a lower end welder to do some minor mods on a trailer I have and some misc stuff around the homestead. Not looking to weld anything more that 1/4 inch thick.
Was thinking of buying one of the units that runs on standard electric in the garage and add the gas kit.
Any thoughts?

[riverroyal]

I would be affraid of replacement parts,buy one from lowes or homedump.Miller or lincoln

[Baja Big Dog]

1/4 inch, on a trailer....either find a used 180 amp Miller or if you have to a Linclon, unless your welding on those naked lady chrommie things like the truckers have.
Run gas...
Or mbring it over and Ill weld it for you, or Ill have Baja Mike weld it, but you will have to buy some grinding disc's.......;)

[Ziggy]

I got one of them wirefeed welders(fluxcore), forget the brand right now but I do believe it was purchased at the Depot(its all blue). Have had it several years now without any issues and have run numerous rolls of wire thru it. It penetrates deep enough to make a good solid weld. I've built two flatbed trailers with it and am restructuring a sandrail currently.
For less than $170 bucks I think its been a bargain.
.
Listen to what RR says though, thats his gig. ;)

[riverroyal]

if you are are very good welder,you can make those machines work,if you are a novice garage guy,then good luck.They dont get very hot,the weld may look ok,but it will be very weak

[riverroyal]

:D http://www.***boat.com/image_center/data/510/2371IMGP0218.JPG

[SummitKarl]

Home Depot... get the lincoln weld-pak, that way you can get the optional MIG kit and many other ACC's, and they will hold a 10lb spool, you get a good brand name and service if you need it....I think they are in the $250 range
http://content.lincolnelectric.com/graphics/products/catalog/00004176.jpg
datasheet (http://www.mylincolnelectric.com/Catalog/equipmentdatasheet.asp?p=42420)

[Ziggy]

Harbor Freight has a cool skeleton mask on sale right now :skull:

[Partycattin]

I would be affraid of replacement parts,buy one from lowes or homedump.Miller or lincoln
They sell Chicago Electric.

[Kindsvater Flat]

stay away from the harbor freight one. Look into a miller or lincoln but also stay away from anything with plastic drive gears.
The little miller 180 on the right is a killer mig and it was less than 1500 with bottle.
http://www.schoutenranch.com/miscfarm/welders.JPG

[riverroyal]

They sell Chicago Electric.
go with the lincoln or miller like ziggy and summit are talking about,in the long run you will be way better off,plus buy a welding hood!The thing that comes with the welder is like a kids halloween mask

[Mark Sims]

I f you want a good mig at a great price get a hobart HH-187. I would stay away from the home depot lincolns. You will want more amps believe me. The HH-187 will weld 5/16" in one pass. You can find them on sale for 550 or so.

[riverroyal]

I f you want a good mig at a great price get a hobart HH-187. I would stay away from the home depot lincolns. You will want more amps believe me. The HH-187 will weld 5/16" in one pass. You can find them on sale for 550 or so.
110 or 220?

[OCMerrill]

I have one of the Lincoln MIG Pak units from Home Depot. 2300 is the model.
I use it daily. Because it's 110v you need to skip the gas and just use flux core wire. Seems to run a little hotter than with mig mix and its a little easier to use.
I have major hours on the unit welding gates and crap like that. Nothing over 3/16 or so in thickness.
Depends on what your welding on the boat trailer...If its anything structural have someone in the know weld it. Not the thing to learn on. My .02.

[76ANTHONY]

Anyone have one of the mig welders from Harbor freight?
I'm looking to pickup a lower end welder to do some minor mods on a trailer I have and some misc stuff around the homestead. Not looking to weld anything more that 1/4 inch thick.
Was thinking of buying one of the units that runs on standard electric in the garage and add the gas kit.
Any thoughts?
bought my arc there, works all the time, but im a hobby welder, not a pro. bought my wire feed at home depot, its working fine and i've had it 6 years..cheap too...:D

[Mark Sims]

Its 220. If you have a tractor supply close they carry hobart. You will love this machine. Everyone is a professional with this mig. Hobart and miller are both owned by Illinois tool works.

[SummitKarl]

I f you want a good mig at a great price get a hobart HH-187. I would stay away from the home depot lincolns. You will want more amps believe me. The HH-187 will weld 5/16" in one pass. You can find them on sale for 550 or so.
thats what I learned on a Hobart sq wave TIG, best welders on the planet but they are pricey just for home use

[beaverretriever]

You can't beat Lincoln or Miller but if you don't want to spend a lot of money, Hobart makes a real inexpensive mig that would probably get your jobs done. :)

[Boatcop]

I'm on board with Karl and OC.
My little Home Depot Lincoln has done me good. Welded a bow support for the trailer, and after dozens of times running the boat up on it, hasn't budged a bit.

[Mark Sims]

Dont get me wrong, I have a 110 flux core that has served me well, but when i really need to turn up the heat I break out the 220 V solid wire. On thick iron the 7018 stick works best for me. Been doing it 25 years.

[Sotally Tober]

I second the Lincolns. Bought a 250 amp mig a couple of years ago. Is great around the shop. Can lay a nice bead down.
Make sure you get an auto darkening hekmet. It is the only way to go.

[Riomouse911]

Avoid Harbor Freight for anything other than clamps, thrasher tools, or kids wagons. When I divorced, I had to start over on the cheap, so I went there for a lot of "home shop" stuff. All the power tools I've bought there (except for a bench grinder) has died, broken or both within a very short time. I got a disk/belt sander, and the first time I used the thing the disk seperated at the collar and the flat metal disk flew out the garage door and rolled down the street at about 40 mph. Needless to say I tossed that (and a lathe, and a drill press, and wrenches, and screwdrivers etc...) and got a better one elsewhere right away.
Stick with a known brand that has a decent warranty and will last more than a few uses. By the looks of the experts, the Lincoln or Miller's the way to go... in fact I'm looking for one like you are, so this is a helpful thread. And to the ones in the know, thanks for the advise from us novices.

[BiggusJimbus]

I've got my eyes peeled for a used Tig setup.
Want to keep it under a grand... And want to be able to do AC.
Something up NoCal way.
Doesn't need to be pretty or modern, but pretty and modern would be nice.
Single Phase 220v is a must to. No 3 phase at the house.
I've seen a couple on Craigslist. Nothing to write home about. I know there must be thousands around. Haven't seen many for sale though.

[ParkerRat]

Home Depot... get the lincoln weld-pak, that way you can get the optional MIG kit and many other ACC's, and they will hold a 10lb spool, you get a good brand name and service if you need it....I think they are in the $250 range
http://content.lincolnelectric.com/graphics/products/catalog/00004176.jpg
datasheet (http://www.mylincolnelectric.com/Catalog/equipmentdatasheet.asp?p=42420)
I also bought one of teh Home Depot Lincoln Kits, It works great for everything I do. Definitly better with the gas so you will want to pick up the bottle too. I have afreind who went out and bought the one you are talking about at Harbor Freight and it never worked right. It also died after only a couple hours of use. I think I paid 350 - 45 for the one at Home depot and it was well worth it for just tinkering in the garage. Nice taht it is 110V (I think 20 amp) too.

[Caljamr]

I have this exact setup as Summit Karl has shown. I bought a little welder cart from Harbor Freight and i have a welder shop close to home paid them a visit and they hooked me up with some gas and some good wire and it makes a huge difference. Great welds from a little unit. Don't hesitate to play around. A little bit of practice and follow some basic rules and you'll be suprised how good your welds come out. :)

[Partycattin]

Thanks for all the info guys.
Looks like the Lincoln is worth the extra $100.
I think I'll go that route. Anything more is getting out of the budget and may
be overkill for the basic stuff I'm doing.