Harbor Freight Tools???????

[Larry B 1486]

Has anyone ever bought a welder from Harbor Freight? I was looking at a wire 90 amp 120v welder. I know it's made in china but was wondering if anyone had any experience with there welders or if it would be like most there power tools, short lived. It will only use .030 wire so not to heavy of welding. Oh, the price on it was 149.99 but it is on sale right now for 89.99 .

 

[rustyfarmall]

(quoted from post at 10:35:52 12/29/11) Has anyone ever bought a welder from Harbor Freight? I was looking at a wire 90 amp 120v welder. I know it's made in china but was wondering if anyone had any experience with there welders or if it would be like most there power tools, short lived. It will only use .030 wire so not to heavy of welding. Oh, the price on it was 149.99 but it is on sale right now for 89.99 .

You get what you pay for, but in the case of Harbor freight, sometimes you don't even get what you paid for. Harbor Freight will never get another dime from me.

 

[Puddles]

The price alone should tell you the story. I've read some real horror stories about feeding issues with these welders on some of the welding forums. I think you'd be better off with one of the big three. I'm sure they're made off shore as well, but they're at least built to Hobart, Miller, and Lincoln's specs!

 

[Goose]

I've never bought a welder from HF, but I've had good results with a lot of other stuff I've bought there, including an upright, two stage compressor.

HOWEVER, like anywhere else, you need to know what you're looking for and what your expectations are, and judge each piece of merchandise on it's own merits. Myself, I'd be inclined to shy away from that welder.

When "they" (multiple retailers) first came out with those $100, flux core wire feed welders about 20 years ago, a friend of mine who had a specialty shop doing frame straightening and other heavy duty basic auto body work bought one and put it to work in his shop. It lasted about a day and a half and was toast.

 

[Fullers Farmalls]

I LOVE THAT WELDER. I bought mine 3 years ago. Well Santa got it for me. I had no knowledge of welding but watched some youtube videos and learned from experience. I'm not anything close to a perfect welder but for what i do that is plenty. You won't get a good hold on 1" plate but if you are making little things and want something cheap but reliable thats the way to go. I use mine fairly regularly and haven't had a single problem. It liked it also because it doesn't need gas. I bought their automatic darkening helmet to when it was on sale and love it to. So my vote is for yes get it and it'll pay off in a couple uses.

 

[Scott.ID]

My "rule of thumb" for Harbor Freight is that if it has moving parts, look somewhere else.

It's pretty hard to screw up a pickle fork.(grin)

 

[jackinok]

i have one of their 120v stick welders,and its been about on par with other ones in its class ive used.I just use it for light stuff,tacking things together and the like. how it would hold up to a real welder who used it all the time i couldnt say.The ground clamp and rod holder is the worst thing about it.They are pretty much junk,but it does what i use it for.Ive had pretty good luck with all the tools ive bought from there,i would have to admit.But ive not used any of them really hard either.Just what little maintenence work i do around.If i were still using them 12-16 hours a day like i used to they probably wouldnt stay together.But i think thats probably who they are made for ,somone doing light,or occasional work.

 

[Ron in Nebr]

I bought a "cheap" pickle fork once, not from HF but from one of the traveling discount tool outfits...the darn thing would have worked just as well had it been made out of aluminum or even plywood....the fork ends spread out the first time it was used.

 

[Chuck (CA)]

My wife got me one a few years ago, and not knowing or demanding much about welding, it suits me well.
I saved the link below a few years ago and might be worth reading.
HF Tools That Dont Suck.

 

[smallercrawler]

Bought same welder about 8 months ago, used it a few times (less than 1/10 of a roll of wire) on light sheet metal jobs-very low duty cycle, mainly tacking; great machine, did what it was supposed to do. Now it will not penetrate enough to get bead to stick. Tried new wire, different feed rates, etc.-revised opinion: not worth having!!!

Not knocking HF, had good luck with other items from them, just dissapointed in this unit.

 

[Goose]

Or a crow bar. Although I've run into guys that can.

 

[BDT/NWMN]

hay Scott; just be careful not to break the pickle jar when you stab the pickle.

 

[dhermesc]

I have one - I bought it specifically to weld in patch panels on the the old IH Scout I'm restoring. It's fine for little jobs like that - especially since its not like I taxing its duty cycle at all. For any kind of major welding I use my 50 year old Lincoln Tombstone welder.

 

[John Niolon]

Larry, you didn"t mention what you wanted a welder for... HF units are strictly low duty cycle and flux core wire only.. with a 20% duty cycle you"re only gonna weld 12 seconds out of each minute... more than that your power drops off and penetration suffers...

here"s some info I put together on deciding on a welder... hope it helps.

John


your final decision on a welder should depend on its intended use... If you plan on doing primarily heavy welding (1/4" and up...farm equipment, heavy plate and angle iron) then a stick welder will serve you well, although a hi amp wire machine will work also. You"re looking at the 200 amp and up work there
If you plan on light gauge projects, sheet metal work, body repair then I"d say a MIG machine would serve you better. Light gauge tubing, 1/8" plate... body repair... that type of thing..
thickenss will also determine the amperage you need.. for all light gauge work like body sheet metal and such you can do with a 110 volt machine 90-110 amp welding current.

For 1/4" and down anything between a 100 - 200 amp machine will serve you well.
Heavy stuff... 200 or better..

I agree with the assesment of H.F. Cheap import junk.. although you can get good deals on name brand tools sometimes, but basically low quality tools...

Stick with a name brand... Miller, Hobart, Lincoln... you can always get replacement parts...even on weekends and they have good service reps...

I have a Hobart "suitcase" welder, 100 amp 110 volt for light stuff and it does a great job using either gas or flux core.

For larger material I have a Millermatic 200. A 200 amp 220 volt machine that will handle anything else I tend to stick together.. I normally run both on GMAW... I only use flux core for outside windy conditions. (the wind blows the shielding gas away). Flux core wire needs more clean up than GMAW (Gas Metal Arc Welding...gas shielded) It tends to splatter more.

I also have a Lincoln 225 amp ac/dc stick welder that I haven"t turned on for several years since I bought the wire machines..

I think wire welding is a lot easier to master than stick and much easier to see and control your weld puddle.

I bought both of my machines used.. from welding houses that had leased them out then refurb"d them and sold them... you can get some really good deals if you"re patient (?).

Check with some of the supply houses and watch the "Machinery and Equipment" column in the classifieds.
Anything over 175 amps will probably require 220 volt service so plan on that expense also (if you can"t do it yourself.

Safety equipment.. A good helmet with the proper shield.. You can get away with lighter gloves with wire welders... but with stick, get some good heavy welding gloves. A fire extinguisher close by and readily accessable is a must as well as a bucket of water for cooling your welds.

Clamps, pliers, vice grips and a BFH are almost a necessity. Wear long sleeves and long pants that are not tucked into your boots.. no sneekers... hot metal goes thru them like...well hot metal !!

If you plan on wearing sneakers or welding in shorts... please video it for us... those "dances with hot metal in his shoes" dances are dang funny

hope that helps..
john

 

[hd6gtom]

Son has 1. It is well used and does everything we have ask of it

 

[big fred]

Always wondered what kinda drinks they serve in a crow bar,

 

[Bryan inIowa]

A Scout !! omg,,I had 9 or ten of those at one time. Repowered one with 289 ford,,,very cool . Post some pics of that beast !

 

[scotc]

I got one a couple years ago and only laid about 6 inches of bead with it. It will spatter like 6011 on rusty steel, maybe worse, even though I was using clean steel. Didn't actually try using it to stick anything together, I got it for doing out of position work, and didn't want to put D-rings on the trailer with it til I had more time with it. My dad's tried it a few times but got the wire melted into the tip.

 

[donjr]

Old Crow and Black Label

 

[Ultradog MN]

"There is hardly anything in the world that someone can't make a little worse and sell a little cheaper - and people who consider price alone is this man's lawful prey."

~John Ruskin
1819 - 1900

Avoid Harbor Fright if you can.

 

[Larry B 1486]

Thanks John. I was going to use it mostly on things like exaust pipe and light metal. I have a AC/DC welder out in my shop here at home. I worked at a plant for 27 years up untill 2006 when they shut down moved to china. Had a welder in my hand every day for 19 of thoes years. I was a stick welder using 440 volt 3 phase Lincoln, Air Co Industrial, Hobart welders. We had a 120 volt Miller wire welder at work that I used less that ten times because I welded heavy steel, but I would like just have one at home for light work. I appricate all opions .

 

[LJD]

Short lived? I've still got 1/2" drills and 4" and 7" grinders I bought from HF in the late 70s, still working fine. Also got several 3/4" and 1" rachet and socket sets just as old and have been fine. Also many big wrench sets up to 2", transmission jacks, gas powered water pumps, etc. Some from Japan, some from Italy, and some from China.

For sure HF sells a lot of cheap crap, but they also sell some tools that hold up find and are a true bargain.

Anybody who claims all is junk from HF doesn't know how to pick and choose carefully.

 

[MarkB_MI]

I think you'll find that the electrode is always hot on that welder. That is, the trigger controls only the wire feed and not the welding current. If you never use a better wire feed welder you might not care. But once you use a proper welder you'll never want to use your HF welder again.

 

[Stephen Newell]

I'm a big fan of Harbor Freight tools but I think I would get the extended warranty on that item. Other than that I would give it a shot.

 

[Ultradog MN]

Harbor Fright probably did sell tools with some quality back in the 70s.
Today?
I don't think so.

 

[Anonymous-0]

A machine like that is only marginally better than a couple sticks of well placed Bazooka bubble gum!

Seriously, save your money and buy something decent when you can afford it.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Where do you get this 12 seconds out of every minute duty cycle from? Duty cycle isn't based on the amount of time out of a minute you can weld. It is based on how much time out of a 10 minute period you can weld. 20% means 2 minutes out of 10. If you weld for say 30 seconds and then stop to re-position, the machine has a little time to cool and it seems like you have more welding time. Also duty cycle isn't cumulative which means that if you only weld for 1 minute out of the first ten, you can't weld for 3 minutes out of the next 10 minute period.

 

[Puddles]

Bazooka bubble gum, now that's funny! :lol: I forgot about that stuff.
Reminded me of how the old school weldors call Migs, hot glue guns.

 

[Texasmark1]

I don't remember the model no./ampere rating....may be 120, but it is a MIG with an input for gas (I could go out to the shop and find out). This is my first MIG gas welder and I am getting used to it. Got the gas from Tractor supply at a reasonable price. MIG gas welding does seem to use a lot of gas and the welding gas, the cheap one with CO2 or whatever they else they mix with it to lower the cost, is filled below it's vapor pressure so you only get gas , like you do with Oxygen, and no liquid like you do with Propane. Course it is rated in cubic feet (like 150 cubic ft for a #4 cylinder, and Oxygen comes in 2000 psig containers so there is a huge volumetric difference for the same size container.

I also have a 75amp MIG (I think) that I bought from Tractor Supply (Farmhand????) and I use it with the flux wire. I originally bought .035 flux wire in the 10# spool and was dissatisfied with the performance of the machine. After I bought the 120 with .030 solid and flux wire in 2# spools, the combination of smaller diameter flux wire and the lighter weight spool solved my problems so now I have 2 MIG welders.

I have been buying (all kinds of) HF tools for 30 years and have had nothing but good luck with them. I know that they are not production quality and I am not in a production environment...If I were I'd use production quality brands. However, for my small scale farming operation, they are a cost effective way to have the tools handy to do what needs to be done.

Mark

 

[rustyfarmall]

(quoted from post at 20:08:11 12/29/11) Harbor Fright probably did sell tools with some quality back in the 70s.
Today?
I don't think so.

Yes, I've got a bench grinder that was purchased in the late '70s. Had to replace the on/off switch just last year. The wooden handled screwdrivers I bought at the same time didn't make it one year before the wood disintegrated and fell off.

Bought a 3/8" air impact just one year ago and it was junk right out of the box. Harbor Freight would not do an exchange.

 

[flyingace]

(quoted from post at 10:35:52 12/29/11) Has anyone ever bought a welder from Harbor Freight? I was looking at a wire 90 amp 120v welder. I know it's made in china but was wondering if anyone had any experience with there welders or if it would be like most there power tools, short lived. It will only use .030 wire so not to heavy of welding. Oh, the price on it was 149.99 but it is on sale right now for 89.99 .

I have one of these, and it has done what I've asked of it. Of course, that isn't a lot - small jobs with no concern for appearance. I didn't have any welding experience, so I needed something to learn on that wouldn't cost
much. Hard to go wrong for $100.

If I ever determine that I need more welding capability, I will certainly look to a more professional unit. But my rule of thumb is don't buy a tool until you need it.

 

[Gleanerguy]

I've got a HF chop saw that I've used a lot. It has always cut everything I wanted to cut with it. When I go to the local salvage yard/steel sales place - they let you cut your own steel if all the guys are busy doing other things. I've used their chop saw, its blue (probably a Makita). It definitely has more power than my HF saw and will cut faster. But if you're patient, the HF saw will do the job and probably cost one quarter of what the salvage yard one did.

 

[flyingace]

(quoted from post at 13:00:58 12/29/11) My "rule of thumb" for Harbor Freight is that if it has moving parts, look somewhere else.

It's pretty hard to screw up a pickle fork.(grin)

I've found the opposite to be true. I've had good luck with tools with motors and air tools, but bad luck with forged stuff. Bought a set of taps/dies that simply crumbled when I used them. Those kinds of items I will get elsewhere.

 

[Fred Martin]

I don't have a mig welder, just an AC-DC Airco stick welder and a 400 Amp AC-DC Miller tig/stick welder. I will make a comment to the fellows that say that they have a lot of cleanup after using the gasless mig...they make a product called anti splatter usually in an aerosol can that you can put around the area that you don't want to have to clean up. It'll help 90% or so. ohfred

 

[EBinOregon]

Retired and 73 yrs old... Have bought premium tools all my life until I retired. Since then have been buying harbor freight (life time guarantee at my age isn't worth a whole lot). I'm still using a craftsman skil saw I bought in 1964 and using craftsman tools I bought in high school in 1953. Milwaukie drill is about 40 years old. I think you get what you pay for. (At least for a little while longer!! EdBin Oregon

 

[thebigyellowtruck]

ive used one for a little while now. It makes decent welds, but it's no miller. the flux core wire is a lot different that standard mig. It will make welds that hold, but dont expect it to do more than it is rated for. If you are going to weld 3/8 or thicker you need to preheat the metal with a torch first. for the price of the welder you cant beat it.

 

[Bill Krosnicki]

I have a Harbor freight chop saw that has done a lot of work, probably gone through two packages of blades. Also have had good luck with the 9.99 pneumatic cut-off tool. I bought two 1" impact wrenches that ended up being lemons and I finally sprung for an Ingersoll Rand.

 

[36 Coupe]

Your job went to china so now you want to buy a chinese welder.The ac/dc welder you have now will weld any thing .I have a Miller 130 wire welder I use on special jobs but my Lincoln 225 doses most welding for me.

 

[36 Coupe]

There are used Lincoln 225 amp welders selling for 100 bucks here.I seldom weld under 100 amps.Doesent hurt to buy good tools before actual need.I fixed up a 100 amp welder and gave it to a friend.SURE IT CAN WELD, BUT ONLY ON LIGHT METAL.