Harbor Freight 90 Amp Flux Wire Welder 79.99 Friday/Saturday/Sunday
 

http://www.harborfreight.com/90-a...-8494.html

Normally 149.99

Decent reviews.

can you still use 20% off coupon with parking lot sales?

Terms on the Coupon I think you are talking about say it's not good for welders or parking lot sales which is a double whammy.

That said you could always print it off bring it in and roll the dice playing dumb. :)

What wattage does this run off?

120V x 20A = 240watts

too bad the 20%off doesn't add, I tried last time also.

110
 

It runs off a regular outlet, 110 make sure you have a 20 amp breaker on it because it will trip the 15 amp breakers. I have one and got it got 89.99 a year ago. Welded my mild steel 3/16 thick square stock. It does a good job just has alot of splater, so get some Lincoln wire instead.

Thanks for the tip on the 20A fuse you just saved me and hour of troubleshooting.

I've never welded but want to learn how. Could this be considered a decent general purpose welder for a novice?

Everything I've seen says this is awesome for learning and hobby welding but won't do high steels and aluminums. Wire feed and no gas is a plus.

FYI
120V x 20A = 2400watts, not 240., and technically 2400VA RMS, but that's just me being picky with units.

Thanks for that!

I'm seeing $109.99 http://www.harborfreight.com/park...-sale.html

There is a 70Amp for $79.99 in the March ad.

Am I missing something?

Yeah sales starts tomorrow. Just posted it early for folks.

is there a flyer for this sale ?

90amp model shows 109.99 ??

The flyer was an email flier. The flyer links to this for the big sale but it's a dead link, may become active tomorrow.
http://www.harborfreight22.com/LI...ource=1002

OK, did a little more research and found this link:

http://widgets.harborfreight.com/...&hftref=cj

Thanks for the heads up truthancisco

Just a heads up for those starting to weld. This is a good welder for learning, buy extra tips, you will invariably touch your tips to your grounded material. As you get better, you'll want a better machine with gas capability for the shielding. Flux core is a messy proposition for most things that you want to look decent. Expect a lot of puddling, spatter, and a lot of grinding/clean up after you're done with this machine. I have had both Hobarts, Lincolns (currently have 120 and 240 volt lincolns) and also done work with miller generator/smaw/stick welders.

I agree on getting better wire. The wire coverings on the harbor freight stuff feed horrifically, a quick change to big name brand wire and it welds fine now (a friend of mine has the same harbor freight one and makes really good welds). It's all practice about how fast to feed and how much power/hot you want to make it.

And for first time welders, a good helmet and LONG sleeve coverings are mandatory. Welders emit a ton of UV and you can end up with sunburn on your forearms and face if you only use the goggles.

Thanks smallcapguru the tips on the wire ill buy some of that. Any suggestions on helmet or coverings?

oops, havin a carb coma at the moment.

Remember 12 gauge wire is used with 20 amp fuse, If you have 14 gauge wire you can NOT swap a 20 amp fuse for a 15 amp fuse.

Awesome. Thanks OP. I've always wanted to learn how to weld, and this seems like a good way to start. Now just to find someone who can show me the basics :)

I felt like the hugest dumbass after I got a sunburn from welding. lol

Great if you just want to do some basic and messy welding, personally, I'd wait until you find a deal you can hook a bottle up to and not only use the flux core wire. I have a craftsman 120V welder that I bought on clearance several years ago, and posted about, and when you add the bottle, it makes a world of difference. As a sidebar note, a bottle is a bottle of inert gas used for welding with a mig. Don't buy this if you don't own a right angle grinder so you can clean up your welds...

Where are you guys getting the 20% coupons? I searched here and this was the most recent one that popped up (ended 1/31/13).

I use this one, http://store.cyberweld.com/janeaudaleww.html,but I weld all the time so a hobbyist can get away with something on the cheaper end. I also have the carbon fiber one, and although it is much lighter the new head gear sucks. This site is a good seller, I order from them all the time. A good Miller Jacket, or just sleeves with a crumby old, dark colored, cotton shirt will do in a pinch.

I second the learning on this, but getting something better later on. Regular MIG welding is great, but when you do all the time a TIG welder set up in a must, so a machine that can be used all around is good to have. I have a Lincoln Powerwave, and I also have a Lincoln TIG and Stick Set up. I can weld anything with these 2 machines, and do. Plus when you learn pulse welding and TIG welding that is where the big money and good looking welds come in.

Just a quick tip for you, if you get a cheap canister paint sprayer (one with the little screw on cup to hold the paint), and you put in a cheap dish soap mixed with equal parts water and spray the material you are going to weld you will almost entirely cut out the spatter clean up, and this is less toxic than aerosol anti-spatter sprays. This also works great for arc gouging jobs.

I used to rebuild combat track vehicles (Tanks), and would have to cut off parts and refit new parts to them so they could go back into combat.

Awesome trick I have one of those sitting around too.

Here is the only 20% off coupon I have seen. Believe it requires you in store to use.
http://www.harborfreight.com/20of...17547.html

Tweak your mix ratio to get the best results for you. I have buddies that use straight soap, but when I spray straight soap you have to have good ventilation cause the over spray makes me gag. LOL. But a bit of coughing for a few seconds is better than a buttload of clean up and sweating. Plus when I run a good bead I'll be damned if I want to hit it with a grinder and mess up my work.

Thanks and repped. If they don't accept it for this welder maybe I can use it on something else.

Does anyone know how their welding helmets are? I also see a lot of the reviews state getting Lincoln flux wire instead. Where's a good place to get it at, Fastenal?

the harbor freight helmets aren't bad. the bigger brand names may have larger openings to see more, but usually you're pretty focused on a tiny spot anyhow with the helmet down. i suggest cutting a few small cloths to put on the front to keep sweat from rolling into your eyes. it'll keep zits from forming and getting your forehead all nasty too.

by helmet i just meant don't use the welding goggles only which i've seen some noobs do. you'll look lik eyou've skied a whole day without sunblock or fell asleep on the beach with your shades on.

as for coverings. get welding gloves. that is almost as important as good wire. most good gloves will go pretty far up your forearms to shield that area. some folks use welding aprons which are fire resistant/proof. I don't suggest wearing nylon or anything that can melt/burn. spatter is molten metal hot, you get that on nylon shirts and you've got one hell of a burn to deal with. I suggest heavy cotton like a henley shirt, and heavy pants like jeans.

It sounds like we're in the same boat (just starting out). I found this helmet [harborfreight.com] at HF, but didn't really find any nice long welding gloves though. I'll have to keep an eye open for them. They might have more items in the store than they do on their website. Maybe someone else can chime in; I've only been there once or twice in my life.

May I ask what you are welding? Metal, rod, heat etc?

That welding mask looks perfect. I bet I can use the 20% off coupon on that. Thanks!

3% cash back at eb8s. Not much but it's something. I really hate HF but I would like to learn how to weld so I can do a couple things with a car I'm working on and don't think I should drop huge money on a miller or lincoln. Thinking I might grab this for now until a good deal on something better comes along. Thanks OP.

3% is 3% thanks Chuckd!! The deal is live now just bought mine. :)

I have this welder and like it - I would buy another. HF autodarkening helmet works fine, has an adjustment for how dark you want it. Always blink on the start of the weld - you don't want that millisecond of light to hit your eyes while your glass is darkening.

Anyone know what wattage of generator I would want to only power a gas furnace should the power go out for an extended period? Storage space is a premium and I'd like to have something as small as possible so that I could put it in the attick until it's needed. That 2-stroke 800w rated/900w max generator for $90 looks tempting if it would work.

How about the one they have for $199 170 Amp MIG/Flux Wire Welder [harborfreight.com]? Is this a better one for a beginner? Is that a good price?:confused:

Goes through your eyelids....

As I understand it the average house should have a 5500 watt for everything. If only running one thing I'm sure that would work.

Thanks Beezer! What gloves are you sporting? You using the Lincoln wire?

I grabbed a pair of the leather gloves also at HF that go up about mid-forearm.

I've read all good things about the Lincoln wire and would buy that next. Now I am using the HF wire which does the job but may not make the cleanest welds.

As stated before, don't use the HF wire. You'll end up tossing this thing in the trash because of feeding problems. It's a decent unit overall for learning with and/or playing around but if you want to do better stuff later, get a better quality unit.

Since folks are posting welding tips for beginners in this thread, I'll add another: unless you have good ventillation or a good respirator, avoid welding galvanized metal. Inhaling welding fumes is never a good thing but be especially careful if you're welding anything that's galvanized. Inhaling those fumes will do a number on you. It's called metal fume fever and it usually presents itself like a mild case of the flu (vomiting, thirst, diarrhea, aches, etc) but more serious reactions can occur.

How do you add gas later?

Welding is a process of melting metals into a pool and when they dry they are joined - the heat and the metals when changing form react to our normal oxygen and so different welders have different ways of managing that exposure to the oxygen.

This thread is for a welder that feeds a HOLLOW wire - inside the wire is a material that once burnt lets of a protective sheld so the weld can be protected while its changing form.

other welders (MIG and TIG) have a hose (sorta like a propane grill) on one end that screws into a gas that then flows down the hose to the tip of the welder that acts as the protecter gas.


I'm not a pro. This is just a high level explination. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND TAKING A CLASS at a local tech school just to understand the concepts.

There's a great site called something like "welderweb" that is full of useful information as well. Be warned: When talking about HF welders on that site you can expected to be confronted by the "Buy American" types.

I started with this welder and recommend Miller Ellite helmets if you have the cash (you only get one set of Eyes)

Thanks for the welding 101. I read that some people added gas, changed to non flux core wire, and reversed the polarity inside the unit to do true mig. Thought someone here might have done it and had some insight.