Hi everyone,

I have been arc welding for about 3 months now and would like to think I am fairly good.
I have also done a little bit of oxy-acetaline torch welding.

It is now time for me to buy my own cheap welder .
I will be using the welder to weld exhaust piping, charge piping (intake), and eventually make an exhaust manifold.
The toughest metal I will be welding will probably be 304 or 316, 10 gauge SS.

Here are the cheap welders I am considering:
1. http://www.harborfreight.com/c...91811 - TIG
(will gas be expensive?)
2. http://www.harborfreight.com/c...44567 - MIG
3. http://www.harborfreight.com/c...=6098 - MIG
4. http://www.harborfreight.com/c...=6271 - MIG

Thanks,
Alex

 

Well the first one isnt even a complete welder, it needs a power source. As for the remaining contestants i would say none of the above.

None of them are strong enough or even have the ***** to penitrate into stainless steel. Your going to need 135 amps MININUM to even get a good weld. Ontop of that you CAN NOT use flux core for stainless steel, You need to stainless steel solid wire with tri-mix sheilding gas. I highly recommend you pick up a Miller 135 MIG welder at least, 185 would be better. I own the 185 and i love it!

 

i see the last welder is 150amps, but i still think its junk.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ExploitedRacing &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Well the first one isnt even a complete welder, it needs a power source. As for the remaining contestants i would say none of the above.

None of them are strong enough or even have the ***** to penitrate into stainless steel. Your going to need 135 amps MININUM to even get a good weld. Ontop of that you CAN NOT use flux core for stainless steel, You need to stainless steel solid wire with tri-mix sheilding gas. I highly recommend you pick up a Miller 135 MIG welder at least, 185 would be better. I own the 185 and i love it!</TD></TR></TABLE>

did you even click the link?
thats a dc inverter welder

 

exactly, its an INVERTER, as in it needs a power supply.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ExploitedRacing &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">exactly, its an INVERTER, as in it needs a power supply.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

haha
If by power supply you mean plug in the wall then ok...

Do you even know what an inverter is?

i looked at this thing in harbor freight; its about the size of a lunch pail; and it has a very out of place looking 220v plug coming out the back.
from their site "Input voltage: 220 volt , 18 amps, single phase"

 

I dont understand how a TIG welder the size of a lunch pale can put out any power at all.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ExploitedRacing &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I dont understand how a TIG welder the size of a lunch pale can put out any power at all.</TD></TR></TABLE>

INVERTER TECHNOLOGY

google; use it; love it

 

You can get a TIG welder for less than 300 bucks? Where have I been?

I know it probably isn't top quality, but for a hundred bucks mroe than a basic MIG, can someone please tell me why I wouldn't get this?

Uses would be just exhaust pipes and rad. brackets etc...

Ian

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by qksl2 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">You can get a TIG welder for less than 300 bucks? Where have I been?

I know it probably isn't top quality, but for a hundred bucks mroe than a basic MIG, can someone please tell me why I wouldn't get this?

Uses would be just exhaust pipes and rad. brackets etc...

Ian</TD></TR></TABLE>

if i wasn't a poor bastard i would have picked one up the other day in hf.
it looked very friendly sitting there wanting to come home with me; but my lack of funds and the knowledge that that thing would probably crap out in a day made me step back slowly

 

sheesh i think i may pick one up just to have a dc tig ondemand where i can transport it around with me, but i am sure engloid will chime in here and school us real soon

 

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1121479 this may help, welcome to my boat the 90 amp flux core, isnt as bad as everyone makes it sound, welded a muffler on just fine, and kicked it, didnt move

 

Anyone know if this is really a "TIG" welder? Like add some gas, a tank, a helmet and rod and go?

Thanks!

Ian

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ExploitedRacing &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Ontop of that you CAN NOT use flux core for stainless steel.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Actually, with the right flux core, and gas, you can lay a really nice weld. It's not very common for home welders though.
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ExploitedRacing &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I dont understand how a TIG welder the size of a lunch pale can put out any power at all.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Just like how the old Pyramid car amps, that were the size of a cigarette pack, put out 200 amps. They only did it in ads, and were nowhere near that in reality.


Personally, I havn't used any of these machines... but I can't imagine how they could possibly be anywhere near as good as one of the big name brand machines. I think that using one of these to weld with would be about like putting a 6v battery in your car and trying to start it. It may work one day and not the next.

I have absolutely no faith in these machines, and definitely would not reccomend buying one. Should you choose to, that's your choice. You get what you ay for in many cases...and I think this is one of them. Actually, I think if you're so cheap or limited on funds that you are wanting one of these, you may want to search the net and find ways to make your own. You may even make a better one cheaper than what HF wants for theirs.

And as for inverter technology: Very few applications, even in professional use situations, will you ever need or see the benefits of it.

 

seee i told you he would school us...