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Jerome Stanek
07-12-2010, 4:44 PM
Has any one used the cheap Harbor Freight flux coated wire welder. If you have is it any good I just need to do some small welds on some light gauge steel and I don't think My stick welder will work but I don't want to spend a lot of money on a wire welder.
Dave Lehnert
07-12-2010, 6:30 PM
Just FYI- I looked at the HF units a few years ago so it may have changed but the wire was an odd size. Ok if HF still stocks it but may be a problem down the road.
Again, It has been a few years so check it out first.
Donald Barfield
07-13-2010, 6:48 AM
I have one I bought for that very reason. If you want to do just a few light welds it will do but don't expect much out of it. This is one of those cases where you get what you pay for. Comparing it to my friends Lincoln is like comparing a bicycle to a Harley.
Charlie Velasquez
07-18-2010, 11:06 PM
.... If you want to do just a few light welds it will do but don't expect much out of it. This is one of those cases where you get what you pay for. Comparing it to my friends Lincoln is like comparing a bicycle to a Harley.


Just FYI- I looked at the HF units a few years ago so it may have changed but the wire was an odd size. Ok if HF still stocks it but may be a problem down the road.



These comments sum up the trade-offs.
There are so many used welders on the market, I would look into a used Miller/Hobart/Lincoln (my personal order of preference) instead.
Bill Cunningham
07-20-2010, 10:07 PM
One of those 225 amp Lincoln buzz boxes that that uses stick rods, and plugs into 220V will weld just about anything 'you' have the skill to weld.. The price is probably the same, and the usefulness FAR exceeds the little wirefeed machines. Pay a little extra, get a rectifier model, and you can even do Aluminum using stick rod.. I used to have a bank of 6 I used in teaching a welding class. You could run 3/32 - 1/8" 6011, 6013, 7018, and 7014 all day without hurting the duty cycle. Tough little machines..
Josh Reet
08-26-2010, 10:02 AM
Just FYI- I looked at the HF units a few years ago so it may have changed but the wire was an odd size. Ok if HF still stocks it but may be a problem down the road.
Again, It has been a few years so check it out first.

My HF MIG (the larger 220 one) uses standard wire sizes.