The $89 Welder From Harbor Freight

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

I just bought this today and so I figured I would write a review. For $89 with a coupon in the Sunday newspaper ($109 without, and $149 when it goes off special later this month), I got Harbor Freight's "Chicago Electric" 90 amp, 110 volt flux core welder. It comes complete with a 2lb spool of flux core wire, a face shield, a multipurpose wrench and everything you would need to do some basic welding on sheet metal. For $30 more, you can get a 2 year warranty that covers anything you can do to ruin it, even dropping the unit. They will just give you a new one if you bring in your old one according to the guy at the counter. I didn't have the extra cash, so I will think about it as I have 30 days to buy the warranty. As for the unit itself, it seems OK, but the face shield is not something I would recommend using as is. The glass is not mounted solidly to the mask, and so light could seep through around the edges and damage your eyes. If I was going to use it, I would use electrical tape to seal the glass on the inside to the mask to prevent this from happening. I will probably use another mask I have which is a bit more sturdy instead. I have not had a chance to weld with it yet, but plan on trying the unit out tomorrow and will post my results. My thought is that this is perfectly fine for sheet metal work like rust patches, but not adequate for things that are structural and built out of thicker materials. I am also the world's biggest booger welder, so your results may be better than mine.

 

[patmckinneyracing]

Those are good welders for a beginner. I learned off my dad's Lincoln Electric mig welder and that thing kicks *ss.

 

[Longroof79]

Does it have the option of converting it to MIG? You can get alot of practice using it and then later upgrading to something more powerful if you choose. Can't beat the price. :wink:

 

[bowtietillidie85SS]

I believe i am going friday to purchase the one step up from that one that does have mig for 175.99 normally 250 ish i believe. Let us know how well it works, very eager to hear.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

Sadly it does not have a MIG conversion option, but it wasn't a very big concern for me either. I have to weld in a patch to hold the battery in my AMC Spirit project, and thus it does not have to be very pretty. I have an older Craftsman MIG that doesn't work and needs a circuit board, but the board was more expensive than the whole cheap welder from Harbor Freight! Plus, this little thing really doesn't put down enough heat to weld thicker materials so the lack of MIG is fine for me. I also talked to a friend of mine who tried the flux wire in his MIG and said it welded sheetmetal better than it did using gas and solid core wire. He's a better welder than I, so I tend to take his advice.

Another piece of advice I can give the first timer is to weld in bright daylight. Why? well, it will close your pupils up pretty tight and adjust your eyes for bright light. If you do accidentally look at the arc (and you will), it will probably be less likely to do damage than if you were doing it in a dark room. Plus, if it is really bright out, you can see the work surface through the lens of the mask before you strike an arc. If you must weld in a dark place, consider an auto darkening helmet. Remember that the old cars we play with can be replaced, but as of now, science can't replace your eyes. Protect your eyes (and ears for that matter!) above all else.

 

[dan2286]

Another piece of advice I can give the first timer is to weld in bright daylight. Why? well, it will close your pupils up pretty tight and adjust your eyes for bright light. If you do accidentally look at the arc (and you will), it will probably be less likely to do damage than if you were doing it in a dark room. Plus, if it is really bright out, you can see the work surface through the lens of the mask before you strike an arc. If you must weld in a dark place, consider an auto darkening helmet. Remember that the old cars we play with can be replaced, but as of now, science can't replace your eyes. Protect your eyes (and ears for that matter!) above all else.

I don't know how many times I have looked at the arc (just yesterday actually), and somehow still don't need glasses :lol:

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

Another piece of advice I can give the first timer is to weld in bright daylight. Why? well, it will close your pupils up pretty tight and adjust your eyes for bright light. If you do accidentally look at the arc (and you will), it will probably be less likely to do damage than if you were doing it in a dark room. Plus, if it is really bright out, you can see the work surface through the lens of the mask before you strike an arc. If you must weld in a dark place, consider an auto darkening helmet. Remember that the old cars we play with can be replaced, but as of now, science can't replace your eyes. Protect your eyes (and ears for that matter!) above all else.

I don't know how many times I have looked at the arc (just yesterday actually), and somehow still don't need glasses :lol:

Well, glasses won't cure what can happen. It will burn out your retina and leave a permanent dark spot in the middle of your field of vision.

 

[454muscle]

Another piece of advice I can give the first timer is to weld in bright daylight. Why? well, it will close your pupils up pretty tight and adjust your eyes for bright light. If you do accidentally look at the arc (and you will), it will probably be less likely to do damage than if you were doing it in a dark room. Plus, if it is really bright out, you can see the work surface through the lens of the mask before you strike an arc. If you must weld in a dark place, consider an auto darkening helmet. Remember that the old cars we play with can be replaced, but as of now, science can't replace your eyes. Protect your eyes (and ears for that matter!) above all else.

I don't know how many times I have looked at the arc (just yesterday actually), and somehow still don't need glasses :lol:

Ermmm... dude, you won't notice anything right now. Damage to your retina now, minor as it may seem at the moment, will cause problems years later.

 

[Bonnewagon]

That is a decent welder to learn on/ play with. I keep my first HF unit for certain jobs that it is suited for. But I would spend the cash and get the self-darkening mask that is usually on sale for $40-$50. I can't weld without it now, and it's just a cheapee. A really good one ($100+) has a lithium battery that will keep the mask dark even if the solar cell gets blocked. I learned this the hard way while welding under the wheelwells. The mask was not seeing sun, and I was seeing arc! Not good.

 

[Bumpin1ohmSS]

I was just up at HF getting some stuff and took a look at those. I thought it would be a great "starter" welder for me to learn on. Cant wait to hear what you have to say about it.

Warren 8)