flux core wire feed welders

[zahc]

Does anyone have a cheap (<$400) wire feed welder that works ok? I have been putting off buying a welder because I want "a good one" but if I had a cheap one I would have used it many times.  I have an upcoming project where I will need to weld up some square tubing. I have been told that flux core wire can work well and penetrates better at low homeowner-grade power levels than MIG. It seems convenient to not have to mess with gas, but I usually have CO2 around for beverage purposes.

[Boomhauer]

What are you welding that square tubing for and how thick

[zahc]

Making a frame. Probably something like 1" square thin wall tubing.

[Boomhauer]

Yeah it'll work for that. I'm not a fan of 110v Migs/flux core but look for a Lincoln, Hobart, or Miller 110v Mig. Fluxcore is welding opposite polarity of Mig, I'd go ahead and get one that can use the Mig process vs. fluxcore only.

Don't try to go thicker than 1/8.

[bedlamite]

I've got a Hobart 135. It's about as big as you can plug into 120v. Most of the stuff I weld is pretty thin, and it works very well for .050-.090 thickness, Stainless with Argon gas is no problem either. Up to 1/4" can be welded if you spend a little time preheating it with a torch first, but a 240v welder would be a better choice there.

[Boomhauer]

Up to 1/4" can be welded if you spend a little time preheating it with a torch first,

IMHO, you're still a little cold at that thickness with a 120v welder and it should not be relied on for that. And if you absolutely have to, multiple passes but I still don't like it. One of the downsides of the 110v migs is you can have a pretty looking weld that is absolutely worthless when trying to weld stuff at the upper end of the limits for those machines.

The good news, for the thicker stuff, zahc, you can pick up a used Lincoln Tombstone or Miller Thunderbolt stick welder for pretty damn cheap when you do have to weld thicker stuff.

110v Mig really shines for sheetmetal and thin wall-tubing. The welders are fairly portable and don't take up a lot of room.

[zahc]

I am just finding out that stick welders can be had pretty cheap. Lots of 200A buzz boxes on Craigslist for 200 or less. And this:

http://www.ruralking.com/tools/welding/welders/campbell-hausfeld-115v-arc-stick-welder-ws0990.html

I guess if you are going to use flux core anyway, you might as well use stick. It's not like changing sticks is going to kill your productivity with a 10% duty cycle machine. How thin will stick welding go?

Hobby space is at an absolute premium currently so I can't collect welders.

[Hawkmoon]

I have a Harbor Freight Tools 115-volt flux core welder. It does okay, and if I knew how to weld it would probably do a lot better. A good friend who lives near me has a 115-volt MIG welder, and the welds he gets with gas are much nicer looking than what I can produce with flux core. If I had it to do over, I'd get a machine that would use gas OR flux core.

This one looks pretty close to the one I bought: http://www.harborfreight.com/90-amp-flux-wire-welder-68887-8494.html
I think the price was $99 when I bought it. I knew it wasn't the best unit out there, but for that price one repair I didn't have to pay someone to do would pay for it.

[Boomhauer]

http://www.ruralking.com/tools/welding/welders/campbell-hausfeld-115v-arc-stick-welder-ws0990.html

Don't even waste your time with a 110v stick welder. Absolutely worthless.

It's not like changing sticks is going to kill your productivity with a 10% duty cycle machine. How thin will stick welding go?

10 percent duty cycle might as well be zero. Worthless. 70 amp is low for a stick welder, and the small rod diameters it will use are hard to find and expensive. The common rod diameters are 3/32, 1/8, 5/32, and 3/16 and 1/4 on the larger end. But the first three are what are used most of the time. Anything smaller is difficult to find.

Changing sticks doesn't take any time at all. I chuck the stub out and slam a new one in and am back at it before the cherry red leaves the bead.

Also, while you can weld some smaller thickness stuff with stick welding it ain't easy. Like I said, the 110v mig units shine for sheetmetal and thin stuff up to about 1/8, and stick does well above that.

[Monkeyleg]

I  have a Millermatic 35. Bought it 34 years ago in partnership with two other guys. It will weld material up or even over 1/2", or so I'm told. I think it's overkill for you, not to mention old.

Shown without the argon tank.

[Kingcreek]

I occasionally see the 110 mig/flux core wire feeds for sale. Usually it's somebody that tried it and gave up or figured out they are more limited than they realized. I went to look at a like new Lincoln weld pak 135 and found out the guy had already bought a new 220 mig and was selling his 110 so he could buy heat for his shop. He wanted $300 with cart and gas bottle. It just so happened I had a 150k BTU gas heater I didn't need and no cash was involved.
As Boomhaur said, up to 1/8 is no problem and a little bigger is OK. I'll burn stick for anything else. For oddball small jobs, if I can't do it with the little mig it's easier to change type of stick than switch wire.
Go with Lincoln or Hobart or miller even if used because parts and repair are going to be available.

[Cliffh]

Haven't gotten a wire feed yet, so I can't experiment on my own, so...

Why can't a wire feed weld material thicker than ~1/8"?  I've seen stick welding done on 2 1/2" plate where the joint is beveled, sometimes on both sides, and multiple passes used to fill the joint.*  If that'll work with stick, why won't it work with wire?

*That was on the pressure hull of nuclear subs.  They're pretty particular about the welds in those locations.

[zxcvbob]

Haven't gotten a wire feed yet, so I can't experiment on my own, so...

Why can't a wire feed weld material thicker than ~1/8"?  I've seen stick welding done on 2 1/2" plate where the joint is beveled, sometimes on both sides, and multiple passes used to fill the joint.*  If that'll work with stick, why won't it work with wire?

*That was on the pressure hull of nuclear subs.  They're pretty particular about the welds in those locations.

IIRC, the weld penetration isn't deep enough.

[zahc]

I have been told that if a stick weld or a tig weld looks good, it probably is good. On the other hand Mig allows you to make prettier welds that won't necessarily be sufficient.

I have been persuaded that a 110v stick welder is probably a bad idea even though the little things are adorable. A good mig and tank is out of budget at > 500. A cheap harbor-freight-ish flux core could work but I am uneasy about buying junk. I am still considering a 100 dollar buzz box from Craigslist or buying an oxyacetylene setup.  I used to do a fair bit of oxy fuel welding, and I figure you need a set of torches anyway. I think I could weld square tubing for my current project.

[Boomhauer]

Haven't gotten a wire feed yet, so I can't experiment on my own, so...

Why can't a wire feed weld material thicker than ~1/8"?  I've seen stick welding done on 2 1/2" plate where the joint is beveled, sometimes on both sides, and multiple passes used to fill the joint.*  If that'll work with stick, why won't it work with wire?

*That was on the pressure hull of nuclear subs.  They're pretty particular about the welds in those locations.

110v wire feed just ain't got the balls for thicker than 1/8, even with multiple passes. Just not enough heat for good penetration.

They make bigger mig machines that use 240v and even some that use 3 phase power (the big commercial wire feeders, not really applicable to homeowner shop). Those can weld thick metal.

[mtnbkr]

My grandfather made all sorts of things with a 220v Lincoln stick welder (the big red one you see at Lowes for $300 these days).  He welded the frame for his pig cooker.  It isn't pretty, but not bad for him being self taught in his 60s at the time.

Another friend of mine has a 110v stick welder.  He's used it on multiple small projects.  It works for him. 

A buddy's dad used a 110v flux core mig to weld the torsion tubes of my 72 VW Beetle when I was in college and wanted to lower the front of said Bug.  It held fine for several years until I sold the car. 

Chris

[Boomhauer]

My grandfather made all sorts of things with a 220v Lincoln stick welder (the big red one you see at Lowes for $300 these days).

A 220v Lincoln tombstone will run up to 5/32 electrodes. I suggest the AC/DC version as opposed to AC only. For the average DIYer, it will be more than enough for their thickest stuff.

[tokugawa]

Tweco 141i    120 v inverter mig- stick- lift tig - about $600 but you still need a tig torch and a bottle- but it will run flux core wire without the gas.
 
 http://store.cyberweld.com/twfa14miwew1.html

[lupinus]

If you want to go with that style of machine, I'd personally go with the Everlast ones.

[KD5NRH]

We weld up 14 and 11ga square and rectangle tube with mig for almost all our projects. Our one contractor who prefers stick can weld a 26ga sheet to a 3/8" tube without leaving holes, so he gets to use whatever he wants.
Of course, oxyacetylene has the benefit of being totally independent of electric power, and I've seen some old guys who could make a weld so pretty you'd swear it had already been dressed out.

[charby]

We weld up 14 and 11ga square and rectangle tube with mig for almost all our projects. Our one contractor who prefers stick can weld a 26ga sheet to a 3/8" tube without leaving holes, so he gets to use whatever he wants.
Of course, oxyacetylene has the benefit of being totally independent of electric power, and I've seen some old guys who could make a weld so pretty you'd swear it had already been dressed out.

Oxy is so easy to weld with, nice and smooth, walk that puddle around and little filler rod.