harbor freight tool pricing

well what do you guys think about a 90 amp 110v flux wire welder for 89 bucks. is that good price for the product or a rip off, its made by Chicago electric. or a 120 amp 230vlt mig and flux for 150 bucks. I may get the 220 and run me a 220 wire. but i really don't like to fck with the main box cause its a 200 amp main box and theirs not much room in the inside box in the house but there is tons of space in the outside 200amp main. the prices are coupon prices it says for the 150 bucks reg. price is 279. bucks. there is also a free led flash light in the harbor freight coupon ad.

I dont have any issues running my 110 volt hobart welder - altho my shed is on its own circuit ( PO's had a dyer outside - my dad used one side for 110 volts of the 220 line and thats where i plug my shed in ).

DANGER DO NOT BUY ANY WELDER FROM HARBOR FRIEGHT they all have aluminum wire in them so if you use the welder to much and burn it up there are no replacement parts for them, i also have the hobart 140 and love it, stay away from the welders from harbor frieght

aluminum wire, as in the wire your using to apply the weld or the cable that carries the wire? can you be more detailed on what wire. but my friend has a 220 chicago welder and me and him used the sht out of it, when we get around to using it.

motorhead45102 wrote:

aluminum wire, as in the wire your using to apply the weld or the cable that carries the wire? can you be more detailed on what wire. but my friend has a 220 chicago welder and me and him used the sht out of it, when we get around to using it.

Yeah, Im a little confused what part you're on about too! lol

sorry i should be more specific, but the coils and all the electronics inside the welder that actualy make the welder are aluminum all other welders are made with copperwire they use copper wire because it doesnt heat up as fast and doesnt warp when its heated up like aluminum. the aluminum wire heats up real fast so you realy cant weld much with it the 110 flux core welder thats 89 its only good for if you want to use it like once a month, because if its out of your warranty and it breaks there are no replacement parts, but if you have had luck with the 220 i guess goahead and get it but i wouldnt waste your time on them and just get a good welder, i got the hobart 140 110 volt from northerntool for 470 and it works great

Aluminum wire is bad news- we rented a trailer with aluminum wiring and constantly had issues with it - the wires needed to always be tightened in the boxes or the circuit wouldnt work.

I want to get a Hobart 220 mig with cover gas like my grandpa but they paid like almost 1000 bucks with the argon tank, helmet and wire and the welder, and the wiring from the breaker box, alot of money but well worth it.

Yeah TSC wants $300 to buy a nitrogen tank - mine came with the gas kit- havent installed it tho because of the tank price- just dont use it that much to justify the cost.


I bot both my helmits at harbor freight - were on sale - bot a 'normal ' helmit ( use this one) and the 'instant change' one ( still in the box)- also bot my wire and different tips there - the wire seems to work pretty good actually. TSC also carries hobart wire n tips as well .

Yeah youd need a electrician to install the 220 volt wiring setup - might need to update the house panel as well ......

i don't need an electrician i can do it my self, lol
its not hard at all and plus our house electric panel is actually not that old its a 200 amp main so its a big box.

also to add to the last comment i pretty much know how to wire up electric for the house, because i used to work with my dad and he did alot of house remodeling and wiring up electric.
but i can wire electric but i do get alittle worried like did i do it right? but electric isn't my favorite thing to mess with. my friend got caught by 220 when he was plugging in the dryer, he had this light and it had a dangling metal thing and it bit him pretty good but he was ok, no harm done but he was shook up a bit, i tried to run for the breaker box to turn it off but he came off of it before i got to it. but the reason why he got bit was he was leaning on the dryer which was grounded and touched a hot wire and made a circuit. he was lucky though.
also i never want to mess with any voltage above 220, like 440 and so on 220 is bad enough, and 110 is ok.

also would anyone know WHAT size of breaker should i use if the welder has a 15amp power draw.
and i probably have to get a long 220 wire about 25 feet maybe. also when the welder says its single phase what does that mean.

Im fairly happy with basic wiring to. In the UK houses run off 230v mains. Lights and everything. I rewired my garage lighting, was really simple, apart from getting to one of the fuses in the circuit.

Me and a mate were discussing 3 and single phase welders. Ive totally forgotten what he said. I know 1 phase is less powerful than 3 though. I think lol

You get what you pay for, But I'm a big fan of a good deal. Just make sure you know what the duty cycle is on it, and respect it! Thats how most people burn welders up.

The cheapest lincoln electric I know of is around $400.. Well worth it if you ask me, but you could buy 4 of those Chicago welders for that.

Its your call.

well later on in life or when i have a good job ill get a nice hobart, but for now this will do, the duty cycle is much higher on the 220v vs. the 110v welder.
and there is alot more voltage settings to play with. and its capable of argon gas hook up.