Posted: 5/15/2007 10:19:40 AM EDT
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I am looking for a cheap welder to do some minor stuff on my trailer. I saw that harbor freight has a $110 welder online but it does not use gas only electrical. I have welded a little before and the welder I used was wire fed, but also used gas. What difference does the gas make. I know not to expect much for this price but it seems hard to go wrong to actually have a welder when I need it (once or twice a year) for a little over a hundred dollars. I know some will say save up and buy the best, but I am mainly just curious about this little welder. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks They also have one that hooks up to gas for a little under $200, is it worth that upgrade? |
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How thick is the steel you need to weld? The gas acts as a shield for the molten metal while it hardens. Welders either use flux on/in the rods/wire or gas in order to shield the weld while it occurs. In general,gas welds are cleaner and don't create any sort of slag that needs to be removed before additional welding is done. Small gas bottles likely cost about $100+ filling cost (around $20-25 around here for C25 to weld steel). You're not going to MIG weld for less than about $300 total. Flux core or a stick welder are far cheaper. For assembling a trailer where steel thickness is no less than about 1/8",I would use a stick welder. YMMV PM with questions,or ask a real welder (I'm a hobby welder) |
| I hate Home Depot, so i advocate renting a welder form someone other then Home Depot. Go get you a 110V gas welder or just buy a 220V welder and have a socket installed or install a socket outlet for yourself. I have relocated front shock mounts with a wire only wleder and they held up to this day(done in 2002). Just depends how experienced you are at welding. |
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I have been qualifying procedures and welders all day, so let me say this. If you only use a welder once or twice per year, why don't you just rent one. Most rental places have welding machines, and you could just buy a pound or 2 of welding rods and do the job. It seems to me that this approach would beat the hell out of having a machine sitting around gathering dust, not to mention that the wire and the drive rolls will have to be replaced every time you use them because of rust. Better yet, take what you need welded to someone and have them weld it for you. |
Is this wire fed or a stick welder? If not experienced with SMAW I would avoid it. |
The HF 110v welder you're looking at is pretty much the bottom of the barrel. The gun is always "hot", so you can't put it in place and then flip down your hood like you can with the higher-end welders. You'll need to flip down your hood and then strike an arc to see where you are or invest in an auto-darkening hood, which is money that would be better spent on a Lincoln or Hobart welder. Flux core (gasless) wire will splatter, smoke, and require quite a bit of cleanup/slag removal before you can make another pass. You'll also have a hard time welding anything thinner than 1/16" without over-penetrating and blowing big holes in your work. The $200 model with the gas hookup is a better bet, but at that price you're better of buying a used Lincoln. |