Flux core wirefeed welder recommendations

[damork]

Anyone have any recommendations on good flux core wire feed welders? I'm looking for a basic model to do light jobs but never used any of the 110v models before. I'm looking for low cost, 110v, don't want MIG because I don't need that much.

Are there any that one should really stay away from?

I posted here because many here are DIY types and I'm working on my exhaust.

[DmaxMaverick]

If you only want it for light work, Harbor Freight has some very affordable welders. Less than half the cost of a Lincoln or Miller. I know of several folks that have used them, and still do. Not bad at all for what you pay. They are no less capable than the name brands, but may not last as long for commercial use.

[JD Diesel]

Some times the harbor freight extended warrenty is worth the few extra dollars.

[Kennedy]

My advice would be to look at the Miller 175 and get a small bottle for it. The Miller 175 can be had for around $700, a cylinder is relatively inexpensive at around $100, and the filling is only about $20 after a LOT of welding. I've heard a lot of stories how guys hated their little flux core jobs, but loved their gas shielded welders. I am also pretty darn sure that you can run flux core on the Miller 175 by switching to DC.

I just looked into this for a friend...

[roclongrider]

I'd second Mr. Kennedy's opinion. I just finished using the neighbor's flux core 110v unit for a light duty job. She bought it from Tractor Supply. First and probably last time I'll use one.
My Miller Mig is worth 10 times the difference in cost as far as welding capability goes and its not a big unit!!

[Scooby]

I use a suitcase style mig on an almost daily basis, and it is great, but there are drawbacks. If there is even a light breeze, forget it unless you build a fort around what you are welding. Verticles do best with gas going down, whereas my spoolgun that has flux core wire works better going up, and the wind doesnt affect it. I think a big factor with any wire welder, especially doing light work like exhaust is having good control over the output voltage. By this i mean infinite control rather than 4 settings on the knob. I played with one of the 115 volt units once, and found that one setting was too hot, and the other too cool for the wire size. I would go for a gas shield rather than flux core unless you will be outside welding. The gas does such a superior job, and no worries about slag entrapment and flux induced corrosion.
My spoolgun will be gas fed as soon as I get a bottle for it. I will keep the flux core for windy days though.
Thats my .02 .

[trbankii]

I just upgraded from a 110V 85amp Century unit to a 220V Millermatic 250X that I found used. The 110V will use either flux or solid core wire and did a decent job for me. The only problem that I had with it was the duty cycle. You could weld 1/4" material but you were only able to do it for a minute or two at a time. I'm looking to sell the 110V but it is too bulky to consider shipping.

[rlvelin]

As a student in welding engineering I've had the opportunity to use quite a few different welders and I own a Century 110V, 125A flux/MIG unit.

Some things that you may want to take into consideration are a non-live torch (no arc until you pull the trigger) is really good for automotive work and in tight places (like exhaust work), infinite voltage control is extremely handy unless you want to play with both the voltage settings and wire feed speed to get just the right penetration, and duty cycle. Duty cycle is how long it can weld at the highest voltage, higher is better. Also the amperage is important as it is an indicator of how thick a piece you can weld in one pass, the higher the amperage the thicker you can weld but you will probably be compromising duty cycle.

As far as MIG and/or flux core goes a flux core unit will do just fine for most jobs and like mentioned previously you don't have to worry much about breezes, welding positions, bottles and refilling, regulators, and switching back and forth from DC- to DC+ polarity. I use flux core almost exclusively unless I'm doing a high performance job or welding thin sheet.

A couple of my friends have purchased the cheaper flux core only units and haven't had any problems with them, they probably wouldn't stand up to a lot of commercial use but you will get quite a few years out of them when used occasionally and only pay about half the price.

If you think you may be getting into MIG welding (cand weld aluminum) in the future there are some welders that you can purchase as a flux core only but are capable of switching polarity so you can later purchase the hoses, regulator, and bottle(s) to have a MIG/Flux core welder.

Hope this helps

Ryan

[RT]

I own a Lincoln SP135. 110ac. Both flux and gas capable. Infinite control of heat and speed. Got it off a dealer on Ebay for $650 with cart that holds welder and gas bottle. I like it. RT

[FENCE MAN]

Been there -- done that -- go with a 220 volt unit with a gas bottle ---- more power, better welds, more control over what you are working with, more user friendly, --- from the thinner metals to the heavier--- more jobs completed and lower net cost

spend a few dollars up front -- worth the down time and frustration with the cheaper units

stay with a name brand and check with your local welder dealer, you will need parts, tips, etc. -- make sure you have parts available on a timely basis when you need them!!!!

Bill

[Dvldog 8793]

Howdy
First, I'll tell you that I have been welding for about 30yrs, did it for a living for about 15yrs, taught welding at votech for 2 yrs, and then most recently worked at a mojor welding supply house in Minneapolis as a welder repair tech. I was certified by Lincoln, Miller, Hobart, Essab, Thermal Dyn, and Hypertherm for warrenty work.
What I have learned in these welding jobs and buying and selling different machines is that (1) you get what you pay for, don't expect ANYMORE.
(2) Buy as much of a machine as you can afford.
(3) Spend the extra if need be for a local purchase as customer service is PRICELESS

Some of the harbor frieght stuff is OK as long as you don't plan on doing anything but seriuose. These machines typically have minimal adjustments and the way that they are controlled(wire speed, voltage ect) isn't the best. Also they are not really repairable, pretty much a boat anchor when they break down. Also getting consumable parts(gun tips, lines, nozzles ect) can be a pain as they don't normally come with standard stuff. As I said you really get what you pay for, if you buy a $200 welder then figure on doing about $200 worth of welding per yaer before you start to exceed the machines life cycle. In my shop that turns out to be about 4 hours. This doesn't apply to some of the name brand more spendy stuff.
Some people will tell you that because many of the big brands are owned by the same parrent company that they are the same. I can tell you for fact that they are not. That would be like saying if one man owns both a Ford and a Chevy dealership then all his vehicles are the same!
Some of the problems with name brands that I saw:
Hobart - Internal drive motors and tension devices
Century - Multiple quality control problems and poor factory support. They were located and built just down the road from me and I used to have to go down and find my own parts. :mad:
Clark - No factory support and impossible to get parts for
Sears - Buy the extended warrenty, you might get lucky and never need it. Used to be made by century, not sure anymore.
Lincoln - wire tensioning devices break and control boards, Good factory support/parts
Miller - Very few trend problems EXCELLENT factory support/parts

So I like the Miller stuff. Keep in mind that this all with the small 110v units that you asked about. get into the industrial stuff and then things get different(Miller still #1, but Essab real close) The small machines are hard to find used in any kind of good condition, buy new.
My use for Flux core is just the opposite of what everyone thinks. I use it for HEAVY work, 1/2inch plate and up. Penitration is way better. I never have liked it for small work. MIG is WAY better. Make sure you try to get as much adjustment on your voltage and wire speed as you can. Some of the variable type machines use the weld voltage to control the drive motor speed and this is BAD as everytime your voltages changes/floats you speed changes unpredictably.
So I guess I would have to tell you to find a name brand that is sold locally and get a machine that either is or has MIG capabilty with GOOD variable controls. Also look at the gun, Miller, Tweeko and tregaskis are good brands. Make sure you can get parts for the gun assembly. Most welding supply shops will let you demo a machine to see what they are like. Miller is my brand, that's what I fixed the least of, saw the most old machines still functioning, and has ALWAYS worked good for me.
Hope this helps!
L8r
Conley

[GMC Hauler]

I can tell you what not to buy: a Campbell Hausfeld.. It works ok but is hit or miss, usually miss. My father has a Lincoln and has had better success.

[Craig M]

Dvldog. nice write up. I have an old used Miller Dialarc HF. Lots of hours on it and it keeps on welding. Works fine for stick welding. Just wish I could run a MIG wirefeed off of it.

[Kennedy]

Couple more comments:

I too have a Miller 250x. Was around $1500 then and $1800 now. Works very well. I also went with a Bernard gun (Q/T at machine even) with pull off nozzle shield and quarter turn tips, and a 15' length IIRC.

Infinite voltage is a definite plus.


I would suggest keeping some extra tips around.

I also like nozzle dip gel, BUT you have to get the gun hot to make it work.

Add a felt cleaner to the wire to keep crap out of your liner.

A 250x (now 251 series) will accept a spol gun so you can do a decent job with aluminum too...

[damork]

Thanks for all the replys - lots of good info here. Info confirms the Miller is still a good brand to go with. I used to do oil field welding in Alaska and the Middle East and Miller was always the best we had.

This time around I'm only looking for low cost (not cheap), but something for the garage. Already have a Lincoln stick welder but need a small unit to do very light stuff, maybe MIG, but wirefeed.

[Dvldog 8793]

Howdy

If I was going to buy a 110V machine for light tin work then I guess it would be the Millermatic 135. They were normally good machines and the only real problems I ever saw with them was gas solinoid failures and operator malfunctions :D
Overall a good little machine. BUT- most of the body shop guys liked the comparable Lincoln machine(cant remember the name) The Lincoln were not as beefy as the Miller but some folks thought it had better weld properties on thin material. I think both of these units comes set up for GMAW welding all you need to do is get the gas bottle. Get as big of a bottle as space will allow as the gas is cheaper that way. Initially it cost more but pays in the long run.
I agree with John on the tips and liners, whoever you get the machine from make them give a good deal on some extra gun parts, roll of wire (.023 probably), ect...
I would disagree on the use of any kind of anti spatter. If the machine is set right and good gas is used there should be VERY little spatter to deal with and I have seen "spatter batter" cause more problems then it cured.(mostly operator error but still problems) It probably is a personal preferance. I've never used it and I go through about 10-12 rolls of wire a year.
I would also agree with the general opinion that a small 220 machine is better. Even if the specs are close a 220 machine will always perform better than a 110 machine in the same power range. The Millermatic 250 that John spoke about is an OUTSTANDING machine. It was my first wire machine and I ran it hard and sold it to a bigger shop than mine it is still running hard. I think when I was fixing machines those units probably had the least repairs of all. They did make one for awhile that had all digital readouts(Millermatic 250DX I think), the early models like that had some control board issues but most of those should be fixed by now and Miller corrected the problem after the first year or so. The 220volt machines don't really lose any value from new to used, I think I paid about $1200 for mine new and I sold for $1200 after using it for 4 years!
Have fun and good luck!
L8r
Conley

[Diesel Dan]

I have a 110v Hobart Handler 130XL. Picked it up at a decent deal from a tech school that was gonna use them in a welding class and cancelled the course so they sold the welders. Anyhow, it works pretty good for what it is. Only use fluxcore .035(maybe .030??) as I haven't bought the regulater and stuff yet. One nice thing is that it is very portable. We took it out in the woods to repair a steel bridge and ran it off my 5000 watt generator. Yes a 220V would be a better overall machine but, IMO, the 110v does have a place.