should I upgrade?

[Oldgaffer]

Greetings All!

More or less on a whim, I bought a Central Machinery (Harbor Freight) flux wire welder. I have it because I live on a farm, and I think no farm should be without a welder, just because. My questions is, should I upgrade to a MIG outfit for infrequent use, or will the welder I now have serve me? I also have gas welding for those times when I'm not near electricity...

Cheers

 

[Bearskinner]

I’m sure the HF special will weld just fine, for little projects as needed, but like anything else if you can’t enjoy spending a little extra on something that will make you happy, you can certainly use it, and create more projects with a more advanced unit.my question is why not . You deserve it.

 

[SIO]

Greetings All!

More or less on a whim, I bought a Central Machinery (Harbor Freight) flux wire welder. I have it because I live on a farm, and I think no farm should be without a welder, just because. My questions is, should I upgrade to a MIG outfit for infrequent use, or will the welder I now have serve me? I also have gas welding for those times when I'm not near electricity...

Cheers

I only have a tiny amount of experience with flux core, but those who do have more experience would probably be better able to answer your question if you gave more details about what you're welding. For the types of things that normally come to mind when someone mentions "farm welder" I think a stick machine is the way to go.

 

[PILOON]

Also on a whim I bought a $99.00 wire welder (mainly for small thin work) and quite honestly not all that pleased.
Could it be the cheap (I guess) spool that came with it? seems to splatter like crazy and gee the wire comes out kind of fast In my opinion.(like 2-4 FPM, I'd guess). Just seems much too fast.
Now I mainly stick weld and compared to that I'd be afraid to set off a fire with the shower of sparks the wire machine generates.
OK, I did manage to stick some metal together but I can do as well with my rod machine and techniques plus low settings with small rod.
What am I missing?
Is it machine quality? or did I simply get a lemon.

 

[CA_Bgrwldr]

Also on a whim I bought a $99.00 wire welder (mainly for small thin work) and quite honestly not all that pleased.
Could it be the cheap (I guess) spool that came with it? seems to splatter like crazy and gee the wire comes out kind of fast In my opinion.(like 2-4 FPM, I'd guess). Just seems much too fast.
Now I mainly stick weld and compared to that I'd be afraid to set off a fire with the shower of sparks the wire machine generates.
OK, I did manage to stick some metal together but I can do as well with my rod machine and techniques plus low settings with small rod.
What am I missing?
Is it machine quality? or did I simply get a lemon.

Flux wire throws a lot of sparks/spatter, and produces a lot of smoke, it is designed for outdoor use. You can reduce the spatter some by using nozzle gel/spray and adjusting the ampergae a little, but if you are welding indoors with it, you should be running gas, very little sparks/spatter with shielding gas.
Wire feed speed is dependent on, thickness of the material, guage of wire, amperage setting, rate at which you move the gun, all effect the wire speed, there should be a guide on the machine for reference, from there you can fine tune it. Wire feed tension is something else that you need to be aware of, and adjust.
The quality of the flux core wire also makes a difference, Lincoln is good, and Forney is another.
Also, if the machine you bought will do both MIG and Flux, you need to make sure the polarity is set correctly.

 

[California]

More or less on a whim, I bought a Central Machinery (Harbor Freight) flux wire welder. I have it because I live on a farm, and I think no farm should be without a welder, just because. My questions is, should I upgrade to a MIG outfit for infrequent use, or will the welder I now have serve me? I also have gas welding for those times when I'm not near electricity...

Which HF model did you buy? The 110volt AC flux welder, the one around $100, is difficult to use. Not much range of adjustment and with 110v, limited in what it can weld. Both AC and flux inherently splatter, having both means plenty of splatter to clean up. (Or to ignore, on farm repairs). I did minor farm repairs with an earlier version (blue) over several years. Everything I welded with that one has stayed welded but it wasn't much fun to work with. HF's better DC flux/mig models might be more enjoyable. I moved up to a similar DC welder (110v Century, still using flux wire) and liked it better.

But if you already have it - practice, practice, practice.

 

[bplayer405]

If you try welding anything 1/8" or thicker with that machine you will want to upgrade. For twice the money (coupon brings that down) you can get into they're better dc line of flux core welders. I have the black CE 125 ac flux core machine and the Titanium 125 which is a dc flux core machine. Bought the Titanium as an upgrade and it will weld twice the thickness of the CE model. I like the flexibility of a flux core welder and being able to weld outdoors and possibly from a generator in a remote location.

Do upgrade wire. I've had good luck with either Hobart E71T-11 and Lincoln NR211-MP with my Titanium fc welder. They are multi-pass wires, where most -GS wires are not. The Lincoln wire acts more of a "fast freeze" wire and may not work well with the low heat from the CE model.

The CE model will weld. I've made a stand out of handrail and have fixed exhaust with it. The Hobart wire made a big difference in repairing holes in exhaust or filling in drill holes. If you want to weld thicker material you'll want a better welder though.