BajaRunner

Well I picked up a tiny little 90amp MIG welder from Harbor Freight today for $99. It was $100 off, big sale. hah.

So its my first welder, I know its not the best, but, something to at least get my feet wet with. I took an arc welding class last year in junior college, so I know the basics... very basics!

My question though, is I am getting a TON of splatter, and I can barely get even a bead to lay. Its just super booger weld and splatter. I was just trying to weld a shackle hanger on my frame rail. The shackle was already painted, and so I decided to wire brush it clean... it got better, but, still not great.

Is the problem that the 90 amps just doesn;t have the juice to weld on a shackle hanger or what? Why is there so much splatter? I thought it had something to do with a bad connection.

garrett1478

member 'getitdone' had a harbor freight welder before his 220v lincoln. i never had any experience with it, but he said he couldnt get a good bead out of it for the life of him.

all i can suggest is to really clean both surfaces you are welding and bring the ground as close as possible.

BajaRunner

220v = Big power/shop outlet right?

Yeah, mine is a normal outlet type...whats that 120v? So I know the power aint gonna be there.

But, crap, I hope I just didn't get some lemon welder.

seanz0rz

are you using gas with it?

garrett1478

not necessarily 'big shop' outlet... a washer/dryer runs on 220v. you can add one to your existing fuse box.

normal outlet is 110v IIRC

you get what you pay for....

964runnerKY

SC4Runner,

I have used and sold a few of these and the welds hold but might not be prettiest. It is all in preference. Some love them, some hate them. I would keep trying to perfect it and return if it doesn't start doing better. That is one good thing about HF and you can return them with warranty or get parts for cheap if you need them.

Good luck

BajaRunner

The welder does not need gas. I thought the gas made it so the weld wouldn't suck in oxygen, I don't understand why you don't need it. But, for whatever reason, you cant even hook a tank up if I wanted to.

Well yeah, I am definetly a rookie welder that is for sure. Maybe its just me, I just need some practice with the welds.

What about the thickness of the metal, what do you guys think I can weld with this thing?

seanz0rz

id say nothing over 1/4 inch.

i always kinda thought the gas helped reduce spatter in addition to eliminating oxygen in the welds.

garrett1478

when welding with flux-cored wire, it releases gas that serves the same purpose as when MIG welding with gas. that's why flux-cored wire is much more brittle than mig wire.

964runnerKY

Uses 0.035'' or 0.030'' Flux Cored Wire Specifically designed to use self-shielding flux-cored welding wire, eliminating any need for gas and regulators normal MIG welders require.

BajaRunner

Yep yep. Thats what the box said!

Tomorrow I am going to grind down the frame till its nice and shiny, then do the same to my shackle hanger and then try.

I tried to weld some angle brackets together (no paint) and I actually got a nice bead, so hopefully its the paint issue (or maybe too thick of steel...eek).

Also, the wire feed speed. Is that just personal preference or is it dependent on the thickness of steel you are welding?

wjwerdna

you always need a clean surface to get a good weld

garrett1478

well, basically, you increase wire speed as you increase voltage. it's not a personal preference thing, but its also not an exact measurement. you adjust it until you get a good bead.

KyleT

yes practice a bunch on scrap so you get a good feel for it and wont blow through the frame on accident with a new setup. and the prep is a huge part of it, if your metal is not raw, it wont work very well. I learned this the hard way and have become pretty good with a grinder.

Booger weldors make better grindors.....

BajaRunner

No I hear you guys. I need more practice. I was just all cocky about it because I thought it would weld easier than an ARC welder. I was wrong.

I read the directions. I have a wire feed handle, and a ground clamp, thats it. I have a Max and Min setting and a speed control, nothing else.

Its definetly a flux core, no gas needed, nor can I attach a tank. I got some nice beads down on some scrap metal, but, didn't on the truck, so I think it was my preparation that screwed me.

Thanks for all the replies, I really appreciate the help.

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

Well the first thing you should have learned is don't weld with your feet wet!

You are wasting your time "practicing" without some basic instruction. Best book out there IMO is this one:
Welder's Handbook: A Complete Guide to MIG, TIG, ARC and Oxyacetylene Welding By Richard Finch

You can find it at any big chain book store I imagine or off Amazon. Very informative.

In welding, metal preparation is everything for a good weld...get the book.

A big welder is not safe to plug into a dryer outlet. A dryer runs on 220V single phase true, but only needs a 30A breaker...my MillerMatic 251 runs on 220V single phase as well but needs a 50A breaker.

FYI: A 220V plug would cost more than his welder did.

It has flux core wire where the "shielding gas" in essence is wrapped around the wire and burns off as you weld.

Get the book as I mentioned above and read...then practice on a bunch of stuff first, not your truck.

Just because you own a welder does not mean you can weld...no more than if you own a piano/guitar means you are a musician.

It takes education, experience and diligence.

90A welder will probably do 1/8"-1/4" single pass with flux core...but not if you don't know what you are doing.

A nice bead does not mean good penetration. There are too many issues to explain about what makes a good weld, about wire speed, the thickness of the steel...etc. Your questions just reaffirm to me that you don't know what you are doing and you need to get some help, get the book, get someone to show you, etc. This is not a diss, I'm not slamming you, but you don't need to be welding on your truck until you know how to weld. You are asking for trouble.

Yep, welding is not just get a welder and you are an expert...and practice is not it alone cause if you are practicing poor welding techniques you are still going to weld poorly.

If you do the same thing the same way you get the same results...every time.

My best advice...get the book I suggested and do some reading on welding and then find a friend who can weld to teach you or take a class at the local junior college...best summer classes I ever took...and the most fun.

Good luck.

UK Drew

got to agree with the wabbit on this, we use 415v 3phase arc welders at work, far better penetration with arc. got a small 110v unit we use on portable jobs that works really well on smaller gauge steel

BajaRunner

Yeah I agree with you.

I actually have a 300 page book on welding, the book I got when I took the welding course last year. Like I said, I know about the basics, but, thats about it. We only did ARC welding and did not even go into what a Flux core wire is or MIG welding at all.

So does flux core have anything to do with flux in electricity and gauss's law?

garrett1478

I didn't suggest plugging into a dryer outlet... I just used that as an example that its possible to have a 220v outlet in a home. He acted like you have to have some huge shop or garage to have that much power.

Besides, even if someone did want to try to plug it into a dryer outlet, it would probably have a different plug shape.

And yes... adding a 220v plug is not cheap.

crackerjack

^ Yeah what he said why don't people READ a post before they start throwing insults around ???