Harbor Freight inverter TIG

Well curiosity overcame better judgement and I bought one yesterday. Got to play with it for awhile today and .. it was interestin to say the least. It has a nice range of adjust ment from 5 amps to 130 amps but the only control is on the box. No foot pedal or even a control on the torch. It is scratch start but seems pretty easy to light untill you get way down on the power for really light guage stuff. It did not come with a regulator. Fit and finish looks really good and better than I expected. The "tungsten" electrode that came with it is junk and balled right up. I did get to make a few decent welds with it before the tungsten went away and being Saturday no place to get more. I feel with a lot more practice it could well be a nice machine for the small stuff but the jury is still out on that. I didn't try the stick function as I have no use for a 90 amp stick machine :) Mostly I need to get a good electrode and figure out how far to stick it out of the cup to get the "flame" I want. For a lunch box sized machine it is actually sort of impressive. Way easier to setup and get going than the big Miller box .. no water hoses and I can pick it up with one hand :) I did have trouble getting the aluminum to puddle right but I think I had the gas turned down too much and the tungston kept misbehaving. (possibly due to my ignorance but it just didn't act quite right) Anyway I will have to play with it some more before I decide if it is worth having in the shop.

Glenn

Reply to
Glenn
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Glenn, Is this item # 91811 ? I thought the knob on the TIG torch was the control knob? Scratch start and TIG? Wonder if that is the reason the electrode keeps balling. Kind of hard not to contaminate the electrode with scratch start.

Reply to
Steve W.

Reply to
Waynemak

I learned to weld aluminum DCEP with helium as the shielding gas. It was dirty, but only on the weld surface. The parts were frames made from 6061 channel 4 inches wide, 2 inch legs, and 5/16 inch web. The weld was veed out and after welding the part of the bead that was proud was removed. This way the frame had sharp corners and flat sides. No porosity was visible. None of the frames, which were about 4 feet high and 3 wide, and held a bunch of pneumatic equipment, ever failed or cracked. They were reinforced by covers 1/8 inch thick though. Can''t say that I was real pleased welding that way either. ERS

Reply to
Eric R Snow

It's probably set up for DCEP. AC with HF start is best for aluminum, but DCEN will work (at lower currents) if you can reverse the polarity. A zirconiated tungsten will hold up much better than pure or thoriated tungsten in DCEN service.

Reply to
Don Foreman

I really appreciate your comments. As a student, the price on this is very attractive. Have you had a chance to try it on stainless or mild steel?

I am currently using a borrowed Daytona Mig Pocket Pulse TIG welder, which is also scratch start, and also has no foot pedal or torch control. I don't have any problem with it, so if this one matches that, I would be happy...

Obviously, this is no match for the Synchrowaves I am using at school, but the price is about 1/10th of those machines!!! I'm not sure that the other people commenting realize that this unit costs less than $300!

I am also very curious about their 36 amp plasma cutter - why don't you try that out next, and tell us how it works??

"If it wasn't for Harbor Freight tools, I wouldn't have no tools at all..."

Reply to
Emmo

Yes, that is the one, and the knob on the torch is for controling gas flow and is just a valve. I am pretty sure the electrode is just straight tungsten and only 1/16". I am going to pickup some thoriated and zirconated electrodes and seeif they don't work better. I also plan to get some larger diameter sticks. I had pretty low expectations when I bought it and nobody in the store could tell me anything about it. I am hoping that with a larger doped electrode and DCEP I can do a bit of aluminum welding with it on smaller stuff. I was hoping it would fill a niche in my welding tools for small stuff that is hard for the bigger MIG to weld and not worth the effort to dig out the big TIG stuff. The old miller with HF head is not easy to get to do small work with. Main purpose of posting was to let others know a bit more about the machine.

Glenn

Reply to
Glenn

Reply to
Glenn

That's the reason I was looking at it myself. I have a BIG stick/TIG machine and was looking for something more portable. I figured on using it for light steel work and decorative stuff. Looks like I'll have to buy one and play with it some.... Wonder if a foot control could be wired in.

Reply to
Steve W.

My catalog has it at $199.99. Catalog number 91811-1MPC

Reply to
Emmo

Foot control should be no problem at all. There is a simple schematic in the "operating manual". I think you may even be able to make it a square wave output by bypassing the rectifier? It uses a centertapped transformer and 2 diodes for a FWB rectifier in the output. That feeds an inductor that may even be a nice place to introduce an HF signal? The schematic is so vague that I would really have to open the box to see what is really in there. It does have a current sensing circuit to turn the gas on and give a nice post flow. Really .. they came just "this" close to a fine little TIG machine.

Glenn

Reply to
Glenn

Reply to
Glenn

On high dollar items at HF....ALWAYS ask the manager for his best price. They will generally discount for you.

Gunner It's better to be a red person in a blue state than a blue person in a red state. As a red person, if your blue neighbors turn into a mob at least you have a gun to protect yourself. As a blue person, your only hope is to appease the red mob with herbal tea and marinated tofu.

(Phil Garding)

Reply to
Gunner

HF will refund the difference if you just bring the receipt into the store along with the add for 30 days after purchase. I asked about it at the Utica store.

Reply to
Steve W.

So what your trying not to say outright is GO BUY IT right......

Sounds like with the addition of a few pieces it could be turned into a respectable machine. Already have a nice HF add on unit for a conventional stick welder. Wonder why they don't have that owners manual online?

Reply to
Steve W.

I guess what I am trying to do is let folk know what I found when I bought it. If you want to build aluminum frames for hang gliders .. RUN! But if you want a cheap lightduty scratch start DC TIG machine to play with go for it :) I did get some ceriated and thoriated tungstens today. Nobody around here had any Zirconated ones. I ground a point on a thoriated 1/16" rod and fired it off but only got to play about 5 mins. Big difference. The point actually stayed just like I made it. The original one would have melted into the cone in that much time at that current. So if you do buy one be sure to get some electrodes and you will need a tank and regulator to hook up too. It comes with 3 collets, but the only one I could find a stick for was the 1/16" one. The others are on both sides for size but metric. I am sure I can make a 3/32" fit with a bit of filing but the other one is smaller than 1/16 and 1/16" was the smallest one I could find. I was sorta thinking about running it through the HF TIG box for the Dialarc

350 I have. ?? Gotta look at that tomorrow and see if it is feasable. VDay killed all my play time in the shop .. but I did figure out this card thing :) Ya just give SWMBO a card and she puts it on display for a week or so and you quietly pick it up and put it back in the envelope and file it for next year :) Viola! Yer all set for the rest of yer life ... which may only be till next Vday Glenn
Reply to
Glenn

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