Has anyone been brave enough to buy a wire welder from them. I'm looking at this model
"Gene T" (clip) I have to weld outdoors and the gas might get blown away so MIG is out.(clip) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I use a MIG outdoors, with flux-core wire and no gas. This has the added advantage that the welder is easier to haul around. Also, I can flip a switch, and I'm ready to weld--no opening and closing bottle valve, or adjusting flow. My welder is a Lincoln, but I can report that a friend of mine has a HF wire feed welder, and he is happy with it.
Trouble is, you won't know if it is a POS for a while. Like the first time you try to get replacement parts ....................
Good luck.
Steve
Don't count on it yet!
HF changes stuff around all the time. You need to find someone talking about the exact same SKU (55167) and preferably recently.
I buy a lot of stuff from harbor freight. But you have to be careful. And I strongly prefer shopping the local HF store instead of mail order. The packaging, shipping are flaky at best, and returns are a real pain. Check
sdb
On Fri, 10 Jun 2005 21:48:08 -0700, the inscrutable "SteveB" spake:
This is where it finally becomes obvious that the usual scam, an extended warranty, is the way out. Buy that and you get instant replacement of the item (at the store you bought it) for LIFE! Replacement parts aren't necessary because they give you a an entire new unit. I did this warranty purchase for my arc welder and auto-darkening welding helmet. Murphy's Corollary demands that once you -purchase- an extended warranty, it will never be needed. I'm covered!
--- Chaos, panic, and disorder--my work here is done.
I have welded for 31 years now, and here is my take on extended warranties, warranties, and how they apply to welding machines.
YOU NEED A WELDING MACHINE WHEN YOU NEED IT!
You need to fire it up and have it weld, just like you need your car to start first time every time just when you need it. Having to take things to a repair center, take it back and exchange it, leave it at a repair station, search for obsolete plasic Chinese replacement parts is unacceptable.
How many times do you expect to replace a welding machine? What if it craps out in the middle of a job?
Ask the guys who fix the machines at the factory service centers. The question they get asked the most isn't "How much will it cost?", but "When will it be done?"
I disdain anything but machines from top manufacturers if you need to depend on them. If you just need something that will work now and again, and have time to dick with the downtime, any old thing will do. I just don't like the aggravation. I own a Lincoln 175SP+, and really like it. Had it two years now, and it works first time every time. And when I need replacement consumables, I just go to the welding store. I bought a NexGen, and love it.
When I get ready to weld or build something, the last thing I want to do is fool with equipment that won't start/run. No matter IF there is a free replacement. (at extra cost when you buy it, that is)
Steve
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