I don't visit the newsgroup like I did a few years ago, so I have probably missed some discussion on this.
My brother-in-law, (better known as know as Dumb Sh*t), was telling me on the phone about a Harbor Freight TIG Welder, he had just purchased for $199.00. Now I seldom believe everything, or anything, he tells me, but he has been raving about this welder for two weeks. This in itself is something new as he usually manages to break most things within the first week.
He says it does both TIG (130 amp) and DC (90amp) ARC welding. Now I am not about to drive all the way to his house just to look at some Chinese welder, but call me easy and gullible, could he be right for once? Is Harbor Freight finally selling something that is worth the money?
A friend of mine bought one, against my advice. But...he brought it by and hooked it to my argon tank, and I tried it out. It DID work, and worked well, despite its somewhat clunky lift-arc implementation and a propensity to blow 50A breakers occasionally for no reason (when first plugging in, not while welding.) (That worries me, and I wouldn't leave one plugged in unattended until I understood why that happened.)
My concern would be getting it fixed if/when it breaks.
personally, I'm holding out for a used Miller or Lincoln or such.
Gerald
Diam> I don't visit the newsgroup like I did a few years ago, so I have probably
This seems to be a excellent welder. I have had mine for two months now, and it has worked flawlessly. The large transient seen on plugging it in is the input capacitors charging up. I am running my on a 220 Volt 20 amp circuit with no problem. When turned up all the way it does put out 130 amps into the tig torch.
I have kludged up a 10k ohm pot for a foot control, but am now trying to make the mechanical parts. Does anyone on this news group know of any designs, or sources for controls. I know they can be bought for between $50 and $250, but this welder does not have a plug, so I have to install one. I can't see paying more for a foot control than for the welder : ). A pot, plug, and jack are only $5.
There is a book if I remember correctly titled Building Pottery Equipment that has an excellent plan for a pedal for a potter's wheel that would make a great TIG pedal. I checked it out from my local library when I was building a wheel for my wife and it worked great so you might see if you can find a copy in your library. Otherwise I think it's out of print and hard to find for a decent price.
I don't have the book any more or a drawing but I'll try and describe it...
It's a really simple design but hard to describe in any way that makes sense. :-) It uses a short section of 4" channel as the base. You cut the sides of one end at an angle. You bend a piece of sheet aluminum (I think the piece I used was about 1/16" thick) to the shape of the pedal and put a bolt through it as the pivot point. Mount the pot by way of a right-angle bracket to the bottom of the channel. To move the pot you epoxy a wooden sewing thread spool on the pot shaft and wrap a length of small steel cable or wire around it several times. One end of the cable is attached to the pedel and the other end goes to a spring that is attached to the pivot bolt. The spring keeps the cable tight on the spool and turns the spool as you move the pedal. You'll also need a microswitch that closes as you move the pedal from the rest position.
The book has specifics such as measurements for the length of cable and spool size but I can't remember them now.
Best Regards, Keith Marshall snipped-for-privacy@progressivelogic.com
get a heavy duty type of foot pedal - volume type that Guitar players use. Replace the pot with the correct version - install cable and away you go. Ernie Ball IIRC is one good and heavy duty. Check the pawn shop and second hand music shops. They are spring and wax cord controls.
Mart> This seems to be a excellent welder. I have had mine for two months
Now if the caps charge up when you plug it in, does that mean that the plug terminals are live when unplugged? Is there a bleeder resistor to drain the caps so you don't zap yourself on the plug?
My neighbor just got one of these and I'd like to be able to warn him if there is a shock hazard.
There should not be a shock hazard on the plug from the charged caps. In operation, the AC coming in from the plug has to go through a rectifier arrangement to convert it to DC to charge the caps. That same rectifier will block the reverse flow of current to the plug, so no shock hazard from the plug. On the other hand, if you open the case, those caps might be a rude surprise for the unwary!
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