HF 90 amp mig welder

[cwjohn]

Anyone have any experience on the HF 90 amp mig welder? In general are the HF mig welders good for occasional use?

[Thom2]

It's hard to reply without knowing a lot more about what your intended use is going to be, but I'll point you to this thread that will probably answer a lot of your questions:

http://www.bt3central.com/showthread.php?t=21162

[Tom Slick]

what do you plan to weld with it? at 90 amps you won't be able to weld anything more then 1/8" for about 1 minute out of every 10 minutes (10% duty cycle) and it won't look real nice due to the flux core/low amperage/low duty cycle.
The biggest problem with HF welders is their low duty cycle, 120v makes the problem worse.
the cheapest mig welder I would consider is the 120v hobart handler series which is a miller in disguise. I also prefer gas as opposed to flux core.

[cwjohn]

I have an old tractor and that needs some sheetmetal work and I have some 1/4" steel I want to weld up into a cart. Beyond that I don't have a plan. sounds like this one won't cut it. How much better is the weld if you use gas as opposed to the flux core?

[cwjohn]

Thom2, Great link, thanks for the info.

[Thom2]

I have an old tractor and that needs some sheetmetal work and I have some 1/4" steel I want to weld up into a cart. Beyond that I don't have a plan. sounds like this one won't cut it. How much better is the weld if you use gas as opposed to the flux core?

I never did get the Millermatic that I wanted, but still have my older HF 120amp unit.

After having used flux core for several years and just within the last year or so splurging on the bottle and regulator to switch over, I can tell you that if you want to weld sheet metal, just flat FORGET it with flux core. You'll do nothing but burn holes in it and cuss.

For 1/4" steel with my welder, I would probably consider flux core, it burns a lot hotter and is typically reccomended for heavier steel when using these lunchbox welders. On the other hand, gas burns a lot cleaner and a LOT less cleanup between passes. 1/4" is probably gonna be a 2-pass weld anyway, so I'd probably be more inclined to use the gas.

All in all, as far as the HF 90amp unit goes, I'd definately say to pass on it for what you're interested in doing.

[Tom Slick]

I have an old tractor and that needs some sheetmetal work and I have some 1/4" steel I want to weld up into a cart. Beyond that I don't have a plan. sounds like this one won't cut it. How much better is the weld if you use gas as opposed to the flux core?

it wont handle 1/4" material and as thom mentioned it wont do sheet metal very well.

[Headnut]

cwjohn
I have that same welder and use it quite a bit, I added a fan to mine to cool it, just a small one.
If the metal is too thin for ac I grab the flux core or the o/a torch.
The other posters are right it won't weld to thin of metal.