No worries, I have no delusions of setting the world on fire with this welder. Most of the materials that I weld are 1/4" or less, which this welder is capable of. On the odd occasion that I do weld thicker materials, I typically run multi-pass welds. If I really need to get serious, Pops has a 250 amp 100% duty cycle machine at his place, about half an hour away. I run ER70S solid wire. Running out of gas is never an issue for me. The shop across the street is a depot for the local weld gas supplier. My concern is more about the longevity of these machines. As indicated by the price, these machines are obviously of off-shore origin, likely made by the C.H. Ina Company. I have never bought anything of the magnitude from HF and want to temper my expectations accordingly. Cheers!
Hopefully it will still do all you need and give good service, but you already know it won't be as good as a more expensive unit. I assume it would have a 1 year warranty, i'm sure they wouldn't being them in if they were absolute rubbish.
It actually has 27 months of warranty. I bought the additional 2 years for $30. Seemed like cheap insurance.Hopefully it will still do all you need and give good service, but you already know it won't be as good as a more expensive unit. I assume it would have a 1 year warranty, i'm sure they wouldn't being them in if they were absolute rubbish.
I had a giggle about the not setting the world on fire, i know i have tried to set my shop on fire multiple times with my welder, never on purpose though
if the welder has a 60% duty cycle is should be ok ,, i havent seen or used one of those welders so you need to post back after some burn time so other may know to purchase or stay away from . i run Hobart/Lincoln migs & Monky wards and Lincoln sticks at home at work i use a commander 300 as well as SA200 out in the yard and Miller 452/652 in the steel shop .
It supposedly has a 20% duty cycle, running a 110A. I am not planning on going into the bucket fabrication business (loooooong weld seams), so it should be fine for me. I have a Lincoln 225 AC/DC stick machine as well, and I don't mind using stick. MIG is just so much nicer for tacking.
Just wondering.. How the Chicago Electric welder is holding up? I got to be honest and say I heard to stay away from them.. cheap circuit boards (built cheap- not cheap to buy) and heard lots of plastic in wire feed areas? I never owned one ( got my Dad's old Linde) so just wondering if true or not. You use your warranty on it? Hope it is holding up well.
