I am considering buying a welder for some light use.( up to 1/8 steel). Has anyone used the wire fed units that are gasless and use the flux wire? They are relatively cheap,use 110v and would handle most of my needs if they will do the job.
Any pros or cons?
Conner

Biggest con is that you will outgrow it right away. The cash you spend now on a less capable machine could go towards a more capable one.

I would agree with the above statement in general. I use a Redi-Welder that uses flux core wire, and love how it works, but its a 380.00 unit.

Ditto. Save your money for a more capable unit. You will thank yourself.

For sure a tiny welder is better than nothing, no way I could get very far without one.

I have used the flux cored and for some work its fine. It does leave slag thats a pain to clean up, but it also lets you do thicker metal with a smaller welder.

I paid about $500 for my Hobart handler and its has been great. IMHO having shielding gas was worth the extra money. The unit while not a powerhouse like my old 220 volt miller I had has handled every general fabrication job I have done in my shop.

I have not done a set of sliders yet.... But I have been able to properly weld brackets to the frame.

If your aware of the limitations of what you buy and that ok.. fine. You can always sell the unit used if you want another. However, I really like having the shielding gas and strongly recomend it. It also spatters less....

I was adding a new AC fan yesterday to repalce the OEM unit that died. Being able to weld two tangs on the factory bracket made the job come out so much better and saved a lot of work. I cant imagine not having some type of welder.

Kevin

You guys sound like welder salesman. You go to buy a small unit and the next thing you know your checking the tow limit on your truck to get the thing home <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />

Maybe Conner is going to take up coat hanger wire sculpture <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Thanks Kevin: thats basicly what i am looking at. Heres one that looks good. What do you guys think?
http://cgi.ebay.com/Lincoln-Electri...009QQcategoryZ113743QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Conner

Get an auto=darkening helmet, too. The hand held shield sucks. DO NOT wear anything but long pants and boots on your lower body while you weld. Don't ask. It makes the burn scar on my foot hurt. You can not untie the shoe fast enough. You can't rip it off tied fast enough. You can't get the hose nozzle in your shoe fast enough, either....

Good gloves are a blessing, too, and a good grinder with stones and flap wheels is your friend with flux core wire. Lots of splatter with flux core. The Lincoln above at least has the gas setup included.

I've welded half inch with the equivalent Hobart (Handler 135) 110 mig, but I had to chamfer both edges on both sides to get the matching edges' thickness down under a quarter, and it took two passes on both sides, and they were SLOW passes. Stay under a quarter inch and it'll weld quite nicely, and it's easy to learn on. Buy lots of extra tips, and a tip tool, and spatter release dip for the nozzle.

Thanks Ed. All good tips. What is a spatter release dip?
Conner

Splatter release dip is Nozzle gelly. It comes in a small plastic tub... you dip your nozzle in it every now and again. The purpose is to keep slag from building up on the consumables at the end of your mig gun. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />