I do have a harbor freight hood and along with the ones I got today. I plan on looking on craigslist to see what I can get.
CK5
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Welding 101 tips and tricks.
- Thread starter Babaganoosh
- Start date
wage92
1/2 ton status
i dont necessarily agree with that. good hoods are nice but there are plenty of great welders that use the old fashion fixed shades. You just have to adjust to it and once you get the hang of it, youll be fine. With that said, whenever ive been able to use an auto darkening its been a pleasure, but mine at home is fixed.
When you have plenty of space welding on a bench its fine. Tucked under a truck where you do not have the space, having a good hood with a wider or bigger window with auto darkening makes all the difference in the world. Can you get it done with a traditional hood? Yes, but for me its not ideal. Work smarter not harder.
keep a eye out on a extra bottle of mig gas .
this way you always got weekend run out backup .
I got 2 oxy / 1 act for my big cutting setup .
then I have 2 oxy / 2 act for my porta torch.
and also I have atleast 2 bottles for my c-25 mix gas for mig welder I don't have at this time. but in stock when I find a deal again .
this way you always got weekend run out backup .
I got 2 oxy / 1 act for my big cutting setup .
then I have 2 oxy / 2 act for my porta torch.
and also I have atleast 2 bottles for my c-25 mix gas for mig welder I don't have at this time. but in stock when I find a deal again .
keep a eye out on a extra bottle of mig gas .
this way you always got weekend run out backup .
I got 2 oxy / 1 act for my big cutting setup .
then I have 2 oxy / 2 act for my porta torch.
and also I have atleast 2 bottles for my c-25 mix gas for mig welder I don't have at this time. but in stock when I find a deal again .
Yah running out of gas and the gas places aren't open on the weekend brings the suck!!
also call your local gas place . ask them if you can swap a bottle for a different gas .
tell them you don't use the XXX bottle much anymore and wana swap on the next refill to a XXX bottle . see if they will let you . some places do some don't . and some small fee to do it .
this opens up the market for you if the place will let you swap . then you can get most any bottle .
just watch out for the within 5 year hydro date codes on the bottle. or your paying for a hydro test 75-100 bucks if I recall if the guy catches it .
and skip c02 bottles . most places don't want them .
tell them you don't use the XXX bottle much anymore and wana swap on the next refill to a XXX bottle . see if they will let you . some places do some don't . and some small fee to do it .
this opens up the market for you if the place will let you swap . then you can get most any bottle .
just watch out for the within 5 year hydro date codes on the bottle. or your paying for a hydro test 75-100 bucks if I recall if the guy catches it .
and skip c02 bottles . most places don't want them .
TheBeast_88K5
Banned
True story... I own a Lincoln 180HD.... Have NEVER regreted it.
ALSO... The Harbor Freight Auto-Darkening welding hood, is a good hood.
I really like mine.
It works perfectly.
The ONLY complaint I have is the headband comes loose sometimes.
But, thats only when yer initially tightening it down, and happens very little.
Other than that minor inconvenience, its a nice hood.
Some HF stuff is decent quality.
The 3-ton jacks are great, too.
readymix
3/4 ton status
That's a great deal. I already have an oversized collection of welders but for that price I would have bought it anyway. .
My friend recently got a Harbour Freight self darkening mask for 39 bucks on sale,and likes it,he bought two Snap-On ones in the past 3 years and both died after sitting unused for a month or two,and they had no warranty,or replaceable batteries...the mask looks practically identical to the two Snap-On ones,only its 100 bucks less...he wont be buying any more "expensive" ones..
He also bought a HF Mig (90 amp) for 75 bucks the same day,to have as a back up in case his aging 220V Dan-Mig craps out...he tried it out and was very impressed,I witnessed how good it welds and penetrates,its a DC inverter type..he was leery of buying another 110V welder after having bought a Solar,Century,and a Snap-On Lincoln clone that all performed poorly ,and he had to sell them dirt cheap to get rid of them...this one blows them away..
I should get one myself,I lack the right house wiring to properly run my 220V arc welder ,and most of my welding jobs are things like exhaust and body patches,which the arc welder is pretty useless or too crude to be used on..
I also weld 100% better with a self darkening mask--I always end up laying a bead an inch away from where I wanted to weld with the "manual" mask...under a vehicle welding a hitch on next to a gas tank,that inch could be life or death...
He also bought a HF Mig (90 amp) for 75 bucks the same day,to have as a back up in case his aging 220V Dan-Mig craps out...he tried it out and was very impressed,I witnessed how good it welds and penetrates,its a DC inverter type..he was leery of buying another 110V welder after having bought a Solar,Century,and a Snap-On Lincoln clone that all performed poorly ,and he had to sell them dirt cheap to get rid of them...this one blows them away..
I should get one myself,I lack the right house wiring to properly run my 220V arc welder ,and most of my welding jobs are things like exhaust and body patches,which the arc welder is pretty useless or too crude to be used on..
I also weld 100% better with a self darkening mask--I always end up laying a bead an inch away from where I wanted to weld with the "manual" mask...under a vehicle welding a hitch on next to a gas tank,that inch could be life or death...
TheBeast_88K5
Banned
Auto darkening or bust...
Ok, now it's time to power the thing up and I'm kind of lost on what to do.
As it stands, only 220 outlet on the property which of course is a 30 amp 220v plug. The welder has a 50amp 220v plug. Do I run a conversion extension cord and risk the loss of amps or do I wire in a temp 50amp 220 outlet?
As it stands, only 220 outlet on the property which of course is a 30 amp 220v plug. The welder has a 50amp 220v plug. Do I run a conversion extension cord and risk the loss of amps or do I wire in a temp 50amp 220 outlet?
I have a 60 amp sub panel in my garage, but off of that I wired an "extension cord" of the appropriate gauge wire to a 50 amp outlet. It's all stuff that's supposed to be in the wall and supposed to be installed by an electrician .... 
That is my thinking, wiring it isn't a big deal it's just doing whats best. I know doing whats best is wire in the appropriate outlet and gauge wire.
Not being my house, I'm trying to get away with the extension cord. At my house I have all of this done, but my truck isn't here.
Not being my house, I'm trying to get away with the extension cord. At my house I have all of this done, but my truck isn't here.
Is it easy to access your panel from the garage? You can make the "extension cord" and take it out of the panel for inspectors or whenever.
It's on the other side of the brick wall. We have thought about that but I don't want to have to pull the dead front off every time I want to flick the switch.
Around here no one checks for that, they don't even need to come out anymore. I haven't seen anyone from the power company in a long time.
Around here no one checks for that, they don't even need to come out anymore. I haven't seen anyone from the power company in a long time.
Are you sure that machine requires a 50amp circuit? Sounds high to me......
It doesn't but that's the plug on it.
so what do you need then? If all you need is a 30amp use the existing outlet you have an start burnin steel.
It's two different plugs. One is the welder the other is the dryer. At my house I have both of them and don't want to cut the end off the welder if I can avoid it.
