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Harbor Freight Chicago 130 amp TIG / 90 amp arc Inverter Welder Review Part 1


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25 Responses to “Harbor Freight Chicago 130 amp TIG / 90 amp arc Inverter Welder Review Part 1”

  • pfun41:
    May 23, 2010 at 2:24 pm

    do you have alot of harbor freight tools? cause i se some multicolored sockets on your toolbox and i kno hf sells them

  • chefron8:
    May 23, 2010 at 3:20 pm

    I wanted to ask about the welder you have under the one you are talking about. What kind of electricity are you running the blue one off? I have one just like it except the color and brand. When I got it it needed a new plug and I put a dryer 220 plug on it but it just doesn’t have much juice. Is your shop wired for some kind of special industrial power?
    Thank you.

  • herring7:
    May 23, 2010 at 3:48 pm

    I ended up getting a 200 amp inverter welder by “Smarter Tools”. It’s really smooth, but it’s not a TIG unit. But it has a 100% duty cycle at 120 amps so you can keep going even on heavier metal. I thought it was pretty good for $250.

  • MacsCanfly:
    May 23, 2010 at 4:21 pm

    lol you have my same exact radio

  • kenx626555:
    May 23, 2010 at 4:40 pm

    very informative post!thanks

  • evifj:
    May 23, 2010 at 5:24 pm

    I would like to see some tig welding with it PLEASE>>>>> IT WOULD HELP US ALL OUT ON THE SEARCH FOR A CHEAP WELDER.

  • qwertrewq9879878712:
    May 23, 2010 at 5:47 pm

    please show me the second part of the video I´m really interested in watching what could be done in simple square mild steel tube 1.6 2.0 mm thicknes

  • thetrinity1010:
    May 23, 2010 at 6:23 pm

    Even though Harbor F has a bad rep for it’s products being made in China…they seem to work just as well, if not better than most products I purchase other places. I have every welding machine Harbor Fr. carries and NONE of them have EVER gone bad. My miller from a weld. manf went bad in a year and a half. I’ve been welding for 37 years…Harbor F has good welding machines.

  • Sleeko11:
    May 23, 2010 at 6:45 pm

    Just don’t buy anything from Harbor
    Freight. It’s all made in China, using pilfered intellectual property.

  • woi2ld:
    May 23, 2010 at 7:11 pm

    is there any delay on the gas….will the gas run before and after the arc..?

  • scartail123:
    May 23, 2010 at 7:45 pm

    Good video… Very informative…
    I have this unit myself. I’m almost word for word with “olov244″. And think it is a great unit to “tool” around with in the home garage.

  • jcorsaro:
    May 23, 2010 at 8:40 pm

    It is a pile compared to the nice stuff I have like my Miller Dynasty, and miller passport, but it does make welds, and some don’t want to spend $3500. I have even welded with a set of golf cart batteries, and jumper cables, it made a fine weld in a pinch and it did not cost me anything.

  • olov244:
    May 23, 2010 at 9:35 pm

    i bought one after searching welding forums, it’s actually not that bad for a dc tig. i got mine for $160 new, $35 for hf regulator, $55 for a yellow jacket 10/3 cord(the one with the machine is just too small), and $10 for a plug end. once i got gas/tungsten/etc it was good to go. no classes and i started on aluminized stainless exhaust. it’s also NOT a scratch start, it’s a lift start(or whatever it’s called) but scratch method works. get the proper accessories and then test it on video

  • GiantTech:
    May 23, 2010 at 10:12 pm

    A better bet would be a purchase from us at GiantTech. Our tigs are HF start so that is certainly a PLUS!
    We have probably the BESt rep on the internet for quality control and after sale support of any of the Chinese imported machines.
    Give of a chance at .plasmametalcutter

  • TheLightningStalker:
    May 23, 2010 at 11:01 pm

    Those “through hole, older style” components rock your world.

  • jcorsaro:
    May 23, 2010 at 11:11 pm

    I was able to do some decent welds on steel from .040 to 1/8″ thick with the HF welder. Your not going to be able to do aluminum welding with this unit since it is DC only. I would recommend a Miller Diversion 165, it’s not much more than the cheapest Chinese made AC TIG welder, and works very nicely for waht it is.

  • owvenus:
    May 23, 2010 at 11:27 pm

    hey , were’s the part 2. no time? Its good you did the HF tig and you took the top off , that’s very imformative. HF was known for china made stuff they sell pretty cheap . but now i’ve seen the innards i guess i’ll buy one too. i do slight motorcycle repair and i hope i can use this for light aluminum welds on bike parts, you know what i mean. great video and i checked out ur other vids. cool man. keep it up.

  • FILMMAKERCHAP:
    May 23, 2010 at 11:59 pm

    this is really useful as Im considering getting an inverter arc welder having worked on the regular ones which are ok but limited in capability with thinner sheet
    (im only a beginner but very interested) thank you!

  • Walterronny:
    May 24, 2010 at 12:46 am

    i was using it for ago some weeks already, i have to practice a lot yet, do you have some videos how looks your welds? ill appreciate it a lot.

  • tclonedelta7:
    May 24, 2010 at 1:36 am

    thanks thats what i wanted to know

  • jcorsaro:
    May 24, 2010 at 2:19 am

    I have yet to hit the duty cycle limit, and have it shut down to cool off. I will tell you, the #9 style TIG torch will melt in your hand before the welding unit overheats.

  • jcorsaro:
    May 24, 2010 at 2:36 am

    I know, I have some of the videos shot, I have been busy with other stuff. For a quick review: it arc welds much better than a AC buzz box, but not quite as nice as miller inverter box. It TIG welds good, but the torch is overheats quickly.

  • jcorsaro:
    May 24, 2010 at 3:20 am

    It DC tig welds just as nice as a miller, it just does not have the adjust ability of a high end tig machine, & the torch over heats quickly. Plus scratch starting the arc tears up the tungsten.

  • d3javoodoo:
    May 24, 2010 at 4:06 am

    Do some welding with it so we can see the quallity & duty cycle???

  • tclonedelta7:
    May 24, 2010 at 5:02 am

    when are you going to part 2???????????

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