northern industrial welder
- Thread starter rocko
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is it this one here? it looks like a hobart welder.. I'm not really sure but doesn't look bad. there's a review on that page of that machine as well.
something in that class of power will be good enough for go kart work.
something in that class of power will be good enough for go kart work.
mikeandike
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it seems pretty cheap... All the mig welders ive seen are at least 600 for that amperage range. But ive never used that one so it might be good, it might not. You should check the reviews.
ryf
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I would buy that, heres why
-For use with or without shielding gas
comes with regulator, nice $80-100 freebie, you can sell it or trade it if you aren't going to use it.
-Contactor keeps wire electrically cold when gun trigger is released
very nice for a cheap one--- my harbor freight $99 dollar 90 amp mig doesn't do this, and it can be bothersome but it can be learned... I like my little gasless mig, but I replaced the gun and wire liner with a metal lined tweco one for a Cambell hausfeld and its MUCH BETTER, and not given me a hint of problems since. so its about $150 for a good gasless setup for me, not too bad. but I can never go gas, and am limited to 3/16" thickness (but I have a 225 amp arc welder for that, so who cares)
-Gun uses Tweco-style replacement parts
can be bought anywhere. whats not good about that?
if I were you, I'd stop by a northern tool and see if it takes the big spools, it should, but that will be cheaper if your doing the same type of welding often. my cart has gone through 2.5 lbs of gasless wire already, and its only about half finished.
DON'T buy spools at lowes/homedepot... I am a big hater of the fact they sell 1lb spools instead of 2lb spools (same size, less wire) it welds fine, but its bothersome to run out more often than neccesary since you loose 6-10 feet off each end...
I've used a $450+ lincoln weldpak at my bother in laws, and other than the fact he added gas to it (all told thats about $600 total for him since he had no regulator kit). gasless neither of us can tell a difference between his major brand and mine, he does have better voltage control, as well as more range(higher amps), but as long as you can match voltage to wirespeed, it doesn't matter that much for most things that are within the scope of both welders.
if you are planning to weld for your living, use the credit card and get the best you can afford, the versatility will pay for itself later. for project like ours, and some intermittent use fixing little things, it will be more than enough.
just keep in mind what you are normally paying for is DUTY CYCLE. they will all weld, but how many minutes out of 60 should you be welding.. at 90 ish amps it can only weld about 15 minutes straight... my HF welder is only 7ish mins, BUT, I've never overheated it, and it should never be a issue unless you made all your parts first and then go on a welding spree, but make sure you are careful not to overheat the welder, as thats just a good way to waste money(getting a new welder). long constant welding is way more a problem than lots of short spaced out welds (time wise, not distance). since the "inverter" (I think thats the name) is not getting as hot and can cool off between welds. the duty cycle to that welder is almost identical to the Hobart 140 at Northern, since its $100 cheaper its probably worth a good look. I wouldn't get the HF welder I have since its more of a project itself than a welder.
-For use with or without shielding gas
comes with regulator, nice $80-100 freebie, you can sell it or trade it if you aren't going to use it.
-Contactor keeps wire electrically cold when gun trigger is released
very nice for a cheap one--- my harbor freight $99 dollar 90 amp mig doesn't do this, and it can be bothersome but it can be learned... I like my little gasless mig, but I replaced the gun and wire liner with a metal lined tweco one for a Cambell hausfeld and its MUCH BETTER, and not given me a hint of problems since. so its about $150 for a good gasless setup for me, not too bad. but I can never go gas, and am limited to 3/16" thickness (but I have a 225 amp arc welder for that, so who cares)
-Gun uses Tweco-style replacement parts
can be bought anywhere. whats not good about that?
if I were you, I'd stop by a northern tool and see if it takes the big spools, it should, but that will be cheaper if your doing the same type of welding often. my cart has gone through 2.5 lbs of gasless wire already, and its only about half finished.
DON'T buy spools at lowes/homedepot... I am a big hater of the fact they sell 1lb spools instead of 2lb spools (same size, less wire) it welds fine, but its bothersome to run out more often than neccesary since you loose 6-10 feet off each end...
I've used a $450+ lincoln weldpak at my bother in laws, and other than the fact he added gas to it (all told thats about $600 total for him since he had no regulator kit). gasless neither of us can tell a difference between his major brand and mine, he does have better voltage control, as well as more range(higher amps), but as long as you can match voltage to wirespeed, it doesn't matter that much for most things that are within the scope of both welders.
if you are planning to weld for your living, use the credit card and get the best you can afford, the versatility will pay for itself later. for project like ours, and some intermittent use fixing little things, it will be more than enough.
just keep in mind what you are normally paying for is DUTY CYCLE. they will all weld, but how many minutes out of 60 should you be welding.. at 90 ish amps it can only weld about 15 minutes straight... my HF welder is only 7ish mins, BUT, I've never overheated it, and it should never be a issue unless you made all your parts first and then go on a welding spree, but make sure you are careful not to overheat the welder, as thats just a good way to waste money(getting a new welder). long constant welding is way more a problem than lots of short spaced out welds (time wise, not distance). since the "inverter" (I think thats the name) is not getting as hot and can cool off between welds. the duty cycle to that welder is almost identical to the Hobart 140 at Northern, since its $100 cheaper its probably worth a good look. I wouldn't get the HF welder I have since its more of a project itself than a welder.
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