Old Harbor Freight UNO MIG Welder

[Spit]

I found a Chicago Tool welder on the side of the road. I have never owned and often wanted to get a welder. It appears to work but it did not have a Argon tank/regulator with it when I picked it up. There is a white paper tag on the bottom if it which is quite faded and may have a date of 1986 on it. It is labled on the control panel as a UNO MIG and says it was made in Italy. I did plug it it and it works...I don't have a helmet/eye shields so I did little more than let is arc a bit to a steel plate.

I have been unable to find any owners manuals for it on line it does look very similar to the current HF 90 Amp 120 volt units, but this one has a gas line on it and seems to require inert gas.

I was thinking that maybe I could use it without the ARGON if I used Flus Core Wire. I read a thread from December of 2011 at this site where a member ID'ed as toystory_4wd said that this unit wouldn't do a good job with FCAW (flux core wire) unless the polarity is reversed. and the ground clamp was wired hot and the gun wired ground.

How do I test to make sure that the way it is wired now that the ground clamp is actually a ground and that it hasn't been switched alrready? by the previous owner maybe?

I opened the case and it appears that the ground clamp wire is currently attached to one a large wire (with a heavy squeeze terminal) right off of the smaller of two transformers that are in the case. The gun is wired to a lead that is attached via a terminal and a nut and bolt to what appears to be a rectifier. I guess I am asking for the advice of someone more knowledgable than I....If I reverse these 2 leads will I get DCEN?

Also does anyone have a owners manual for this Welder, and any advice for a novice?

Thanks

Spit

 

[Doc Sprocket]

Welcome to the forum, Spit.

I am not familiar with your machine as there are no Harbour Freights in Canada. However, if you put up a few pics, we may be able to identify it as somebody else's rebranded unit, or a similar enough model. We may be able to tell you more about it. He//, I drove myself nuts trying to find documentation on a oddly named unit that turned out to be a rebranded and very popular Millermatic 200.

Your assumptions are correct. If the machine is wired for MIG or GMAW, then you will need to swap the output termination for FCAW. If you do use FCAW, there is no need for a sheilding gas.

 

[landuse]

Yup, pics are needed for ID. Someone will know what it is.

Why do people throw things like this away??? Even if you have bought a new welder, wouldn't you want the old as a spare just in case the new one craps out?

 

[Doc Sprocket]

Why do people throw things like this away??? Even if you have bought a new welder, wouldn't you want the old as a spare just in case the new one craps out?

You got me, man. If nothing else, you can sell it. Tools are always worth something.

 

[landuse]

You got me, man. If nothing else, you can sell it. Tools are always worth something.

Especially welders....

 

[Doc Sprocket]

Yep! Reminds me of a goof I once made, years ago. I finished work for the day, and was loading my truck as it got dark. I was exhausted and just wanted to go home. I went back to the same jobsite the next morning, and there it was! I couldn't believe it- the night before, I had left a Lincoln Weld-Pak 100 sitting on the second-floor fire escape landing (outside) of this restaurant- in Toronto! I was stunned at my own foolishness and amazed (and relived) that it was still there. Didn't want to have to explain that one to the boss!

 

[Spit]

Here are the photos I took last I hope you can open them I can see where the ground clamp attaches to a wire from the smaller transmformer and where the gun wire attaches to the rectifier... guess I could try switching that up and see what happens with it.


Spit










night

 

[Spit]

Here are a couple more photos







thanks inadvance for any info you can give me. I am as grren of a novice as there can possibly be....I did try it agian last night...mind you without Argon and with wire that needs Argon..but it did work...lots of heat did melt the wire...splattery and messy but it gets plenty hot and seems to work. I can get some flux wire to try it out...I guess I should wait until after deciciding if I can reverse the polarity

Spit

 

[firemanjim]

Just try with flux core first before you fiddle with it. t might be good to go as is. Probably fell of a work truck.... It sure looks like my HF 90amp welder. One of the 90amp models was convertible to tig, sadly not mine though. For being cheap though, I gotta say , my HF welder is about 4 years old now or more ,looks almost new, has done everything I've asked of it, and have made WELL over a $1000 with it..... I have gone through countless rolls of wire and this thing just keeps welding along. Some people say its all HF junk but, could be how you take care of it.......