Vulcan Pro-tig 200 thread

Tue, 31 Aug 2021 08:59:41 GMT

go to see Welding Machine for Vulcan Pro-tig 200 thread

i am restarting a thread that seems to have gone away in the site crash. Hf Vulcan pro-tig 200 I would like to know + or- this machine. What kind of consumables? Hope it uses std torch parts. Initial setup and lets please keep our focus.. I will say it seems to be a solid machine for a guy working in a home shop and may even work for a shop where welding is not all we do..
Reply:Cool,I think I saw a very brief video of someone using it effectively enough. And forum member Shovelon is an old pro that did the beta-testing on it and some other new Vulcan units, I believe, for Harbor Freight.But I did notice a video by ChuckE2009, where he demo-ed one, and had an obviously bad time with AC arc starts on aluminum, if I recall correctly. I'm guessing that he got a problematic unit, and that most will have better luck, so to speak.So, I'd like to see more video demonstrations of that new unit, especially with AC arc starts, as it seems pretty cool to me, in that it's digital, priced well, it's well equipped, full-featured, and has that interesting "1 YEAR RISK FREE TRIAL – MONEY BACK GUARANTEE".A lot of people seem to dig the two new Vulcan MIG units.
Reply:But I did notice a video by ChuckE2009, where he demo-ed one, and had an  obviously bad time with AC arc starts on aluminum, if I recall  correctly.
Reply:Wow! It's been a long time since I addressed the Protig200. Let me start from the beginning. A guy visits my shop, says his company is designing a dual voltage 200 amp Tig welder. Wants me to evaluate. OK but what do you want to know? He says would you compare against your current dual voltage, air cooled, 200 amp Tigs, pros and cons, for a month? OK I says.That black box welded nothing like my Dynasty200, but very much like my Lincoln SW200, right down to the buzz, and the pulse adjustment and synergies like post flow timing. First thing was duty cycle. Yes I tried to kill it. Only plugged into 120 volts could I get it to trip off. Back on 230 volts I was welding heavy alum bar to see how fast I could push the torch. The original flex torches got smoking and alarmingly floppy. Eventually the rubber cracked off and the dude brought me some more to kill. I mentioned that this black box started the arc like my Lincoln right down to the pop start. He says we will talk about that when he brings the pre release unit.Well he brings 2 orange Tigs named Vulcan and a bunch of NDA forms and introduces himself as a product design engineer with Harbor Freight. Says if I would be so generous to killify these for a year and talk to him about my observations. Turns out there were a few others in the region doing the same. First off the flimsy torches had to go. There were 3 styles of pedals and the rear hinge pedal were useless. I lobbied for the center hinge but they improved the rear hinge pedal instead. One Tig had a pulse go to 20, and the other to 200. I told now 2 engineers that the 20 pulse max Tig was almost useless. I showed them why and I got my way on that one. So after a year of building structures and debriefing my findings I heard nothing other than "We are working on the final configuration". Then I get requested to have a film crew come in my shop to do a video showing me weld 'alum and a professional perspective. Hold the phone I say. In the current states of these machines I would not recommend. This did not go own well and after telling them why they discovered that they never gave me the final version. So they pulled a carton out of the warehouse and drove it over. I says give me a week or so. WOW! All of the issues were addressed! As much as I did not like the pedal and it's cheesy plug, it is fine, with a much better plug, and half my crew actually prefers it. The torch is now solid body  and stands up to heat well enough. The hoses and flow gauges actually work well and are accurate (none worked at all before).So, what I do like is that it is idiot simple like my 2 Lincoln SW200s. I like the capacitor discharge "pop" arc start. I love the low to high speed pulse mode giving up to 200 pps. I like the copper contacts ground clamp just like my Lincolns. I like the one year trial, no questions asked.What I don't like is rigid torch. That would eventually become a TecTorch FX17. I still don't prefer the pedal, but SSC controls makes an aftermarket center pivot pedal, and also their new 4 step finger amptrol that can be bought from member Gamble on this forum. I detest the cheap Chinese standard soft copper torch parts. Those were immediately replaced with TecTorch medium gas lens kits. I also don't like to have to purchase the 3 year warranty. I fought on that one but lost. $75 is not horrible.The machine itself is as solid as my Lincoln SW200s. They even have the little hidden compartment on the face. One could outfit the machine with upgrades of their choice. Every part is interchangeable with my Lincoln Tigs as well. The dinse connectors are exactly the same.As far as the synergic post flow, if it feels like it is too long, well there are other steps to reduced gas consumption. Anyway Harbor Freight left me with 3 ProTigs. One per release is being used at the local university, the final release Tig is being used by my new hire, and the second per release is on standby for field jobs. I would recommend anyone considering a purchase to opt for the 3 year upgrade.Weld like a "WELDOR", not a wel-"DERR" MillerDynasty700DX,Dynasty350DX4ea,Dynasty200DX,Li  ncolnSW200-2ea.,MillerMatic350P,MillerMatic200w/spoolgun,MKCobraMig260,Lincoln SP-170T,PlasmaCam/Hypertherm1250,HFProTig2ea,MigMax1ea.
Reply:Well, I don't think there's a conspiracy afoot with ChuckE2009 having a problem with the AC arc starts, or that he might have been trying to purposesly sabatoge the demonstration in that way to please existing or previous (Green/Yellow) sponsors of his. I mean, yeah, I think I recall that the demo of the HF unit was a personal purchase, which may have been a give-away unit, in a Paytreon scheme of some sort, and was not a machine sent from HF for promoting and demonstrating on web. But I've seen ChuckE videos that favorably compare and contrast Asian-produced units in their value points, warrantee, included items, and usability, against other of his sponsored and promoted units, i.e., Blue-sponsored (Miller) units. And that speaks well to me about his objectivity.So, I doubt that this is an example of ChuckE2009 being a corruptable demonstrator. But, if it is, it would be the the first example of as much, after many videos done over several years, i.e., not very likely. And, not that I'm subscribed to his YouTube Channel, but if he was really making a purposefully bad example of that HF unit, the contradictory evidence that will undoubtedly follow soon would impinge on his further credibility.I think ChuckE just got a bad one, or like you say, had a grounding oversight (less likely, but perfectly possible). I mean, I recall that when I watched it, I thought that he probably would have done better to have included some of the initial problem, and to then return the unit immediately, and show the contrast of a soundly performing ProTIG200, as the HF warantee is so easy that way. That's what I was hoping he might have done, and what I would have undoubtedly done. So, yeah, I was a little surprised that he had trouble and didn't bother to compare it with another, exact same unit.So, who knows, maybe ChuckE2009 will see this thread, and want to take another run at the ProTIG200, by getting a second unit (which he can return at no cost to him, if desired), and ammend his initial video, while also including some clips of the the first unit he had trouble with, and explaining the differences, if there is any. I mean, maybe ChuckE2009 is seeking new video ideas right now, and I just gave him one, at no charge. Ha, ha, ha...Otherwise, as you mention your rationale on the post-flow, Louie, I'm not hating the idea so much, anymore, about units with non-adjustable or auto-adjusting (amps set at panel?) post-flow of Argon. I mean, it does make for fewer settings to be bothered with, even though more advanced welders of stainless/titanium may rule that lack of adjustability out. Originally Posted by Louie1961Chuckee is the same guy who dismantled his harbor freight portaband to change the blade....completely idiotic. I am sure his issue with arc starts could have been alleviated by checking the ground and/or using a non contaminated tungsten. I wouldn't put too much faith into anything Chuckee says about anything Harbor Freight. His paying sponsors wouldn't be happy if he said a Harbor Freight welder was just as good as anything in it's price class. I am sure he is biased since he doesn't want to bite the green/yellow hand that feeds him......If the machine has a post flow that is 15 seconds too long, then 15 seconds of argon at 20 CFH per hour is 0.08 cubic feet of argon, which cost between 2 and 4 cents depending on where you get your gas and the size of the bottle you buy. You lose more money in the cushion of your couch than you will lose in argon costs.
Reply:I don't think there's a conspiracy afoot with ChuckE2009 having a problem with the AC arc starts
Reply:Yeah,Maybe he will see this dialog and give another go at it. I mean, it'd be another upload for him at almost no out-of-pocket cost, and his upload obviously translate into proceeds, so we're give him some incentive. Ha, ha, ha...But, yeah, since I trust Terry/Shovelon's experience and the long beta testing evaluation period that he already relayed to us all here, in text and photos, I was surprised ChuckE stumbled so much with on the AC arc starts, like I've seen in any of his videos before. I mean, he did an earlier video on the new, smaller DC-only HF Vulcan TIG/Stick unit, and gave it a pretty favorable review, in a cursory way. So, I don't think he's necessarily against Harbor Freight stuff, especially when as this new line of HF/Vulcan welders has been hailed for a little while, for being an obvious departure from HF welding units before them, in a very good way.Hopefully ChuckE will revist the ProTIG 200, as his video is about the only real overview of the unit being used on the Web, that I've noticed. And it is a very BAD review. His buddy ZILA wasn't happy with new Vulcan MIG review, as I recall too, but there's many others out there who've reviewed the two, new Vulcan MIG units quite favorably, so the ZILA one becomes of less interest. But ZILA has got a few cool ones that I've seen, lately, like the HTP ProPulse200, that he hacked with a Push-Pull gun with a synergic, on-the-fly-while-welding volts/wire-speed adjustment.Because if his video is not really representative of how most of the ProTIG200 units funtion, then his naysayers will have something to seemingly point to, rightly or wrongly. So, I hope ChuckE denies them of that, since most of the criticism I see him getting on the Web seems unwarranted, to me.
Reply:I mean, he did an earlier video on the new, smaller DC-only HF Vulcan  TIG/Stick unit, and gave it a pretty favorable review, in a cursory way.
Reply:Yeah,Maybe he is getting sloppy, so to speak.
Reply:Since this machine is purchased by us newbies I would like to see some info on basic setups and getting going with TIG. The manual is not always clear on what the experienced guys take for granted..
Reply:Since this machine is purchased by us newbies I would like to see some  info on basic setups and getting going with TIG. The manual is not  always clear on what the experienced guys take for granted..
Reply:Here's and oldie but a goodie from Doug (RIP)http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php...ng-to-tig-weldhttp://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php...rod&highlight=Miller Multimatic 255
Reply:Originally Posted by Louie1961Here's and oldie but a goodie from Doug (RIP)http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php...ng-to-tig-weldhttp://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php...rod&highlight=
Reply:Well I will give the benefit of doubt to young Lance and his AC starting problems after welding with his balled tungsten for a while. He admits that he is not that great at alum welding and his inexperience shows. Initially he ground  the ceriated tungsten to a tapered blunt end. I could see that his arc length did not allow complete fusion to the root of his fillets. He must have been welding for a while as the end of the ball was extremely balled, and from experience a balled and glazed ball does not light up easily. I really don't like ceriated as it does glaze up the end but the problem would be resolved by firstly ditch the ceriated for 2% thoriated, or 2% lanthanated, or TriMix, and it you want to use up that ceriated keep it sharp. And yeah he kept trying to scratch start further contaminating the balled glazed tip. So yeah he should have cleaned and sharpened his tungsten and eventually replace with a better grade. If he had done that and it still had starting problems take the machine back and replace. I think I would have had the issue dealt with hence forth. So with his inexperience I give him the benefit of doubt.Weld like a "WELDOR", not a wel-"DERR" MillerDynasty700DX,Dynasty350DX4ea,Dynasty200DX,Li  ncolnSW200-2ea.,MillerMatic350P,MillerMatic200w/spoolgun,MKCobraMig260,Lincoln SP-170T,PlasmaCam/Hypertherm1250,HFProTig2ea,MigMax1ea.
Reply:Wow what a great write up Terry. The more and more I read about these machines I want to get one.www.tjsperformance.comDynasty 300 DXHTP 240HTP Microcut 380Hyperthem 85JD2 Hyd Bender and HF Hyd Ring Roller all in one =(Frankenbender)Bpt. Mill/DRO4' x 8' CNC Plasma TableInstagram: tjsperformanceYT: TJS Welding and Fabrication
Reply:Terry, how did it compare to the AHP?  Seems pretty comparable...Tiger Sales:  AHP Distributor    www.tigersalesco.comAHP200x; AHP 160ST; MM350P,  Spoolmatic 30A; Everlast PowerTig 185; Thermal Dynamics 60i plasma.  For Sale:  Cobra Mig 250 w/ Push-pull gun.  Lincoln Wirematic 250
Reply:Originally Posted by soutthpawTerry, how did it compare to the AHP?  Seems pretty comparable...
Reply:That's a shame to spend that much for a welder and then have to spend $175 or so more for a foot pedal.  Just saying.Lincoln Power Mig 210 MPLincoln SquareWave Tig 200Miller Spectrum 125cOxy/AcetyleneOptrel e684, Lincoln 3350, Speedglas 9100xx, Klutch 800 SeriesLathe and Milling Machines
Reply:Originally Posted by jerjeThat's a shame to spend that much for a welder and then have to spend $175 or so more for a foot pedal.  Just saying.
Reply:I imagine a chunk of that $900 covers the vastly superior warranty and the cost of people who buy it for one job then return it.Miller Multimatic 255
Reply:Originally Posted by mechanic416Yea, 900 bucks is why to much for that welder. They should have added a SCC pedal, 25' CK flex lock torch with a leather cover, a Tweco brass ground clamp, USA wire and cable leads and sell them for 400 bucks.
Reply:You don't, but I think the pedal is fine for the price.And I don't care for the SSC pedals.www.georgesplasmacuttershop.comPlasma Cutter and Welder Sales and Repairs--Ebay storeTec.Mo. Dealer Consumables for the PT and IPT torch's
Reply:Originally Posted by mechanic416You don't, but I think the pedal is fine for the price.And I don't care for the SSC pedals.
Reply:Originally Posted by shovelonYeah the Vulcan pedal is fine for the price. Now if I unscrew and move the Vulcan heel clip rearward an inch or two I will be pleased as punch. Some people like the rear hinge action. Same with the SSC pedal. It has no heal clip at all and I have welded ones onto mine. On the other hand some people like it better without.
Reply:Originally Posted by JawslandsharkShovelon, great write up on the Vulcan tig. Seems they did the right thing coming to a professional like you to make a better product. I saw one a few weeks back and seemed well constructed.Last edited by shovelon; 03-22-2018 at 02:02 PM.Weld like a "WELDOR", not a wel-"DERR" MillerDynasty700DX,Dynasty350DX4ea,Dynasty200DX,Li  ncolnSW200-2ea.,MillerMatic350P,MillerMatic200w/spoolgun,MKCobraMig260,Lincoln SP-170T,PlasmaCam/Hypertherm1250,HFProTig2ea,MigMax1ea.
Reply:Weld like a "WELDOR", not a wel-"DERR" MillerDynasty700DX,Dynasty350DX4ea,Dynasty200DX,Li  ncolnSW200-2ea.,MillerMatic350P,MillerMatic200w/spoolgun,MKCobraMig260,Lincoln SP-170T,PlasmaCam/Hypertherm1250,HFProTig2ea,MigMax1ea.
Reply:Built these modular ballistics shack skeletons with the ProTigs. One on each side to weld groove welds, migs to weld fillets. Only misteps were when "sweety" kept leaving the pulse on when plugged into 120volts. Weld like a "WELDOR", not a wel-"DERR" MillerDynasty700DX,Dynasty350DX4ea,Dynasty200DX,Li  ncolnSW200-2ea.,MillerMatic350P,MillerMatic200w/spoolgun,MKCobraMig260,Lincoln SP-170T,PlasmaCam/Hypertherm1250,HFProTig2ea,MigMax1ea.
Reply:So you weld cans together with 30 amps?Lincoln Power Mig 210 MPLincoln SquareWave Tig 200Miller Spectrum 125cOxy/AcetyleneOptrel e684, Lincoln 3350, Speedglas 9100xx, Klutch 800 SeriesLathe and Milling Machines
Reply:Originally Posted by jerjeSo you weld cans together with 30 amps?
Reply:Gee,It looks like that's just what the panel is set for.I believe the unit goes down to 10 amps.I'm still curious to hear from someone who says the arc starts on AC are great!
Reply:They must be you can see where he started over several times after he stopped to rotate the cans.  I'm going to have to try that with my sw200.  I may get one of these Vulcans one day if $800 or so falls in my lap, just to see what it is like.Lincoln Power Mig 210 MPLincoln SquareWave Tig 200Miller Spectrum 125cOxy/AcetyleneOptrel e684, Lincoln 3350, Speedglas 9100xx, Klutch 800 SeriesLathe and Milling Machines
Reply:Originally Posted by jerjeThey must be you can see where he started over several times after he stopped to rotate the cans.  I'm going to have to try that with my sw200.  I may get one of these Vulcans one day if $800 or so falls in my lap, just to see what it is like.
Reply:Originally Posted by C. LivingstoneGee,It looks like that's just what the panel is set for.I believe the unit goes down to 10 amps.I'm still curious to hear from someone who says the arc starts on AC are great!
Reply:No real dog in this Vulcan fight, but see people happy with them, and the price is good on them.I was at the local Walgreens tonight waiting for a prescription to be filled, so I stumble over to the magazine rack. Not a lot of magazines, but a few car magazines, and I've been thinking about getting a vintage pickup, and the thought of a rat rod can be an interesting project...ah, I see Hot Rod magazine...darn, haven't looked in one for at least 20 years...and what do I see almost immediately after opening it is a 3 or 4 page spread about Vulcan welders. Nice looking article, it wasn't an ad per se, but said they worked with HFT in Calabassas, CA with the welders and such...This seemed like smart coverage, targeted at a specific crowd of people with all of their machines. People who work on cars do a fair amount of fabricating and welding...not somewhere I would expect to see a Lincoln or Miller article either...the industry is changing all the time...Touche' to HFT...EDIT: Maybe this was the article: http://www.hotrod.com/articles/weld-...will-surprise/Last edited by TraditionalToolworks; 04-17-2018 at 03:36 AM.Reason: add url to possible online article
Reply:Originally Posted by Denny98501I have had mine for about 4 months and have used it about 50 hours on both steel and aluminum. Have had 4 bad arc starts out of about a couple of thousand. Two when the ground was faulty and two when I forgot to turn on the gas. Other than that, the arc starts are perfectly fine. Hold the tungsten anywhere near the work, push the peddle down and poof, a flash and a nice steady smooth arc. I like the peddle, the gauges are fine, the clamp and torches are fine. Even the HF rod works fine. Pick up a welding helmet that says it is for TIG. The welder goes down to 10 amps and my older helmets refuse to darken with such a low light level.  I have also used the DC stick welder function and it also is really smooth. No starting problems with 6011, 6013, 7018 and 308 stainless. 308 stainless is a delight. If you haven't done it, DC inverter stick welding is a lot more civilized than AC. I am pretty sure that most of the TIG inverter machines use similar high freq starting circuitry and it is pretty sophisticated. If there is something wrong with the electron flow because of a bad ground or no gas, it won't start. It says so in the manual (as if Chuckie has ever read a manual.)I bought mine during the Christmas sale for $699 and another $100 for the 3 year warranty. That's only $266 a year. If only argon was so cheap.
Reply:Originally Posted by WNY_TomB.no problems running 6011 ? does the arc sputter or go out easy ? some say HF 6011 rod is hard to use but i found it easy to use but did notice some rods the flux covered the ends so i had to tap start not scratch start.
Reply:Originally Posted by Denny98501I just keep a set of side cutting pliers next to the bench and give the rod a little snip to knock a bit of flux off and have no problems. I also keep the ground pretty close to the work and attach the ground to the work when it is convenient.. DC starts seem a little different than AC starts, at least for me. Scratch, lift a bit, hold half a second and go. DC welding just seems a little gentler. I keep a short arc and low amperage (it all seems to work best at the minimum amperage mentioned in the manual. The HF rod seems to work as well as the other stuff that I have around here.I really think that all these small inverter welders need a better ground than the old transformer systems. The voltage drop through iron tables and a layer of dirt and slag causes enough resistance to mess up the inverter feedback electronics in the machine. I am pretty sure that it is what Chuckie was fighting.
Reply:Ok. After many years of wanting to try tig I am finally in a position to start looking at machines. Would the protig 200 be an ok unit to learn/tinker with?
Reply:Would the protig 200 be an ok unit to learn/tinker with?
Reply:Originally Posted by shovelonThanks man!California State University Northridge(Earthquake '94) just thanked me for lending them a pre-production Vulcan that they used to weld thier AISC steel bridge entry.
Reply:Originally Posted by TraditionalToolworksI lived 5 miles from the epicenter on that one...that's the biggest quake I've been in.More damage where I worked next to the Santa Monica airport where the building was condemned. Are they still working on getting the buildings back up after almost 15 years? I packed up what I had left (we lost a crap load of belongings) and moved up north about 6 months after the quake...
Reply:Originally Posted by shovelonAll the damage has either been torn down or rebuilt long ago. That quake was about 24 years ago.
Reply:Originally Posted by TraditionalToolworksDuh...not 15 years, 25 years...certainly I know that...So when did they use the Vulcans on that? I would expect some cluster f#@$ on the State's part (CSUN is a State institution as the name implies), but the time frame doesn't make sense. Did they do some updates to that same building that was rebuilt?
Reply:Originally Posted by shovelonThe Vulcan I lent them was to a student team on their steel bridge entry for the ASCE engineering contest. I teach these kids how to tig weld the bridge components. This year they incorporated some 4130 to the weldments. Most other schools pay guys like me to weld their bridges. https://www.facebook.com/CSUNSteelBridge/
Reply:The best part is you are getting future engineers actual hands on with welding and construction.Tiger Sales:  AHP Distributor    www.tigersalesco.comAHP200x; AHP 160ST; MM350P,  Spoolmatic 30A; Everlast PowerTig 185; Thermal Dynamics 60i plasma.  For Sale:  Cobra Mig 250 w/ Push-pull gun.  Lincoln Wirematic 250
Reply:My buddy's kid goes to UPenn to study engineering. The have a highly acclaimed robotics team that is reportedly difficult to get on to. Lots of people apply and only a couple are selected each year. His kid got on because he had a basic understanding of stick and MIG welding that he picked up from his Mexican immigrant grandad, God bless him. How he does a fair amount of the fabrication on their robots. I think everyone should know a bit of basic welding.Miller Multimatic 255
Reply:Originally Posted by Louie1961My buddy's kid goes to UPenn to study engineering. The have a highly acclaimed robotics team that is reportedly difficult to get on to. Lots of people apply and only a couple are selected each year. His kid got on because he had a basic understanding of stick and MIG welding that he picked up from his Mexican immigrant grandad, God bless him. How he does a fair amount of the fabrication on their robots. I think everyone should know a bit of basic welding.
Reply:My 11 year old daughter took an interest in robotics,   I bought her a Lego Mindstorms EV3 a couple years ago.   I'll have to tell her about this program and look for schools that have it.Tiger Sales:  AHP Distributor    www.tigersalesco.comAHP200x; AHP 160ST; MM350P,  Spoolmatic 30A; Everlast PowerTig 185; Thermal Dynamics 60i plasma.  For Sale:  Cobra Mig 250 w/ Push-pull gun.  Lincoln Wirematic 250
Reply:Originally Posted by soutthpawMy 11 year old daughter took an interest in robotics,   I bought her a Lego Mindstorms EV3 a couple years ago.   I'll have to tell her about this program and look for schools that have it.