Older Century 90amp mig

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I got this lightly used Older Century 90amp gas or gasless in a trade (value $75) about 6 years ago and it was put on a shelf and left to sit in my garage. I finally have a job that allows me some free time so I got my welding "in the know" brother in law to help me re-line it and put in fresh wire, I also cracked the case and cleaned out the dust. I have been welding mostly outside in a fairly prevailing breeze so I am going to stick with Flux core because on the bottle it was way to susceptible to the odd breeze between the buildings. the welder seems to lay a nice bead and works really well considering its been sitting. I pretty much have been using it to tack up parts to hit with my 200 amp arc welder that I am way more comfortable with.realistically, what is the max thickness I can weld with this, I would like to be able to single pass 3/16" reliably, and I feel comfortable with that but hearing public opinion wouldn't hurt.  I am not looking for a structural welder out of it but I would like to know limits.I have seen some newer "flux core" nozzles that would let me hit the corners better, do these change the welders behavior much ?Hobart Handler 190 Century 90amp on FluxCraftsman 200amp buzzbox
Reply:Originally Posted by Ryf...I have seen some newer "flux core" nozzles that would let me hit the corners better, do these change the welders behavior much ?
Reply:Small machines like that top out at under 1/8" under real world conditions. With FC wire and with 90 amps, I'd guess you can do 14ga with no issues since the bigger 130-140 amp class machines top out at 1/8" despite what the manufacturer's lit would lead you to believe.The problem with these small machines is that they can lay down what looks like a very nice bead on thicker material, but they don't have the power to burn into the base material well enough. For tacks like you want to do, this will not matter as long as you burn thru the tacks when you weld it up solid with the bigger machine..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Thanks for that, for tacking I can live with that, and if I have any small parts I'll go for it. I in general just do a second whip over the tacks, most of my welds will never see even close to full load but I like to know if someone else does down the road I don't have to worry about it.thanks again for the responses.I picked up one of the plastic flux nozzles, I liked the idea of running it without one but was not interested in getting flux and weld balls in the gun threading etc, for $5 it was cheaper than replacing something else if I go back to gas to do something else with it.Hobart Handler 190 Century 90amp on FluxCraftsman 200amp buzzbox