Chicago 90amp question.

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Can I weld .120HREW tubing with my chicago 90amp or will I not get strong enough welds?
Reply:Strong enough for what? I'd say probably not. You really lack enough amps with that machine to really get good welds on material that thick. You probably need a 140 amp class machine at a minimum to do what is basically 1/8". A 220v machine would be a better choice..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:here's what I did with my HF 90 amper to get it to weld. Don't under estimate these welders as once I learned to weld with the right technique it does pretty well. Do what I tell you and you will find it welds damn well for a $100 welder.Take the nozzle off as this welder can't use gas.Buy a Lincoln fluxcore welding guard and gently twist it on.Buy some hobart or lincoln 35 thousandth flux core wire.Buy some lincoln tips to match the the 35 wire as they will fit this welder.This works for 3/16 and 1/4 this welder is not good for thin metal.Make sure the ground is grounded well as the clamp is not very good.Turn the wire speed to 3 and turn the welder up as high as it will go.Start welding in half moon arcs and go slow. The slow wire speed will let the base metal get hot to get a good bond.This welder doesn't have a good duty cycle so I cut a hole in the back and bought a 5 inch fan to bolt on the back. That has improved the duty cycle by 10 times. I made a grinder stand with this welder and the base plate is 1 inch thick. I welded 3 inch square tubing to the base plate and I can't beat it off with a sledge hammer. I welded 2 1/4 plates together on a T joint and cut it in half to see how good the welds are and everything looks good to me. Hope this helps and good luck. Practice lots that will help also.
Reply:Originally Posted by kctgbhere's what I did with my HF 90 amper to get it to weld. Don't under estimate these welders as once I learned to weld with the right technique it does pretty well. Do what I tell you and you will find it welds damn well for a $100 welder.Take the nozzle off as this welder can't use gas.Buy a Lincoln fluxcore welding guard and gently twist it on.Buy some hobart or lincoln 35 thousandth flux core wire.Buy some lincoln tips to match the the 35 wire as they will fit this welder.This works for 3/16 and 1/4 this welder is not good for thin metal.Make sure the ground is grounded well as the clamp is not very good.Turn the wire speed to 3 and turn the welder up as high as it will go.Start welding in half moon arcs and go slow. The slow wire speed will let the base metal get hot to get a good bond.This welder doesn't have a good duty cycle so I cut a hole in the back and bought a 5 inch fan to bolt on the back. That has improved the duty cycle by 10 times. I made a grinder stand with this welder and the base plate is 1 inch thick. I welded 3 inch square tubing to the base plate and I can't beat it off with a sledge hammer. I welded 2 1/4 plates together on a T joint and cut it in half to see how good the welds are and everything looks good to me. Hope this helps and good luck. Practice lots that will help also.
Reply:Originally Posted by kctgbhere's what I did with my HF 90 amper to get it to weld. Don't under estimate these welders as once I learned to weld with the right technique it does pretty well. Do what I tell you and you will find it welds damn well for a $100 welder.Take the nozzle off as this welder can't use gas.Buy a Lincoln fluxcore welding guard and gently twist it on.Buy some hobart or lincoln 35 thousandth flux core wire.Buy some lincoln tips to match the the 35 wire as they will fit this welder.This works for 3/16 and 1/4 this welder is not good for thin metal..
Reply:Originally Posted by Lanse1/4" Steel with 90 amps??Did you cut it apart to see if it really burned in or test it or anything? Im skeptical.
Reply:Not well. Under real world conditions, a top of the line 140 amp mig tops out at 1/8", maybe a bit thicker if using FC, but not by much. (3/16" for that would be borderline) Thats using a machine with 50 amps more juice than you have at your disposal. Small FC machines have a very limited material window. Too thin and you burn thru, to thick, and you don't get good penetration into the base material and you get a "cold" weld. They are designed to be one thing... cheap.Weld quality may or may not matter depending on what you are trying to do. Need to fab a welding table? You are probably good to go with that machine unless you plan on loading the cr@p out of it. Want to do small non critical projects. art work or build a grill? No problem. Plan on welding something for overhead lifting, jack supports or structural components for a vehicle or trailer, and you have the wrong 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:I agree with DSW this welder is for home use only and not for anything critical to a good weld that could cause an accident. They are for light use only. I have 4 welders that are way better than HF90 amper. I bought it just to play with and show some kids how to weld I hope they get the bug. When I put the fan on it I wired it so it will plug into a separate receptacle that way no power will be taken away from the welder. These little welders need all the electrical power they can get. Also use a dedicated 20 amp 110 line to feed it as it won't work as good on a 15 amp line. Hope this helps and have fun.
Reply:I did cut the 1/4 T joint apart and to my surprise the weld was good all the way through. I still wouldn't use this welder for critical welds where an accident could happen. But it was fun letting the neighbor kids try to weld with it.
Reply:Originally Posted by kctgb I welded 3 inch square tubing to the base plate and I can't beat it off with a sledge hammer. I welded 2 1/4 plates together on a T joint and cut it in half to see how good the welds are and everything looks good to me. Hope this helps and good luck. Practice lots that will help also.