Has anyone seen/used/bought this little TIG inverter?
220v 18a input, 130a TIG or 90a stick welding output.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=91811


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----------------------
http://diversify.com People-free Websites

Larry Jaques wrote:
Has anyone seen/used/bought this little TIG inverter?
220v 18a input, 130a TIG or 90a stick welding output.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=91811

Yeah, no high frequency start, no AC for aluminum, no
gas bottle or regulator. About 1/3 of a real TIG
welder.

Yeah.. but it comes with a shoulder strap, like a garden sprayer does.
But that's a good way to keep the output cables short, I suppose.

WB
................

"Jim Stewart" wrote in message
...
Larry Jaques wrote:
Has anyone seen/used/bought this little TIG inverter?
220v 18a input, 130a TIG or 90a stick welding output.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=91811

Yeah, no high frequency start, no AC for aluminum, no
gas bottle or regulator. About 1/3 of a real TIG
welder.

Tim Williams wrote:

"Jim Stewart" wrote in message
...

Larry Jaques wrote:

Has anyone seen/used/bought this little TIG inverter?
220v 18a input, 130a TIG or 90a stick welding output.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=91811

Yeah, no high frequency start, no AC for aluminum, no
gas bottle or regulator. About 1/3 of a real TIG
welder.


Well, if it's a transformer unit, it'd be too easy to hack inside and bypass
the rectifier and choke. Install another jack and you've got AC and DC
right there. You could also make an external HF start for a song.

It says it's an inverter.

Looks like you will be limited to DCEN, scratch start, fixed current while
welding. The latter shouldn't be a problem for an experience TIG welder.
Could be a real problem if you are just starting out.

In general, you get what you pay for. Availability of repair parts and
labor could be a problem if anything goes wrong.

You will need a gas bottle and regulator. You ought to be able to cobble
together a water cooler torch setup if you feel you need it.

The duty cycle could be a problem depending on the current you will be
running.

I didn't buy it but I just went down to HF and looked at it. About the size
of a lunch box and the construction is not too bad, case looks nice and no
obvious bad points in construction or materials. A look at the schematic
and I can see it has an inverter board and 2 transformers with a FWB
rectifier on the output and it looks like an inductive dampner. You could
probably download the book from HF website.
What it don't got No remote current adjust no solenoid valve for gas
flow, just a knob on the torch to adjust the flow or turn it off. I can't
tell for sure but it might have an hf start as it sez not to touch the work
with the tungston rod. No tank, no regulator.
The book says to "get ready to weld and then it the power switch on the box"
Specs say it can weld up to .118" in tig mode. The torch has about 6
different size/shape tips and a couple of collets.
It looks like it might be a fun toy for small stuff, but I don't think it is
a very serious welder.
YMMV
Glenn
"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
news
Has anyone seen/used/bought this little TIG inverter?
220v 18a input, 130a TIG or 90a stick welding output.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=91811


--
EAT SOYLENT McD!
----------------------
http://diversify.com People-free Websites

On Mon, 17 Jan 2005 15:14:59 -0800, the inscrutable "Glenn"
spake:

I didn't buy it but I just went down to HF and looked at it. About the size

Shoot, if I'd thought about that, I would have had you pick up one
of the 8-LED flashlights while you were there. They were on sale for
$6.99 ending today, normally $9.99.


of a lunch box and the construction is not too bad, case looks nice and no
obvious bad points in construction or materials. A look at the schematic
and I can see it has an inverter board and 2 transformers with a FWB
rectifier on the output and it looks like an inductive dampner. You could
probably download the book from HF website.

Newp, nothing shown on the link for that model.


What it don't got No remote current adjust no solenoid valve for gas
flow, just a knob on the torch to adjust the flow or turn it off. I can't
tell for sure but it might have an hf start as it sez not to touch the work
with the tungston rod. No tank, no regulator.
The book says to "get ready to weld and then it the power switch on the box"
Specs say it can weld up to .118" in tig mode. The torch has about 6
different size/shape tips and a couple of collets.
It looks like it might be a fun toy for small stuff, but I don't think it is
a very serious welder.
YMMV

Perfect. I'm not a very serious weldor.

I may be tempted if this new client comes across with a downpayment
check tomorrow.


--
EAT SOYLENT McD!
----------------------
http://diversify.com People-free Websites

On Mon, 17 Jan 2005 12:28:27 -0600, "Tim Williams"
wrote:

"Jim Stewart" wrote in message
...
Larry Jaques wrote:
Has anyone seen/used/bought this little TIG inverter?
220v 18a input, 130a TIG or 90a stick welding output.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=91811

Yeah, no high frequency start, no AC for aluminum, no
gas bottle or regulator. About 1/3 of a real TIG
welder.


You could also make an external HF start for a song.
Tim

Hmmm. How do you make a High Freqeuency generator? Are there plans
somewhere in the dropbox or on the web? Would my stick welder benefit
to make my starts easier? (to rephrase that.... would it be easier
for me to start a bead without sticking the rod or getting it started
through dirt / paint with an external HF unit?)

RWL


******* Remove NOSPAM to reply *******

Or maybe a better deal is the imitation 2AA maglite for $1.99 that's on the
back of catalog 308/2005. Item no. 03852. I see that even the web page has
it for $1.99, so maybe that'll be the price for a while.
BTW, I don't always get to the stores in time for them to still have sale
merch. on hand, so I get a "rain check". Can usually wheedle the stuff out
of whichever store I present the raincheck to.


"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 17 Jan 2005 15:14:59 -0800, the inscrutable "Glenn"
spake:

I didn't buy it but I just went down to HF and looked at it. About the
size

Shoot, if I'd thought about that, I would have had you pick up one
of the 8-LED flashlights while you were there. They were on sale for
$6.99 ending today, normally $9.99.


of a lunch box and the construction is not too bad, case looks nice and no
obvious bad points in construction or materials. A look at the schematic
and I can see it has an inverter board and 2 transformers with a FWB
rectifier on the output and it looks like an inductive dampner. You could
probably download the book from HF website.

Newp, nothing shown on the link for that model.


What it don't got No remote current adjust no solenoid valve for gas
flow, just a knob on the torch to adjust the flow or turn it off. I can't
tell for sure but it might have an hf start as it sez not to touch the
work
with the tungston rod. No tank, no regulator.
The book says to "get ready to weld and then it the power switch on the
box"
Specs say it can weld up to .118" in tig mode. The torch has about 6
different size/shape tips and a couple of collets.
It looks like it might be a fun toy for small stuff, but I don't think it
is
a very serious welder.
YMMV

Perfect. I'm not a very serious weldor.

I may be tempted if this new client comes across with a downpayment
check tomorrow.


--
EAT SOYLENT McD!
----------------------
http://diversify.com People-free Websites

On Mon, 17 Jan 2005 23:07:36 -0500, the inscrutable "Andrew H.
Wakefield" spake:

Larry, if you buy it and try it out, drop a note on sci.engr.joining.welding
to let us know how it works out. I was wondering the same thing about this
unit ... as well as the $499 35-amp plasma cutter that HF has on sale. Sure
would be interested in how either works (or doesn't) ...

It all depends upon a couple checks making their way into my bank
account. One is committed and on the way, the other sounds promising.
I'll let you know if I do find my crowbar and get the wallet out.
Wow, a $500 plasma cutter, too!


--
I speak 2 languages fluently: English and foul.
---------------------------
http://diversify.com Mostly cuss-free Websites

On Mon, 17 Jan 2005 20:11:48 -0800, the inscrutable "nic"
spake:

Or maybe a better deal is the imitation 2AA maglite for $1.99 that's on the
back of catalog 308/2005. Item no. 03852. I see that even the web page has
it for $1.99, so maybe that'll be the price for a while.

That's not an EIGHT LED light, now is it?


BTW, I don't always get to the stores in time for them to still have sale
merch. on hand, so I get a "rain check". Can usually wheedle the stuff out
of whichever store I present the raincheck to.

I do get rainchecks when possible. In this instance, I didn't get
to the store during the sale, but I'll ask the manager for the sale
price when I do get down there again.


--
I speak 2 languages fluently: English and foul.
---------------------------
http://diversify.com Mostly cuss-free Websites

On Mon, 17 Jan 2005 22:27:13 -0500, RWL
wrote:

Hmmm. How do you make a High Freqeuency generator? Are there plans
somewhere in the dropbox or on the web? Would my stick welder benefit
to make my starts easier? (to rephrase that.... would it be easier
for me to start a bead without sticking the rod or getting it started
through dirt / paint with an external HF unit?)

The Lincoln and Century accessory HF boxes are (or were) essentially
a ferro-resonant transformer delivering about 8000 volts to a spark
gap thru the primary of a fairly large (6" dia) air-core coil. This
is actually a stepdown xfmr; the secondary is a couple of turns of
copper strap delivering about 2KV at HF. I think there was a cap in
there too. Note: these things generate a LOT of radio-frequency
interference. They're legal, but they can make you unpopular.

The Lincoln (from Sears) I had was pretty good. The Century was
utter crap. After examining it I returned it.

An electronic air cleaner supply (Honeywell, Trion, etc) would work
well here. The voltage is about right and they're current limited.

If you're running DC, be sure you have a shunt capacitor (0.1 uF or
more) and maybe an MOV on the welder side to protect the rectifiers.

Yes, it make starting a bead with an arcwelder much easier. The guy
at the welding store told me that farmers love 'em. 7018, no sweat.
Ditto paint, rust, mud, etc. (Shudder...) There's time for perfection
after the crop is in, I suppose.

On Tue, 18 Jan 2005 20:02:41 -0600, "Tim Williams"
wrote:

"RWL" wrote in message
.. .
Hmmm. How do you make a High Freqeuency generator?

Google Tesla coil, then build a small (100-500W) model.

t.... would it be easier
for me to start a bead without sticking the rod or getting it started
through dirt / paint with an external HF unit?)

I don't know. I'm going to build one to find out myself, I'll post when I
do.

I'll look forward to your comments when it's done. Many years ago
Century had an itinterant salesman that went from town to town putting
on a welding show. They had an add on high frequency unit as part of
the demo. The demonstrator picked some 13 year old boy from the
audience and gave him the stinger, told him to push the rod into the
work and asked him to try and stick the rod. It didn't stick. I
never quite knew if it was a trick or whether it was the high
frequency unit he was promoting. Like the figure skaters we competing
on TV, the professional welders make it all look so easy.

RWL


******* Remove NOSPAM to reply *******

"Don Foreman" wrote in message
...
| On Mon, 17 Jan 2005 22:27:13 -0500, RWL
| wrote:
|
| Hmmm. How do you make a High Freqeuency generator? Are there plans
| somewhere in the dropbox or on the web? Would my stick welder benefit
| to make my starts easier? (to rephrase that.... would it be easier
| for me to start a bead without sticking the rod or getting it started
| through dirt / paint with an external HF unit?)
|
| The Lincoln and Century accessory HF boxes are (or were) essentially
| a ferro-resonant transformer delivering about 8000 volts to a spark
| gap thru the primary of a fairly large (6" dia) air-core coil. This
| is actually a stepdown xfmr; the secondary is a couple of turns of
| copper strap delivering about 2KV at HF. I think there was a cap in
| there too. Note: these things generate a LOT of radio-frequency
| interference. They're legal, but they can make you unpopular.

I read that neon transformers are popular with the Tesla crowd, and I
have read that solid state neon transformers use actual high frequency to
create the high voltage, and they don't bleed on the AM radio band quite as
bad. With a spark gap, can this work directly as a source? If there were a
large, low inductance coil (like a coil of heavy solid wire) after the
rectifier and before the spark gap, wouldn't that keep most of the HF out of
the rectifier? I was working on trying to figure out what a good inductance
was, but the size and practical aspects make it pretty hard to nail down
actual figures on the inductor, so I'm guessing that pretty close would be
good enough.
I read about one idea on the web that had a coil of copper tubing with a
dielectric and a smaller wire, actually making a heavy current coax, with
the HF going through the center conductor and the electrode current going
through the outer tubing. This was the transformer for the HF transfer. I
imagine it would keep the radiated HF down to a minimum.
Would these ideas be worth trying to run with?

Don Foreman wrote:

On Mon, 17 Jan 2005 22:27:13 -0500, RWL
wrote:


Hmmm. How do you make a High Freqeuency generator? Are there plans
somewhere in the dropbox or on the web? Would my stick welder benefit
to make my starts easier? (to rephrase that.... would it be easier
for me to start a bead without sticking the rod or getting it started
through dirt / paint with an external HF unit?)


The Lincoln and Century accessory HF boxes are (or were) essentially
a ferro-resonant transformer delivering about 8000 volts to a spark
gap thru the primary of a fairly large (6" dia) air-core coil. This
is actually a stepdown xfmr; the secondary is a couple of turns of
copper strap delivering about 2KV at HF. I think there was a cap in
there too. Note: these things generate a LOT of radio-frequency
interference. They're legal, but they can make you unpopular.

The Lincoln (from Sears) I had was pretty good. The Century was
utter crap. After examining it I returned it.

An electronic air cleaner supply (Honeywell, Trion, etc) would work
well here. The voltage is about right and they're current limited.

If you're running DC, be sure you have a shunt capacitor (0.1 uF or
more) and maybe an MOV on the welder side to protect the rectifiers.

Yes, it make starting a bead with an arcwelder much easier. The guy
at the welding store told me that farmers love 'em. 7018, no sweat.
Ditto paint, rust, mud, etc. (Shudder...) There's time for perfection
after the crop is in, I suppose.

Knowing what some of the farm equipment looks like and such - I figure
a torch of one type or another burns off the paint - Then welding takes place.

I seem to remember my Uncle had a big torch - likely a cutting torch.
And a stick machine of some sort. Uncle Art (first name) was in Dairy Cattle and farming.
He did what was needed to get the job done. Easy as that. Not much deciding
good or bad or whatever - just working and one we go.

Martin

--
Martin Eastburn, Barbara Eastburn
@ home at Lion's Lair with our computer
NRA LOH, NRA Life
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder

carl mciver wrote:

"Don Foreman" wrote in message
...
| On Mon, 17 Jan 2005 22:27:13 -0500, RWL
| wrote:
|
| Hmmm. How do you make a High Freqeuency generator? Are there plans
| somewhere in the dropbox or on the web? Would my stick welder benefit
| to make my starts easier? (to rephrase that.... would it be easier
| for me to start a bead without sticking the rod or getting it started
| through dirt / paint with an external HF unit?)
|
| The Lincoln and Century accessory HF boxes are (or were) essentially
| a ferro-resonant transformer delivering about 8000 volts to a spark
| gap thru the primary of a fairly large (6" dia) air-core coil. This
| is actually a stepdown xfmr; the secondary is a couple of turns of
| copper strap delivering about 2KV at HF. I think there was a cap in
| there too. Note: these things generate a LOT of radio-frequency
| interference. They're legal, but they can make you unpopular.

I read that neon transformers are popular with the Tesla crowd, and I
have read that solid state neon transformers use actual high frequency to
create the high voltage, and they don't bleed on the AM radio band quite as
bad. With a spark gap, can this work directly as a source? If there were a
large, low inductance coil (like a coil of heavy solid wire) after the
rectifier and before the spark gap, wouldn't that keep most of the HF out of
the rectifier? I was working on trying to figure out what a good inductance
was, but the size and practical aspects make it pretty hard to nail down
actual figures on the inductor, so I'm guessing that pretty close would be
good enough.
I read about one idea on the web that had a coil of copper tubing with a
dielectric and a smaller wire, actually making a heavy current coax, with
the HF going through the center conductor and the electrode current going
through the outer tubing. This was the transformer for the HF transfer. I
imagine it would keep the radiated HF down to a minimum.
Would these ideas be worth trying to run with?

Industrial welders for semiconductor and other in-place welding do use RF transformers.
I used one in College. A spot welder in fact. One issue - RF burning.

But it works.

Martin

--
Martin Eastburn, Barbara Eastburn
@ home at Lion's Lair with our computer
NRA LOH, NRA Life
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder

On Mon, 17 Jan 2005 15:14:59 -0800, the inscrutable "Glenn"
spake:

I didn't buy it but I just went down to HF and looked at it. About the size
of a lunch box and the construction is not too bad, case looks nice and no
obvious bad points in construction or materials. A look at the schematic
and I can see it has an inverter board and 2 transformers with a FWB
rectifier on the output and it looks like an inductive dampner. You could
probably download the book from HF website.
What it don't got No remote current adjust no solenoid valve for gas
flow, just a knob on the torch to adjust the flow or turn it off. I can't
tell for sure but it might have an hf start as it sez not to touch the work
with the tungston rod. No tank, no regulator.
The book says to "get ready to weld and then it the power switch on the box"
Specs say it can weld up to .118" in tig mode. The torch has about 6
different size/shape tips and a couple of collets.
It looks like it might be a fun toy for small stuff, but I don't think it is
a very serious welder.
YMMV


Hey, Glenn! It was fun meeting and talking with you yesterday and
playing with the welder you thought wasn't a very serious unit but
bought anyway. g Now _I_ want one.

I had fun touring your shop after my enormous $49 shopping spree at
HF. Thanks for having me down.



"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
news
Has anyone seen/used/bought this little TIG inverter?
220v 18a input, 130a TIG or 90a stick welding output.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=91811

I bought this one instead due to the lower initial setup costs.
$120.


================================================== ========
Save the ||| http://diversify.com
Endangered SKEETS! ||| Web Application Programming
================================================== ========

Amazing how you can change yer midn like that when you think about a new toy
too long
It was fun to meet you too. Stop by anytime. I did not get to play with
the welders much this weekend. I did get all the hoses and lines hooked up
to the Miller Dialarc but have not fired it up yet. I got an offer from a
friend to help pull the motor out of the cougar that has been waiting all
winter. Only has about 500 miles on a fresh rebuilt long block from a PDX
rebuilder and all the cam bearings were welded and spun. I haven't pulled
the mains yet but there is metal melted out of the front main so it looks
like the whole thing is toast. The cam froze so solid that the timing chain
snapped and the sprockets all shattered. No clue as to why it gernaded like
that. First time I ever had anybody else put a motor together for me and
the last!!
Glenn
"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 17 Jan 2005 15:14:59 -0800, the inscrutable "Glenn"
spake:

I didn't buy it but I just went down to HF and looked at it. About the
size
of a lunch box and the construction is not too bad, case looks nice and no
obvious bad points in construction or materials. A look at the schematic
and I can see it has an inverter board and 2 transformers with a FWB
rectifier on the output and it looks like an inductive dampner. You could
probably download the book from HF website.
What it don't got No remote current adjust no solenoid valve for gas
flow, just a knob on the torch to adjust the flow or turn it off. I can't
tell for sure but it might have an hf start as it sez not to touch the
work
with the tungston rod. No tank, no regulator.
The book says to "get ready to weld and then it the power switch on the
box"
Specs say it can weld up to .118" in tig mode. The torch has about 6
different size/shape tips and a couple of collets.
It looks like it might be a fun toy for small stuff, but I don't think it
is
a very serious welder.
YMMV


Hey, Glenn! It was fun meeting and talking with you yesterday and
playing with the welder you thought wasn't a very serious unit but
bought anyway. g Now _I_ want one.

I had fun touring your shop after my enormous $49 shopping spree at
HF. Thanks for having me down.



"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
news
Has anyone seen/used/bought this little TIG inverter?
220v 18a input, 130a TIG or 90a stick welding output.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=91811

I bought this one instead due to the lower initial setup costs.
$120.


================================================== ========
Save the ||| http://diversify.com
Endangered SKEETS! ||| Web Application Programming
================================================== ========

On Sun, 6 Mar 2005 17:16:19 -0800, the inscrutable "Glenn"
spake:

Amazing how you can change yer midn like that when you think about a new toy
too long
It was fun to meet you too. Stop by anytime. I did not get to play with
the welders much this weekend. I did get all the hoses and lines hooked up
to the Miller Dialarc but have not fired it up yet. I got an offer from a
friend to help pull the motor out of the cougar that has been waiting all
winter.



Only has about 500 miles on a fresh rebuilt long block from a PDX
rebuilder and all the cam bearings were welded and spun. I haven't pulled
the mains yet but there is metal melted out of the front main so it looks
like the whole thing is toast. The cam froze so solid that the timing chain
snapped and the sprockets all shattered. No clue as to why it gernaded like

Wow, it did lock up solid. Sounds like a dead oil pump if everything
seized at once, probably while running 90 on the freeway.


that. First time I ever had anybody else put a motor together for me and
the last!!

Grok that. When I was attending my first tech school ('72 in Phoenix,
UTI) I worked for a used car dealer. His full-time mechanic was a
shadetree guy. The first time I saw him put a crank in a block was
the last. When he dipped that rod bearing in pure STP, my jaw hit
the ground. I cautioned him (kid in school to a seasoned mechanic)
about STP not being a lubricant and that there should be no lube on
the back of the bearing surface whatsoever. He must have listened to
me for the rest of the build, because only taht one bearing spun as
the new customer got to Iowa or some godforsaken state in the Midwest.
Maybe he recently got a job in Portland...

I plastigage and assembly-lube all my bearings, thanks. One side only,
too. g

The NoteSHADES are packaged and will be on their way today, BTW.


================================================== ========
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