First impression Chinese rebranded Chicago electric 90am flux core welder (sorta mig) here in the states sold at harbor freight originally $89+tax but you could totally do small build projects. There were to issues over time the feed knob failed or the thermal sensor dies and I guess on rare occasions the spool drive motor failed but for self taught or even my kids it was an awesome beginner welder

It's not how pretty a weld is, it's the penetration of the weld

Great review mate

Great help, thank you. ❤️

Very informative!! Thanks Mate!

0.8 mm is what we call 0.030 ". that's what's in my mini flux core welder (Forney 125 amp). i bought it to patch holes in my shipping container, but i find it very handy for tacking and fit-ups. it's very handy and so easy it's just kind of fun to play with. my expectations for a super cheap welder was low, so i was easily impressed by the weld quality too. at work i'm welding with 200-350 amp mig machines, so this is just a toy to me. self shielded wire is really messy though, so i often use it when i don't care about cleanup.

@LittleAussieRockets

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you DR.

This is the same HF welder I have. After a few years I rewired it with a Bridge rectifier and a capacitor bank and an induction coil. It welds beautifully and with a whole lot less splatter. Search KZread for the instructions.

@silverclaw4

Жыл бұрын

any chance of a link? I'm interested

Well I have learnt something right now that is I've been using the shroud gas chromed tip when I didn't need to it worked ok but that's good to know NZ

You can buy a lot of $100 welders for the $3000 a professional one costs. You can double the duty cycle by buying two.

Nice... Thanks Mate

Looks very similar to my Mastercraft model from Canadian Tire. Wouldn't be surprised if it's from the same manufacturer. For all I use it, it's perfect. I've used high level systems years ago in school, but unless I got it for free, waste of money.

I once had a little welder that would over heat after a few minutes of welding I cured the problem by adding a £5 fan ( 30mm was the size)

Try welding 2 soup cans together

Nice great

1 year later will it end up being the welder you use because it's light and portable ...I know my little Stick welder gets used heaps because it's so portable

Possibly a bizarre thing to mention in relation to this video but I'm looking for a higher end MIG machine and I'd always considered pulse MIG to be way out of my budget .. but now I'm seeing "cheap" pulse MIG machines for a few thousand dollars .. in the same ballpark as I was thinking of spending on a 250A machine. I didn't think cheap pulse MIG existed but now I'm really curious. Obviously equipment falls into a spectrum from "roll the dice and buy from Aliexpress" through to the stuff that has the service guy with the branded van coming out to visit you and tune your equipment and sell you spares. This SCA welder would sit just above the "roll the dice" level as you'd probably be able to return it for a refund. I'm curious where people would consider a machine such as a Top Gun 2500 pulse MIG would sit on the spectrum @ around $3K as I've never heard of them. Obviously skill is a factor in getting a good result from a cheap welder .. but this video is making me seriously question what percentage of the price we pay for gear is the brand and support network component? Is a similarly featured Unimig 4 times better at 4 times the cost? ... and in relation to my dilemma, does a pulse feature in a MIG machine justify the price being several times higher or is it just a feature that's beginning to filter down to the less industrial machines?

The SCA website in NZ has a review comment from a year ago that says they were shipping this product with the gun and clamp lead polarities around the wrong way for gasless MIG and you really need to rewire it for it to run properly (voiding warranty)...

@LittleAussieRockets

2 жыл бұрын

I'd say that has been fixed as I didn't see any signs of there being a polarity issue in the welds. All the same thanks for the heads up. 👍

I was given one of these 5 years ago for odd jobs/ repairs on farm. I am not a welder so varying success. Your video was helpful. Big question- why did you take the nozzle shield off to weld? I have never done that. Is it advisable to do this? Why? Do you get cleaner uninterrupted welds? Really appreciated video, straight, matter of fact, Aussie. Cheers

@LittleAussieRockets

Жыл бұрын

The nozzle only serves to get in the way with gasless migs, so removing it gives better field of view and allows for a more consistent travel height because you can see what's going on without that shield in the way. The shield is also insulated from the tip. So if you're in the habit of propping on the nozzle when tacking, it's of use but otherwise I don't ditch them faster than burnt brussel sprouts. 👍

what setting would you recommend for exhaust work

A good welder can weld with anything that life throws at him but a crappy welder always cries for top of the line device. Still, if you can afford a decent welding equipment, you should have it.

Looks pretty good. No need to buy gas either.

You get the best stuff from Aldi's. The only high tech gadget I managed to find was a waffle maker.

@LittleAussieRockets

2 жыл бұрын

But I bet it was reasonably priced 😅

You removed the nozzle off the mig gun ( with good results) . Will that work ok with a gas mig setup? I'm wondering about the gas sheild.

@LittleAussieRockets

2 жыл бұрын

No a gas mig must have a shroud for gas coverage. When running gasless wire, I always remove the shroud as it gives me more visibility and allows me to get into tighter spaces.👍

serious question . what speed are you running such a nice bead? . just bought one for welding up a resonator to my catalytic converter after hitting a large rock in the road, stupid construction in my city is terrible but i digress . im getting alot of pops and cant get a constant bead going . what am i doing wrong ? . there is a line along the wire i believe i have the rension to tight if im not wrong but anything else to get a good pass going ? is it how close i have to be ? plz help any input would be appreciative. thanks

@LittleAussieRockets

Жыл бұрын

Anything exhaust is tricky to weld because of all the impurities and carbon buildup. The first thing, Do you have any clean scrap metal the same thicknesses that you can practice on? If you're getting stuttering and popping, You might need to switch it onto the high setting and play with the wire speed, you could be too far away from the work as well. I think I floated between 6 and 8 mm when welding for the best results. I should have but unfortunately didn't write down what settings I was using on the video. All I remember was the low setting was pretty much useless and I did all the work on the video in the high setting just adjusting the wire speed to suit. Are you in the USA and is your machine a 110 volt welder? My machine is a 240 volt as that's all we have here in Australia so our settings might not match. These machines are very sensitive to wire as well. The role that came with the machine worked great but the next role that I bought what is hopeless. Hope this helps.

I've used the old ark welder all my life. Its a big heavy old brute made in the early sixties. What are the advantages of a mig over my old welder? I always thought mig used a gas as well, is this optional? It looks very easy to use.

@LittleAussieRockets

2 жыл бұрын

With most MIG welders you have the option to gas, or not to gas.. but this Mig is special, it will only run gasless wire. For the price that's not surprising. This welding compared to your good old ark welder? More portable (light weight) easy to weld light gage steel, migs are quicker than stick welders particularly when it comes to tacking. The welding process is on par for speed with gasless MIG and stick welding.

@306champion

2 жыл бұрын

@@LittleAussieRockets Thanks for that mate. I learn more with every one of your videos.

What settings did you use for the wire speed and voltage? Did you change the settings between the two different guages of steel?

@LittleAussieRockets

2 жыл бұрын

I honestly can't remember. I did adjust the wire for each thickness. I just kept turning the wire speed up until it began to run right. It is not like a normal MIG welder. Increasing the wire speed somehow increased the voltage as well or at least that's how it behaved in practice. So basically just keep slowly adjusting the wire speed up until it begins to run right? Which is not what you would do with a normal MIG welder.

@digitalnova8287

2 жыл бұрын

@@LittleAussieRockets Okay, I'll try that. Thanks for the prompt reply.

The welder you've been using with mig,tig,stick and all the pulse controls and everything if it was only 100 bucks that's amazing. Chinese Japanese or alien 👽 tech whatever.

So this would be a good unit for a beginner that's learning to weld ?

@LittleAussieRockets

4 ай бұрын

Yes and no. It works but there are just better machines out there, this one is definitely the cheapest I've come across. I personally would spend a little bit more and get something like a Bestarc 145 mig. I just did a video on this machine and it's pretty dang good.

What break is best for this welder

@LittleAussieRockets

7 ай бұрын

Sorry. I don't understand your question.

Where did you buy it from?

@LittleAussieRockets

2 жыл бұрын

Ebay

Used a screwdriver to switch it on? Amateur. Should've used a bloody mary.

This clearly a hobbyist welder so a professional welder reviewing it for anything else is ridiculous. This is simply for an amateur bloke to repair and make small stuff. It does what you paid for it so AAA+ as far as I am concerned. And if you don't know how to weld and want to learn why would you spend big bucks on a professional machine to learn on if you probably won't have the need for years if ever ?

@LittleAussieRockets

Жыл бұрын

Well said.

😂 yes this is what ya looking for even 30s-min in hahaa