151 help

[mafiacustomz]

i was welding exhaust with my hf 151 the other day running mig with co2 gas. When i was welding the nozzle was getting welded to the steel sometimes but thats not the problem. The problem is the welder started making this hard dragging sound and stoped feeding wire fast. I am not sure but i think its the wire feed motor is burned up can it be anything other thin the motor is their a website to buy HF 151 parts.

[Bluewelders]

You can order parts from Harbor Freight,800-444-3353

[mafiacustomz]

well i found the part on ebay but i dont know how many rpms the motor is 1 is 8750 and the other is 12000

[Bluewelders]

A few years back I needed one of the things,the whole assembly gears, motor and drive wheels was item # 28214 and was $12.00 plus shipping.

[mafiacustomz]

well i went and took the drive motor out of the welder its not the problem i sont know whats wrong. When i turn my welder on its normal but when i pull the trigger it makes a hard grind sound and it get louder when you turn the amps up. I think the part that makes the welder arc is stuck or broke or something i dont know.

[Dave1941]

I just ran across your thread, so if you have fixed the problem already, disregard this. My 151 did the same thing as yours. One diode is blown in the big rectifier bridge. I just today found the problem and have not yet found a source for a replacement diode.

[truckin23]

Dave give me the info on the diode and I'll check to resoures by my house for you remember I live in the heart of silicon valley

Bob

[Dave1941]

Thanks Bob, I appreciate your offer but the diodes aren't marked. I have no idea of what their specs are. I'm going to try HF parts and see if they still stock the rectifier bridge. If they don't, it's another ball game altogether.

[Bluewelders]

If they don't have the 151 parts any more.,the rectifier bridge on the HF 68885 seem to be about the same thing as the 151 uses.

[Dave1941]

Good news! They still stock the rectifier rack, and it's only $9 and change, + shipping which is $2. and change. Bad news: I wrote "and change" because I couldn't understand most of what the guy was saying. I don't understand Pakistenglish. I hope he got my address right. More bad news: Delivery will be in 4 to 6 weeks. Worse news: When I asked how I was to pay for the part he said I would get a mail confirming the order, at which time I would have to call HF and they would give me payment instructions. When will I get the "Mail" ? Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe I'll be welding again by Christmas.

[Bluewelders]

That's a long wait.
I replaced the diode bridge on my 151 welder with FRED diodes,I could send you the unused one I have for $15 ,If you want to pm me your address.

[Dave1941]

Thanks bluewelders, I may have to take you up on that if I dont hear from HF in a few days. As of now I'm not sure if the part is ordered or not. What a weird way to do business.

[tprothma]

Harbor Freight Parts Dept people who answer the phone have "stage" names. I don't have any issue with talking with someone on the other side of the World, but don't make up a name. Actually never had any problem communicating, but find it very humorous when they give the fake names. Takes a very long time to get parts, but price is very cheap!

[Dave1941]

My problem is not with where the people are located, or what ethnicty they are. I just think that if they hire someone to provide customer service to the USA, the person hired should be able to communicate well in English. We Americans are criticised for being monolingual, but we can not be expected to understand all global languages, or their heavy accents when agents attempt to speak English.

[Dave1941]

Some info just in case anyone wants to know about how the Harbor Freight parts purchase business works as of yesterday. Per a conversation with Customer service: "We don't require payment when you order a part. We order the part, and when it arrives at our warehouse, usually in 4 to 8 weeks, we will send you a card. It will contain instructions to call us to arrange payment. When payment is confirmed, the part will be shipped to you".
They certainly give themselves plenty of leeway saying 4 to 8 weeks.

[truckin23]

Dave , They replaced my 151 gun and told me 4 to 6 wks and got it in less than 2 that was 2 years ago good luck hope you get it up and running soon

[Dave1941]

Thanks Bob, I'm waiting, not necessarily patiently, but waiting. Two weeks would be nice, so I'll keep my fingers crossed.
I'm looking forward to hearing about your results with the modded rig.

[truckin23]

yeah hopefully this weekend I'll try and shoot a video of it welding steel , stainless and matbe some aluminum I did it before the mod hopefully better after mod

[tprothma]

truckin23, let us know your details on the setup for welding Aluminum. I have a similar welder 94064 and have all the parts for the cap mod, just need time to get around to it. Anyway it'll push aluminum .035 wire ok through the 6 foot cable, but if there is any burnback and it gets stuck on the tip it'll immediately birdnest. Definitely want details like wire diameter, feed speed, what mods you did to the wire feed circuit such as smoothing caps, transistors, etc.... I posted here a while back and asked for people to explain their setup for Aluminum on HF welders and I just got a couple responses about not having the right equipment, etc... Very disappointing since I know people have said it's possible.
Tim

[truckin23]

Originally Posted by tprothma

truckin23, let us know your details on the setup for welding Aluminum. I have a similar welder 94064 and have all the parts for the cap mod, just need time to get around to it. Anyway it'll push aluminum .035 wire ok through the 6 foot cable, but if there is any burnback and it gets stuck on the tip it'll immediately birdnest. Definitely want details like wire diameter, feed speed, what mods you did to the wire feed circuit such as smoothing caps, transistors, etc.... I posted here a while back and asked for people to explain their setup for Aluminum on HF welders and I just got a couple responses about not having the right equipment, etc... Very disappointing since I know people have said it's possible.
Tim

Tim,
the most important thing when I welded aluminum was to keep the guns line completely straight also I have a steel liner in mine as far as mods go to the last 3 pages of the 151 mod should explain everything you need Galaxieman is the one to see to explain the mod he walked me thru it wire feed you have to play with till you get it right plus I use straight argon no mix

[Joker11]

Originally Posted by tprothma

Harbor Freight Parts Dept people who answer the phone have "stage" names. I don't have any issue with talking with someone on the other side of the World, but don't make up a name. Actually never had any problem communicating, but find it very humorous when they give the fake names. Takes a very long time to get parts, but price is very cheap!

Not only them. My sister was working for COX cable in San Diego and they all used fake names too. It seems to be a common thing amongst call centers everywhere. I wouldn't care if you just had to give them a dollar to get what you want like the old days when I went to the topless bars! hahahaha (You get that right? strippers use fake names...)