I agree, that thing is the best Bang-for-the-Buck out there. I did much as you did, went to HomeDepot for a spool of Lincoln wire (for all I know the Vulcan wire is fine, but I Know the Lincoln is ) and was amazed at how well it welded when I first ran a bead with it!

There really is a place for everybody in their welder needs for a tiny, 120v, super transportable, easy to use, machine like this. You want to climb-up on your roof and tack something?

 

Have you tried the Hobart wire in this machine also?

Sent from my SM-N986U using Tapatalk

 

Haven't used it enough to even come close to running out of the Lincoln yet

 

I love mine. I always use mine portably with a WEN 3800-watt generator with no issue whatsoever. And although I've only used the welder 4 times over the last couple of years, for small jobs (e.g., custom bracket, fixes to metal lawn chairs for my neighbors, golf cart's canopy fix for a local high school), it always impresses and performs flawlessly! I also only use Lincoln .030 NR-211 flux core.

 

I've been using mine a lot lately. One thing I think that needs to be changed is the gun angle. It's only about 25 degrees from straight (so 65 from perpendicular). My older budget welder had a better angle: 40 degrees from straight (50 degrees from perpendicular). If you're trying to get a 15 degree tip angle the Flux 125 requires a lot of arm bending. I heard of someone adding some more bend...I think I'll do the same. The manufacturer should change it as well...there's no reason for such a shallow angle.

 

I don't have a Titanium 125 flux machine, but I love the Lincoln NR 211 as well, it seems to me that most of the HF machines have a funky gun angle for the tip.

 

Titanium 125: Order it now. Receive it next June, according to the website.

The factory must have shut down for Covid or something.

And - this means if you need a warranty exchange, HF doesn't have one to give you.

 

That's for online orders. Perhaps they are only full-filling sales from brick-n-mortar locations. Might just be due to to the container backlog at the ports.

 

I need some light welding done at my house in town but no 240v power there. I was going to buy the HF Titanium Flux 125. It looked to also be handy for light projects at the ranch.

But now HF says no Titanium 125's in the stores and none from mailorder.

I went back to an Amazon welder I had seen with similar specs plus dual voltage. 30 amp slo-blow breaker (nobody has that in their home!) required for full output on 110 volt input but also 130 amp output from a 220v welder receptacle, which I have at the ranch - so this may take the place of my MIG-180 for some lightweight ranch projects.

Also claimed 60% duty cycle at 130 amps output. The specs seem about as un-credible as HF's, but it does seem to be a suitable replacement for the unobtainable HF-125.

Warranty? Better than HF's. Free return to Amazon until 1-31-2022, four year fix/replace warranty (including shipping) for $29.95, from an Amazon affiliate who confirmed their coverage steps in if the vendor disappears.

When I saw the price on this dual-voltage welder drop from $189 to $149 last week I thought why not. I ordered one Wednesday, it arrived Friday. It uses the same tips and nozzle as my HF welder and I see repair parts on Ebay, so there is some support available in addition to what the vendor offers.

Now I need to set it up and see if it works as well as the company's other welders that have decent reviews. A new toy!

Anybody else have experience with Amico gear?

Amico MIG-130A, 130 amp dual voltage flux welder

 

Looks great 👍
Let us how it welds with photos 📸

Dave

 

Grabbed one of the Titanium Easy Flux 125s yesterday, local store had 9 in stock. Black Friday price was $169.99. My oldest son borrowed my Hobart Handler 135 several years ago, and my other Migs are 230V. I wanted a lightweight 120V unit for flux core to take on desert trips in our motorhome, as well as just a handy unit for around the house. The reviews here and elsewhere convinced me to go this way. I'll give it a test run next weekend.

 

Where did you find it? I'm a little north of you (outer SF region) and HF showed none in the region, just order now for delivery next May.

 

Bakersfield. Call your local store and ask. Mine had 9 in the back, none on the shelf.

 

Sounds like they ran out front door.

Dave

 

Back to describing the Amico MIG-130A, 130 amp dual voltage flux welder (described above) that I bought when there were no more Titanium 125's shown available in NorCal or 200 mile radius - Redding, Reno, clear down to Fresno.

I finally got over to the ranch and ran a second brief trial. It's powerful! The screen shows up to 130 amps welding current whether its plugged into 120 or 240 volts.

With 125V input and 80 showing on the screen it tripped the overload breaker in the HF 4 ft power strip above my bench. And that looked like a plenty hot weld.

So I plugged into the plugin GFI (with male and female 125V connectors) at the barn's wall socket. This broke the GFI, it won't reset. (It's old, maybe it was ready to die). I suspect the Amico is pulling more than 15 amps when the screen shows 80 amps output, and 125v input.

So to get the fan going again I plugged it into the 240V welder outlet. This works fine at any setting, in fact I burned through the 1/8" test scrap when I set it to show 130 amps.

Summary - if you have a 240 volt welder outlet then this Amico has more power than a 120-only welder run on house current. Its a keeper. HF should be selling these!

 

I agree
I have own and try the 120 volt 2 times in life. They just did not do a good job and the breaker flip a lot.

The HF 170 is a 240 volt and works great 👍. It is very close to my Miller welder I had but great for small shops.

Dave

 

I received the Amico MIG-130A as a Christmas gift, and am about to set it up and give it a go. Surprised it came with a gas nozzle rather than a gasless type, given its gasless flux core only capability. Any ideas on a gasless nozzle that may fit? The gun appears to be a Binzel brand, but I only find gas type nozzle available.

 

Harbor Freight sells a 2-pack of hard rubber 'gasless nozzles' that fit perfect on this welder. I see 'store only' so maybe they are on closeout. Tweeco consumables fit the Amico, so any welding store should have similar ones.
https://www.harborfreight.com/gasless-flux-core-nozzle-set-2-pc-63795.html

And I put up a longwinded revew of my new Amico MIG-130A Flux over on Welding Site:
https://www.weldingsite.com/threads...mico-mig-130a-130-amp-flux-wire-welder-110-230v-dual-voltage-149-on-amazon.390/
You might need to subscribe to see full-resolution photos there.

 

Thanks, I was going to give the HF nozzle a shot, so it's good to know it will fit. And good info on the Tweco compatibility, too.

Yes, I read your review over on the other site, it's one of the reasons I hinted at this model for a gift!

 

Well I fired up this welder and the max wire speed is only 6.5 ft/min. As a result, pretty poor welds. Looked at the drive mechanism, contact tip, spool tension, roller tension, all are either OK or changes didn't affect the wire speed. Just for comparison, my HH190 set for ~1/8" mild steel using flux core dispenses almost exactly 4 times that rate. Oddly, when the fast wire speed button on the Amico is pressed (to fill the gun lead), the wire rate is quite fast. I contacted Amico using their website form, hopefully they have a remedy.

 

max wire speed is only 6.5 ft/min. As a result, pretty poor welds.

Strange. Sounds like a defective welder. I've dumped wire on the floor by accident a lot faster than that.

I did some tests welding with my Amico on 1/8", and I turned the wire speed down a couple of times before I found the speed that would burn in instead of just piling on weld material.

I described this test in the most recent addition to that thread I linked in post #27, above.

 

The seller, DR POWER, is sending a new gun, FedEx. So they're standing behind this machine. Hopefully it's a fix.

 

Are you satisfied with your Amico 130a and the customer service?
About all I can find other than Amazon reviews is what California has posted.

 

I'm curious too.

I see 465 views in your thread about it here, and 1k views over on WeldingSite which is more a DIY crowd than pro's. But almost no replies in those threads.

At any rate mine continues to work fine.

 

DR POWER (the vendor through Walmart)) has been really great. What hasn't been great is FedEx. The replacement gun was shipped to the wrong (and non-existent) address. DR POWER called FedEx and corrected the address. Then, it was scheduled for arrival last Thursday, but not delivered for unknown reasons. It's sitting in a FedEx Distribution center 5 miles away. DR POWER then sent another replacement gun, and it appears to be hung up in Tennessee. WTH is going on with the "premier" shipping service in the world? Anyway, I can't report on the fix or the welder, yet. But DR POWER customer service has been just about perfect. And the welder appears to be reasonably well made.

 

Hope it shows up soon. Glad to hear that the customer support is good.

 

Yeah I had a similar experience with half-assed FedEx service, delivering the welder. I waited placing the order until Amazon showed delivery would be earliest next Monday, or later. Because we were going to be out of town.

Saturday afternoon my neighbor texted me that the welder was on my porch in plain sight for anyone to steal. The tracking number still showed 'in transit'.

Neighbor took the welder home until we returned on Monday. Thanks FedEx.

One of FedEx Ground's problems is they don't actually do last-mile delivery. They put delivery out to bid. Some cheapskate company will bid to take several routes, hire idiots cheap, and this explains the haphazard service. UPS acts more professional. Delivery is nearly always on the day they specify.

 

So the saga continues. BOTH mig guns/leads arrived, neither fixed the slow wire speed issue. DR POWER emailed a FedEx shipping label to return the welder, and shipped a new welder as soon as I dropped the old one off at a FedEx shipping point. These guys at DR POWER are really stepping up.

 

The saga is over. The replacement welder behaved exactly the same as the previous one - way too slow wire speed. Must be a bad batch of welders or motors. DR POWER wants to refund the purchase price. Oh well.

 

Take the refund and move on. These cheap welders are a gamble. Mine works fine but apparently that doesn't predict the next one off their line will.

I have continued to look at Amazon's list of similar dual-voltage flux welders. There are a few more brands there now with substantial reviews, and under $175. One is dual wire/stick. Another gamble if you have the patience to try another cheap welder.

I would pay particular attention to reviews describing vendor support. dr power is excellent but in this cheap end of the market others may be unresponsive. You have 30 days after purchase to buy the 3 year repair warranty (unrelated vendor) that is listed alongside the Amazon 'add to cart' section. I think buying that warranty - after trying the welder - is essential for these cheap ones. Only $30.

Many of these dual voltage welders have the stupid style 110/220 adapter. A cord that plugs into 220 then goes to a receptacle that has 220 volts but accepts the welder's 110-style plug. That's gross ignorance to design it that way. I wouldn't buy a welder that has this. Amico comes with a proper adapter - a 220 cable and plug from the welder, plus an adapter to go between that and the wall 110 outlet.

Good luck with your next welder!

 

Is the Titanium 125 still not available anywhere?

 

Last time I looked, the available date was estimated late spring 2022. But now they don't show an estimated date. Only 'order one at your local store'. (And wait ......)

I doubt the stores have accurate information if it isn't known to the public.

Maybe its like the Tesla pickup and they want a big fund of advance payments before manufacturing begins.

 

I almost decided on the Amico. But not sure now. I want a dual voltage flux core and budget is under $200. There is a S Simder MG-140a on Amazon that also looks good, but few reviews.

 

This one? I like the dual function (flux or stick) and the rod holder is included. And dual voltage. A real ground clamp not a battery charger clamp.

I expect you would be as happy with that as I am with my Amico.

But it does seem to be a roll of the dice to buy any of these cheap welders. I would buy it. After checking it out, add the $21 3 year Amazon warranty!

https://www.amazon.com/Welder-Weldi...+MIG-140a+welder&qid=1644988811&sprefix=s+simder+mig-140a+welder,aps,346&sr=8-1

 

So looked around a bit and bought this yesterday: https://primeweld.com/products/mig160-flux-core-mig-welder.
It's called a flux core welder, but also does gas-shielded MIG, and stick! I called to confirm. The MIG lead flows gas, it comes with a gas hose, but minus a regulator. Dual power too. A bit more spendy that the Amico, but has some interesting features.