Does it work?

The problem would parts.
There are off self but you how to install the parts.

Contact tips are standard and can be found. If needs a new mig gun that is about 1/3 of new machine.
You can new 120volt machines for under $100.00 a dual voltage witch mush better for around $150.00.

Dave

 

Yes, it does work. It belonged to his father that passed away. It's older, but doesn't look like it was used much. I have a larger Miller mig but it is hard to move the welder and tank around on my property. This one is much lighter and I can carry a generator with it to do remote repairs.

 

If DC then use E71T-11 0.030"
If Ac then use E71T-GS 0.030".

Sounds like you have a 120 volt welder.

Dave

 

Is it worth doing?

Nooo!!!

My second welder was nearly the same HF model as that. Junk! I went back to using my big AC stick welder.

First issue is there was no cooling fan in it.

The wire feed was so flimsy that it couldn't feed smoothly.

The two-position welding voltage switch provided 1)Too Hot and 2)Way Too Hot. Far more splatter than it should have made.
(I should have bought HF's other near-identical model, the one you have, its two voltage choices were farther apart).

And - I see the power cord and ground grommets etc are worn out. You hardly have anything there to start a conversion from.

Then a couple other issues not relevant to DC conversion:

HF sold it alongside flux wire labeled DC ONLY. A clue that HF didn't take their AC welders seriously.

I actually had two of those. First one just spit, couldn't make a bead. I returned it. Then saw on Ebay a huge number of them 'almost new, open box special' offered by a liquidator. Apparently nearly all of them got returned. A year later I read an explanation, that batch came with flux wire that was hopeless. So I bought the same model again. $72 with coupon, not much money at risk. And bought decent flux wire, Hobart or something. I got some use out of that welder, but eventually sold it for $25 and got a used Century 130 110 volt Mig that worked nice.

My advice is put it on Craigslist and buy something that is already DC. And not HF''s current AC black equivalent of your welder.

 

Actually the power cord and ground grommets are not worn out. This is the way they were made on this early model. Adding a fan is nothing. I have many laying around that will work. The splatter is because it has AC output. Converting to DC will reduce the splatter alot. 200amp rectifier and needed capacitor is pretty cheap. I am going forward with the conversion. I enjoy playing with such things anyway.

 

As a fun hobby project it could be worth it,,, as far as welders go shove it in to the scrap, newer better are now so cheap its not worth investment not including effort.

 

I'm retired and piddling around with old junk is what I like to do most. Most of the stuff I get is broke. I like it that way because I get to fix it. I don't have to weld as a job anymore so anything I do now is just for fun.

 

Got my capacitors and bleed-off resistors in yesterday. Put them together while drinking my morning coffee. The bridge rectifier came in this afternoon. Will be installing these parts in tomorrow. Will add a cooling fan also. Maybe will find out if this thing will do more than sputter tomorrow. View attachment IMG_20220510_115401256.resized.jpg

 

Well, it's done. Welds better but not by much. Thinking I should try some better wire besides the Chicago Electric brand that it came to me with.
https://youtu.be/f61vh4uLM-U

 

Well, it's done. Welds better but not by much. Thinking I should try some better wire besides the Chicago Electric brand that it came to me with.

A spool of Lincoln may work wonders.

 

So did you get this thing working right?

I have a chance to buy one for $50. I can't afford to spend hundreds. I would just have to do with out,,,lol. It would be my first welder.

 

To be honest, it works ok but if I had it to do over again I think I would buy a new Lincoln FC90 on Amazon for $209.

 

I just found this thread on this forum googling to see if there was any way to make my machine - this same model - actually work. I bought it new myself a long time ago and for years, all I get is splatter.

After reading this post, I'm not sure modifying my machine is worthwhile. But maybe trying different/better wire feed will help? Money is tight and I'm just trying to do some non-work personal projects. Mostly fun stuff.

 

Really, it's not worth the trouble. Back then HF was selling some things that looked like real tools, but weren't really. Just junk. A used HF MIG-170 or MIG-180 should be under $50 on Craigslist and is a huge step up from those AC-only welders.

And there are far better inexpensive welders sold today. After playing around with several cheap used welders, in 2021 I went to Amazon and bought an Amico 130A, now $139. It is everything those HF AC welders pretended to be, and far more. Similar size, much lighter, dual voltage for far more power on 220, everything simply works as it should. It welds nice. 30 day return privilege, also $30 for a 4 year warranty. This welder, or something reviewed by Project Farm on Youtube, would be a far better choice compared to unsuccessful efforts to convert a HF AC welder into something useful.

https://www.amazon.com/MIG-130A-Pro...tag=se&keywords=amico+mig-130a&qid=1709924430&sprefix=Amico+130A,aps,927&sr=8-7