Here's What NO ONE Will Tell You About Harbor Freight's "Best" Welders.... 

Check out the welders in this video right here!►bit.ly/WEDHFWelding

I've been a self employed welder for 10 years. I have almost that exact same Lincoln 180. Guy said the one in the video is the Home Depot version, mine is a slightly higher quality machine from a welding supply store, mostly the only difference is in mine is the drive wheel assembly is a little better. With that said, before I got my Lincoln 255 MIG which I use most frequently now, for about 8 years all I had was my 180 MIG and my Grandpa's 225 tombstone stick welder he bought brand new in back in 1964. My 180 has been built proof and has never failed me and I used it almost everyday and made a lot of money with it. I never even plugged in my stick welder unless I was doing something 1/4" or thicker our some outdoor work because I dont run fluxcore, only solid wire. If I had to do something 3/16" thick and still wanted to use my 180 MIG, I would just make multiple passes and no problem. The only knock I can see on the Lincoln 180 which you didn't mention in the video is the voltage selector. You can't dial it in to a specific voltage, it only has an A,B,C,D&E selector. Tbh though that really isn't a big deal. MIG is such an easy process that if youve spent time on your machine you can easily overcome that by varying your wirespeed and travel speed. Post flow on the Harbor Frieght machine... yeah I guess that is okay but its not really that big of a deal. Its not TIG and MIG machines have been fine without that for many years. Also those inverter machines have so much more that can go wrong with them over transformer machine. With all those extra electronics in them there are way more parts that can go wrong and are more expensive to have worked on... factor in also that transformer machines rarely ever fail. Kind of a "less moving parts" type of argument. Also, the 180 is heavier? So, its gonna be on a cart for 99% of its life. Zero surprise the life long Miller guy choose the Miller. I'm a lifelong 3rd generation Lincoln guy so I get it. But with Miller their prices are ridiculously higher than Lincoln, kinda just buying the name and blue paint for a machine capable of doing the exact same thing. Zero surprise the guy that got given a free MIG, TIG, plasma torch, cart and consumables talked up the Harbor Freight equipment. Even if he didn't "have to", I'm sure he is happy to get the free equipment and the video content. Admitting my bias, aside of that considering I've personally ran one of the machines within your test for hundreds of hours already. The Lincoln Pro MIG 180 in my opinion would be the best for someone looking to get into a machine that is above an entry level wire welder. I would bet my machine will outlast anybody watching this video, not to sure about those other with all those extra electronics on them.

My wife is a welder in our local ship yard and we bought her the vulcan for her when she started the Apprenticeship few years later we still love it

From the gate I must say that Harbor Freight gets points for reaching out in an attempt to better their product for their customers. On top of that there's no expectations from them for a good or positive review. It really says a lot about the company itself. Well done HF.

I have to say the Vulcan sounded much cleaner. When I went through welding class and certs for my JIW. The instructor pointed out the value in arc sound. The major thing you missed was showing and comparing the weld and bead. Added bonus you should of cut the piece and compared penetration. That’s really what matters in welding.

gotta love Harbour freight for trying to improve and being transparent when it comes to sponsering products

Here i am, watching and listening someone in a foreign language talking about Welders. And their different features. I have neither welded nor a shop to actually do it. But here I am. Jared is just so good, you can talk to me about anything, and I will just sit there, watching you. Like a good boi wiggling his tail! So, please pet Pyra, and have a great day. Thank you, for everything you do.

We have used the ru-vid.comUgkxOTeIs0vv4_9B5hsmnLsk9r930uDQLu_Y for probably 30 hours with our camper and it’s been great! The noise level is really only noticeable when running the AC and other appliances like the microwave, hair dryer, or coffee pot. It’s not huge like other ones and it has wheels so even at 90lbs, I can move it!

As a Professional certified welder for 40 years I've used dozens of different pro welding machines. I bought a Migmax 215 as a retirement home machine (only paid $500 for an unused returned machine). I was surprised to find it welded as good or better than any machine I've ever run. I've only run flux core wire on it (more than 30 pounds now) and it is smooth and runs perfectly in ALL positions. Label says it will run .045 wire using flux core wire but I haven't tried it yet. From my experience I'm sure it would run it (on 240 volts) as it will weld 1/2" thick steel using .035 wire on 120 volts input. I would consider this a prosumer machine for sure and you can add a spool gun for aluminum. By the way you CAN tig weld aluminum on DC current it's just rare you see it done. I've done it myself.

I have alot of respect for Harbor Freight they have been helping me put food on the table for my family for years by offering good tools for rock bottom prices and the customer service has never let me down. I live in a dying city where every other business is shutting down. Harbor Freight will probably be the only business left in town eventually.

I really appreciate you doing these reviews of Harbor Freight products. Reading online reviews and the manuals only gives me so much information and having someone demonstrate the differences is immensely helpful. I work at Harbor Freight and you can be sure I've pointed more than a few folks towards your channel, including my bosses.

Harbor freight has saved me many times working my cars. It was there for me when I need a tool I didn't have. I don't care it it broke. As long it helped complete my mission, they are cheaply priced and saves a bundle.

The small green Flux 125 has been a fun little welder for outdoor, not fancy welding. It's light, does what I've asked it to, and it's portable

Personally I have the Omnipro 220 Vulcan and it welds amazing. So far I've used flux and mig on it but it does stick and tig as well. I also have the 45 amp plasma and can say that it works great. I've only really used it on some 3/16" square tube but it cut like butter and moved along quickly.

If Harbor Freight can have the same customer service and serviceability over time, as well as keep the quality up, they will can go toe to toe with the higher end welders companies like Miller and Lincoln

As an electrical engineer, I can say the explanation of inverter/transformer type was spot on. For a hobbyist I would always recommend an inverter: better control, lower cost and smaller size/weight.

Awesome video. During the Vietnam War, I owned a welding school that trained A&E mechanics for the Air Force under contract. Technology sure has come a long way since then.

I have the TITANIUM Unlimited 200 Professional Multiprocess Welder and it's done everything I've asked of it. MIG, TIG (no pedal), or arc, it does it all and doesn't skip a beat. No issues in over a year.

I picked a Hobart 140 for my project cause my buddy who used to be a professional welder recommended it and I didn't want to put in a 220 outlet. Its made by the same company as Miller but they are much cheaper. I replaced floors, body mounts, kick panels, rocker panels, toe boards, and did numerous patches on the rear floors and a few on body panels and it worked like a champ. The 110v systems work great if you are mostly welding sheet metal and don't need a high duty cycle.

I have never touched a welder nor will I ever have to but I just sat through this whole video. Definitely learned a ton!!!

I have the Titanium 200 from Harbor Freight. I've never tried to TIG with it, but I've had no complaints about it with stick or MIG. It's a massive upgrade from the 2 cheap welders that it replaced.

Miller Multimatic 220 AC/DC Multiprocess Welder it’s pricey been a great machine for me. Tig A/C dc, mig A/C dc and stick

I've been enjoying these tool tech series type videos especially since a lot of the viewers are hobby types. As a former professional mechanic and being familiar with the costs and longevity you want and need from your tools, I'm grateful to see harbor freight expanding their selection of tools and actually offering some better quality and still managing to keep a lower price point. Thanks again and as always stay safe

I've had the Vulcan 215 mig rig since they came out, 5-6 yrs or so ago. I purchased it originally to fabricate my ornamental handrailing and have ran about 100 lb of trouble free wire thru it over the years and it works as good today as the day it was purchased.

The Vulcan machine sounded the smoothest and most consistent while welding. I was surprised by how good it sounded welding

Harbor Freight has come a long way in the last ten years. I recently purchased several Bauer 20 volt battery tools (1/2" drill, drill driver, reciprocating saw, 4-1/2" angle grinder, 6-1/2" circular saw and line trimmer/edger) and have been pleasantly surprised. A DeWalt or Milwaukee equivalent would cost more than I have to spend.

I appreciated the point near the end about being impressed once you got the feel- or read the instructions. So many times on lower end items, people dont consult the instructions and then have issues- usually braking the cheapend parts these things often have. I had a guy blow a gasket because the heater he bought from me wouldnt heat up- had he looked at the instructions, he would have realized it was a fan- not a heater.

I bought a habor freight titanium 200 sat in the box for 2years finally got it out because I gave my esab to my son in-law it quit delivering gas for mig bought a extended warranty. Took it in they warranty gave me a new one bought a new warranty for the new one. Happy with them.

I'm 43 yrs.old.Growning up using Harbor freight as a quick fix tool company or a one and done,never purchasing anything thing you would need to rely on or a tool you would use on a regular basis so your honestly is greatly appreciated. I always say you don't have to like the option but you have to respect it!! Thx,again...

One big thing to keep in mind with inverter based welders/plasma is the duty cycle. You want it high enough that you don't have to keep stopping to let it cool down. Sometimes that means going to a bigger machine to get a higher duty cycle for the work you plan to do. I didn't hear that discussed, if I missed it then just ignore me lol

I'm gonna say it. With my 32 years as a welder and 16 of those as a CWI, That Vulcan, based on the sound, was right in the zone for short circuit arc welding. The Miller and the Lincoln both needed just a touch more wire speed.

I did quite a bit of research between blue orange and red machines last year and ended up with the Vulcan 220 from Harbor Freight. Being slightly above a 'novice' I've found it to be a great machine.. It's done well just plugged into 110 in the garage with patch panels on car projects, to 220 supply and stick welding an implement for our Skid Steer. The price point and other reviews/comparisons were my deal-maker to give this a shot. Pocketing the expense for my growing channel, I had to ensure I didn't break the bank at home, and this was right on the mark.

I have been using the Vulcan multipro 220 for about 3 years. Mostly on small to medium size projects. Only used the stick and wire so far I have been very happy. However if you are a pro. You need to consider the Duty Cycle. On one project I was building a 50"w 2"h x 20" d basen for a ribbon waterfall for a friend's pond. I was using the welder hard all day to completely seal the seams. The next day when I started again there was a loud bang and that was it. Dead. Good thing I bought the extended warranty and Harbour Freight replaced it no questions. They were very nice. Now I'm alot more careful not to over tax it and that works out good. More beer breaks.

For the pre and post flow of gas, my old (old old) Sealey Migmate 120 Turbo was set up so if you half-pulled the trigger you got just the gas, and a full-pull started the arc and wire feed. This meant you could do your own pre and post flow.

There was a Miller welder for sale locally for $250 with a blown main board. The machine cost $2,500 new. Called around for a new board and Miller wouldn’t sell one, had to go to a service center. Used board if you can find one was $1,500. I could get a couple welders from Harbor freight for the price of a replacement board for a Miller.

Really appreciate the video. The fact that harbor freight reached out, the unbiased look at the machines. I have no qualms now trying the Vulcan at home.

I've been welding most of my life. I own 3 Lincoln and 4 Miller machines. Miller has a customer service department that's absolutely incredible. All the years I've spent welding they have always had my back. Nice thing about Harbor freight welder's is you don't have to care about taking care of it. Leave it outside in the rain, falls out the back of your truck, no worries.

A few things to note, because overall you did a great job. All of the Hobart welders, except for the Multi-Handler 200 are transformer based and made here in the US in Wisconsin. Over 20 years ago, ITW purchased Hobart and Miller. I believe every Miller machine is made in the US and in the same facility as Hobart. Unless you want to spend north of $2000, you are correct just about every multi-process welder is just Mig, Tig, stick and DC tig. However, ESAB does offer several multi-process welders with AC/DC TIG but you are well over $3000 for them. Also, the Hobart 210 MVP, or Multi-voltage plug is a Transformer based mig welder that does 120v and 240v.

Been looking and contemplating the Vulcan Welding Cabinet for a few months now. Idk why I don't just buy it, every review I've seen for it is great. Super in depth discussion on these welders!

Shoooooooot, that’s awesome that you got to test all of these. I have the Titanium Unlimited 200 multi process machine and it is a very great welder, I’ve had it for a couple of years and have completed some really intricate projects that I use in my home and most recently a Move bumper kit for my buddies Chevy Silverado 2500 diesel. The welder never has any issues at all and any issues with welds has always been operator error. I also have the stick welder 225 inverter and it’s a small but mighty beast! I can’t say enough about the quality of these systems.

The harbor freight stuff just kills the name brands when you factor cost… I’ve been more than happy abusing mine… their toolboxes are more than just ok too…. They have definitely been stepping up their game over the last few years…

Missed opportunity "and when it comes to welders, you don't have to drop too much coin to be stacking dimes."

I have the Titanium 125 Flux welder. I use it for some personal and some work. It does everything I need it to do. I spend less than 300 for the welder, gloves, clamp, and helmet.

Here over in Europe, we have multi-process welders that do AC tig for welding aluminum, but I'm not sure that they are available in the USA since we use different specifications for mains power. I'm currently using the Parweld XTM 211Di. It welds everything you throw at it very well. Great welder for learning all processes, but also for just having everything in one machine. Ideal for a compact shop or on the road. I know ESAB makes the rebel 205 ci AC/DC which apparently can do the same, but I have no experience with that machine. But a great video. This style of video really helps if you want to start working on cars and other stuff yourself and need to know what tools to get. It shows where you can cheap out and where it is better to save a bit more money and buy better quality tools.

I am new to welding and looking at a starting setup. This video was great! I’ve spend a lot of time at Harbor Freight looking and wondering about their Vulcan brand. It certainly gives some things to think about. I’ll be looking a little deeper in to it as a result of your assessment and for my HF coupons!

Great video! I learned so much. And i hope to see more of Randy on the channel. He is a welding legend for sure.

I don't know much about mig welders even though I own one but I did notice the difference in the sound of the arc on the hf machine. Sounded much tighter and consistant over the other welders. I would have liked to see a close up view of the welding processes and finished processes bedides a cut away view of the welds. It looked to me that the guy doing the welds was very impressed by the hf welder as he seemed surprised of it's capability and somewhat stunned as per my observance.

15:45 Yes you or Correct. We had the experience of inverter electronic broads shorting out. All these machines suck up dust like a vacuum cleaner. Leaving thick metal dust in the electronic broads and shorting them out. Once a week you mush disassemble your welder and vacuum your welder of All metal dust. Some parts, after vacuuming, can be Blown with Low pressure air OUTSIDE. Because if you Blow out that last 10% inside your shop, your other welders suck up all that metal dust.

Outstanding. I’m in the process of purchasing a welder and this really helped. Tks for sharing.

Happy with every upload from this channel to see a humble person that has so much knowledge showing new stuff and teaching us a lot of things with such a good way to explain everything and to make it entertaining as well, greetings from Colombia

I've been pleasantly surprised with my AHP alpha tig for a "budget" welder. My MIG is a super cheap Campbell Hausfeld I bought from Walmart 15 years ago 😂 Set up on gas and upgraded grounding it does everything I need it to do for non professional purposes

I have seen a couple of your videos in the past then recently saw you on the VGG series so I wanted to drop by and watch a couple more of your videos. thanks for sharing. I'm a very beginning welder and I purchased the Titanium pro 200 mig,tig stick machine I'm pleased with it . I don't have to make a living with it but it does what I need.

I have been using a Morlisse Transformer Welder for the last 20 years, it was used at a local technical school and I bought it at an auction, it is over 40 years old and still works, the only drawback is that it is so big and heavy, it is movable but not something you want to drag around daily. I have been looking at the Harbor Freight Tig welders, so looking forward for your review.

Having proviso for two bottles is something nice to see - it's not un-common to need a couple (or 3) different mixes. I initially thought the MIG's only having a 10lb reel might be a disadvantage, but as most will be hobby/light work it gives the spool wire less time to oxidise.

Wrench Every Day.. I have been welding since I was about 9 or 10 and used to be a certified welder in the 90's. I have been trying out things from Harbor Freight just to see if I like their stuff.. I have their Chicago Electric 170 welder and well, I like it but I need a better one. I could use everything in the video especially the TIG welder and the Plasma cutter. Thanks for sharing it.

Saw you on VGG. Had to check out a video. Very informative. Am now a new subscriber. Keep up the good work.

I bought the "Vulcan Welding Cabinet" I like it; the only thing missing was a "hanger" for my TIG Pedal, I made one and attached it to the back I wanted the cabinet, BC it can fit two bottles for my MIG/TIG/SMAW machine

Did not really follow all of the welding tech, but it was clear enough to be a big help for a rookie ! Thanks for the demo and evaluation. Loved the addition of the cost factor really being dealt with for consideration on purchase choices. Most of us are far from pros and do not need to be caught up in the distinction of owning a famous brand.

i have that same miller welder at work and i love it, its amazing for doing thin metal for body panel replacement and i love how easy you can switch from mild steal to aluminum or even stainless. its so user friendly to use

Loved this. I was at Harbor Freight yesterday and looking at all of the welders they sell and now I want to go back after watching this video and gaining some insight so I know a little better what I am looking at.

used a couple of cheap harbor freight wire feed, but got a multi process 110v from Eastwood. Only used it for mig so far, it's been fantastic. $450 ish a year or so ago. Welded 19ga sheet metal all the way to 3/8" AR400 successfully. Haven't tried the stick..I have an old lincoln 240v AC 'buzz box' for that, and will try tig at some point with aluminum. I just work on cars and odd jobs around the farm. It works for me.

Hey guy, I really like the video I would say it's probably the one single most informative video I've seen about welding machines. When I seen you referring to the instructions as you were putting them together in high speed I thought to myself smart man. That was gold star number one. Delivery of your factual, accumulated info., Is easily understood. I have ADHD and I never looked away. Third, I am all about empirical knowledge. All the technicals matter to me. I like to know the science behind everything. It seems to make any task I set out to do that much easier to accomplish So that's three out of three gold stars. Thumbs up I subscribed and liked and probably going to be a regular. You're a person I could not only work with but for it wouldn't matter it would be an endless learning adventure. GREAT JOB!

I really appreciate the breakdown of terms and tech. I've done a little bit of welding but have been completely lost and intimidated by the industry-speak before, and it's prevented me from buying a welder in the past.

We have the first generation miler 211 and we got it in 2011, the fact that I could use it on both 120 and 220 has been helpful. It was like $1300 back then and when you break down how may broken bolts we have gotten out and trailer projects we have done. I also like the support if you need something. We have literally run 100s of spools through it. Now on a budget the Chicago 180 is great for a cheap 220 only mig.

I became a Harbor Freight customer when they were strictly mail-order and trailer sales - no brick and mortar at all. Hand tools- multi-bit drivers, mostly for computer use. (They still carry those.) They now have a brick and mortar location near me - and I still shop there.

I've bought 2 of the Titanium MIGs from Harbor Freight, one low power for my son to learn one and a more powerful one to help a welder friend of mine start to setup his own shop instead of just using the ones provided by his employer. There have been no complaints about either of them so far after about a year.

I've abused my $90 Harbor Freight flux core welder for probably 10 years now and it still works perfect. I have replaced literally nothing except wire. I've cobbled together far too many rusty horrendous exhaust with it.

I've had a Chicago Electric Tools wire feed welder from Harbor Freight for years and for small occasional welding jobs, I love it. I recently welded an exhaust system, and after I learned the feed speed for the minumum setting, I was able to create a nice continous pool. One thing that I like is that I can use it with any 20 amp 110 circuit. I was able to use it to pin extra posts to a steel I beam in a construction job. The posts were plumbed up and just needed to stay in place until they were extended to bear weight. I'm sure the welds are good enough to hold them in place. They'd need to get hit pretty hard to move them, and I was able to do the welding without a 220 circuit. Plus, I've welded really light gauge steel with it, so I think it's great for an inexpensive welder.

I paid 500 for green harbor freight mig and 300 for a big bottle of gas.i have made thousands of dollars with it at my shop and it welds smooth as butter.

If you are a hobbyist or even a shop that doesn weld much, I'd go with the Harbor Freight or some other Chinese welder. If you are a professional welder then I'd go with either a Miller or Lincoln as they tend to hold up better to all day everyday use, but having the Chinese welder as a backup for when your other one goes down isn't a back cost efficient option even for the pros

I took welding lessons for seven years and had several certifications in stick, MIG, and TIG. Was welding aluminum pop cans together, but not much market for pop can repair. Still don't own a welder because no room in the garage with all my other toys. Thanks for the informative video. If I ever clean out my garage I'll keep your advise in mind.

As a professional welder and had the same budget of $1000 I'd just build an all in one welder so I can TIG MIG Stick and plasma cut using a high duty cycle DC stick welder as a power source, a Tig welder is literally plug and play with a stick welder which a complete torch and Guage can set you back $75, a mig welder feeder can be gotten for $250 and up depending on what your budget is I picked mine up for $50 off a blown 3 phase machine which is plug and play for most machines with that connector, stick welding is pretty obvious since it is a stick welder to begin with, finally plasma cutter you basically have to DIY this one since it's not available which it's extremely simple all you need is a 12v air solinoid, a cheap car compressor, an air regulator, a 12v stepdown transformer and a plastic box which overall cost me $80. So in short you can build the perfect machine for what you need and would be extremely cheap to do so.

The Vulcan is essentially a Lincoln Welder in prison orange. The Titanium is also a very great diy welder.

It would be nice to add a "Filtration Device" on the Inverter Machines (like an Open Celled Foam Filter, because they are Washable) to minimise contaminates within the Equipment... Or at least have the option.

Corona in hand for Cinco de Mayo and enjoying a new wrench every day video. Gotta love it.

Im running a hobart 190 mig for 4 yrs now and i just got the 27i plasma. Ive done some serious work for what i will do. I primary do 1/8 up to 5/16. I have had to redo my pintle trl mount which is 2 x 2 solid bar to 1/2 mount plate with 1/2 gusset for extra strength and i pull a 13k trl on the mount and ive been very happy

It might be interesting to look at the PrimeWeld multiprocess machines. They have a plasma, tig, and stick inverter for about $500 which works well.

Never thought I would be spending more than half an hour watching someone sharing general knowledge about welding machines :)))! Jared's magic, I guess ;)! Randy needs some more screen time though, maybe he will get a bit more comfortable in front of the camera :D!

I have had my eye on the Millermatic 211 for about 2 years now and im glad you posted this video.

Vulcan welder I have been using since Harbor Freight started stocking them. I got a great deal because they were new. I have never regretted buying it. I have used it a lot. love it for the price.

Been using a HF flux core (aka the Splatterbox) for a long long time. For my intermittent light duty use, maybe a couple small things a year, its fine. It was like $80 bucks on sale. Of course, 30m of welding means an hour or two of clean up...

Nice video. Thanks for the honest opinions. One thing you DIDNT comment on, was whether or not the Vulcan had the "Slow ramp up" that you talked about that you ran into on your first transformer Machine.

I love Miller, you could absolutely say that I am a Miller guy but! I HATE the 211. I’ve worked at a shop that had two of those so I would weld with one until it hit the duty cycle cap, switch to the other, rinse and repeat. I run a 255 now and love it for the most part. I also have a Lincoln in the shop but I just don’t care for it. It doesn’t seem as smooth and it’s definitely not as user friendly as Miller.

"Which welder?" often depends on the need. I have an ancient HF "90 amp" wire welder, bought more for learning than any real need. I did eventually find a practical use beyond learning "how many amps" and "how fast to move". I extended the metal shepherd's crook that holds two bird feeders high enough that the squirrels couldn't jump on top of the anti-climb barrier. I thought a beginner needed more surface for welding than just putting pieces of 1/2" rod end-to-end so I used some 3/8" (?) angle that was available and welded the bead where the edges of the angle met the rod. It's still surviving outside more than 10 years later so the HF welder was adequate for the job. My favorite welder ad is from one of the Chinese "We sell everything companies. The little inverter welder is sitting on a steel beam and there's an arc from the stick electrode but no cables are plugged into the welder. "Wireless" or "cordless" welding is probably something welders occasionally dream about because there are places that would be easier to reach if you didn't have to deal with the cables.

A good welder definitely does make a difference, but the one from harbor freight is a good buy especially price point. Thanks for the comparison video.

I weld everyday and own the miller in my race car fab shop and it's phenomenal. I do a ton of repair work as well and for a 211 machine it's bad ass. Spend the money and get the best machine to last you a long time.

I bought that H.F mig a few years ago and have been very happy with it. I’m doing a lot of auto body rust repair currently and the machine is doing a great job for me.

I picked up an Eastwood 135 MIG machine back in 2014 when I was starting the restoration of my '72 MGB-GT. It is similar to the Lincoln, but only cost me about $360.

Would like to see Harbor Freight come out with an AC/DC multi-process to compete with Miller’s Multimatic 220 or Esab’s Rebel, especially if it had plasma too.

The best part of Budget HF welders/plasma cutters is when their budget circuit boards inevitably die there is zero parts support. So you get to learn how to become a circuit board technician at home on your own dime.

Great video on welders. Was actually in HF today, buying a plasma cutter, but a guy asked me about welders. If I had seen this before then I would have directed him here. Saw you Vice Grip Garage on the truck rebuild, so jumped over to check out your channel. Liked the backhoe vid, always nice to see something come alive again. Will back track and watch some or all of your older stuff. Just one comment though: a pink tool box! I sure hope that’s your wife’s box. 😉. Keep em coming.

As a retired welder I like the sound of the Vulcan better than the other two.

At around 24:30 Randy said that the welder had more power, and it was burning the wire up more quickly, so he slowed the wire speed down. Isn't that backwards? Shouldn't you speed the wire up, to keep up with the higher voltage?

Every review I've seen puts the Vulcan shooting above its price point, some suggest it's a loss leader, or perhaps the sheer production numbers keep costs down but on tear down even the construction/components are good

22:42 if you want to skip the prefacing, the details of setup and history lessons, etc. this is when the _actual_ welding starts.

I had some old $150 flux core mig welder I got off walmart like 5 or so years ago. Joined HF's insider track membership so I was keeping an eye on deals, saw their flux core welder was on sale for like $70 off and decided it was time for an upgrade to my old one. The new machine is probably half the weight, half the size and 90% quieter. These inverter machines are insanely compact and quiet compared to old transformers while keeping the power. So far I like it a lot. Seems well made, hopefully holds up as long as my old one.

This is great, I'm looking to buy my first welder. Thank you!

I bought the vulcan 215 it lasted exactly one 2lb roll of .35 Flux core wire . Unfortunately it took me a little over a year to weld that much. Just outside the warranty time. I switched to the holbart 190 love that machine.

I have the migmax 215 for over 3 years now. Only issue I ever had was the ground clamp, it lasted about 2 years. I have put many hours on my machine and it works like the day I got it. I have built many things with that machine. 2 sawmills, logging winch, as well as repaired and rebuilt several deck over trailers, dump trailers and many repairs to my stump grinder. As well as countless other repairs. I read where the internals to the Vulcan are the same as the blue and red machines. For me and my budget the Vulcan has been hands down a awesome machine.

I have the MigMAx Vulcan 215 after owning a Hobart 215 for almost 10 years. I sold the Hobart after trying the Vulcan 215. The Vulcan was much smoother and much quieter. The mig gun for the Vulcan is available unlike the Hobart 215 which now you can only buy used if available. I do weld aluminum some of the time and the Vulcan 215 does a great job with the Vulcan gun. I highly recommend the Vulcan Mig Max 215.