Hone FC140 - $120 Multi-Process Welder Review 

Thanks. I haven't tested any Tooliom machines at this point. I'll keep that model in mind. Cheers!

You mean the hone arc welder he reviewed?

@@summerforever6736 Correct. The Hone ARC welder he reviewed fairly recenttly, that he generally liked (or at least was far less disappointed by, in comparison to a long string of other units tested). My experience with it has been consistent with his, and it is the only unit i've found at this highly affordable price point (let's call it $80 and below) which has both dual 120/240 voltage and doubled /parallel IGBTs (for a total of 4 igbt transistors versus more commonly only 2 at this price). The transistors, diodes transformers, inlductors , capacitors and other components are consistent with its amperage rating, which cannot be said for most of the other claimed "165 to 200 amp" units at this price point, as they typically only have 2 igbts and less beefy components and do only 130, maybe 135 amps in reality. .

Thanks for the response looks like a good unit @@GannDolph

@@summerforever6736 🙏👍

What's your budget? I haven't tested all that many, super cheap MIG welders. The ones I have tested did work, but had quirks and things you'll have to work around. I've been wanting to test some more "mid-range" MIG welders in the $700-$1,200 range, but it's just not in the budget right now for me to buy machines like that to test. I've had a $1,200 machine on order for a couple months now that was supposed to ship at the beginning of December, but it's still not available. So I'm kind of in limbo at the moment.

@@bigtb1717 Clearly I "want" a Millermatic type machine but there is no way I can justify the price tag for the one I'd want. That said, yeah, I'm in the same ball park where $500-$1,200 is something I could shoot for if everything worked as described. I say that as I was seriously looking at the Yes welder MIG-205DS. I think it's the same model you had examined except they have now put a black case around it... It absolutely drives me nuts how Chinese companies can lie like hell about the capabilities of their machines without any repercussions! On the face of it, that model did have the features I was looking for but from the copper coated aluminum cables to the inflated number to the unknown warranty, it's turned me off to that company.

I haven't tested one yet (I'd like to, but can't say when it might happen), but ESAB has a new EMP 210, multiprocess machine. List is $1,399, but Cyberweld (I've ordered from them before and had no trouble) has them for $140 off, plus ESAB has a $150 mail-in rebate on them right now. Would put it toward the top of your price range, but it can do MIG, TIG and Stick and comes with the stuff for all three. Output and duty cycle are decidedly non-industrial. I'm sure it doesn't have power factor correction, so the output on 120V isn't all that high, but it is dual voltage. And I bet it can meet the claimed specs. And it has a three year warranty. Could be an option.

@@bigtb1717 I've heard really good things about ESAB (I think they were bought by a huge multinational some years ago) but people I talk to keep pointing to the "Rebel" series that just blows my budget up. This one looks interesting and I'll check it out. It's bumping into the upper end of what I can justify spending but I can put it on my birthday + Christmas + fathers day +... list and maybe I'll get the OK. Lolol At first blush, it looks like it checks all the boxes for me so many thanks for the suggestion!!

I'll consider getting one to review.

Are you primarily looking for a flux core machine or a stick welder? I only ask, because it's cheaper to get a single process machine in most cases. From your other comment it seems you may just need a welder for a single job. The Hone 185D stick welder seemed pretty good for how inexpensive it was if you just need a quick stick welding project done. The Titanium Stick 225 from Harbor Freight also ran pretty well. If you are looking for something with a better warranty and higher quality, the ESAB Rogue ES 130i is a good value. For flux core, I haven't tested as many machines, but the Titanium Flux 125 from Harbor Freight was once again a good value for the performance. I have since seen some reports that people have had them fail on them. Granted, anything can fail, but the standard warranty is only 90 days, I believe, so keep that in mind. I tested a couple Vulcan MIG/Flux core welders from Harbor Freight and they were surprisingly good. But they have also gone up in price quite a bit since then. They aren't much cheaper than ESAB, Lincoln and even some Miller units these days. Though Miller's higher end machines are still far more. Unfortunately, I simply haven't gotten around to testing very many wire feed welders at this point. I'm sure there are some other good value machines out there. But I hesitate to make any specific recommendations of cheaper machines if I haven't tested them. With some of the cheap stuff, even from model to model within the same brand there can be a lot of quality variation.

Hi yes mostly just for one job Stick is ok too just to built a handrail Thanks for the reply I will take the hone machine @@bigtb1717