Harbor Freight MIG 170 for newbie (2024)

Hi All,
I purchased a Harbor Freight MIG 170 welder for work on a trailer frame with 1/8” steel.

As I have tried to learn the welding process (I am using MIG with solid wire), I am getting a number of people that are telling me that learning on this welder will be difficult and that I should throw this welder away in favor of a Miller or Lincoln.

My logic is that a $1,500 Millermatic makes sense if I am welding a lot, but is very heard to justify for maybe 10 uses per year, maximum… Any thoughts on whether these welders are okay or not will help this newcomer…

Thanks,
David

As suggested on the other forum, it's more about the limited settings on that machine than anything else.

Did you buy the Chicago Electric 170 or the Titanium 170? If it's the CE model you're stuck with only 4 voltage settings which really limits how much you can adjust anything. By comparison, a Hobart Handler 190, has 7 voltage settings.

Harbor Freight's Titanium 170 has infinitely variable voltage and that's a big plus.

The one thing I would add/ask is that if you actually have the Titanium 170 and are getting poor results, what input voltage are you using? 120V input is really limited to thin metal, not even 1/8" in most cases.

Hi G-Man,
Sorry about the cross post... I read (erroneously, I guess) that the welding talk site has roughly one post per day... thanks for your patience!

To answer your question, I have the Chicago Electric MIG 170. The 4 settings have been something that I wondered about, but didn't understand before the answers posted here and the other site.

And one of the other complaints that I have heard about the HF welders is that they produce inconsistent amperage, making it difficult to produce consistent beads. Perhaps that is true of a welder that is pushed to its service limit, but probably not a risk for someone like me that is doing very small stretches at a time.

From the advice I have gotten on forums and from watching tons of YouTube videos it sounds as though my technique has a lot to be desired. I go too fast, and do not do a good job with wire stick out or even the basic technique of "writing cursive e's". I am thrilled with the fact that MIG welding seems to not involve as much spatter -- at least not so far -- and I also love the idea of fixing stuff myself, so I will go back to practice, practice, practice, as has been suggested, but with the knowledge that I can achieve improvement with this machine, and if not, that the HF inverter welder is another option.

Thanks,
David

those machines are bottom rung. at least its a mig not a flux core machine.
however the lack of adjustability does make it more difficult.
you do not need to buy a miller/lincoln/(top end brand). a middle of the road is fine, plenty around that offer better adjustability.

imho its better off learning to stick weld first. that teaches you the basics and so much easier to set up.
of course you can stick weld a trailer easy enough.

once you have done that, then mig becomes a lot easier because you know what to look for.
the hardest thing is working the setup and what things you have to do to compensate for the lack of adjustability.

Hi Tweake,
Great points about adjustability. It seems to be the common theme throughout many of the responses here and on Welding Talk. It also seems to be true that wire speed and how I hold the gun/wire spacing, etc. are major factors.

Thanks,
David

Hi Tweake, All,
Another attempt this morning. As posted on Welding Talk, here are a few pics. I tried to slow down, at least some... 1/8" steel Airstream frame cross member. Settings on the Harbor Freight welder were Max 1, 8.5 wire speed, using .030 solid wire and 75/25 "Gold Gas"...

Two pics... first is with no experience and little absorbed advice. Second, after getting answers on these forums and watching more videos...

Thanks,
David

first thing is clean the metal. get the grinder out and get some nice shiny metal to weld.
just run beads, just like in the videos.

i would go get a stick welder.
need to learn how to form a puddle and move that puddle, and not have a ton of adjustments you need to get right.
one thing that often happens with mig is people learn the settings and weld with there eyes closed. that can work but it obviously can bite you in the rear end.
stick forces you to weld with your eyes open. learning stick makes learning mig a whole lot easier because your eyes know what to look for.
don't worry it doesn't take to long to learn stick.

Hi Tweake,
Great points! A good friend of mine is fantastic at stick welding. I will ask him to teach me.

Thanks,
David

2002sheds wrote: ↑Sat Jul 17, 2021 2:11 amHi Tweake,
Great points! A good friend of mine is fantastic at stick welding. I will ask him to teach me.

Thanks,
David

thats even better, you will learn it in no time.
jody also has a lot of good video's on it. binge watch them until your eyes bleed lol.
once you know what to look for, you can see it and make it happen, you will be fine.
a days instruction and you will have the basics down. then after that going to mig is much easier.
don't forget nothing wrong with stick welding a trailer, often preferred if your outside.

Hi Tweake,
The trailer is indeed outside... between the advice about the helmet from G-Man and this, I am learning a LOT -- thanks!

David