Vulcan welders at Harbor Freight

[6PTsocket]

Unlike the other new lines at HF, Vulcan is not a house brand. It is an Indian company that makes a rather extensive line of welders. When I searched for other retailers the only thing that came up were sellers in the UK. HF exchange warrantys it for a year. There has to be a limit what people will spend with no expectation of spare parts and factory support. A lot here seem willing to buy Hercules as a throw away but would they spend $500 on a tool that is non repairable? I e mailed Vulcan in India to ask if there is any US support and spare parts. So far no answer. If they do not respond, that is the end of it for me.

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[bobcatdan]

Buy a Miller and don't worry about the rest.

 

[Loscaldazar]

Unlike the other new lines at HF, Vulcan is not a house brand. It is an Indian company that makes a rather extensive line of welders. When I searched for other retailers the only thing that came up were sellers in the UK. HF exchange warrantys it for a year. There has to be a limit what people will spend with no expectation of spare parts and factory support. A lot here seem willing to buy Hercules as a throw away but would they spend $500 on a tool that is non repairable? I e mailed Vulcan in India to ask if there is any US support and spare parts. So far no answer. If they do not respond, that is the end of it for me.

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Two different companies, two different logos, not related at all.

 

[RevitAuto]

I have used one for about 3 weeks, it is a decent unit compared to the Lincoln MP210. I like the Miller equivalent, however, for the price I am satisfied, we do all of our work onsite in the field and don't want to risk damaging a more expensive unit. I will be doing a multi-part review on it

 

[Stooge]

i hadn't really looked at them, but was pretty surprised by the prices when I just looked on their site. No way would I spend $500-800 on a harbor freight welder when at that price point, there are many other options, first coming to mind would be Hobart. Harbor freight 140 mig welder- $499, Hobart 140 US made, (atleast assembled in the US) for the same price, (actually its $10 less, $489 at Northern Tool) . im not an avid HF shopper, but I think they may have overshot their demographic at this price point.

 

[6PTsocket]

i hadn't really looked at them, but was pretty surprised by the prices when I just looked on their site. No way would I spend $500-800 on a harbor freight welder when at that price point, there are many other options, first coming to mind would be Hobart. Harbor freight 140 mig welder- $499, Hobart 140 US made, (atleast assembled in the US) for the same price, (actually its $10 less, $489 at Northern Tool) . im not an avid HF shopper, but I think they may have overshot their demographic at this price point.

Especially when you consider there is no technical support and probably no parts. One year exchange warranty and that's it unless,you spend even more for an extended warranty. It is a bit pricey for a throw away. For me that point is much lower. I do not use my tools for a living and I keep my tools going as long as I can. No parts? No support? No sale. I can see that welder going down for lack of some small piece and you are SOL. The popular 2 stage, 5 hp compressor is supported by IMC, the manufacturer. I wish more HF stuff was not only a house brand. I understand no parts/ no support is part of how they keep prices down but their sales model is not my problem.

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[dnschmidt]

I disagree. Apparently, and this is just my opinion, HF has decided to duke it out with the big boys toe to toe. You can see this with the Pittsburgh Pro hand tools, the Hercules power tools and now these welders. Within a year we'll be able to tell if they got the goods or not but the master plan seems to be to move uptown. I predict that within five years HF will be the only brick and mortar tool store left and in preparation for that they are trying to gain legitimacy with pro level users. Don't know if they will succeed in achieving that but time will tell.

 

[zendriver]

Maybe they are like everything else harbor freight sells.

The people that don't Buy their products, ***** about the quality and say they rather have something else.

Those that buy their products, just use them and then get on with life.

I have a 120 V Lincoln wire welder. I don't use it much, but it doesn't look like it has a whole bunch of moving parts that would wear out and break. Maybe they do.

Perhaps if somebody welded nine hours a day, they might want to get a different brand.


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[6PTsocket]

Maybe they are like everything else harbor freight sells.

The people that don't Buy their products, ***** about the quality and say they rather have something else.

Those that buy their products, just use them and then get on with life.

I have a 120 V Lincoln wire welder. I don't use it much, but it doesn't look like it has a whole bunch of moving parts that would wear out and break. Maybe they do.

Perhaps if somebody welded nine hours a day, they might want to get a different brand.


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At least some of the welders are inverter technology. That means they get rid of a big heavy, expensive to make transformer with a lot of solid state circuitry. A lot of companies are going that way and that is fine if you can get those parts. It doesn't have to be mechanical to die. A fan goes out, a semiconductor overheats and POW!

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[lbhsbz]

My local store just got the Vulcan units in and the display set up. They seem considerably more decent than your typical cheapo welders.

One interesting note on the "omnipro" multi process machine..the only AC tig in the line up, doesn't come with a tig torch or pedal...available separate (but not stocked in the store currently) for $80 each...which puts the price right up at $960 instead of $799 if you want TIG function out of your TIG machine.

 

[Loscaldazar]

My local store just got the Vulcan units in and the display set up. They seem considerably more decent than your typical cheapo welders.

One interesting note on the "omnipro" multi process machine..the only AC tig in the line up, doesn't come with a tig torch or pedal...available separate (but not stocked in the store currently) for $80 each...which puts the price right up at $960 instead of $799 if you want TIG function out of your TIG machine.

The Tig 200 (whatever it is called) is also AC Tig Capable.

 

[67gto]

I just bought the Vulcan ProTig200, A 200 amp AC/DC Tig machine, came with foot pedal, gas regulator (not flowmeter), Stick holder, & air cooled Tig torch, 2 power cables, ground cable & clamp, and Tig consumables, 1/16, 3/32, 1/8 grey tungstens, & collets, caps, etc. Back in the early 80's I Tig welded at tech school, with a big old transformer machine, a Miller Synchrowave 300 I think. The new Vulcan line has 2 AC/DC Tig machines, the 165 & the 200. I paid $749.00, using an online discount coupon that I got emailed to me. It has A/C pulse, balance, & frequency adjustment. The basics. My friend has a top of the line Everlast that he paid over $3K for. which has way to many adjustments & controls for a simple home user like myself. I bought a 250 amp water cooled torch off ebay, & will buy a cooler also. I researched tests of this welder on youtube & no bad hits on it so far. The way I look at all of this off brand stuff is if anything goes wrong with it, I just go buy another one & return the broken one for a refund. Which works as long as they continue to carry the specific item. I have an Airco Dip/Stick 160 mig welder that I bought in 1982. I still works great, I can get parts for the mig gun, but if something major inside goes bad, I'm SOL. If you are a professional and depend on a piece of equipment for your living. then I would only buy Miller or Lincoln, but for home use, that you are spending for a hobby, price is a big factor.

 

[wolframore]

I'm waiting for the ProTig 200 to come down in price. I believe they have missed their market with the pricing, having said that this is a nice unit with everything I would need in a TIG welder for the garage. Wish they kept it in the $400-500 range. Not sure why a bunch of MOSFET inverter power supply would raise the price so much from an expensive copper transformer power supply.

I hate that they try to make out that they are as good as Lincoln when Lincoln has done so much in terms of creating a market, supporting welding as a profession and have great support and distribution. Lincoln has been supplying Boy Scouts with equipment and training recently. They also show up at every trade show like FabTech - I didnt see Harbor Freight there.

I can't justify their pricing yet but hoping they knock down the pricing by at least $100 soon.

BTW - the OmniPro multi welder is capable of DC Tig only. Since I have a MIG set up I'm only interested in the ProTig set up at this time. Everything you need to get running.

Charlie

 

[jonesg]

I disagree. Apparently, and this is just my opinion, HF has decided to duke it out with the big boys toe to toe. You can see this with the Pittsburgh Pro hand tools, the Hercules power tools and now these welders. Within a year we'll be able to tell if they got the goods or not but the master plan seems to be to move uptown. I predict that within five years HF will be the only brick and mortar tool store left and in preparation for that they are trying to gain legitimacy with pro level users. Don't know if they will succeed in achieving that but time will tell.

Trump has started hitting Chinese and Korean consumer imports with tarrifs, 50% on washing machines.
If they go after Chinese tool imports HF will be the big loser.

 

[LawnBoy-5247]

The thing I find discouraging is the short warranty and lack of parts support. While not a welder I recently purchased a auto darkening welding hood. I looked at Vulcan it was $120 with a 90 day warranty the Miller I purchased cost me $180 and has a 3 year warranty. I would rather spend extra to get a machine that will be supported in the future instead of saving money on a machine that will be junk if a part fails in a couple years.

 

[jonesg]

The thing I find discouraging is the short warranty and lack of parts support. While not a welder I recently purchased a auto darkening welding hood. I looked at Vulcan it was $120 with a 90 day warranty the Miller I purchased cost me $180 and has a 3 year warranty. I would rather spend extra to get a machine that will be supported in the future instead of saving money on a machine that will be junk if a part fails in a couple years.

Warranty aside, Miller and lincoln are simply better build machines, built to commercial standards....not price point consumer machines.

 

[xin]

The thing I find discouraging is the short warranty and lack of parts support. While not a welder I recently purchased a auto darkening welding hood. I looked at Vulcan it was $120 with a 90 day warranty the Miller I purchased cost me $180 and has a 3 year warranty. I would rather spend extra to get a machine that will be supported in the future instead of saving money on a machine that will be junk if a part fails in a couple years.

THAT right there is the CATCH... 90 days they know most people may or my not use it in that time window (they got their money) and time is up or it breaks...

$120 vs $180 (I will spend the $180) not only that they may not even have that 'name' in 6 months they may call it the --> VULTURE...

Then what do you do, that is the way that place works. In the end it always COST you more when you try to do anything on the cheap.

 

[Crazyjake8493]

I would look elsewhere for welders. If you don't want to spend the $$$ on Lincoln, Miller, ESAB, you can always go with AHP for a good TIG machine or Everlast for pretty much any machine you want. Good quality and decent support from what I hear, though I've never had an issue with my AHP in 3+ years.

 

[Crazyjake8493]

Unlike the other new lines at HF, Vulcan is not a house brand. It is an Indian company that makes a rather extensive line of welders.

Pretty sure it's a house brand. The only other Vulcan company I could find was this one, which is a different brand entirely.

http://www.vulcanwelding.com/

 

[xin]

Pretty sure it's a house brand. The only other Vulcan company I could find was this one, which is a different brand entirely.

http://www.vulcanwelding.com/

Hmm how can they use that name?

 

[gearhead1]

The thing I find discouraging is the short warranty and lack of parts support. While not a welder I recently purchased a auto darkening welding hood. I looked at Vulcan it was $120 with a 90 day warranty the Miller I purchased cost me $180 and has a 3 year warranty. I would rather spend extra to get a machine that will be supported in the future instead of saving money on a machine that will be junk if a part fails in a couple years.

I did the exact same thing. No point in the HF Vulcan helmet when the Miller is only a few bucks more. I’d get a welder if enough guys post that they're worth it without too many hassles. The AHP and Everlast have a lot of buyers out there with feedback posted. While anecdotal, you at least have an idea of what the experience could be like to own one.

I want an AC Tig for aluminum, and dont want to pay Lincoln/Miller prices. AHP and Everlast have been in business for a while. HF Vulcan isn’t an option for me yet.

 

[ssdave]

I looked, and then bought a Lincoln. Triple the warranty, better service, known parts availability, good track record, and for me HF isn't local.

Same with helmet. Ended up buying a Lincoln, looked at Speedglas and Miller also. Had too many reports of poor sensors on HF screwing up and flashing the welders eyes. For $50 or so more, I feel a lot more confident in the better one.

Some things just don't seem worth saving a few dollars on.

 

[xin]

I looked, and then bought a Lincoln. Triple the warranty, better service, known parts availability, good track record, and for me HF isn't local.

Same with helmet. Ended up buying a Lincoln, looked at Speedglas and Miller also. Had too many reports of poor sensors on HF screwing up and flashing the welders eyes. For $50 or so more, I feel a lot more confident in the better one.

Some things just don't seem worth saving a few dollars on.

Gettin that flash burn one won't be weldin for long...

 

[6PTsocket]

Unlike the other new lines at HF, Vulcan is not a house brand. It is an Indian company that makes a rather extensive line of welders. When I searched for other retailers the only thing that came up were sellers in the UK. HF exchange warrantys it for a year. There has to be a limit what people will spend with no expectation of spare parts and factory support. A lot here seem willing to buy Hercules as a throw away but would they spend $500 on a tool that is non repairable? I e mailed Vulcan in India to ask if there is any US support and spare parts. So far no answer. If they do not respond, that is the end of it for me.

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I further researched this and I stand corrected. While there is an Indian welder manufacturer named Vulcan, it seems that is not the Vulcan at HF.

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[Jim c]

Dnschmidt. I agree with your logic about hf. I don’t know that it is going to happen in the next five years, but the tendency is certainly in that direction. If those pro line impact sockets are any indication and if they can keep right on making stuff of that quality for that price, well, of course they are going to succeed. My only issue with your reasoning is that I do fear that those pro sockets may not remain as they are; could be that when China stops importing America’s scrap cars and trucks the quality of those pr9 sockets may fall back to the brittle as glass j7nk that China used to make 8n the 1980’s ? As far as welders go, just go to Lowe’s and get a Lincoln Stick tombstone for 300 and you can run it off of your Coleman 5500 generator if you fab your own cord for about 80 Lowe’s.

 

[Detoursusa]

Hello Gentleman, Ladies.......My name is Mark, new here but not to welding, I've been a certified welder since 1988. I somehow stumbled on this forum & topic searching something else, came across this and decided to chime in...

I own the Vulcan 215 MigMax....I've owned/used all the others...red,blue,tan,yellow,green....My last machin was a Lincoln 218 cabinet machine, burned the positive internal lead off of it within 1 hour of ownership....cause: Never tightened from factory (Mexico)
Never really liked the machine, bought it to finish a structural job I was almost finished with when my Hobart 220 blew it's diodes.....In this business you do not let a job sit while your welder is being repaired......

So, after a recent 1200 mile relocation, I had to re-equip a shop to make a living, sold off the Lincoln for 1k after about 10 years of use. No longer doing structural, I'm into other things now and limited space.....I needed a smaller machine with power. Up until 6 months ago, I had never stepped into a HF store in my life......But this Vulcan caught my eye, had to check it out.....Over all build quality, cabinet, wire feed.....just about all of it, pretty impressive......I took the chance figuring I could return. I've had all those other machines (or most) previously mentioned......pretty much underpowered over all and to be clear, non of those are intended to be in an industrial environment, field use YES, but not the other. Inverter technology is nothing new, I've used inverter mig machines as far back as 1989.....

So to the point.......about 6 months of ownership, by the end of this week I will have pushed over 100 pounds of wire through the Vulcan, I use it in production virtually 7 days a week, it operates about 5-6 hours a day, this past Sunday....I finally changed out the original tip & cone. The thickest of my steel needs is 3/4" bar to 5/16" plate.....zero issue's at 3/4 throttle. (power) The thinnest I've welded with it was 24 gauge, I use straight Co2 and it's operated flawlessly......

I'll most likely purchase their TIG next, I stay away from multi process machines and digital LCD screens....there's no real point in them. Real world review, trust me I'm slightly surprised in it's performance myself, but it's not new technology.......back to welding, have a great day!!

 

[Broke_Again]

Thanks Mark!

 

[Detoursusa]

You bet!

If you want a truly 'serviceable' machine with 140 amps or more, look at HTP welders (usaweld) they're designed to be serviced by their owner with full tech support assist and parts shipped to your door if required. Cabinet units are built in Hungry & feature copper windings....blue/red both feature aluminum windings in their non inverter machines......and speaking of red, all units single phase and under are assembled in Mexico.....unsure about blue, I lost interest in them when they started molding in cup holders on their cabinet machines.

Have a great day!!

 

[6PTsocket]

Two different companies, two different logos, not related at all.

Yeah, I discovered that after my incorrect post. My bad.

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[WittHay]

HF Vulcan is for Americans that like to gamble. Lincoln and Miller is for Canadians that don't.

Lincoln is made in Mexico for Lincoln of Canada and sold and serviced by local welding stores that have been around forever

Vulcan is made in China for a centrally managed US company Harbor Freight that can't even transfer welders between stores with no parts and service.

The Vulcan welder might work great for years, might quit 2 days after warranty who knows. Chance you take

 

[Wamsutta]

I agree with WittHay. For a welding machine, I've got to have full factory technical support and replacement parts readily available.

 

[anndel]

I was in the same boat a few months ago and settled on a Lincoln MIG 210 MP and a Hobart Handler 140. Parts and service available locally. Vulcan at HF was tempting but if I had to warranty it I would have to pack it up and ship it back to HF from Hawaii at a cost of over $100 for shipping.

 

[Detoursusa]

I'm speaking as someone who chose a different road, had the luxury of time to put it through it's paces, and was willing to return if it need be, not to mention I actually own it and use it daily, sooner or later, warranty or not, they break.
After nearly 100lbs of wire run thru it in less than 6 months and still operating as new with only 1 tip change, it's proving itself.

Did you not read my Lincoln 218 broke after 1 hour of use, brand new?

When my ESAB lost a board (very well known brand) after only 11 hours of operation and just out of warranty.....I was furious at the repair charge. The game changer on today's major brands happened when my ESAB rep. stated "You know Mark, these don't last forever".....I was like - Ya, obviously not even 12 working hours....

This was meant as a review on the Vulcan instead of the chatter.....So I'll leave it at that, tried it, like it, trouble free to date by an actual user with 34 years of welding burns and counting.

 

[zendriver]

Hmm

Spend $600 more for a similar "Name brand" Mexican made welder, for the capability, of being able to purchase a $35 repair part, years down the road.

Having a tough time wrapping my head around the economics, of this concept.

 

[zendriver]

I'm speaking as someone who chose a different road, had the luxury of time to put it through it's paces, and was willing to return if it need be, not to mention I actually own it and use it daily, sooner or later, warranty or not, they break.
After nearly 100lbs of wire run thru it in less than 6 months and still operating as new with only 1 tip change, it's proving itself.

Did you not read my Lincoln 218 broke after 1 hour of use, brand new?

When my ESAB lost a board (very well known brand) after only 11 hours of operation and just out of warranty.....I was furious at the repair charge. The game changer on today's major brands happened when my ESAB rep. stated "You know Mark, these don't last forever".....I was like - Ya, obviously not even 12 working hours....

This was meant as a review on the Vulcan instead of the chatter.....So I'll leave it at that, tried it, like it, trouble free to date by an actual user with 34 years of welding burns and counting.

You're new, so you missed all of the recent fun arguing about Harbor Freight, now selling "high end" products ($400 and up) still without any 3-5 year limited warranty and no availability of repair parts.

It didn't really seem to matter, that many that actually use the products, seem to have few problems, even long term, so therefore probably will not need warranty /parts and the products are still priced reasonably enough (which is relative), that if it does fail, pitch it in the scrap pile and get another one.

Power users, can just purchase the extended replacement warranty then just beat the piss out of the tool, such as a generator, welder or miter saw.

The "throw away" tool is a tough concept to accept, regardless of the quality of the tool, or how well it performs.

Don't go away, your input is welcome, even if it is not agreed with.

 

[Wamsutta]

....

 

[thickhead]

Honestly, the only thing that interests me about the Vulcan machines is if their existance causes Miller/Lincoln/Hobart/Etc. to improve their machines or downgrade their machines due to the Vulcan competition.

They may have to step up, but they may be able to cut more corners too.

 

[GTO]

Hello Gentleman, Ladies.......My name is Mark, new here but not to welding, I've been a certified welder since 1988. I somehow stumbled on this forum & topic searching something else, came across this and decided to chime in...

I own the Vulcan 215 MigMax....I've owned/used all the others...red,blue,tan,yellow,green....My last machin was a Lincoln 218 cabinet machine, burned the positive internal lead off of it within 1 hour of ownership....cause: Never tightened from factory (Mexico)
Never really liked the machine, bought it to finish a structural job I was almost finished with when my Hobart 220 blew it's diodes.....In this business you do not let a job sit while your welder is being repaired......

So, after a recent 1200 mile relocation, I had to re-equip a shop to make a living, sold off the Lincoln for 1k after about 10 years of use. No longer doing structural, I'm into other things now and limited space.....I needed a smaller machine with power. Up until 6 months ago, I had never stepped into a HF store in my life......But this Vulcan caught my eye, had to check it out.....Over all build quality, cabinet, wire feed.....just about all of it, pretty impressive......I took the chance figuring I could return. I've had all those other machines (or most) previously mentioned......pretty much underpowered over all and to be clear, non of those are intended to be in an industrial environment, field use YES, but not the other. Inverter technology is nothing new, I've used inverter mig machines as far back as 1989.....

So to the point.......about 6 months of ownership, by the end of this week I will have pushed over 100 pounds of wire through the Vulcan, I use it in production virtually 7 days a week, it operates about 5-6 hours a day, this past Sunday....I finally changed out the original tip & cone. The thickest of my steel needs is 3/4" bar to 5/16" plate.....zero issue's at 3/4 throttle. (power) The thinnest I've welded with it was 24 gauge, I use straight Co2 and it's operated flawlessly......

I'll most likely purchase their TIG next, I stay away from multi process machines and digital LCD screens....there's no real point in them. Real world review, trust me I'm slightly surprised in it's performance myself, but it's not new technology.......back to welding, have a great day!!

Great review,how has the included gun held up ?
Thanks for the post.

 

[Detoursusa]

Don't go away, your input is welcome, even if it is not agreed with.

Yes, I'm new......I'll hang around, yes I missed a previous HF conversation but like I said before, I myself had never entered a HF store up until purchasing this welder, it went against everything I knew about tools & business.

wamsutta- https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/...2&d=1523984595
Is that pulsed MIG and did you go vertical up?

Not a pulsed mig, it's the Migmax 215....The part in question I have the luxury of placing in any position I like to lay the welds, those are all flat welds but I will place a picture below of a vertical up weld. As a certified welder, any vertical weld needs to be vertical 'up'....period. You don't need a pulse welder to do this, you simply use a 'J' pattern and heat control from experience.

GTO- The gun has held up great, as I stated prior this past Sunday was the very 1st replacement of the original contact tip & cone since purchased....that means I ran about 96 pounds of wire thru the liner, tip & cone before changing it out......"96 POUNDS". I've seen some riff-raff review yahoo's on Youtube who consider themselves super hero welders pick on the gun size, for me it's actually perfect as I had to use narrow cones on my Lincoln 90% of the time anyway........No matter the brand, they're all plastic, inside is a simple spring loaded contact switch, not much to go wrong here, it's held up as any other would so far.

One of 'the' most impressive things right out of the gate with these welders is how they're packaged for shipment.......I mean, there was absolutely 'no' expense spared on their shipping packaging, it's mind blowing, who ever is behind the product really did their homework and spent a great deal of money & pride into this aspect......No other brand I unpackaged displayed this amount of thought, effort or expense. Excellent execution of 'brand building'...

Vertical up weld -

 

[Jazz1]

Warranty aside, Miller and lincoln are simply better build machines, built to commercial standards....not price point consumer machines.

I was at Praxair looking at Lincoln welders. Clerk told me the Lincoln welders at the big box stores are inferior models than what he has on the floor. Never looked further, my current mig is a Air Liquide brand 15 years old and parts are still available.