Harbor freight Vulcan Welders

[Makoto]

Looks like they're stepping up their game, guys.
1 year risk free money back guarantee.

Any takers on that deal yet? I'm thinkin about it.

 

[motoman3b]

They seem to have alot of good reviews on their website already but for the couple extra hundred bucks I think I'd stick with a company name that has been building them for years

 

[poriggity]

They certainly look interesting.. I will be in the market for a welder soon, and I will be taking a close look at these.

 

[tonyciambrone]

They made it to my local store finally. They look pretty nice. They do not scream industrial or built to last IMO. The knobs felt sloppy, loose, etc. Could be the knobs just needed to be tighten or adjusted on their shaft. The store employees are really, really bad at assembling or setting up merchandise.

 

[DXN1EL]

The stick welder looks like Hobart.

 

[Greeny]

I'm not at all opposed to Harbor Freight. I have a BUNCH of their stuff, because affordable is generally more important to me than durability/capability. I don't rely on any of this for a living, it's hobby support.
The Vulcan line is fairly pricey, and not far off of name-brand stuff. The few reviews I've seen don't put Vulcan at the same quality/durability/capability levels of the big names, so I'm skeptical of spending nearly top of the line money for Harbor Freight goods.
I remain curious where this is going to end up? Eventually moving to traditional HF significant cost undercutting? Or higher quality products competing with major name brands?

 

[American Locomotive]

There was another thread about this. My recommendation is to stay well clear. HF compares their $750 to the $1200 Lincoln Power Mig 210. For an extra $500, you'll get a 3-year warranty, and the Lincoln support, service and quality. That IMO is worth it by itself.

HF has proven time and time again that they don't care about long-term support of discontinued products. What are you going to do in two years when the wire feeder stops working, and you can't get parts anymore because HF switched to a different faceless Chinese supplier? You now have a $750 paper weight.

Maybe if it were a $300-400 machine, I'd consider it. But at $750, it's just too close to the name-brand machines. It's like their Hercules drills. They're basically asking DeWalt and Makita money for an unproven tool and brand.

 

[Makoto]

There was another thread about this. My recommendation is to stay well clear. HF compares their $750 to the $1200 Lincoln Power Mig 210. For an extra $500, you'll get a 3-year warranty, and the Lincoln support, service and quality. That IMO is worth it by itself.

HF has proven time and time again that they don't care about long-term support of discontinued products. What are you going to do in two years when the wire feeder stops working, and you can't get parts anymore because HF switched to a different faceless Chinese supplier? You now have a $750 paper weight.

Maybe if it were a $300-400 machine, I'd consider it. But at $750, it's just too close to the name-brand machines. It's like their Hercules drills. They're basically asking DeWalt and Makita money for an unproven tool and brand.

that is a fair assessment and almost what I've been thinking. On the other hand let say their stuff is 40% cheaper than the competition and they are trying to step up their game (with what appears to be surprising success) and I can stock my shop with 40% more tools for my buck.

that's a lot of extra gear for the non pro.

 

[apollo11]

that is a fair assessment and almost what I've been thinking. On the other hand let say their stuff is 40% cheaper than the competition and they are trying to step up their game (with what appears to be surprising success) and I can stock my shop with 40% more tools for my buck.

that's a lot of extra gear for the non pro.

And 40% more landfill.

 

[T_R]

I don't know what is different with the "vulcan" deal. Does it live long and prosper? Anyway I have the old HF 110 fluxcore machine. The only problem it had is the drive wheel for the feed doesn't push hard enough on the wire to feed well. My solution is a c clamp. It works great now. I use it for everything from body panels to exhaust and even welded my Chevelle frame with it. It's worth the $100.

 

[American Locomotive]

that is a fair assessment and almost what I've been thinking. On the other hand let say their stuff is 40% cheaper than the competition and they are trying to step up their game (with what appears to be surprising success) and I can stock my shop with 40% more tools for my buck.

that's a lot of extra gear for the non pro.

I agree in regards to HF's hand-tools and air-tools, and other simple machines. Those sorts of things you can fix yourself, and if not, it's no big deal since they were cheap.

A complex inverter-drive multi-process welder is a completely different animal.

 

[bobcatdan]

Thought I read that Vulcan is a stand alone India based welder company and HF is basically their main distribution along with a few others if you look hard enough.

 

[Loscaldazar]

Thought I read that Vulcan is a stand alone India based welder company and HF is basically their main distribution along with a few others if you look hard enough.

No, they are two different companies, and the Indian Vulcan makes nothing like the HF Vulcan.

The new design of these welders is pretty good and has quite a bit of thought put into them (on the inside). Large heatsinks, good spacing, flow through design, copper components, etc. I haven't seen the inside of every unit yet, but so far nothing for concern.

Now, granted, you could have a solid physical design but fail to properly spec components and stuff on the boards, but given the effort and thought put into the layout and such, I doubt someone didn't take a close look at what parts they were using.

 

[bobcatdan]

I'll keep my miller.

 

[fordcragar]

Then after 5 or 10 years, your name brand welder would still have a value. That doesn't even take not account if you have problems, who is going to fix the HF welder.

 

[oldtools]

I saw them at HF and the quality is quite nice. If I don't already have a Lincoln, I might give the Vulcan a try.

 

[mikeceli]

MY HF MIG 220 170 has never worked right since new. Except I had no MIG training and thought it was my lack of skill. By the time I got trained and knew it was junk, it was well out of warranty.

Never again.


I got a rain check from Tractor Supply, on a Hobart Handler 190 220V for $650, due back in stock soon.

 

[Dewaynep]

My old Silver Beauty 90100 110v MIG welder died a couple weeks ago. I had seen the reviews of the Vulcan TIG welders on YouTube and thought maybe HF had a decent welder now. I had, before I bought my Silver Beauty (used), the older style HF 110v MIG welder and that thing was pure junk. Long story short, I bought the MIGMAX 215 110/220v MIG welder. At first look, it looks like a very well made machine, not like the other HF stuff you bought in the past. The overall look and feel is much more polished than the regular HF items. Anyway, I have been using it for the past 2 weeks and so has my son. He used it before I did to weld his truck frame and he commented on how he liked it better than the Lincoln we have at work. I thought that was interesting so I had to try it. I welded some exhaust pipe on my DD and I have to say, it is a very nice welder. Feed is consistent, auto settings work as advertised, manual settings work excellent too. I had investigated the Hobart welders before I bought my Silver Beauty and decided they weren't for me. I think HF has a winner on their hands with these new welders. Oh, the consumables are the same as every other MIG welder I have used, so no problems there. It was a bit of a gamble to spend $600 at HF but with the 1 year return policy on these welders it has worked out great for me so far. I may be back here in a year or two telling you what a pile of junk it is, but I suspect I will not. I have a toolbox full of Snap-on hand tools and I did purchase a Miller Plasma cutter, but for my money I don't think I could have gotten a welder of this quality for the same money.

 

[kkroger]

For LESS than the HF 200A TIG box, you can get an AHP AlphaTIG 200X I actually have two of them now, one at the shop and one at the house, the one at the house I added a Cooler and 25' 20 torch and an SSC Pedal...

60% Duty Cycle at 200A Vs 25%
100% Duty Cycle at 150A and less.

The "Vulcan" never hits 100% probably even at 10A (likely the least it will actually Light up at) the Torch and lead suffer the same fate as most, the Torch is a 17 so it is kinda big, and the lead is quite stiff and in this instance not easily changed, the AHP uses industry standard Dinse connectors and it is plug and play... the Pedal with the HF unit doesn't look too great either but then the one that comes with the AHP is a bit dodgy as well. Sure I'd love to have a Miller Dynasty TIG, and a 252 or 350 Millermatic MIG, But the AHP is best bang for the buck right now I think.

 

[bcradio]

They seem to have alot of good reviews on their website already but for the couple extra hundred bucks I think I'd stick with a company name that has been building them for years

-Just came out and lots of reviews
-Legitimate reviews

Pick one

 

[jonesg]

I got a rain check from Tractor Supply, on a Hobart Handler 190 220V for $650, due back in stock soon.

You can't go far wrong there. Smart move.

I have learned to stay away from the bleeding edge of asian technology. Call me in 5 yrs.