Mig Welding- Harbor Freight Wire vs Name Brand

[Bruce Amacker]

Hey guys:

I'm restoring an old car and migging in a lot of panels, I moved up from a Lincoln Handy Mig to a Millermatic 135 and am amazed at how much better it welds. I've used both name brand and HF wire in both welders and can't really tell a difference between the two. Can any experiences welders chime in here- do the name brands weld better than the HF wire?

Thanks!

 

[pipsters]

The HF wire is made in Italy, sold on Amazon as well under the OEM name. There is something about the cert rating of it that makes ok for general stuff but I wouldn't use it for structural stuff. I can write more later when I get to a computer.

 

[mcallenautomotive]

My personal experience has been limited , but , I ran out of the Hobart wire I buy at Tractor Supply a few days ago in the middle of a job , i installed a roll of HF wire i keep as a spare ,there was a considerable ammount of spatter and the wire kinked numerous times at the feed tube . I went to my local jobber and bought a 10 lb spool of wire and the problems were over . there were no changes of tension or feed made so I suspect the wire.

 

[crewchief888]

i've never had any good luck with the wire i got at HF...

buddy of mine always complained about his miller mig welder, i always guessed it was his lack of welding skills that were causing his problems, and he agreed.
i tried using his welder one day,with pretty much the same result...
i put a spare roll of lincoln wire i had in it, and once it was dailed in, no problems after that.