Harbor Freight Vulcan MIGMAX 215: Review Pt 2, Welding
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- Опубліковано 27 лип 2024
- This is the second part of my review of the Vulcan MIGMAX 215 welder from Harbor Freight. In this video I show some welding arc shots and the resulting welds. I also give my overall opinion of the welder, now that I have arc time with the machine.
Part 1:
• Harbor Freight Vulcan ...
Just a quick, one year update. My cousin is still using this welder regularly and has had no problems. He has also purchased the spool gun and started welding aluminum, and he says it works pretty good for aluminum too. He lives pretty far away, so it's tough to get any video with the spool gun, but it seems to work for him.
Just wanted to let people know that it's still working fine one year later.
bigtb1717 would you say it does fine welding aluminum daily? I’m getting either the mig max 215 or Omni pro specifically for spoolgun aluminum welding. Thanks for the help. Great videos.
Impressive with the flux core
Finally someone who can weld is reviewing the vulcan mig thanx
Check It Out
Thanks for doing the flux core as well as MIG. I liked your comments, very insightful.
Best review of the Vulcan welder I've seen yet.
Absolutely beautiful welding
Thanks I will definitely get this welder over the 140 110 volt ! 💯👍
Thanks for the review. Very well done.
It runs gas shielded fluxcore awesome as well
Good to know.
Wish they would add tstat for fan.
Thats so cool I have a Chicago harbor frieght 125 and a 170 they do awesome but with your volcan can actually see what your puddles doing awesome video thanks
Great Video ............ Super thorough . Thank you
Great review! Much appreciated!
great review
I recall the day when mig welders were as big as a volkswagen and as expensive as a Rolls Royce. Now look all these new modern tools!
I just bought one on sale. That’s for the great video on its use as I’m a beginner.
Thanks for review
very nice review! Thanks!
What a great review
I just brought this welder today looking forward to some good welds
Love your behind the helmet welding view
Your review of the Vulcan 215 is very helpful thanks. I've just dove in and purchased one prior to watching this video.
Great review after seeing the first video I went out and bought one
I was gonna buy another Hobart but after the last one I had I was ready for something different and this welder is it! Thank you for sharing your thoughts and expertise on this product
I set it up today with 025 wire and argon c02 mix and had the welder set on auto and plugged into 110
It welded beautiful but after a couple test welds on thin Honda fender sheet metal the duty cycle light came on ? It was still welding fine but the D.C. Light came on so I switched to manual and it welded fine and the light never came on ? I only welded a couple minutes total
Maybe I should always be using 220 ? But it's just thin stuff I mostly weld
Can this welder hold a 5lb wire or just the 2lb wire?
Excellent review, it appears that this machine will do the job. I think my son and I will work on getting one soon. Still trying to decide between this one and the Omni 220.
well done! thank you!!!
Great in-depth review, thanks! Been considering this machine ever since it came out. I run an AlphaTIG in my hobby shop now, but I've been looking to add an inexpensive MIG machine for longer/thicker runs on steel. Definitely answered a lot of my questions.
Wow I got to get some seat time you are very good.
Thank you for this!!
Great camera work, before n after, just the best review I have seen and some excellent welds. Agree with others that it is nice to see what can be done in the hands of an experienced Welder. I am going to get one ! Thank you.
Ok, thanks for the info
Nice Job, You and the Vulcan are Pro.... 👍
You pretty much sold me. I've been looking at Lincolns and Miller's for awhile. But this seems like a no brainier for the price
Very good clean review with honest points made. From the sounds of it I am sold on this unit. The quality and performance you pointed out with the price have led me to believe this is the way to go for my home projects above the other welders Harbor Freight offers. Compared to Lincoln and other brands, per this review, why spend the additional money for something that doesn't justify that increase?
OK, this one is now on my shopping list (but I will be buying the Lincoln Wire - also due to this review). Much appreciate it, Thank you.
Just bought one on sale. The warranty is now 90 days not a year. I purchased the one year extended warranty and was told by HF you can add on to the warranty at 15 months if you want to. The one year extension was 69.95.
If it’s possible would like to see you do a review of the Weldpro 210 LCD
Can't say when I would get to it, but I'll put it on the list.
Just looked over the manual for the MIG 210LCD. Inaccuracies/incorrect numbers and mistakes/conflicting info all over the place, lol. Hopefully they put more care into getting the machine right.
Thanks for video! Would love to see how it does with the spool gun.
Yes, a video with a spool gun would be nice. I'm looking for a cheaper backup for my Everlast welder. It would be good to have a backup that can run a spool gun.
Joseph White don't waste your money, especially because the Vulcan stuff is more expensive. Buy an eastwood
would like to have seen a Cut and Etch on this, mainly for the solid wire, on 240 v setting. Thanks for a great video none the less....
Thanks for the great review please keep us posted, I'm in between one of these and a millermatic 211
So far, so good. Few more projects done and no problems. My cousin has it right now and has been using it a lot around the farm and likes it a lot.
I'm also getting ready to review an ESAB Rebel EM 215ic, which is between the MIGMAX 215 and the Millermatic 211 price wise, but has the best feature set of the three. Just in case that one interested you at all.
Hopefully get at least the first part of that review done this weekend.
The Rebel is my machine too. It’s a great mig machine. A very good stick machine too. But it’s fairly basic for TIG. No gas solenoid for TIG is an annoyance, but not a killer. But, as a DC only machine, I have to use the spool gun for aluminum. Having said that, the spool gun works very well, and the aluminum welds from it are excellent.
It runs 6010 like nothing else I’ve ever used.
The manual isn’t great though. It’s isn’t on paper either. I have it on my iPad. But if you don’t understand the details of the MiG features, you won’t after reading the manual.
Sigh, I didn’t see that they announced the 205 until after I had my 215 for a couple of months. Now, I’m questioning whether I should find out how to sell this in favor of the 205, which is $1,000 more. Hearing some really good things about it though.
Even the Vulcan sticks are thin on the flux, all my consumables remain either Forney or Fleetweld lincon
you can actually not only see but hear thte difference with Lincoln wire. it is the best and most expensive per pound. blue demon is just as good same flow and sound but half the price per pound.
I'm about to order some blue demon .035 flux core, I've heard it runs as good as the Lincoln and the hobart. Someone let us know yes?
Were you using 115 or 240 volts in this video? - How many amps is the breaker you are plugged into? - Thanks for a great review!
I used 240V for the video, 40A breaker supplying the receptacle.
I did use 120V on the 1/8 synergic setting and down and it worked well, no problem, welded plenty hot. Used a receptacle on a 20A breaker and had no issues.
Would you mind sharing the manual settings you found ideal for the .035 Lincoln Flux?! As a beginner, I'm slowly adjusting my settings but Im not sure if my skill level is affecting things. Thanks!
Honestly, I can't remember the specific settings I used. Are you having specific issues?
AT 6:00, I was wondering what brand of wire was used.
Lincoln NR 211MP
I own millers but for the average hobbyist this should be a good value.
Great video..very Detailed & to the the point...I might be sold on it..
when u talk about the fan, it's a very important feature. it will add life to your machine also helps quality of your welds wear ear protection if needed. but the fan is a big plus. cools machine down so it will last much longer. older less advanced Inverter type welders are in pawn shops usually don't over heating .. bad curcuits... overheating.. and things like that. Inverter welders are fairly new in the grand scheme of things in welding science.. for small take home welders like ur Vulcan.. the Vulcan line of welders are actually very good.
u have a nice machine there ...
i think the wings are backwards on the plane good review by the way
Ha, could be. I didn't put a whole lot of thought into it. It was part of a practice project kit I bought for someone a while back and I still had one bird and one plane, so I figured I'd use them for this video. In person it looked right at the time, but I can't say for sure.
Thanks for the info on your set up ive used snap on , black hawk, and hobart mig units they were picky about shielding gas they ran awesome on gold blend shielding gas over the 25c gas . Had a question on your unit any bird nests yet from either wires . The Blackhawk and snap on units were prone to bird nest problem which ever brand of wire or gage we used im sold on the HF welder so far have to get it under the wifes radar
I just realized you had asked another question about the bird nests. None at all. Wire feed has been smooth an problem free. My cousin uses the welder regularly on his farm and has had zero issues with it to this day.
The synergic setting was explained but if you put the thickness knob at 3/8 for 3/8" metal or 10, and then look at the setting info on the lid, you will find that the recommenced setting for 0.45 flux core wire is J/8.5. I brought this discrepancy to the attention of Harbor Freight Technical Support but they had to escalate it to a corporate engineer, I understand. Also, another example of a discrepancy, for instance, is the recommended setting for 0.035 solid wire and C100. On the lid for 240 volts for 1/8" it says D4 but if you set the left knob at 1/8" on the front panel to 1/8" the corresponding point is midway between 6 and 7. Are the synergic settings and the manual settings supposed to be so much different?
I understand you are supposed to refer to the chart on the lid for the manual settings and for the synergic settings, you go by the orange highlighted thicknesses that are around the thickness knob.
Can anyone explain the discrepancies I have found? Thanks.
I don't think the settings are related. In synergic mode the knob simply adjusts the thickness you want to weld and the welder makes the wire feed speed and voltage settings in the background. The settings it picks will vary based on wire thickness and shielding gas settings. In manual mode the knob directly adjusts wire feed speed and the chart suggests settings based on various parameters.
Excellent vids! Any further thoughts after four months of ownership?
Thanks again, good stuff!
Still working well. I didn't have any real projects lined up after the review, but my cousin had some things, so he has it right now and has been repairing equipment around the farm. He likes it a lot and has had no issues.
Hello just wondering if you have to switch ac dc when you use flux core wire ? Because I have the same one and it splatters alot of metal balls and does not weld strong
Yes, you have to switch the polarity. There are wing nuts below the wire feed mechanism that allow you to swap the gun and ground wires to switch polarity. Flux core will weld exactly as you describe with the polarity backwards.
I just purchased one of these, and had a question. Does your welder continue to release gas out of the gun for about a second after you release the trigger? My old welder shut off instantly, but this one hisses for a second after each weld.
Yup, mine does the same thing.
Thank you very much for the response and the great review. So far seems like a great little welder.
That's the post flow
How does it compare to the ESAB EM215ic? Looking at both of these right now...
I have a two part review on the EM 215ic as well. Overall I prefer the ESAB. Better build quality, standard 3 year warranty, digital display.
I sold the MIGMAX 215 to my cousin and he uses it quite a bit, no problems. I still think it is a good value. But I'm keeping the Rebel EM 215ic.
The esab is superior but cost? Are u a weekend warrior or are you gonna be dragging it out to the rig? Personally as a fabricator and small shop owner the Vulcan does fine but I dunno about throwing it in the back of the truck, etc so it's up to what you have in mind for its use.
I'm about convinced to add this machine for piddling around the yard. I am suspicious of the tensioner. It appears to be friction.
Any issues?
Are you asking about the spool tension adjustment, or the drive roller tension? I assume you are asking about the wire spool tension. Yes, it is simple friction. The tighter you make the wing nut, the more friction is generated. So far I have had no issues with the spool tension. It may be trickier with a larger spool, but I can't say for sure as I've only used 2 Lb spools so far. There is a small spacer, keyed to the shaft, to keep the tension from changing as the spool turns. Simple, but it has worked fine for me so far.
How is aluminum?
I didn't ever use it for aluminum, but the person I sold it to bought a spool gun for it and uses it for aluminum occasionally. He's happy with it.
I just bought the Vulcan Migmax and the wire speed is slow turned all the way up but is quick with the cold wire feed and the stainless settings is this normal for this machine?.
If it's slow when you pull the trigger and let the wire run out into space that is normal. The wire feed starts out slow for a run-in feature to aid with smooth starts. Once the machine detects an arc the wire feed goes up to the set rate.
Does it seem to perform ok?
Thanks for the reply bigtb1717 and great info.I'm a noob haven't used the welder yet and will pick up some c25 gas tomorrow to practice on my welding.
Very well done.. thanks for sharing!
What gauge wire would you use to make a 20-25 foot extension cord, for this welder?
Personally, I would go with 10 gauge (10 AWG).
@@bigtb1717 ok
But isn't awg 10 only rated for 30 Amps max?
For continuous duty applications the recommended max for 10 gauge is 30 amps with 60C insulation. 90C is rated at 40 amps. Welders aren't continuous duty, and an extension cord isn't insulated in a wall or anything, so it should be fine. My calculator says a 25 foot, 10AWG extension cord would drop about 2.2 volts on a 240V circuit at 40 amps. Most of the time your welder won't be drawing that, even when it's running. And a welder is an intermittent duty device. 10 AWG should be fine for 20-25 feet. For 50 feet I would probably step up to 8 AWG.
You could step up to 8 AWG and the voltage drop would be approximately 1.4V in a 25 ft. cord at 40 amps of current draw.
Is that a H.F. weld table? How's it holding up?
Thanks for the review
It's actually a Strong Hand tools Nomad welding table. I originally bought it to be a portable work table that I could fold up and put in my trailer, but I've found it very handy in my garage as well. I have the Tab and Slot Certiflat table that I really like, but the Nomad sets up quick and I use it a lot. It is very similar to the HF table, as far as I know. I don't know how the HF table holds up, but this one holds up well.
It's definitely a lightweight table, as welding tables go, but I've had quite a bit of weight on it and it does fine if you keep it reasonable. I'm very happy with it.
I have one too. I mostly use it for small work. I did find that welding something that requires a fair amount of heat will warp the top. So I use a 1/4” steel plate on top of it that just lays there just to be on the safe side. I wouldn’t use the table for anything heavy.
Yeah, the table is supposedly rated for something like 350 lbs, but I would never use it for anything close to that.
bigtb1717 how about heat distortion? It looks fairly new so I'll prolly ask again in a few months. I may go ahead and buy one
I haven't warped mine yet, but that's probably in large part because I don't do a lot of high heat, long welds. I have definitely put some heat into the table, but not a ton. I'm sure you could warp it if you put a large amount of heat in the top. Either way, I wouldn't count on it to be perfectly flat. It's a lightweight table, not really a super precise fabrication table. I find it a very handy table for small projects and things that don't rely on the table for any needed precision.
Look, I am new to welding & 99% of my problem is the fact that I am stuck using that hand held shield, instead of a decent auto dimming welding helmet! I know that sounds funny but, It is the truth! I personally believe that when I finally purchase a good helmet, ALOT of my issues will vanish! I have a Chicago electric 90 amp arc welder/ wire feed. I know it's basic but, besides the shielding gas, What is so different between the 2? How much does that Vulcan cost? I am wondering exactly what welder I should get? I keep thinking that I just want a stick welder but, I would also like to tig weld & if needed, To have the ability to weld aluminum( I heard that you can switch to using helium & weld aluminum from a tig gun???) I am thinking about making a trip to Harbor freight & getting another welder. I am stuck wanting a good stick welder because I have two boxes of Lincoln electric stick electrodes & I think that I can weld thicker metal with a stick welder but, What do I know? I plan on purchasing a auto dimming helmet this upcoming weekend-FINALLY!!! So, That alone should greatly improve my welding ability. I am still wondering what advantages that machine has over a 90 amp arc welder besides power output & gas/ argon??? Would I simply be buying the same equipment again but with the addition of gas if I bought that Vulcan??? Seeing your results makes me want it. I wish you would have shown just how you lengthened the cable because I WOULD ALSO NEED TO DO SO! Only two 220v outlets here, one in the kitchen & one in the basement so, I would need to use one of them & would need to lengthen the power wire to reach the driveway, careful to not over lengthen it- I wonder what effects adding another 10 feet would cause? Anywho, where did you get the wire & everything needed to extend your power cord? I am just wondering if I can get everything needed from a Royal King(I love their prices!!!) or from Harbor freight?
The 90A flux core welder is an AC output machine, so that limits it quite a bit in terms of performance, even considering the 90A output. The MIGMAX 215 has far more output, has DC output, so it is far smoother, it has synergic modes for easier settings changes for different thickness and it is built a bit better and is nicer to use. In addition to being able to use shielding gas. Spending more on a welder doesn't guarantee better results. But I think the AC output is a big drawback to the 90A flux core from HF.
A decent stick welder is very versatile and will let you weld thicker material. Simple used stick machines are available fairly cheap in most areas. They require a bit more skill to weld thin material, but your 90A flux core should be okay for most thinner stuff (depends on what types of projects you want to do).
DC TIG is very versatile, but I really wouldn't recommend it for aluminum. Sure, it can technically be done with helium, but it takes practice and is generally used for thicker material. Helium is also very expensive (last I checked). A helium mix can help get more out of even an AC TIG machine on aluminum, but even a 25% mix I purchase once was something like 4 times the cost of just Argon. The cost of an AC TIG machine is higher, but if you factor in purchasing and re-filling a helium bottle it starts to even out pretty quick.
The longer you lengthen the power cord, the more voltage drop you will get. I would recommend 10 gauge cord. I purchased the stuff needed at Home Depot. You wouldn't find the components at Harbor Freight, and I doubt Rural King would have them either. You will need to go to a hardware store. Keep in mind, you will need to make sure you get the correct plug for the receptacle you have in your kitchen or basement. Also, make sure the breaker on the circuit is large enough to power whatever welder you end up buying. Some of the older stick welders take quite a bit of power when maxed out.
How long were the ground and umbilical for the gun? Was the gun interchangeable with after market brands (Tweco etc) at the machine's connections? Thanks for the review I have been thinking about upgrading my Lincoln mig (Weldpak is only 90 amps) to a 220 amp machine for my flux core welding. This might be the ticket. The old weldpak has done a lot in the past 25 years but it falls a bit short in the heat causing me to switch to my other machines. Take care. Doug
Your welds look good.
I got the omnipro 220 and I'm curious if a dedicated MigMax for mig welding was a better choice
I haven't used the Omnipro, but I don't know of any reason why the MIGMAX would be any better for MIG. Do you have any issues with the Omnipro?
@@bigtb1717 nothing wrong at all. It just has to many features which may make it fail more often, though that's just speculation
I know what you mean. I guess I'm old school, because I feel the same way about things these days, even cars. Simple is reliable and reliable is better than fancy. But honestly, other than a display screen and access to more software features, I bet the guts of the two welders are fairly similar. Both are a box of circuit boards and electronic components. So there probably isn't a huge difference. Same way I feel about cars these days. Even a simple car without the extra amenities is still a rolling computer with miles of wire and dozens of sensors and modules. You can't escape it any more.
@@bigtb1717 do you know if 0.025 mig wire can be used with the 0.030 drive roll?
I tried looking for a roller that size but couldn't find one made by vulcan
I'm pretty sure my MIGMAX came with two drive rolls. One smooth with 0.025" and 0.030" grooves and one knurled with 0.030" and 0.035" grooves. Did yours only come with one drive roll? I imagine 0.023-25" wire would slip in the 0.030" groove. You could try it, but it may not work great.
What shielding gas are you using and what poundage on the reg . I plan to get one soon ive used gold blend shielding gas when i worked at a body shop
I used standard C25 (75% argon, 25% CO2). I usually have the regulator set around 25 CFH.
would you recommend this welder? I am building a rock crawler and need to weld stuff to the frame of my truck.
Did you watch the video?
Did i miss the price?
Normally $650, but Harbor Freight often has sales or coupons that make it $579-600.
Wings are backwards?
Lol, yeah I think so. I didn't pay that much attention. I just wanted something to weld together in the video.
I was scratching my head wondering. 👍
Maybe I missed it, but how long is the stinger/lead?
The gun and ground lead are each 10 feet long.
Awesome! Thanks for the quick response. I was hoping they were 10 footers.
As far as mig only goes. How dose this 215 having Synergic compare to the Vulcan 220? Or dose the 220 also have Synergic ability?
The 220 basically has Synergic settings, but it works a bit differently. Through the digital display you pick a process (MIG C25 gas, flux core, etc.), then you pick a wire size and material thickness and the machine sets the recommended voltage and wire feed speed. At that point you could start welding with the recommended settings, or adjust from there.
and what sold me on the 220 is that even though there are presets for the processes, you can modify them and store up to 5 different custom settings for each process! That's 5 memory locations times 8 processes! One feature that I use alot.
Will this work on aluminium? I am a noob.
As is, maybe, but likely not. Aluminum won't always feed reliably through a MIG gun. However, Harbor Freight does offer a spool gun accessory that works with this welder. A spool gun houses the wire roll right in the gun, so the aluminum wire doesn't have to feed through the entire cable. With a spool gun you can weld aluminum with this welder. You would need a roll of aluminum wire, the spool gun, and a tank of 100% argon shielding gas (not the 25% CO2/75% argon used for steel MIG).
bigtb1717 thanks
Poppi3579 one day I switched to my spool gun, but forgot to change from argon/co2 to pure argon. My suggestion is that if you want to do art, this will certainly give some interesting looking welds. Shows that even if you do this for a long time, you can easily screw up when switching things around.
have you welded with 110 volts
I did. It has lower output, obviously, but it works well. It still runs very smooth.
@@bigtb1717 thanks for the reply i just bought this welder and havent had a chance to use it
@@williamwilliams4559 No problem. I sold this welder to my cousin (farmer) soon after the review because he needed a welder. He has used it quite a bit over the last couple years and has had no problems. He even bought the spool gun for aluminum and has done some aluminum welding with it.
@@bigtb1717 I just picked up some wire and c25 gas works great with 20amp 110 volts. i guess i'm going to need a plug adapter to run 220 volts
Any issues?
No issues so far. I took the welder to my cousin's farm a while back and ended up leaving it there for him to take care of some projects. He had been wanting a welder of his own for a while and after talking about it with him he just ended up buying the Migmax 215 from me. He has used it quite a bit to repair and build things on the farm with no issues. I just spoke to him a couple days ago and he was heading to the local welding shop to re-fill the gas bottle after using the welder all day to build horse feeders.
He still likes it and it's still working well.
What is a Senergic mode mean
It just means that rather than having to adjust the voltage and wire feed speed settings separately, in Synergic mode you can adjust one single setting and the welder automatically adjusts both wire feed and voltage to match the settings.
Thank you
can we talk some time. or not.
Ok it welds but these machines are JUNK! Look at them wrong and they break
Did you have issues with one? If so, what broke on your machine? My cousin has been using the one from the video (I sold it to him a while back) pretty hard for the better part of a year, and he's had no issues. If you know of an issue or know what broke on yours it could be helpful for others to know what to look out for.
Please explain your observation. Where are you getting your information from? Bias? Experience? Dislike of HF?
@@pomonabill220 i owned own
@@pomonabill220 the first time you pull anything a little too hard it will break
@@pomonabill220 and i love hf