What owners rate it on
What owners do with it
Input power54 owners said
120V outlet69%
Generator26%
240V outlet4%
Both 120V and 240V2%
Thickest material welded80 owners said
1/8" to 1/4"61%
1/4" to 1/2"23%
Under 1/8"11%
Over 1/2"5%
How it is used367 owners said
Hobby and home67%
Auto and fab14%
Paid work13%
Farm and repair5%
Process used347 owners said
Flux core95%
Stick3%
MIG with gas2%
Aluminum0%
Specs
What it does
The machine
- Warranty
- 90 days
- Maker price
- $149.99
613 owner reviews
I bought this one today... i weld very little my lincoln and Miller got wet so they completely useless.. this little machine welds really well for the price of 150 dollars.. really impressed.. I weld a exhaust today.. and goes smooth and crispy..
Yes absolutely could. MIG or TIG would be cleaner but you can use the machine. I’ve done body and frame work with it. There’s more prep and cleanup involved but you can do it.
Got one. Best welder for hobbyists.
I’ve used it on 3/8 without issue. 1/4 is a bit…sketchier.
I’ve run multiple spools of wire through it, and never had a single issue. Clean the metal, make sure you’re setting the power and speed right and you can actually make great welds on material up to 3/8” thick.
I had a Chicago one 4 abit, my first.. I got Titaium later n loved it. It Crapped out n we t bck to Chicago and I hated it, the wired feed pulses n wire jumps because of it.
I hated the Chicago Electric 125, I was always battling to find a sweet spot while welding. It did its job just had a hard time keeping consistent welds. This Titanium 125 has been an amazing little machine. I run it on my 9000 generator with no problems at all. Weld 1/4 steel consistently in approx 3-4 passes per seam.
I have owned mine for 2 years and have yet to throw a breaker instructions do say need to use 20Amp but on lower settings I used a 15Amp once no issues. I am hobbyist so use occasional but works fantastic when I need it.
@ 115.00 on sale I can't complain and am fairly happy so far after a weekend of welding.
This welder is awesome for DIY its on sale for $115.00 right now. ONE thing I did to mine upgraded the ground LOVE it. IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR TOP I have Miller welders.
Welded a creep feeder block off for cattle 5 years ago with mine still hast broke!
Hi!! That’s interesting and I wasn’t aware! I was thinking of testing the new Berger yellow box they have. Is that what you mean? It was on my to do list for future comparisons as I’m interested as well. Let me know and thanks for the comment! Also fwiw I’ve had my titanium machine a few years now and never had an issue so point well taken
#3 Bast I use a 140 titanium and love it.
I have one of these. My brother bought it for me from some guy on market place. It is a very simple machine, only runs flux core, (which I had never used before), and has very basic settings. So far I only used it to repair 4 folding chairs, estimated value $35 each, and a support for a medium duty shelf in my garage, estimated value $120. So already I have saved over $300 and I've only used a couple feet of the flux core wire it came with lol. While I have never used flux core, I have been certified in mig (gas), and stick welding for many years. I just didn't have a large machine setup in my home. So this tiny thing that weighs maybe 5 pounds and runs off of a standard home outlet is awesome for basic home repair jobs. Still, while I would most likely never use it for this, I am confident that I "could" weld up to 1 inch steel plate with this. It would just take a dozen passes to build up the weld properly. I did test some 1/4 inch steel plate and it can easily weld that in a single pass.
Got one when HF had the one day $99 special, great purchase. Original ground cable and clamp were undersized (like 10 ga wire), upgraded to 2 ga wire and a 300a rated ground clamp with real copper contact pads, keep your stickout to around 1/2" and it runs great with proper settings.
I have one and it works awesome. I like it so much I'm buying another one on August 10. They go on sale for 114 bucks for the August parking lot sale.
I have in a pinch used this machine for 1 inch material, when no other welder was available. Took lots of passes, but the pieces still hold today
I have had one and went through 8 reals of wire on it but it’s starting to get wore and not work as good
I couldn't agree more! I have two of these, they stay out yearly in the Tucson, AZ here and get punished; and NEVER die! These are fantastic machines for their cost and dare I say, ONE of the best purchases you can get for the money out of Harbor Freight!
The Harbor Freight Titanium 125 is an awesome welder. I bought it to have around for small, quick, down and dirty repairs. I didn’t expect much but now it’s my go to whenever I have a suitable job for it. I prefer it to my Miller and Hobart mig welders.
I use it to tack and then go to my stick welder for serious welding. Also sheet metal can be welded good with it.
Super helpful. I noticed on my own a few days ago that managing a shirt stick-out of about ¼", I had virtually no splatter. Can confirm.
I bought one and I’ve ran four pools of wire through it. It ran great no issues. I’d buy another one.
Had mine for 5 years. Does what I need it to and I love it. Never had a problem with it.
Its odd how this guy says this needs 40 amps of power. You cant even get a outlet that fits the plug in more than a 20amp rating. Ive ran around 40lbs. Of wire through 1 of these on a 20 amp breaker without any single issue.
An old farm welder told me once: "If you can't weld good, weld lots!" Great progress Dave. Getting dialed in takes time considering you have no idea what you are doing. I have a big Lincoln MIG I started on and bought the little Titanium as a portable unit I could run off a generator for mobile welding jobs. Love it. Brother bought one and he loves it. Went to tell my buddy who is a pro welder and he pointed to the back of his pick-up, where he had one too. Great machines for the money.
EXCELLENT LITTLE WELDER. have not had to used my big one since I bought this.
I have welders worth thousands and this flux core welder is as useful as all my others. No matter a beginner welder or a certified professional, this little welder deserves a place in the shop.
I use the Flux 125 as a portable outdoor welder.
I own the titanium .30 HF wire I use it more then my 30 Lincoln mig. Light In the feild welding skidsteers it is the tool to grab. Strong welds a bit messy at times but wire wheels and grinding pads makes quicker clean. Good video
I still prefer using this welder over my titanium 125, the 125 spatters worse than the flux 125 no matter what wire i use.
Thanks for sharing. If I may add my two cents..... I have a 30 yr. plus old Clark 100 EN gas/gasless wire feed welder that could be a clone to your Chicago transformer welder. Have had no problems in over 30 yrs of use doing flux core welding. Recently purchsed a small Titanium 125 inverter welder for the portability and the ease of sheet metal capabilities.. I do not see getting 30 yrs. plus use from it., but time will tell. The Clark had a bit of a learning curve, but after unknown rolls of .030 wire it puts out excellent welds in strength and appearance. The bonus of the Clark is it will accept larger wire spools which cuts the cost of disposables. The Titanium only accepts small spools. Choosing the right spec. and quality of wire for the specific project is something that will greatly improve your welds. The wire supplied with the Titanium is, at most, a compromise. Best to visit a welding supply and discuss with them what material you are welding, the position you are welding in; whether you are doing multipass, vertical up, vertical down etc. Practice, practice, practice is my advice. Enjoy your new welder.🖖
I've had one for a few years, and it's always ready to work. Nothing I've welded with it has had any issues, and I've used it a lot. Great 5 year review👍
I love this machine I just got it and taught myself how to weld my second weld ever is posted on my channel it’s an awesome machine I’ve never welded ever and omg it was easy for me to figure out my welds aren’t pretty yet but they hold solid!
I recently picked one up to do some welding on ⅛" decorative metal work. I have never used a 120v welder before and it really surprised me with the amount of power and precision that this little guy produced.
I have been working with this little machine for many years and it has never let me down. I highly recommend it when used for its intended purpose. Angry click-bait does not lessen the value of this Titanium 125 Welder.
I’ve got two of them. They are light and handy. I love em. I have 3 miller 110 welders I no longer use. The titanium 125 welds circles around the millers and I’ve yet to have a titanium time out over heat issues. Oh and way cheaper! Easy to move around. Did I mention how lite they are.
I bought one of those welders a few years ago and I haven’t used it until today. I’ve welded the several mig welders before and one flux core welder. But I’m really impressed with the 125 . I couldn’t believe how it burns in and welds. I’m glad I watched your video because it really helped me understand how this welder works. I’d recommend anyone who is looking for a small welder to take a look at this one . Like I said I’m really impressed with it and thank you for your helpful advice.
I got one and I got to say it's 100% better than the old black ones
Been Wall for a long time got that little machine. It works great no issues. It’s nice and light. The only thing if anything I didn’t like the angle of the torch head,
Ive been welding for years now with that same machine. It works great and I have made a lot of projects with it.
Love mine. Super handy.
You sold me, picked one up today and my teenage son who never welded before did an incredible job on his entire exhaust system all the while plugged into a 20 amp outlet without a hitch…
I’ve had the Titanium 125 from HF for a few months now. I got it to do automotive sheet metal. It took a lot of practice, I blew through the material plenty of times, but I was able to do some effective plugs and lap joints. It was about half the price of that Lincoln so I assume that more expensive machine may have better duty cycling than the Harbor Freight. They recommend 3 mins on, 7 mins off. Anyway, cheers!
I had one for 1 full year and it failed me. It worked so well that it more than paid for itself. I tried the warranty route but got nowhere.
I love my 125 it’s made me a lot of money on the road 👍🏻
I'm running one of these on a 15 amp breaker 110. Welds are only a few inches at a time for a go kart. Not a bad machine and i haven't flipped the breaker yet. I was running a 3 in 1 and it was flipping breaker none stop so i don't really see your point
I rebuilt my son's trailer with the titanium 125 from harbor freight never had a problem
Run this in the field sometimes off of my vantage 300, or building carports, covers etc, flawless
Ive had this welder for years... Still running strong
I worked at an HFT store 2003 - 2008. The Chicago Electric welders weren't very good. If one came back with a problem, we'd have 6-8 come back from the same shipment with the same problem. I wouldn't have carried it out of the store if they gave it to me, besides it being heavy. Since they started having these Vulcan & Titanium welders, it's a whole new ballgame. The welders are outstanding. I saw so many youtubes on the Titanium 125 I bought one myself five years ago & have been very satisfied with it. They must be selling a ton of them.
This my first flux core machine and I am quickly outgrowing it and starting my own business
I got this machine it has helped me and already paid for itself
@TheAutoMann I was only able to get one out of 6 with the welder. The rest I had to drill/extractor. I think it was my technique more than the welder though…
I have 2 of them never get any problems at all
It truly is a surprisingly powerful little machine for its size! I mainly just use it for handrails, mostly 14g-1/8".
I have a bunch of different welders and I have to say, that little titanium is a beast in a small light package. It's like a 12 pack lol. If you plug it directly into a large generator, no extension cords to rob power. Running .035 wire cranked up. It will butt weld 1/2" plate in a single pass provided you fully bevel both sides of the butt to about 25° and warm the pieces up with a torch first. It will lay a very impressive 3/4" wide bead clean from the bottom of the V right up flush to the top of 1/2" plate. It absolutely blew my mind. That little thing is a sleeper lol.
I found myself stuck with a collapsed (!) due to a major rust damage axel of my boat trailer, far away from home/garage with hardly any equipment. Decided to get all the needed gear at local HF on the cheap. Flux 125 was the cheapest choice. Using a hand grinder and this welder I manged to quite nicely weld in a 3"x3"x3', 1/4" thick steel tubing section in place of the cut away rotten metal. All worked well - trailer behaves OK ! A few monts later I had to make some 316 stainless steel fixtures to support a sunshade canopy for the boat. I bought a 1 lb. spool of SS flux wire and sucessfully welded together some relatively small parts to quite my satisfaction. This was my first time flux-welding SS. All went pretty well. Absolutely no complains about the welder! Nice little handy-dandy piece of a very portable light-weight equipment.
I’m using it for work on a lot of stuff and it works really well. We crank up the heat on it and burn really good on 1/4 plates on Purlins. Did really good for 3 hours 5 days. 3 inch welds on a 3x6 plates. Holding garage door. Hard to explain but good welds or just done by Ironworkers. 😅 Black Friday sell
*********** I HAD THE TI AND IT WORKS GOOD ILL PROB GET ANOTHER ONE OR WELDPAK 125
I bought one of those about a year ago....I believe it works very well. You, were awfully brave to post your welding.....lol. It just takes practice, and time.
I used this welder to fix a pretty hefty axel of a boat trailer that just rusted through after over decade of service. At the location I did not have any welding gear with me, so I got all the equipment at local HF 'on the cheap'. Amazingly, this little MIG allowed me to weld in a 1/4" thick square tubing 3" long section as a replacement for the rotten steel. After a year this still looks and works perfect. With some obvious limitations this welder can be a very handy little tool for off-site jobs, etc. The learning curve presented in this video is indeed impressive !!!! I would only recommend using an anti-sputter spray to make it appear a bit cleaner and to save some wirebrushing time.
I built a Class 5 Unlimited baja bug with my Titanium welder....roll cage, fabricated suspensions, light brackets, etc. It handled it all no problem.
lol I’ve welded up about 15 firepits each firepit containing 3 car rims. This little welder is a beast. I’ve made and fixed so many things with this welder. I upgraded the ground clamp and only use Lincoln electrics wire. Only thing that broke so far was the wire feed knob broke off but don’t really need it anyway
I just bought one and so far I love it .
Harbor Freight does sell some pretty good welders.. not equal to more expensive models from some other companies, but pretty good. I bought this welder as I sometimes make pets that need accuracy positioning before being welded together. My welding shop is in another floor. So I bought this for that purpose. It’s worked so well with those racks, that I’ve used it for some other things as well. I recommend this rather than the cheaper models found on Amazon or eBay. This is from a company that will honor their warrantee and tends to keep models in the line for among time, ensuring service or replacement. You have to set the helmet properly. A level of 10 should be about right. Don’t wear artificial fabrics. They can melt to your skin. Keep the distance from the tip of the torch to the work to about 3/8”. Fluxcore needs a closer distance than MIG, which is usually 1/2”-5/8”. You’re getting there. This machine will weld up to 3/16” with one pass. Thicker required multiple passes. But you can’t use wire that says GS on it. You need 11T wire for multipass. But don’t try cast iron. That takes a lot of practice and knowledge and this machine isn’t up to it. Welding can be very satisfying. I tell people laying a weld down is organic. It doesn’t feel mechanical as drilling holes for screws and nuts does.
@jimurrata6785I just practiced on a couple pieces of exhaust pipe and it worked pretty well for first time ever welding I was impressed it works so well.
@srfnken Depends on the setting, but I've used 10A no problem for lighter/shorter welds. Usually I'd suggest 15A if at all possible, especially on the higher end.
The only thing I don't like about it is the gun itself. It feels pretty cheap but what do you expect at that price point? Still gets the job done and it honestly welds just as good as my Lincoln power mig 200. Obviously the Lincoln is a little more capable and has more power but for smaller stuff, it does just as good.
Got one, its my first one, liking it so far
I own one of these and I use it about 75% of the time! No need to drag gas out, and with an upgraded clamp and good consumables it cant be beat especially for the price! Even with the way it came just out of the box was really good, but I am a fan of Lincoln consumables. But it punches way above its weight even just out of the box throw some Vulcan wire in there!
Haha.. that switch is in a hard to see area, especially when loading the wire. I imagine that is why nobody ever talks about it, and they throw away the manuals. You know, I never changed the ground clamp on any of these Titaniums. I guess I figure that it's such a low power machine, I don't want it to struggle pushing amps through a bigger clamp. The one it comes with is always good enough for me. I wouldn't mind if the ground cable was about 5ft longer though
I have welded countless firepits and projects with this welder and never even knew about the cold wire feed switch😂. I did change the ground clamp to a heavy duty clamp. I only use Lincoln electrics tips and flux core wire
I've been using mine for 3 years after changing from the Chicago electric. I love this things. My welds are always top notch. I swear by this things.
I bought this a few weeks ago, on a commercial job I welded some 1/8" bar to 14G steel perfectly. I love how easy it is to move and look forward to using it more. I bought it 100% on your review DIYPRO!!
I don’t know what he’s talking about.. I’ve welded some crazy shit and it’s held up for years! Mine is almost 5 years old running strong! Even left it outside for awhile! You ain’t welding bridges with it but go karts, cars, roll cages, fabrication it works perfectly and lays down strong welds…
Use it on farm daily
What a great wife!! I have many videos on my channel about the Titanium, just made one a day or two ago about the duty cycle. Please, if you have any questions at all, please ask. If I don't answer, someone else will. There are so many really great subscribers on here. Most of them are in your shoes, and they are more than happy to help a brother out. But, let's get this out there .... I don't want you to get into the habit of saying "stepping up" to Mig or Tig. It's more of a lateral move, and Flux Core is more than a learning tool. I have been welding for 24 years, and I ran my Titanium Flux core all day today on a handrail job. Tomorrow I may have to Tig something. Just say that you will learn Mig and Tig AS WELL! 😜 They all have a purpose and a use. Another thing that makes me cringe when I hear it, is when someone says "I only have a flux core welder". No, at the moment you have a flux core welder. Others are coming. 😂
❤ I bought it , and I like it , for the price U can't beat it !!❤
I already own it and it's easier to use than most people think and I got it for $85 at a parking lot sale 2 years ago
Absolutely! These machines are under rated simply because it's Flux Core and it's from Harbor Freight. But, when I go on location for another handrail build on-site, this is the machine I grab.
I do a lot of home projects, as I grew up working construction with my father. Welding was one thing I never got into. I bought one of these as an impulse buy when they were at $150. It is the best money I have ever spent on a tool just for fixing things around the house. You just need a $50 helmet and you are good to go.
Nothing but a pain in my ass for this model for me. I purchased one to return it immediately because it wouldn't feed. Now this one, a year old and not used much at all the same problem. Something in the trigger has faulted on this one as well. Is there something I could know about this problem?
This is a great welder for a beginner! I've grown beyond its capabilities, but that's me, not the welder itself. Yes, I do still use it. Yes, I do recommend it.
Thanks for the video. You've shown some good tips. One thing I found was that pushing rather than pulling my welds made it easier to keep on track. That tip came from a friend of mine who welds and teaches for a living. I've had my Titanium 125 for a couple of years now and am very pleased. What I have found in my opinion is that the spool that came with the 125 is inferior to others that I have used. I was pleased with how much better my welds were with Lincoln brand. And even more so when I tried Forney. I'm on my second spool of Forney but plan to try Yeswelder next. I have been welding for about 50 years mostly with a Miller stick welder plugged into a 50-amp 220 circuit. I really like the flexibility of the 125 being able to carry it around and use standard house current.
I own one and I’m satisfied with it
I’ve had a 125 for 2 years. It runs like a top and makes me a fair bit of money.
You'll likely need a 240v sized generator to run one of these 120v welders at any real thickness. I've run my titanium 125 off a 6000w generator, but it's even tripped the 20A breaker in my garage running wide open. See the video on the "making mistakes with greg" channel about running welders on generators.
I keep a titanium 125 with an aftermarket 10ft gun in my welding trailer. That dude is awesome. It’s worth having around just for tacking things together before stick welding it.
I got the titanium 125 flux core welder from harbor freight does more then it should lol
I got mine so cheaply, local Harbor Freight had a couple open box Titanium 125’s, it’s sweet. Only used once so far to weld a header that cracked on my daily driver. It does the job, can’t wait to build my skills and repair things and make some custom table legs for my wood working projects.
Got one use it quite often
I taught myself on the welder, I welded all the suspension brackets on my Suzuki samurai with that welder. I welded up to 1/4" and ran my samurai hard and i havent had any issues.
Pretty sure it won't do lawn furniture. Mine is on the lowest setting it has and it's blowing through a truck bed floor.
I've been a welder for over 40 years. I was in the field installing quick release locks on some security bar window for an apartment building when my old Miller MIG welder decided to stop working. The owner needed the job done that same day so, I rand down to Harbor Freight and bought this little welder. I was surprised how great this little welder performed. I take it everywhere I go now. I use it to build rocket stoves that I sell on the side. I even used it as the only welder to build an 8'x7' flatbed for a friend of mine.
Just got one and it’s great ❤
I have this machine and love it.
I’ve loved mine. I have big Lincoln machines but it’s so convenient to pull a heavy extension cord out to a repair and just do it outside
Just picked one up yesterday to patch a rusted out spot on a 76 cutlass. So far so good
I got myself one of these welders. No regrets. It does everything i need.
I have the same welder and I love it. I don't use it much but it is always reliable and simple to use.
I’ve welded 1/4 inch plate with that thing with an ungodly amount of penetration for how tiny it is
When I work on outdoor handrails and such, I use the Titanium
Used for 2years, worked good, never overheated it. Died on the shelf.
I bought that machine and immediately purchased the better clamp they sell in the same aisle. I did a bunch of repairs with the original clamp first, frequently clamping to a Vise Grip plier that I put on the materials for a more positive connection. I don't weld much, so a year later I finally stopped to change the clamp during a project. It's definitely an improvement, but I still sometimes need the Vise Grip for the shape of the materials I'm working with. My gun looks slightly different from the one shown here, but I purchased my unit in 2024; maybe they upgraded it since then? With no prior welding experience other than having borrowed the very same welder from a friend, I have no complaints about the stinger at all. I also hate the shoulder strap. I want a solid handle, and I considered putting one on the lid, but I don't trust the latch. I am working on a handle that spans the frame and opens before the lid can open. I store my welder in a big storage tote along with a helmet and gloves and the 10AWG extension cord, etc. I saved the styrofoam from the bottom of the original box and put that in the tote to hold the welder.
2 year warranty for an extra 50 makes you more confident running in I just got done welding 1/4 inch had to run slow but it made a complete weld full penetration.35 flux core 5inch pass no overheating or problems at all you can’t beat it for 220 bucks and the portability.
I've been welding almost all my whole life and when they came out with this titanium 125 I absolutely love it my dad taught me how to stick weld
I've got the titanium 125 welder from harbor freight and I absolutely love it Bob Elkhart
I bought one so I don't have to carry my big welder down to docks. So far it has worked well.
I left it outside for about 6 months, cleaned it up still worked great
Picked up a Titanium 125 last year to repair my mower's cutting deck. Had to teach myself to use it with a few videos and mostly just playing around. Wish I'd found this video first, but I'm learning by doing (had to do it over this spring). A couple years prior, with no welding experience, I borrowed the same HF welder from a friend and used it to "repair" my driver's seat. And by that, I mean "shoot a hole RIGHT. THROUGH. THE FRAME." Thought I was working my puddle, but really I was cutting the steel as I attempted to reattach the armrest bracket. Biggest lessons I learned: split the difference between gauges of steel when calculating amperage, if your materials are differing thicknesses; and make sure your helmet isn't SO DARK that you cannot see at all! Anyway, thanks for posting this type of content. I'm trying to repair more of my junk with welds instead of self-drilling screws...
Thanks man. I just welded my lawn tractor muffler. 1st try no leaks. Only because you showed the bads and goods.
I'm having issues with the wire speed being way too fast for me. No matter what recommended setting I have it on for thickness, it just feeds the wire out the end of the gun fast. I also got the red auto dark helmet they sell and have it on the recommended setting for what amp im using, and I can't see a dang thing 😂. Hard to see my puddles and make a good line
I have both welders, I have to say the Titanium 125 is a little better than the FC 90.
@louiel8711 The wrong polarity on a wire welder will make it splatter like crazy. I'm not sure if this one has switchable polarity, but it's worth investigating. I have this welder and mine barely splatters with the cheap harbor freight .030 flux core.
I myself have the same exact welder I don’t see anything wrong with it at all mine works great, I mean you get what you pay for
I bought the titanium 125 today and tried my first weld and after 15 minutes and applying your advice I got some nice welds. Thank you
I own it and love it
Just bought one because my portable Lincoln of 20yrs broke down on the job site. I rushed to Harbor Freight and thought I'd try this just to complete the minor repairs. Surprisingly, I was overwhelmed with how this machine performed. After I set it correctly, it ran like a champ!
I am a professional HVAC installer specialized in hot water and steam systems. 4 inch black unions are now over 200 bucks for imported. This machine allows me to weld my pipe together not only at a much lower cost but much faster than spinning on a union and then lining it up and tightening it. To remove it I simply use a cordless band saw and pipe mount. I love this machine.
Certainly appreciate the video very much. Got mine and did the old bubble gum weld at first but now after getting the settings right should be able to lay down a decent bead.
my FC has a cold feed button
Best flux welder I've ever owned
Don’t listen to this guy. I own a fence company and we use these on custom gate frames and post plates. 14guage all the way to 1/4 inch to sch 40.
@AllStarWeldingSCI meet a guy with the same exact welder. I could weld 10x better with his. For some reason my machine is not getting hot enough, even after changing the ground clamp to a 400 amp Lincoln it’s still not getting hot enough. Going to exchange it this evening.
I bought one and so far love it
Bought the 125 and just starting to learn to use it. Great video with lots of info. Tried one day and all I could muster was an arc. No pooling at all. Turned up the heat and speed of feed and now I’m starting to get a pool. Practice practice practice. I joined 2 HF pages, had no idea so many ppl loved HF as much as I do! Thanks again!
@AllStarWeldingSC it must be my machine even with the Lincoln .030 wire it spatters really bad, not sure what the difference is but there's no spatter when I DC stick weld
I've got a cheap welder, it helped me learn the basics but I'm about ready for something bigger
I bought this welder it. Great for my garage it works great
I’ve had this welder for a year: tried 22 gauge yesterday, absolutely brutal experience. Took it down to 14 gauge square tubing, was like holding Zeus lightning bolt. Like butter. Can’t beat this thing for a beginner welder, just don’t do thin sheet metal with it.
I got one of these , I'm not to proud to go to harbour freight, had it for about 4 years still works like day one ive ran about 8 spools of wire for it i would recommend getting a better grade of fluxcore wire ,and remember to keep a bit of distance or you will boil the flux out before its time and life is good
@-DIYPRO- Thanks for the info. I will try all those things. My stick out was less than 1/2 inch and I was close in on the weld, I'm not scared of it at all (I have welded before) MIG and TIG, Oxy-acetylene. I had the tension pretty loose or I think it was but I'll try that too. It is entirely possible that the machine is bad or the wire itself. The wire is Vulcan from Harbor Freight and most reviews say it's not really all that good. I did keep my receipt so I might do an exchange if I can't get it running. Thanks again!
@-DIYPRO- The mount and the deck are 1/8th in. mild steel. The problem I'm having is weak spark. I do not get a strong steady spark. It's like the welder isn't getting enough electricity to operate properly. I do not mean the sputtering of the flux core. I mean the arc itself is weak and not steady. I did have the metal spotless clean, ground down to shiny metal and I had a good ground on clean bare metal. I maxed out the amperage and it didn't seem to help at all. Could it be my breaker from the electrical box? I'm not sure if it 115v or 120v but I can change that.
I just purchased this little welder with the help of your review. It works good! Thanks
Mine welds OK. I did replace the gun and lead.
I bought this welder yesterday from a Harbor Freight near me new in the box. I read all the instructions and set it up per the book and your video. Today I attempted to weld my mower deck lifer mount back on. I found that the arc was very weak and intermittent, I did not get a steady arc like in your video. I could not develop a puddle. The best way to describe it would be a "Sputtering arc". The only thing I can think of is that the mower deck was on the ground and I had the welder on the ground as well. I did have the ground clamp on bare clean metal on the deck. In all the video's I have seen on this welder, there is a strong steady arc. Did I just get a bad welder or did I do something wrong?
ME and my cousin got one from a pawn shop for 120💲 and had it for about 3 year's, and still works great and i even made my own custom 4x4 artic cat lifted buggy 😅😅😅
Thanks, but my main intent was to help the people that bought one, to learn to use it, and explore it's possibilities, before they return in, or throw it against the wall. It really is a good little welder. It's what I use when building handrails on site. In the shop I will stick with the Mig
I bought the cheapest Hf welder and wish i had for this one. Between my inexperience and the crappy welder we make a great combo for awful welds.
I’m definitely going to try and get better wire, I’ve been hearing good things about Hobart But for the project I did recently, it actually wasn’t too bad. A welder is only as good as it’s welder
I love my Titanium 125! I built a mini excavator trailer with it… 👍
Have the same welder. I work on semi trails. Fix alot of steel floors. Over hundred rolls flex wire. Runs good 50ft power cord. The best part can weld 3/16 plate. It weights loosd then 20 lbs. Super small. You dont need fancy control. Biggest i tips i can give alot of spatter turn up thd heat. Thus this guy can really burn. Taking this guy this welder in 50 ft tail to fix some floor is easy.
I bought 2 of these for 129 a piece, one has 030 the other i put 035 wire love these they work fantastic
I have this and use Hobart wire and spatter spray so no issues. I also have the titanium stick welder and only paid $50 for it off the marketplace. One kids worst birthday gift sale is now my treasure! I’m really impressed with both. Check out project farms vid on the stick welder, it comes in 2nd right under the Lincoln multi function welder that’s $2000 more! Not bad Harbor Freight, not bad at all…👍🏼😉
I have one it welds great I believe it is made by Miller in Appleton wi
I use that little Titanium 125 almost every day. I do industrial field service and need to carry everything I need up ladders to upper level mezzanines, to crawl under machines, conveyor belts, etc. That little welder is a lifesaver. Everybody should have one. It's just a great little machine that is super handy and easy to use.
I use mine all the time. Zero issues. It’s a badass little beast
It’s awesome. You won’t regret it. I use mine all the time
As an experienced, non certified welder, the titanium is leaps and bounds ahead of the black box. The black box is an AC machine and flux core wire needs DC. The black machine will never penetrate as well and spatter will be much worse than the titanium. I own both of these machines. I owned the black welder for a few years and used it for little repairs around the shop. I needed something a little better and was tired of cleaning up spatter so I converted the black box to DCEN using a rectifier, capacitor and an inductor.. Weld quality was night and day after converting. About the time I converted, the titanium 125 was released. I immediately purchased and the titanium weld quality was better than the converted black box. I spent about 50 bucks (2018 money) on parts to convert the black box that cost me around 80 bucks on sale a few years earlier. So I spent more than the current sale price of the titanium to build an inferior welder. Regular price for the titanium when it was released was 169 I believe. Even at nearly double the cost at the time, the titanium was worth the extra money. Good choice on the Lincoln wire, it’s all I use in these machines and being multiple pass wire, I gap weld like a boss with it.
I own a titain good little welder but i don't run habor "" "" wire welds good
It’s better than my Lincoln . The wire in my Lincoln keeps coming undone getting stuck just issue after another it’s still brand new from Home Depot 399 now my 125 $ titan is in my truck niw and the Lincoln was a waste of money
We actually started a manufacturing company with 2 of those little welders we give them hell for 4 months
Yes welder wire works great .less splatter. It's a good machine.welds perfect for me.😉👍🏼
I've seen that welder for $119 and it's definitely worth that. It's not the machine for welding thin materials in my opinion though because even the lowest settings on mine are pretty spicy.
I’ve had my (black version) for 3 years, I can’t even describe how shitty it is. I upgraded to a Yeswelder 160a multiprocess and HOLY shit, welding is actually enjoyable now. Night and day. That Chicago welder went straight to the garbage can
Just bought one yesterday for my 15th birthday. Seems to be a good welder for the price and size
I have a Titanium 125 fluxcore welder and I can say that it's a great little machine. Of course I have several commercial machines in my shop as well because I have been doing welding and fabricating for decades and I can weld pretty much anything. I can say that you don't have to spend thousands of dollars on your equipment to do quality work
Great video! I just bought one of these welders used for $50. My buddy bought it because he wanted to learn to weld and decided welding wasn't for him. I have a Chicago 90amp flux core I bought from harbor freight years ago and really got frustrated trying to learn with it. My very first weld with the titanium easy flux 125 was so much h better. It made me actually want to weld.
I'm a professional welder fabricator, self employed for almost 40 years. Retired now, mostly, but still have my shop and tools. I have 5 other arc welding machines. All bigger and more expensive than this one. My engine driven portable stick welder/generator set is (40 years of use, also) is about wore out and neglected, needing work and out of service. I got this little Titanium to fill in when out of reach of my shop and all of the heavy, 240 volts, transformer powered dinosaurs that live there. This one, being my first inverter powered machine, is about the weight and size of a school lunch box. From the good reviews, I took a chance on it. At my shop I still prefer my Millermatic 252 MIG Welder (but with it's 50lb. CO2 bottle it is over 300 lbs.!). So the Titanium Flux 125 plugs into a 120volt cord and needs no gas bottle! The gun lead is only about 5 feet, so you have to put the machine on the table right next to your work. The ground lead is just as short and the clamp is like a cheap car jumper cable (so make a shiny spot to clamp it to). Surprised me how strong it is! It says you should have a 12 gauge cord on a 20 amp circuit and that is no lie. I tried it on my 4000 watt gas generator and it is kinda wimpy for this welder, nearly stalling the engine when you pull the trigger. It could work for some light tacks, but you really need a solid cord and household circuit. With a little practice I was laying a 3" long fillet weld in flat position in the corner between 2 pieces of 1/4" plate that looked like it was welded with a 1/8" 7018 stick electrode rod. Never had the settings over about 1/2 way up! It really surprised me. I know it'd break quick if you just pushed it and didn't let up, but if you use it hard briefly and let it rest in between it should be able to do quite a bit. It is very capable for what it costs! I know I could baby it and get a lot of work out of it if I wasn't in a hurry. After it heated up a little it was harder on my generator than when it started out cold. If you're using a generator? Better have a stronger one than mine.
Yes, I do. It's such a little machine, and for what I use it for, the stick clamp is very adequate. For what it is, a bigger heftier ground clamp would be a waste of time
I've been using this same welder for over a year now at the grainery I work at and after pretty heavy use I've had no issues welding everything from 1/16th to 5/16 thick steel. In short it does everything we've asked it too.
I bought the titanium multi. I agree. They’re pretty solid welders
Thanks for the video, used this welder to fix my wood splitter
I bought mine with a coupon, built steel deck railing on a 16×16 deck, all welding was done outside. I disagree with your assessment, I have a full MIG setup, but I hate MIG welding outside. Only needed a flux core only machine.
bought mine 3 1/2 years ago paid $129 never had an issue. use it all the time. bought a second one the other day as a back up paid $93 after 40% off. Regular price now $149 I run Blue Demon wire runs very smooth with very little splatter
It's my go-to. I have bigger welders for tig/ stick, but this one can do 99% of the welding I need to do.
But he said it won't hold up or last 😅😅😅. I have my titanium a long time also
You are the bert kreischer of welding just saying. Love the video, got myself a titanium easy flux 125 and it's a great practice machine I love it
❤😂 I bought one, it is surprisingly easy-to-use and welds great !!😂
I have this one flux 125 and also have a lincoln fc 90. To be honest I like the Titanium 125 better.. I did add a better ground to the Titanium and use good wire.. Overall, I think its a good little welder for a beginner this would be nice
I routinely use mine to weld up forge press dies (1/2 inch shapes to 1/4 plate) - holds under 26 tons press, but I weld a much better bead than that :)
I used a couple times and then storaged it for a year and now don t work
Damnit! I just bought one for 107. It already paid itself off
I was a master welder fabricator for about 30 years. I bought one of these welders 2 years ago. For the money you can't beat it. Great for small jobs around the farm or house. For a novice or beginner, it's perfect! The duty cycle is low, but it does a fantastic job on everything that I have used it on. Great video and great little inexpensive portable welder. I would definitely recommend this machine. 👌
Im 57 and started welding this past year.Started out with a Chicago electric and just purchased the Titanium 125 and can tell this welder is better than the Chicago Electric.i learned more in your short little video than any other video ive watched.Also you didnt complain about how horrible the 125 was.You explained everything very simple.Yiu are avery good welder and proved that you can use Flux Core and put down a very good weld and not have any splatter.Look forward to more of your videos.
After watching all the videos of doing the DC mod to the Chicago Electric welder, I decided to put it up for sale cheap (was still like new) and it was sold the next morning! Perfect. So I ran down to Harbor Freight and picked up the Titanium Easy Flux ( with a coupon it was only $127) It is so much better, I'm happy with the difference! Welds smoother, more powerful and both leads are longer. Can't beat it!
Great video! Ive been welding over 30 year's and this little machine really surprised me. Too be honest, Tig has always been my favorite and i always hated flux until i bought this little machine for my shop. It worked great to teach my 9 year old grandson and Granddaughter (twins) to weld, they love it! Liked and subscribed
I've had one for about five years now. my only complaint is it hates the cold. if you try to use it when the ambient temperature is below about 15 degrees it barely feeds and the knobs tend to spin on their spindles.
Just about everything I've done with mine has been on 1/8in and it handles that beautifully. I don't use it often enough, so I have to do several practice passes before I do real work, though. Just a skill issue. Nothing against this machine.
I have bunch of welders big and small. Thats a fun little unit. Grind any paint, rust or scale off. Shiney metal is your friend. Drag the gun away from your starting point with flux core to ensure the slag is not getting ahead of the puddle. That will be problems. It also helps the flux protect your puddle. My fave wire is the blue demon E711T-11. Its a multi pass wire so you can do some build up welds if need be. The GS wires are meant for single pass. Fun little welder that can do a lot. Prob have comments like this already but maybe someone else will find this useful. Your welds progressed quickly - nice work. Steady stable even paced movement (even without the oscillations) will give you a good bead . Let the puddle build a little and drag. Great skill to have.
I use this to build everything! With some anti spatter spray, and some anti spatter gel you can weld just as good as any welder.
I got mine for a Christmas gift and it works fine
I used this welder to repair bedsides on my f250. Got the full panels and had to spot weld the front flange onto the head of the bed. Worked great for that instance although a mig would’ve been better. Was able to use a spot welder for the rest.
OMG! I just sold my old Chicago Electric AC wirefeed welder because of the splatter. I then ran over to Harbor Freight and picked up the Easyflux and roll of .035 wire. What a big difference in the results! All i can say is WOW! Bteter penetration, almost no splatter and smooth as hell! Should've bought it years ago! They are worth the money!
Both of these will run on a 20a breaker without issue. I did all the testing on a 20a that also has my shop fridge on it and it never blew even on the duty cycle test.
This covered the majority of the strengths and weaknesses of this welder. I have had one for years and it has not failed me yet. I have built two projects with it; a log arch and a box blade. Both are still holding up and no welds are weakened even though both are really stressed when used. One hauls trees/logs, and the other scrapes and digs the ground up. I did try and weld up a firepit bottom for someone else and this welder blew holes in it because the steel was so thin. I had to switch to another welder that could go to a lower amperage setting to prevent the blowout. Mine didn't come with a strap, but I made one and it works for carrying it and many other tools at the same time. I replaced the grounding clamp almost immediately because it was not reliable and it had a weak grip. I have no regrets about buying it, but I buy Flux Core wire from other sources than HF because I just don't like the quality. I do however recommend their Auto Darkening Helmet. It has worked great and it is solar powered so it doesn't require battery changes. Word of warning on HF welding gloves though...they are cheaply stitched and a hot spark will separate the pieces and it hurts a lot when they open during a welding job. Buy a better pair from a reputable welding equipment source, not Harbor Freight.
Love mine I’m still learning
In the video, I show a .035 spool of wire, just to show the brand I use. But right after I show the spool, I said that I had .030 loaded in the machine. As a rule, I only keep .030 in the Titanium. Simply because flux core tends to burn very hot. If I'm using the Titanium out in the field, it's usually for thin walled tubing for handrails and such. If it's anything bigger, I'm usually going to use stick. I keep a few spools of .035 for my Primeweld flux core machine because it's much bigger and more powerful. The only time I use flux core in the shop, is when it's a weekend and I've run out of Mig gas. The Titanium can run .030 or .035. You just need to flip the roller over. It actually does very well with .035, but again flux core burns really really hot, so .030 is all I ever use in it.
Just got one for christmas, first time welder, used a 25ft 12 gauge extension cord and 1lb lincoln electric flux core wire. welds came out beautiful, especially for it being my first time. Welded up the floor of a go kart.
Bought mine when it first came out, work for a fence company out in the field, the gun trigger messed up but other than that we have beat the crap out of it and it still runs HF Made in Italy .035 flux like butter.
Well .... Considering all I use this for is 95% on handrails, it's my go-to. But obviously, thicker material will need adjustment. I used it the other day on G-7. The chart on the lid is pretty accurate, then adjust from there. But I wouldn't say my settings are across the board.
I've had mine for 4 yrs. No problem with it. I even used it on a exstension cord
I love you. It's my go to for smaller gauge outdoor welding. Larger gauge I use the titanium 225 stick machine. My Lincoln's are for my indoor MIG and TIG stuff.
I've been welding for decades and I actually have a titanium welding machine in my shop as well as my commercial machines and we use it a lot on portable jobs and stuff around here. We've been able to weld 5/16" without any issues. Just make sure you have the right wire. Fluxcore wire comes in either single pass or multi pass wire.
I'm a retired IT guy, bought one, took the local MIG course and got to talking to the Instructor. Brought my 125 in to class on our first lab day and did a lap and a T joint flat. On 1/4 inch. He did a destructive cut/bend and etch and said they would pass certification. Had me demo to the class. I did 5 months at Rantoul AFB passing the Metal's processing specialist school back in 1980, hadn't welded since :).You should be putting a 1/8 - 3/32 gap on the butt joint for 1/4 inch, and even the 3/16.
Well Done. I took mine in to my local college at the MIG instructor's request and fully passed destructive testing at 1/4 inch on T, Lap and butt joints. He was absolutely impressed with the duty cycle which was 10% more than the Miller 250 I was using in class.
Brother, I have been trying to figure out what I was missing mentally because I couldn't get my welder to work. That simple step of "closing the loop" is what i was missing. I had the clamp on everything metal and nothing worked. I connected it to the piece I was trying to weld and 🎉🎉🎉. It wasn't pretty but I made metal stick to metal. I no longer have to pay welders for my garage door/gate company. Now to find a small portable generator that can support it.
I own one and love it. I've used it to replace the roof skin on my 73 f350. I also used it for floor pans and all metal work needed
Welded for 25 years for many companies with a Miller 250, the Titanium welder actually impresses me.
It only cost 124 dollars what are you talking about and it works very good on everything I did white it
I have the titanium 125 , 200,170, all bought used like new. And all still work great. Nice and light.
I have a 220 arc welder. I always have a tendency to burn through on 1/8 and smaller. I got this flux core welder to do smaller steel. I've had nothing but good luck with it. Because it is 110, I can weld with it anywhere. I can also plug it into my generator and weld in the middle of the woods if I wanted to.
It's not a welder that's meant to run 8 hours a day. In that case you are welding for a living and you need to spend $$$ on a machine with a high duty cycle. For what this machine is intended for it can't be beat. It's a diy homeowner welder. Occasional use once twice a week or month. I've used it on a construction site welding minor repairs on our backhoe/ skid steers. Haven't had a problem. Good cheap lightweight machine
I bought the 175. Love it. Use it for absolutely everything I want and have never been disappointed in its performance.
I understand its a n older post. The current sale price is 124.99. Mine works well. I do like my Arc Capt. Better. I do question your suggestion to a 40amp 120vac circuit????. Although 20amp is a necessity. It will do anything you need. I have in a pinch repaired a dumpster. I think HF looked at the other welders out there and realized they needed to drop the price.
I call these roof top BAIL OUT BOXES...OUTSTAND/13ING and weld s in 20 knot winds....Light weight and will weld 3/16 th non stop!!!
I have one, and it works very well. Great value
I agree, i just picked one up and am super impressed
Ive been running mine on 20 amps.
Mine has been outside in the elements for ten years and still works great. Literally out in the rain!!!
Well !!!! The seller send you a bad one !! You need to buy from the store , I am just got one from Harbor Freight store it’s working every good .
I literally bought one to repair a mower deck. I can confirm. It works great for that.
Had mine for 4 years now, I was in a rollover at 70mph when a vehicle side swiped me and that little welder was thrown about 400 ft, landed in the grass on the top lid and was mangled 😂, took the panels off and straightened em and still use it for small jobs here and their, not saying it’ll replace my Lincoln or a miller but it’s a solid welder for $150
@loveydovey4u lincoln rolls work awesome on these and i also upgraded the gound clamp..been through 5 rolls so far no issues at all
Either would work great. I’ve been running the crap out of the titanium welding 1/2” rebar (13mm ish) and has more than enough power, and I have yet to have it thermal protection itself. Im on my 4th roll of wire on that project.
I have one and it's a handy little unit. It gets the job done.
I just welded a mower bracket to the back of a JD 420 and that mower held up pretty blgood but im still gonna go back and replace the section with new metal with a better machine
Not sure if I just had bad luck or I'm doing something wrong. I've got an old blue HF welder that sucks but it works perfect for the ugliest welds that just work. I bought one of these and do not use Lincoln wire in them. The lincoln wire is softer than HF wire and will bunch up on you. I had a hard time getting it through the line to the trigger and then it birds nested on me. Pulled out 10 ft of wire and tried again, same result. This time I couldn't get it from the nozzle end and couldn't pull it back through for some reason. Took that one back and got another. Everything went smooth on the 2nd one for like 2 welds and now, no spark. I tried to arc it against the ground and nothing. Fan comes on, feed works but no spark. I'll be taking #2 back. Had high hopes and the welds are actually pretty nice when it welds.
Getting the wire to feed consistently has been a challenge for me with this machine. Combination of hard to get the tension just right on the spool and weak wire feed motor. When you get it to feed right it welds fine though. It just often times only feeds right for a little bit then starts acting up again and have to fix it. The gun is an awkward angle that makes it harder to weld and the cable for the gun is very short compared to other welders I’ve used before. For the price though it’s worth it for small jobs
The titanium is the best one I’ve tested hands down. The century is just as good quality wise but not as powerful. Id love to sell you one I make commissions on, but in good faith, nothing can beat the titanium yet for the money.
Bought one when they first came out best 110 flux core machine i have ever used for 150 dollars i spent on it sure has made me a lot of cash welding things up for people and has never tripped my 20amp breaker even using it with an extension cord if anyone complains about this welder they don't know what they are talking about I'm a retired certified welder got 6 machines if my project can be welded with 110 welder this is the one i do it with plus welding outside with wind blowing no problem have to give credit where its do
I bought this and new to welding really know little about it and this machine is amazing; however, I struggle with with this on exhaust pipe or sheet metal as they are so thin,,,good luck may want to research if this is best for that.
You're so much better than me when I first bought it during covid. I bought it to weld restaurant stainless so it has more learning curve and even have to switch the lead to dcep so it wouldn't heat the base metal. Flux core it's always hard to see with so much smoke it easier with gas. This is why fc is designed for outdoor use.
I have this welder and have done small welds. Works great.
I'm learning but I love the machine
I love my Titanium 125. Being able to control your voltage is way better than just having a high and low switch.
Ive had the CE 90 flux for 10 years, used it alot and still use it plenty in mexico, my titanium 125 ive had 4 years and use the heck out of it, no issues. your probably not using it right.
You can't weld, that machine puts out a perfect weld, I weld material much thicker than that, and mine does a beautiful job.
I've used it on my Dad's 3500 inverter generator. The quiet one. I wasn't able to turn it up too high, and couldn't weld for long, without tripping a breaker on the generator. In a pinch, for one little job, it may be ok. But otherwise, I would say no.
I had mine for 2yrs no problems, except 4 the tigger gets stuck once in awhile
I got a new one for 62.50 display model works perfect
Already own one and so far it has done everything I’ve asked it to do Will see how long it lasts Probably one of the best bangs for the buck
Ive got one and for little house projects its great. Welds really well. And you can use it on an extension cord. Oh and its tiny!
I got this for my kids to help them learn basic welding and I use it quite frequently too, outside! Its a BEAST for what it is. My ONLY gripe is to definitely go through it once you get it and make sure everything is tightened before you start welding. Other than that, I've welded 1/4" and under with ZERO issues! I can't wait until I can afford their stick welder. 😊
I haven’t run it a full 8 hours straight I think the longest was 3 and it was still going strong at the end of 3 hours
I had one in my paint shop where we painted spoilers non stop. We used it for welding the brackets back onto the racks wen they were mid handled and damaged and he’s right they would never do a lot of work but for few times a week for 20 min or so each it’s lasted about 6 years. Novice machine for the occasional user
I can personally share, the Titanium is the superior machine, and you're right for saying so. Why, because it does all you say, is a full-blown workhorse, and literally doesn't stop. I think in 3 years I've had the tip stop due to splatter maybe once or twice; but ALL FLUX CORED welders can have this 'issue'. Second point; the Vulcan wire is absolute trash, period. Lincoln .030 is okay, but Blue Demon is where this wire and Welder - marry to perfection. I own two of these Titanium FC Welders and they sit in the HOT Tucson sun everyday but protected from rain AND THEY HAVE NEVER FAILED. I have built dozens of projects with it and I just keep replacing the wire. It'll weld up to 1/4" thick but, you MUST HAVE a dedicated 30 amp plug for this to have full bandwidth. I installed one on my home and a dedicated 10GA extension cord and this thing, compared to the other Titanium welders HF offers, is the true beast for the price. The Century is a great machine but if you can get the Titanium for less, with more range, why not?
I did not watch this video first, I let go of the wire. I thought the machine had hold of it... it did not.
Got mine for $ 129......I got it for small remote jobs/ quick repairs ... Light and portable .. Does what is expected ....Throw it in the Truck ,get some 20 amp. juice ...And you're good to go
I bought one based on your video. So... Today two internal brackets for the fairing on my Electra Glide broke off. Horrible rattling. Called Harley. They want $95 a piece for them. Time to get the welder out and go to school. Same story as yours. For less than $200, I repaired $200 worth of brackets. I'm glad I watch you man. Thx.
I bought this little welder about a year ago. It's a pretty handy and capable little welder so far. It needs a handle, though not a strap.
Bought one three years ago used it for all sorts of projects it works great for my needs hasn't let me down yet. Great price. I did change the ground clamp right of way . Ive been using Farney .030 been working pretty good
I have owned 2 of the least expensive ones from harbor freight. the second version i will say it better. But still very cheap if using it for around the house things and small projects its good for the price. But I watch the Vid and alot of same poorly made things are on this more costly product.
Bought this a week ago and in that time I mastered the machine with steel square tubing of various thicknesses and made a lighting fixture and fixed a garage door locking mechanism im very happy with this welder. Today I might weld three gates for my property and my parents
Bought one three weeks ago and have enjoyed using it. I used it welding together one inch thin wall square tubing and it worked great. I was able to quickly fill burn throughs with ease. I still have a little trouble with wire feed speed but the more you use it, the better. I bought the matching auto darkening helmet too.
I was an HVAC tech of 40 years and went to work at the Birmingham Zoo. My boss taught me how to weld. I've brazed all of my life and am quite good at it. He taught me how to weld aluminum and steel. I am forever grateful for that. I have purchased a Titanium 125 welder since I retired from there and I have not been disappointed. It is a great welder. It does the job and if you are patient with it, it will not disappoint.
I've used this welder for a few years now and love it I abuse the hell out of it I don't care for duty cycle I just keep going and so does the welder
I got mine at $125 with a coupon! I love mine. Will upgrade in the future to a nicer welder but for small jobs it works for me. 😁
@AllStarWeldingSC yeah man im using one right now to weld a bumper for my 4runner, its 3/16 and so far my its working just fine.
Ive done the same thing and the welder still kicks along..i burnt up my gun too. Bought one off amazon for 38 bucks and right back to work it went...
Have one, it does pretty good for what it is. It connects two pieces of metal together and they stay together, thats all that masters
Love this. We are in the process of converting a 45' coach into a tiny home and part of that was raising the roof 12 inches so I could have some standing headroom. Cutting the thing in half was one job, but fabricating and installing the extensions for the frame ribs was quite another! That little welder did the job beautifully.
I have had a Titanium 125 for about 3 years now. I love it. I also have a stick welder but I usually use the 125 for most things. The stick welder usually burns through 1/8 steel. The 125 can do that and thinner steel. I also like it that I can hook it up to a generator and weld something out in the middle of the woods somewhere.
Bought one a few days ago, can’t get it to work. Powers up, I’m grounded good. Feeds wire iust fine. Won’t arc, no clue what’s wrong with it. Gonna take it back and get it money back.
I put mine thru hell for 4 years, never able to trip the duty cycle, did burn the gun out, picked up a 2nd welder yesterday, when I figure out how to fix the gun that welder will be up again :)
Bought this welder several years ago on your recommendation...don't use it too often but is always flawless and convenient when I do
Like and Subscribe, it's free........to subscribe, not the welder! 5 years and it's still my go to welder!
I run a small welding service when I’m not welding in refineries, if you know how to use the machine and how to weld properly this machine is great for the money, just use good quality wire like Hobart or Lincoln I’ve welded up to 1/2 inch thick steel with it no problem just bevel and run multiple passes
I have the 10 ga. 25ft. from HF and it runs great on it.
Ive had one for 2 years. Never hit the duty cycle. Been building rocket stoves with 5/16 and it does the job with a little bevel of course. Def recommend for light duty welding
I've got one of those, and I have had excellent results from it. If you run the smaller diameter wires, you'll get much better results and a smoother weld
It really is a great welder. I picked one up for $100 a few years ago.
@billnuI’ve been running this unit for 4 years. I’m not a professional welder, and I don’t use it daily. But it’s at my uncle’s shop and he uses it more than I do. He’s personally ran 2 spools of wire through it and he likes the machine a lot. He has 2 bigger MIG machines but will usually reach for this one first. I would say it’s holding up well
@larryperry2094 i just got my own like a day ago and havnt used it, but a shop i worked at had one, and i used it on some exsoust, i found that i could use it and run a bead instead of zap zap zap. they wernt the best lookin, but thats me not having the most exsprience and not the welder at all
@GarageHobbyist It was the spool. I guess the spring was too big. I had to cut a section of the spring off. Thanks for the advice
I haven't used a wire feed welder in 20 years. That said, I can't get mine to work for shit. I'm hoping it's me. It sparks, then not, sparks, then not. The best I've gotten is it pops pops pops. So it sparks with less time between, but still has no constant spark. I've adjusted the power and feed up and down. And Ives moved the ground to within 6" of the weld. It's 3/16 angle iron. Anyone who can actually tell me what I'm doing wrong, I'd appreciate it.
I have one of these. I upgraded the ground clamp, and the gun and cable. The gun is uncomfortable. It's too straight. I put a gun and cable from a Lincoln 140. It welds good.
I used this welder about 2.5 years ago to weld suspension brackets on the Suzuki Samurai and it has held up on the FWY and off roading without incident.
This is very helpful. Thank you! I like my HF Titanium 125 welder very much. I think it's a great value. Thus far it has worked very well and I have been able to get all sorts of things done in a variety of different thicknesses. I did buy some high quality Franklin welding wire though. Far less spatter for a cleaner project. Good call on the tip gel. I have the same stuff. I also pre-spray the weld area with this stuff that keeps spatter from sticking: "Weld Aid Nozzle-Kleen". Very important. Yes, you can spray it on the nozzle too but I use the get for the nozzle and this spray for the project area. Great stuff for a clean job at 10 bucks per can but last forever.
My brother in law beat me to it. He purchased the welder, but I actually went for it. To my surprise, I repaired my tow hitch. No, I don't tow anything. I just wanted to repair it. I treated the rusted areas and bam! Weldded some reinforced plates. I walked away feeling pretty good and enjoyed the video. Im certain my welds won't get an A, but you couldn't beat the plates off, lol. Thanks👍
I have the same one i used mine to repair commercial trailer and everything else that I need a welder for and it works great
@steelhead86 I found it seems to only hit 20+ amps on startup momentarily, and tapers out to around 16-18 depending on your wire speed. The higher the wire speed the higher the amps in both input (ac) and output (dc)
That’s a good question. I’ve ran it maxed out on that same cord and didn’t have an issue. All the welding in this video (even the thermal test) was done on that cord as well without issue. To be safe a 10g cord wouldn’t be a bad idea, but so far with everything I’ve done I’ve seen no sign of the 12g cord having issues
Had to go to lowes and get the century version. It's pretty much the same thing. Love that litte welder. Just bought the 225 stick. Even on 120, it's twice the weld the little Chicago model is. Cost twice as much to. Now I'm looking at running dedicated power for both out back. DC inverted is the way to go, no doubt.
I’ve got my settings here at f and 1/2
Already own it. I use Blue Demon .030 wire and I upgraded the ground clamp. I couldn't be happier with it and the price is great.
Good video. I have experience with both models. They are almost identical in internal parts and performance. Even the torch is interchangeable. I agree, the titanium is the better choice for the price. Definitely stay away from the Harbor Freight/Vulcan wire. E71T-GS and E71T-11 both have their place. E71T-GS I use for rusty, old, beat up metal welding. I use E71T-11 for clean, shiny, new, & Multi-Pass welding. Stay away from lincoln; too expensive. E71T-11 is AWS CERTIFIED, so any brand of E71T-11 will perform almost identically. The GS wire on the other hand has no standards. Only what the manufacturer decides. But for single pass welding, the Forney and INETUB are the best. For multi-pass E71T-11, get Blue Demon. Good video.
I have one of these and you can't beat it for the money- tough little son of a bitch. Just keep it out of the weather and don't run it full blast all the time, and weld what it's capable of welding.
I bought one about 3 years ago and it works great especially for thinner steel. 😊
Ive run about 12 spools through this welder with no issues
@TimWelds LoL 🤣 You’re awesome! Just teasing online! Your videos are real cool and I’ve been learning about welding. Because of you I got my cheap first Titanium 125. Works good for small jobs i need. Thank you so much for all you do. You didn’t look nervous at all. I couldn’t do what you do. And I have a horrible eye contact habits and you did good. Other youtubers look at themselves in the screen instead of camera lens itself so there’s no eye contact with us viewers. All the best to you! Thanks for not getting all mad at my dumb comment and taking it easy😁
I have one I use it for small odd and ends but for me to get good welds I find me cranking the heat up some times
I picked one up recently. Coming from stick welding and mig with gas I was surprised at the good quality of this machine with flux core! It’s perfect for my outdoor use, I do exhaust work and can mount chops on Tacomas and it’s perfect. Can’t beat the price!
Well I've used a couple of these. I own a small Lincoln. The titanium is a piece of s*** compared to the Lincoln.
Have one and it Really cool for a beginner.
Still can't discount it as a bad welder though, definitely not a professional welder but it works darn well
This little thing is a beast, you can build almost anything as long as you either have a backer bar on or a deep enough bevel, I love it
I bought and used my for rear jeep shock mounts. it worked like a champ and more than paid for its self!
I love mine, It has come in very handy! Its not a high end welder but it has tackled everything I asked it to do including Jeep shock mounts, throttle linkages etc..!
Same here. The more I practice, evaluate the results and make adjustments accordingly, the better the welder seems to get. :)
I've been welding for many years and have one of these little machines and it's a great little machine. Of course I have several other machines as well, but it will work for most of your needs on a farm or small business
I built a flatbed truck using one of those machines. I have been welding and fabricating for many years and have put several different machines to the test and this one is pretty good. Of course I also have several other machines as well
I like it a LOT better than Chicago Electrics flux welder. But yes, this is a home/hobby use welder, I definitely doubt it would hold up to day in / day out usage.
@chiassonsmoke This one and the Chicago Electric welders are excellent. 8 years I have both of them.
Im a low ball hack when it comes to welding. This thing got me out of a jam with a motocross bike frame and cost way less then a welder would have charged me. Ive NEVER had any issues with mine .
You might add a note to your next video regarding the Titanium 125 Flux welder. Harbor Freight DOES NOT stock replacement parts for this machine. The one part they do stock is the wand nozzle according to their Customer Service as of 4-24-24. That means that if you need to replace a critical item such as the wire liner they are no help. I was told to check E Bay! That is BS and terrible customer service. E Bay offers many complete replacement whips that claim they are for the Titanium welder but I don't like guessing on a $60.00+ replacement whip that may or may not work plus time lost to shipping if it doesn't. Also, the E Bay parts are similar but different from what came with my machine. Nobody from China seems to use specific part numbers for specific machines. The obvious problem with E Bay parts I see are: 1. The trigger wiring does not come with the brass ends that plug into the welder motherboard that were used on my machine. 2. The connection of the power cable from the wand to the welder is made inside the welder with what appears to be a bolted connection covering by shrink wrap tape. That connection is made adjacent to the motherboard in a small space. 3. Although the replacement whip from E Bay looks like it might work it just doesn't "plug in" to the welder body. Any warranty connected to the welder I would think would be voided by this operation. 4. I didn't want to replace all these other parts when I just needed the wire liner. In closing, although when working this welder did perform well for me in the end "you get what you pay for" comes to mind. I am considering buying a Lincoln welder knowing I can get parts if needed in the future. I would consider using this machine as a boat anchor if it weighed a little more. Didn't know
Mine just blew up ! Made a pop sound and the switch lights up but the fan doesn’t come on or the front lights. It’s dead
I bought one and love it
This was my first welder learned a lot with it gave to a friend and he learned with it and still has it we still use it to this day works great great welder to learn with and good job on ur first try
I can’t tell you how happy I am to see this. I bought the same welder and had the same dalmation splatter spots all over the first time. Bring a fan of yours it helps to know that I’m not the only one and just need to try again
So far I like it using it to weld body panels on my Ram getting use to it never welded before so doing a lot of practice with lt so I be able to a great weld for it
I use this welder for off-road vehicle fabrication short duty cycle but it works good
I like mine. Use it the way for what it is and how it says to. No problem.
Another awesome video! I just bought the Titanium Flux 125. So much better than the old Chicago 125. Before the Titanium I purchased the Simder Mig 140. I got it for $62 delivered, but I just could not get it to weld for me. I'm new at welding, so I can't put all the fault on the Simder. I have had far better luck with the Titanium Flux 125, which isn't saying all that much since I don't know what the hell I'm doing. At 69 I don't think as fast as I did before. Lol. Thank you for your videos, they are well organized and very helpful!
I use mine for body work and so far no problems. Running strong for over 3 years now
I bought this welder, also with no experience, and built a large retaining wall, garden edging, and a sail shade pole with it! Fun learning curve, and satisfying to stick metal together!
I am NOT a welder but I got one of these and with a lil help from a professional welder I was able to build a trailer using that lil welder. For the money its not bad. Awesome video, really enjoy your videos. Hoping one day I'll be able to find some land and live a more simple life.
So never welding before, I borrowed a buddy’s machine and with a bunch of donated steel shelving, I glued together my frame that supports my van build. What a feeling! I’m like a god! I can stick metal together! Now with confidence abound, I bought a production roof rack and cut it down to the size I needed and proceeded to glue it all back together. Three years later, everything is still intact and I couldn’t be happier. This video brings back great memories! Thanks Dave! Bryan from Vancouver
I bought one of those when they were first released, used it and abused it FOR YEARS until last month when it finally died after so many trips off-roading, and countless miles of wire run through it. I replaced it at opening the next morning. I've run that thing off of generators and solar inverters, and Blue Demon actually has a stainless wire that runs great in there if you need it. I've done as thick as 5/8" to 5/16" steel by just doing a couple extra passes. I LOVE that thing!!
I've owned mine for about 3 years. I never really welded prior to owning it. Since then I've built about 12 barbecue pits (1/8-3/8) thick metal and done sheet metal repair on my 1951 and 1947 Chevrolets. Also sheet metal repair on a few other classic car projects. The work has turned out really great and I'm enjoying doing it. All on a Harbor Freight budget. I really enjoy your videos and way of living.
I’ve been welding professionally for over 10 years and welding before that. I’ve had one of these for about 3 years they work. Worth the money to stick some stuff together and you can even get nice looking beads out of it beings how cheap it is. They work just fine keep up the videos man
@jasonbusch3624 Right on, man. Glad to hear it. I'm really happy with mine. As long as you have a wire wheel to knock off the slag, or like you say some flap discs, the welds clean up nicely. I bet you saved a ton of money making your own trailer, too. Gotta love it.
I'm a retired aircraft technician. The only welding training I've ever had was Oxyacetylene. All my tig/mig/arc has been self taught. I have this same HF welder great For small stuff. Bigger stuff I use a DC stick. It's a lot of fun teaching yourself, and taking pride in your weld quality. Have fun Dave. I do!
The weld on the spring hanger that looks round and tall is what is described as a little on the cold side. More amperage (heat) would have made the weld lay down a little more so it doesn't look like it is sitting on the base metal and look more like it joined into the base metal.
I've the exact welder you have, as a certified welder...20 yrs ago when I was building garbage truck bodies...pour the coals to it with this welder, heat setting on a higher setting, dial in wire speed. If ya blow thru, move wand quicker, or dial heat down a notch or two. Also, you don't drag the bead, you push it. So, when welding right handed, you weld right to left pushing the bead along as you go holding wand at angle ///// like this but more like a 45 degree to the work. That keeps the heat in the steel. I've welded a bunch with mine, for the price, it welds beautifully once correct settings, remember, amps are your friend when welding. Penetration is key to a weld.
Hi Dave. I bought the same welder as you have a few years ago, and in a pinch it performs pretty well. I also have a better quality welder with a gas bottle and it makes a nicer weld. If I have a small job I use this one. You know the saying, a grinder and paint makes me the welder I ain't. I think you will be happy with this one. Thanks for another video.
Hi Dave, I bought one too a couple years ago. It took a bit but I got it figured out it's a good little welder. I have the same problems with the hood. I like you and Brooke's adventures. Thanks
More heat. Helmet needs set at 9-10 if you want to keep your eyes. 5 for torching/cutting/plasma stuff. Also need some better penetration there....kick that heat up a notch😂
I've got one too and it works just fine for household repairs and light to medium fabrications.
In my 20’s I was a welder for a few years learned in shop class in high school, now in my late 60’s with more time than $$ I bought the cheapest Harbor Freight flux core welder $150.00 replaced my floor pans in my truck and having fun with it. And now my neighbor is tapping me on the shoulder 😂always a pleasure to watch Dave ☮️
In a short period of time you went to having it professionally looking. It don't take much time at all to learn how to do that straight line and do it smoothly.
Own it and I love it! Very easy to use and get used to!
I fell in love with this welder. Bought a second one I liked it so much. HF wire is a different story. It welds good but spatter is a real issue. Probably the worst I've seen.
I bought one but need practice for sure. I have an old Pullman camper that I’m trying to weld up the gaps in the sides. Not sure if I had settings right! I welded heavier metal and did fine. But I bought some sheet metal to practice on.
I've had mine going on 5 years and it still amazes me how well this little unit runs. Also, it fits perfectly into a milk crate, which keeps it from getting banged up. I cut one vertical section, about 3", to help the gun and ground clamp slip in and out of the crate when starting or stopping for the day. Run the power cord back in the same hole you fed it out from, and its self contained. I used the strap to go from one corner diagonally across the crate to the other. Makes it super easy to transport around. I even cut a 3/16" plywood top so the machine is proteced on every side.
I just returned 125, no way to setup. Cold And wire did not come Fast enough. I went back to stick welder and it works well.
I bought one three weeks ago to weld steel 3/16" plates to rebuild my rusted out truck frame. Well, ive almost got it done already and absolutely love this little welder. Cant live without it. 👍
I own this little welder and I think it's great!
I welded the frame together on my harley davidson chopper with this thing.
Used it today to repair some horse corrals on my dads ranch and man I love this little welder and I use a miller tech at work I’d definitely recommend this to anyone new or experienced super convenient for home and field work can weld 1/4” steel no problem!!
I have it, and love it!
I have no doubt that Hobart, Miller and Lincoln to name a few of the big names are great machines and have an adequate service area. However, many folks just use a welder occasionally and dont have deep pockets to afford these $2-4K machines. I use the HF Vulcan OmniPro machine in my welding shop and have had absolutely no problems with it. It has the smart set that automatically sets the machine to the metal thickness, tells you how to hook the leads for MIG, stick, FCAW and even the spool gun that I use to weld aluminum with it. All this for under $1000. Years ago I bought a Titanium 125 FCAW machine to play with when I was considering getting into the wire feed welders. A friend who owns a Hobart 140 came over and welded with it to repair a bush hog which required a lot of welding. The little machine so impressed him that when he went to work with an electrical contractor and they needed a welding machine for a job, they bought the Titanium125. They have been using it for a year with no problems. Even on a commercial job, the machine has never overheated and shut down. It is a tough little machine and can be bought for under $150 with coupons. It cant do MIG but for the price, it works. I keep one in my shop just for use offsite if needed and I cant roll out my Vulcan. Since the Titanium runs on 120V and I have run it on 150 feet of extension cord welding on some fence post bracing and it welded fine. It weight about 10 pounds so it is very portable. A very handy machine to keep on the back shelf.
I welded the rear end in a ford ranger and it’s holding still!😂
I love that thing for making tacks when I’m putting larger projects together. Easy to move around and work with
Right on, haven't had any issues running it with mine, should have also mentioned it's a 25' cord.
I have had mine for about 3 months and I've really gotten fond of this little machine. I'm a self taught welder with only about 4 years of off and on experience but this welder has really made me more confident. It's just fun to work with!!!
bought one when they first came out, ran it hard could never trip the duty cycle, can't remember how many spools I went thru but it was a lot building fences, repairs & a balcony build, finally last year I burned up the gun, the welder still fires up if I knew how to replace or repair the gun I would, probably going to buy a new one, the last one went thru hell for the $ a great product!
I’ve made two short bed conversions and multiple c notch frames with this welder
For $150 i think its something good to learn on because of the tips are cheep. but i have got it yesterday and love it.
Great welder. If the welds look like crap it’s because of me. Lol
If I could double thumbs down this video i totally would. I can run my titanium welder on a 15 amp breaker and have never had a single problem. And now finally I don’t think stick welding is worth it.
This machine shoots out weld like water. It's funny because my settings are always E-6 or F-7. I use it for tacking my fit ups and then bring in the Primeweld Mig 180 with .045 flux core for anything 1/4" and above. The Titanium is great for fences, gates, exhaust etc. I'll almost use it on anything 3/16" and below.
I used that exact little welder to rebuilt and mod a sailboat trailer. It did the job perfectly for less than $175. Great machine to drag to a boat yard with limited electrical 120 access. I ran it on a heavy duty 50' extension cord. Will take it on the road anytime.
It’s perfect for getting broke exhaust manifold studs out of series 60 Detroit heads. Main reason I bought it.
I built and welded an entire diamond plate flatbed with this little welder.
I didn't watch the video but theres nothing wrong with this welder. Its one of the best things I ever bought from harbor freight. I've welded everything from 3/8 down to sheet metal with no issues. The temperature setting is spot on when changing. It can burn through 3/8 and be adjusted down for sheet metal. And I used it on 25 foot extension cords turned up gigiand never had a breaker flip ever
I use the black one alot cuz its easy set up instead of using my Miller suitcase welder. Its good for all welding thou as long as u use the right wire. 🤷🏻♂️
I love mine. Best machine i ever bought. I've welded everything from up to 1/4 on truck framed, rear ends, etc all the way down to exhaust and sheet metal
I have one, and my weld sure does not look that bad, heis working tip, you should just trag the tip slowly. Been weld 45 years, retired but still weld, this machine is great. I
A BIG BLACK EYE FOR HARBOR FREIGHT I have a Harbor freight TITANIUM FLUX 125 WELDER purchased from Harbor Freight a couple years ago. I am a retired plumbing contractor and backyard hobbyist. I love to build things in my spare time and help friends and neighbors that need something repaired. When I retired and closed my business, I had a stick welding machine but had no convenient place to connect it at my home! It would require an upgrade to my electrical service not worth the trouble and expense! When I saw a couple reviews on YouTube for this Titanium 125 welder, I thought that would be the way to go. I already had a 110 Volt 30 Amp circuit to my workshop! It took me a while to get adjusted to the flux wire welding. I built a minibike from scrap pipe I had left over from the plumbing shop. The welder allowed me to make other things and make repairs for others I wouldn’t be able to do without it. In the middle of my last project, I cut a couple pieces of metal and got ready to weld them and when I pushed the button on the welder, nothing happened! It was dead! The fan did not come on but the light on the ON/OFF indicated there was power to the welder. I checked the manual for a reset button or a fuse and found no mention of either. So, I called the Harbor Freight 800 number and was told there was no repair for this welder. Harbor Freight has no repair facility, and no support is available. I was told by two different tech reps there is no schematics or parts list available from the factory where this is manufactured. “It is not worth getting it repaired and cheaper to go purchase a new one!” If you purchase this welder or many other things from Harbor Freight You only have 3 Months Warranty. It is considered disposable after that! All the reviews and discussion I have read about HARBOR FREIGHT I have never seen anything about their total lack of support for their products! I didn’t even get an “I’m sorry” or any offer for a discount on a new welding machine! I am retired, was an electronics technician in the Navy, active Ham Radio operator and electronics hobbyist. I feel like the electronics in this welding machine is straight forward non computer controlled and any decent electronics tech should be able to repair this given reasonable support. I removed the circuit board from the welder and found where a small component burned of course not knowing the component value or purpose will make it difficult to replace. Providing a schematic and parts list is a very inexpensive form of support that should be a minimum requirement. Their claim to revenue of 7 Billion Dollars tells me they could afford it! Leland Cox
I own one and what I like is that I don't have to get the bigger welder with a extension cord to weld something outside if I can't get it in the shop
I did love my Titanium Flux 125, but it did die on me right after the extended warrantee expired, and when that happens, all you can do is trash it. I replaced it with the Yes Welder Flux 135, but for me at least, it felt cheap, and the actual process of dialing it in, and the "control" was not as accurate nor intuitive. I have multiple machines that will stick weld, so that option isn't important to me. I have the Vulcan Omnipro 220, but I keep the little welders around for when I need to weld outside my shop, and in that scenario, I'm usually limited to 110 anyway. On the yeswelder, All the leads are removeable, so I have to admit that aspect is better than the Titanium. The only other thing I like better about the Yeswelder, is that it would still run reliable at the lowest/slowest setting. My Titanium struggled to feed steadily, if the feed rate was very slow, making it pretty well unusable at that rarely needed setting. Other than those things, the Titanium rocks, seriously. Loading unloading the wire is much better on the Titanium, in my opinion. If you have a 20 Amp breaker, the Titanium never throws a breaker. If I'm on a 15 AMP, which I am often, I have to weld in short stints, which I usually do anyway. At the end of the day, in my own experience, the Titanium was just easier to get the results I was after, with very little hassle. On the positive side, concerning YestWelder, their Plasma Cutter 65 is freaking awesome.
I run mine on a 20amp breaker all the time and it runs for 3-4 minutes straight no problems
I have two of these great little welders
Right? They are highly understood. They are great for when I get called out for a simple handrail repair, or other things too small for stick. I have one in the shop and one on the truck.
Just bought I love it
I got two of them love them
Own it, no issues nor regrets, works just as well or better than my friends Lincoln weldpak, he says it’s better
Just got my own for Christmas and my brother has had the same one for 5 years no issues so idk what u guys are talking about
I bought one on sale for 159.99 a couple of years ago and sat on its box for a year and a half. Never welded anything before using a wire feed style but this one is so easy to use for the diy use. I fixed my kids broken trampoline galvanized steel pole and worked like a charm. I recommend this welder for any beginner.
I just bought the machine and used it to weld 112 inches non stop (other than changing position), without thermal overload. It was also sitting directly in the sun. The E71t-11 wire has an average tensile strength of 77,000 pounds.. 7018 is 81,000.😮
@robertblackshear8963 well, I took the gun and lead off of a Lincoln 140 and put it on the 125. Now this is a great welder and I built a pole trailer to haul pipe!
Yep. A good experienced welder can weld just about anything with these welders. I still haven't been able to max mine out on anything I've welded including a heavy duty trailer hitch of a large box trailer.
Yes. I'm building scooters with mine. They are very good welders.
Oh no these things are as good as Lincoln fluxcore welders and have highly stable arcs. I've put mine through the test. Production welder 29 years and still counting. Don't let the size or origin fool you. These are beasts.
At half the settings you actually can run it all day with 030 wire.
The duty cycle is much higher than listed. I never reached mine yet although I have done several jobs with it. From my on personal experience this thing runs just like a miniature Miller. Not kidding. I'm a shipyard welder and have used every machine imaginable. These little welders rock.
You have no clue bro I have welded a whole truck rack an never flipped a breaker!! It’s a good buy
My works great good welder no issues
Way too overpriced in todays market!!!! I did weld a platform for a deee blind. Gun is sh*t. Bought a Hitbox for $80….lots smoother and welds hotter. Also does little stick welding. Hate the top load and consequently no handle. That stupid strap for carry. No body I’m their right mind pays close to $200 for an inverter of flux core welder with this quality today.
I'm an old man and have been welding since the 1970s I have one of these little welders and it kicks butt
what do u mean u don't trust this machine to weld stuff together if your life depends on it , i weld a whol go cart with this welder and it's going strong ...
Yep. Does 20 gauge just fine. Just don't run a bead. Auto panels are pretty much hundreds of tack welds. Do a few tacks on an area then a few on another area then back to first area to avoid warping the metal
Lol so youre saying you need an expensive welder to repair thicker metal? Dumb. Ive built 3 trailers with this welder. Sure maybe it isnt ideal if you weld all day every day but its a great little machine for hobbies and farm use
Had mine 2 years and love it
I have one. Works awesome. Does everything I need to do with it.
Greatest cheap welder I ever bought ,works fantastic
I love my black box.Made so many projects and it saved my ass so many times.Worth its weight in gold!@mygt8a4re
Love it I use it for 4 wheeler and sxs frames and cages I use it for exhaust I use it for almost everything I do
Thanks. I really appreciate the comments. The Titanium 125 really is a great little machine. It's an important component in my welding arsenal. When I get called out of the shop, it usually comes with me. Many times I'm using the stick machine, but sometimes all it takes is flux core. It doesn't take much wind to blow away shielding gas on the mig, so often, Flux core is the answer. In the video on that 1/4" plate, I am at D-5.5. If I need more, I jump up to F-7. For light gauge stuff, I will drop to B-3. With those 3 settings, I can do nearly anything.
Appreciate your video. I started from a Titanium 125, and recently got a 140 Multi-welder. As you indicated, for the price and the quality of both machine and welding, this is the most reasonable option as of 2023.
I've had mine now for over 5 years
Yes it does DC , I have one , build an intire front end loader for small tractor with mine , just had to run its own 10 ga. Wire and 30 amp breaker and better ground clamp , stills welds great
Glad to hear it. Mine was worth it as well
I've had good luck with mine. The breaker tripping when you have it maxed out is annoying, but for its size and the $150 I paid for it, it's been worth it.
I have one it does a really good job
Big name welding machines are good but not necessarily better welders. Recently Project Farm (check out his Youtube channel for other test also)tested several, Miller, Lincoln, Vulcan, Titanium and Arc Captain to name a few. Vulcan rivalled all the big name ones and did it at about 1/4 if the price. I have had my Vulcan Omni Pro for a couple years and have had no issues. It is set up for solid wire with 75/25 mixed gas. I have a Titanium Flux 125 that is also very good for using when 220v is not available. Anytime I need FCAW, I just roll out the Titanium Flux core rather than change my Vulcan. It makes a good solid weld but does make lots of spatter and smoke. I have 3 machines that can do TIG welding but rarely use it in my welding shop since I havent had a job for alloy welding nor anything thinner than what I can do with my Vulcan. TIG welding was my preferred welding 50 years ago when I was a certified pressure piping welder doing all kinds of exotic alloy welding. I would like to purchase a TIG machine that is capable of aluminum welding. I do prefer that to using my spool gun when welding aluminum but in the 10 years I have operated my welding shop, I have only had one aluminum job and I did it with my spool gun and it worked OK, so it is hard to justify the expense of another TIG machine right now. I think 35% of the bad press with off brand machines had to do with using 110v machines which dont normally provide enough current to weld anything thicker than 12 gauge metal. The other 65% is welder error.
Honestly......it's a great welder for the price. Made over $15k with it thru out its use.
Mine blowed up the other day and I've babies it not hardly welded anything and it's blowed
I’ve got one I use on the farm. I’ve probably ran over 100 pounds of wire through it on everything from sheet metal to 1/4” plate. Best little inverter for the money.
I ran this welder all day on max voltage plus another welder on the same receptacle and never had an issue. In my opinion many power problems with welders is how much power your outlet can supply and not an issue with the welder
Excellent welder, crummy wire. Welds even better with good wire. I get Hobart in vacuum sealed packs to minimize wire oxidation. Makes for even smoother weld puddles and less spatter.
The best one. Used all weekend
Thank you. Harbor Freight makes really good welders, and nobody should shy away from them. I've got some pretty nice mig and tig machines, but this little Titanium Flux Core unit gets plenty of use. A few weeks ago, I made over 160ft of handrail with it.
I love mine. I have yet to need to so something it cant do. It doesnt seem to weld any better on clean metal than it does through rust and paint, so i just dont clean my metal.
Yes it is. This one is about 3 years old. I have another one that I got about 2 months ago. It's developed a fan noise, so it may het returned for a replacement. I got the 2 year warranty on it.
its not great for stainless but, it is actually a very good cheap welder ! i like it better than my miller 135. some of the amazon machines have no support. HB'S are all over the place and easily warranteed. i had an eastwood with all the bells and whistles.. lasted 2 days.. junk.. my easb lasted 16 years but it was very expensive to repair and hard to get parts for. i also have a lincoln 260 but i wont transport it to jobs with a 4000.00 price tag.... this little green machine has been a life saver and works great...
my titanium does a great job... i like it better than my miller 135. set your hand down and stabilize yourself.. floating in mid air doesnt help your end results...
Best little welder I ever owned .with the sale of 10s of thousands there is always machines that are defective
I have one and love it
I have it and use it for various things in the bowling alley I work at
I have it. Good little welder
I just bought one of these and I was surprised at the strength of the welds it can make. I have been welding for 50 years but I never had a flux core welder so I'm in a sort of a learning phase. So far the welds i've cut and tested have shown a lot more penetration than I would have expected for such a cheap machine . So far so good. I even pushed it up to 1/4 inch stock to see if It would exceed the rated capacity. It did , but the weld was a little weak for my liking.
I have had mine for a couple of years. I'm a DIY welder and use it for small metal projects. It's really handy for the beginner.
It’s a good little machine, and what I started on. It has served me well.
I love this welder more than my Lincoln and firepower. And it cost 1/3 been running it for 2-3 years now. Idk about any amazons but I do like the titanium. Cost idk also.
Yes it is! I think it's highly underrated. I have big mig and tig machines, and now the Outlaw 195. But this little flux core still gets plenty of use. I've been known to throw it on my shoulder and climb a 15ft ladder with it on site.
That welder is freaking awesome Done big and small projects with that exact welder
I love this little welder! I have a bigger machine for TIG / stick, but this little guy handles 90% of my welding needs.
I've been welding 3/16" and 1/4" angle iron, horizontal, vertical and overhead with this little green box and it welds great. Nice thick beads when you need it or dial it back for 1/16. Works great for outdoor projects using Lincoln innershield wire from HD.
I have one and I like it.
It's not a bad welder. It will weld and get the job done. I had a broken weld on my trailer. I welded it with the 125 Flux cord welder. The weld is still holding up after 2 years.
I have one. I love it. Welded a carriage today to use my 12 ton pneumatic bottle jack as a forging press and all of the welds tight on .125 angle iron and some 7 gauge. And that was about those same settings; not even maxed out! Only thing I don't like is that the slag doesn't always fully cover the weld. Not sure if it's a volume issue with the thinner wire or something to do with the inverter technology.
Got one last week. Great for small jobs around the house for beginners.
@AllStarWeldingSC I have one of those little welders too. It's considerably better than my Lincoln and much lighter when moving to use it outside of the shop. I've had people tell me my welds look like I did it with mig instead of fluxcore. I wish it would take a 10lb spool conveniently though because a 2lb spool doesn't last me long. I made a setup so I could use a 10lb spool on it but it's not that convenient. I didn't like the gun angle so I took it apart,put more of a curve on it and put the trigger on top,that works better for me. I went to a 30 Amp breaker on the circuit that I use 110 welders on and keep an eye on the 12 gage wire to make sure it doesn't get too hot. It's never more than warm if even that so I figure it should be fine. I would try that on anything smaller than 12g though,and it's not recommended for 12g. I pretty much use the same techniques you use depending on the position and situation.
Dont listen to this guy, ive had mine for about 2 years and it has never skipped a beat. I have recently welded my motorcycle frame with this welder and it has dont nothing but surpass my expectations
Already own it and love it, but now that I have more experience, if I could start over, I would've gotten a regular MIG welder, and then just use fluxcore wire, but if I ever need to mig, I could always switch the wire and hook up the gas, which is what I will do after this 1 dies beyond repair
Well, those are just my go-to starting settings. I vary it a little, either on the machine, or by adjusting how close I'm working to the meta (stickout). Go a little closer and it's a tad hotter, and back out a bit and it will be a little cooler. In my shop, it will trip a breaker, as you said, pretty easily, if set too high. Even if I'm running off a 25amp circuit off a generator. I really like flux core, especially outside or on location when I don't want (or can't) lug around my mig and tank. Having said this, I'm looking at another flux core machine. All my welding machines in my shop are PrimeWeld. So I'm looking at thier Flux 160 unit. It's larger than the Titanium. But it can run 110/220volts which would be great. A guy I know runs a spool of flux core wire in a modified aluminum spoolgun. He extended the leads to 25 feet. Wouldn't that be helpful? If I do that, I will certainly make a video about that.
Own it and love it. It’s paid for itself many times.
Even though I have an old Forney 180 amp Stick Welder of which I bought used over 30 years ago. I was wanting to upgrade and possibly go with a wire feed welder. I liked the Titanium 125 but however, it would only accept a small 2 lb. spool of wire. The Chicago 125 accepted both a 2 lb. spool of wire but also accepted a 10 lb. spool of wire. Neither one of them came with a spool of wire. The Chicago Electric 125 was on sale for $99.00, and The Titanium 125 Was on sale for $159.00. So I finally decided to purchase both as they were both on sale. At the same time I bought the cheap $49.00 welding cart which was on sale for $34.00 at the time. I have seen video's of people having both welders upon the same cart. They usually had either the Titanium 125 on the top shelf, and the Chicago Electric 125 on the bottom shelf or Vise Versa. However, because both of these welders are set up so that the top cover has to swing upward to open in order to change out the empty wire spool for a new one, or to view the decals for the manufacturers suggested settings. Therefore, I didn't want either one of the welders being upon the bottom shelf. To me it would be an inconvenience too have to.......... (1) try and remove the one on the bottom shelf in order to read the recommended settings - or - (2) To change out an empty wire spool. - or - (3) Or to have to squat down in order to dial in (set up), the settings of the welder which was located on the bottom shelf. So therefore I modified the top of the cart to make it wider by adding another shelf right directly above the top shelf so that both welders could sit side-by-side on the now wider top shelf. Unfortunately that created a heavier load upon the top of the cart whereas it caused the cart to have the tendency to lean over to one side due to the flimsy materials the cart was made with. The material of the lower shelf assembly is too thin. All 4 sides are bent upward from a single piece of material, and the corners are not welded therefore they would bend outward one way or the other from the added weight upon the top shelf. So I beefed the situation up by adding another vertical 1 inch steel tube frame assembly between the upper and lower shelf. That did the trick. The only other thing I see wrong with this cheap welding cart is that the front 2 swivel castors are set a wee bit too close together which has a tendency of making the cart unstable especially upon uneven floors or outdoor terrain. I haven’t done it yet, but I think that this problem can be solved and cured by adding a flat bar or another outrigger frame to each side and then mounting those front swivel casters outboard of the original bottom shelf assembly just like the rear wheels are of which would give the cart a wider stance and less apt to tip over. I also added a pull handle to the front which makes the cart easier to move around. Overall Review. (1) Both of the two welders perform just fine for small projects around the home. (2) The cart isn’t bad, but could definitely be made less flimsy and more stable. (3) I would recommend paying a higher price for one of the more expensive welding carts unless you are a DIY'er which has spare materials laying around and doesn't mind doing modifications.
I've run a few rolls of wire through mine and never had an issue. It has been amazing, honestly.
I have owned one ever since they came out,just bought a second one today! Just in case my first one craps out.
Been using mine off and on for over a year and haven't had any problems, never hit the duty cycle yet.
I weld maybe 5 to 7 times a year. Always works perfect
Gen 1 last a year gen2 has been modified so far it’s been good to me welded dump trailer ramps
I have a Princess Auto version of that welder. The wire feed system is used on probably half of the Chinese welders. However, in these welders the wire spools are laying down horizontally as opposed to hanging vertically. Thus the spool tends to drag as it feeds out the wire, plus the tension spring seems to apply too much force since it is meant to stop a vertical spool from unwinding. My solution was to clip off a section of the spring to reduce pressure, as well as l applied a bit of grease to the spool holder. The difference was like night and day. Smooth feed resulting in a smooth weld. I have upgraded to better welders, but l still use this one for site work. Anyway, a fair assessment, boss. Cheers.
I already have one and love it. It is amazing
I have the 140 model. I love it for wielding anything up to 1/4 inch. It also does really well on thin metals using a stitch wield Lots of flexibility not problems at all I use a lot of Vulcan wire because it is easy to pick up close by, but have found a couple of others in the same price range created smoother beads
You do know they sell wire wheels that fit on GRINDERS RIGHT???? I have that WELDING MACHINE its GREAT
I own one and love it works great!!
I've owned this for a while and it works great.
Prolly outta compare apples to apples when dissing a product. This machine doesn’t have the gas option… show me any welder for $175-$199 that does. There ain’t one. It doesn’t have a 220 option… show me any welder for $175-$199 that does. There ain’t one. I’m 67 years old and been welding my whole life. I’ve welded in a factory production capacity, I’ve welded in a construction setting. I’ve welded with a tig machine building frames and chassis for everything from drag racing motorcycles to sprint cars. I’ve laid down MILES of bead in my life so it’s not like I don’t know what I’m talking about. I have this machine and for what it is and what it costs you cannot find a better small hobby welder anywhere. Do NOT be afraid of buying it. It works great!
I was impressed with how much these model is a work horse, I tried welding 1/4" wall of steel tubinng and it came out really good compared to the older black flux core.
Np with mine. N I'm a beginner. The value is best I'f u buy d 2 yr warranty from harbor freight. U can't return an online welder after 30days . Hf no question asked I exchanged 1 because its been 1yr n i had dropped it twice but it was still working. But it ur $ I'm hard on mine up to 1/4" plate.
i love4 mine got it for 150 and its perfect for those that dont do a ton of welding
So far ive ran about 20 pounds of wire through mine
This little Flux MIG is awesome for the price and it works very well. I used Blue Demon for Stainless car exhaust work with lots of prep work. For Standard steel it's been great with the Harbor freight wire. For big thick pieces I still use my STICK welder.
It’s a good machine, but it’s more expensive than the alternatives I’ve offered. Also, out of the 10 or 11 machines I have in the garage at the moment, it’s the only one I’ve had an issue with 🤷🏼♂️ Also, just because you don’t have problems with it doesn’t mean others won’t. It’s a two way street, my videos are my experience and opinions. That’s all.
Just cause you have trouble with it doesn’t mean others will and you can’t tell them not to buy . Might be all they can afford and Harbor Freight always has sells .. i got a titanium flux . I paid $89 for it 3 years ago I have never had any trouble with it 20 amp breaker in shop never Tripped it I also run it on a generator with no problem. Used .030 and .035 with no problems. I have a couple of Millers too but I find myself grabbing the titanium more . I been a welder for over 30 years now and I found out that a machine that’s expensive can also be a piece of crap . I bought a brand new Lincoln used it on a job and went to next job site started welding and it burned up and Also I found out just because a machine is cheap doesn’t mean it can’t weld just have to set it up and see what it likes because 9 out of 10 the settings they recommend are not right don’t get me wrong the settings is a good place to start but my experience is you have to go up like if it saids set to D I go to F . . I know probably have some smart responses to this but just know it don’t bother me none .
My son and I have used are more then 8 hours a day so idk 🤷♂️ 😂😂
I've had one for 4 years and it's one of my favorites. Use it more than my Miller
It runs so much better with gas I have the same welder get some gas!
That’s pretty good. Mine does alright unless you the weld gets long. Then the breaker trips
I have the titanium 125 and I love it no problems with mine bought mine at Harbor Freight what's nice about Harbor Freight that got a warranty plan for an extra 3 years anything goes wrong with it you take it back and get a new one no questions asked titanium 125 a good welder the only thing I'd like to see different is a longer laid on it Bob Elkhart
I love mine, never had a problem and never blew my 20amp breaker at max settings. 🤷♂️
I had mine for years without issue. I think it’s the operator, not the equipment.
@GarageHobbyist Chicago electric works to , but for some reason comes with mig tip and the same sorry ground clamp , i’v owned both of them and titanium is way better all the way around it’s Square wave after all and compact.
I have a titanium 125, and I really like it, but the gun is short and a little uncomfortable. It's too straight for welding downhand, but ok for vertical or overhead. I wish I could upgrade the gun.
I recently got titanium 125 flux core , I used to have Chicago electric one before , and it’s a huge improvement 1 DC voltage = less spatter 2 comes with actual flux core tip 3 light weight I got Lincoln electric wire and an upgraded clamp -so my connection is all copper. Result is hard to believe I’m able to do deep , clean welds on any material thickness that it claims , overall it’s a best bang for your buck as diyer 👍
I have a titanium 125 wire welder. I bought it to do automotive exhaust work. It welds better than I expected. The gun lead is too short and the gun is uncomfortable to use, it's too straight. If I could get a better gun for it, I'd like it even better.
I have no problems with mine. Love it!
I own one and I love it 😀 Check to see about Reversing the Polarity and getting better welds and less splatter. 👌👍
I bought this welder on pre-order for $149, maybe six years ago? Specifically so i could plug it into the basket of a rough terrain boom lift and weld a guard rail atop a retaining wall. Once i figured out to buy the E71T-11 wire for multi-pass instead of the crap -GS available at Horrid Fate and Cheapo Depot it worked just fine. I never got to hit the duty limit because i had to keep repositioning the boom. So no problem there! BTW, i think you mean 15 & 20A 120V breakers. Ive never seen 10Ga.(30A, orange) wire going to a 120 outlet and NEMA doesn't even have standard for such a thing.😅
I’ve got it I think it’s pretty good for price. Just gotta get the settings right and it flow’s perfect for me
I've had the same one for little over a yr now and have went through about 6 lb wire so far and I've been very impressed with it!! Definitely money well spent when on a budget next im really wanting multi process welder from yeswelder or primeweld!!
No issues with mine yet. I have not made pretty welds but they hold up in my vice + 5lb hammer test.
I used it on pipe fencing that covered almost 2 acres. Ran it maybe 4 hours a day for 4 days and it still kicking. I'd like to look into getting a raspberry pi or arduino, hooking up with a machinist and 3d printer and making my own external wire feeder to give it some more range and life. It'd be fairly easy.
Mine does fine on thicker stuff. Anything over 14g. Anything thinner it’s just too hot.
@bassnjeep6537 that’s what I’ve been using for about 9 or 10 months. I’ve only gotten the Titanium out for videos.
I had one that lasted 3 years, used every weekend. The machine didn't break, the wire feed in the wand did...and you can't just buy a replacement. Sadly, the one I bought as a replacement only lasted 6-7 months. It suddenly can't make an arc (like there isn't enough power) and if you try a few times, it goes into overload protection mode. I've taken it apart and can't find any issues, no obvious burn/shorts. That sucks, but I will still buy another. The newer one runs on 110 standard breaker without tripping. It is a light duty, flux core machine. It is made to burn mild steel with ease, and that is exactly what it does. Moped, dirt bike, go kart frames, riding mower decks...lots of of stuff I have welded without any issues...it acts like a hot glue gun for steel. I am bummed that the second one crapped out so fast, but I love the simplicity of operation and its capabilities.
I have the titanium 125 absolutely love it Atwells real good the only thing I wish it had was a longer Stinger Onnit welding done Bob Elkhart
Not a bad machine if you want to buy something locally. It’s what I learned on!
Have one works great on a 20 amp circuit….great machine to learn on…would recommend to my sons…that’s the best recommendation in my book.
That is an older video so I can't remember. I did more of an updated one here: https://youtu.be/F4eRXE99dng I actually put the settings I used in that video.
Used my a couple dozen times, through 2 spools just to see what it works best on. I bought it to extract broken bolts mostly though in the field. Does great otherwise. I think I got 2-3 years ago. I liked the size. Strap it over my shoulder and run out my extension chord lol. Did some body work at home with it. The thicker the better.
Interesting, I’ve tripped a 20 plenty of times with this machine.
I have one of these and have never seen had a problem with it. It's always worked just fine for my needs and I would recommend it to anyone. Oh, and I bought mine at a pawn shop, pretty much brand new for a hundred bucks. If you plug it into a 20 amp receptacle you'll never throw a breaker. I use the plug that the dryer is plugged into.
I own one. I’ve used it on some small repairs. Works well.
I own this welder plus 2 other Harbor Freight welders. I wouldn't trade them for any others.
Same here already built a set of sliders things a animal
@chiassonsmoke Yeah. I have one I bought a couple o' years ago. It's definitely small. The one you have looks to be about ⅔ the size of the one I have. That's cool. Mine came with s shoulder strap, but it'd be a bit clumsy carrying it that way because of the way it's shaped. That one looks like it'd work fine with the strap. It works really well, too. Way better than the Chicago electric one. I've put some pretty solid beads onto ¼" stock. Haven't really needed to do anything thicker. I'm sure it'll do it though if I take a few passes at a chamfer. E: typo
This machine has power ,I love it ,going to convert my long bed to short bed now ,using it
I have one of these and I love the thing. It's great for exhausts and sheet metal. Probably not recommended but I've even used it to fix a roll cage in a race car. Hey, it did the job!
I have had one of these for a while, for some reason it doesnt like stainless flux core (308xfc) but on normal mild steel it works great and it says it will only weld up to a 1/4 or 3/16 but if you multi pass it you can weld alot with it and i have used it for a good 3 hours solid and it never over heated or asked for a break all around for 200$ its a no brainer buy it
@TheJonnyRottenOne it's a hot burning welder, I love it. I have mine set to G and 7.5 for thicker stuff. Gotta just mess with it till you get a feel.
I second this, I'll trust it on anything under a 5/8s, I did some 3 in channel with 35 wire and it penetrated as good as my work millermatic 255 running at 20.5v but I wasn't even maxing out the titanium.a
Love that little machine bought it 3 months ago on sale for 160 with the warranty best 200 dollar I ever spent i also made a little short for it nice video man
I have used the titanium 125 and man it surprised me.
I’ve welded a bunch of stuff with mine . It’s a great little machine
I weld Flux core directly on top of rust and mill scale
Got one last spring and it's been great.
And a really good clean ground close to where you are welding , I've owned one of these for about a year now , built a complete front-end loader for a garden tractor with it , not one minute of trouble with it .
I have had the titanium multiprocess welder for about 4 years, ive used every mode and other than the tig being scratch start, i have 0 complaints about the machine.
Mine's been great so far
Got one last year to take the place of my old 120v Lincoln made craftsman for the occasional mobile repair and have been pleased so far! But have only ran about 2lbs of wire through it as I do most welding in my shop and prefer my larger machines. But for the beginner, homeowner or just to have a very light and portable welder, I'd have no problem recommending it👍🏻
I have one ..i had 2 of the chicago before i bought the titanium welder..and you're right it is sick..i use cooking spray to make the beads not stick as bad..don't use the butter flavor it really smells bad ..canola seems best..the two chicago welders i gave away..still in good working condition ..
I’ve used it in shop class, it welds good, if you go quick enough with the right speeds it’s really nice for sheet metal
2+ years later I’ve still got that exact machine and boy it will lay a hell of a weld if you get good with it
I would not underestimate this welder. I use it to weld 3/16 and 1/4 inch. off-road vehicle fabrication.🛠
This Titanium Flux 125 is as good as the welder using it. As a 30 year welder, this machine will weld. Just finished a carport and it looks like I used a stick welder or a high quality 220 volt mig machine. It will perform so don't be afraid of it. don't use the harbor freight wire. lesson #1 get a better quality of flux core wire. Lesson #2 clean your metal. lesson #3 get a good helmet so you can see what your welding. You can carry this machine with 2 fingers and that is sweet. Change out the ground clamp, you'll get a better ground. Don't listen to some not all of the shade tree welders on here with their negative comments. Like I said, this machine will weld. '
Also heated up the metal with the HF first, which made the titanium work better.
I got mine on clearance (returned item) for $85 3 years ago. I’ve been shocked with the performance. Completely welded a 60ft long 5ft tall wrought iron fence with it and tons of automotive stuff. Remember people, as long as the penetration is good and you don’t overheat the part, you can pretty it up with a flap disk. I have people thinking I’m using a higher end MIG on some stuff, but most of my welds looks like the gentleman on the video. And I’m 100% amateur with zero experience prior.
@Sxvaqe-_- depends on the thickness but I've tried it out on mostly just mild 1/4- 1" steel and it seems to do a bad ass job im getting some some kick ass results at work. DIMES. My only gripe is I thought it could be used with the 225 outlets and it sadly cannot but it kicks ass running off just a geny in the dirt. Best results were with harbor frieght wire which I believe is made by Lincoln dis.
It will also weld any trailer part. I welded a heavy duty trailer hitch with one of these I couldn't believe how hot it burns. I could only set it halfway. Any higher would have blown through. Never touched the duty cycle.
I just picked up one of these titanium flux 125 welders, and I love it already! I have a AC/DC tig and stick welder already, but I wanted something smaller to tote around, and easier to tack with. It's a little beast! Puts down some serious welds.
I love my Titanium 125!
I just returned mine back to Harbor freight. It keeps popping my circuit breaker on my gfi.
The green one I would guess is a DC welder and the black one is AC. If you or anyone else wants to know what the difference is between a DC and AC flux core welder, well… there ya go. I had purchased a complete welding setup at Harbor Freight and just as I got it out of the box the guy I was trying to buy a welder from on Craigslist who I thought had ghosted me finally replied back and said if I still wanted it $150 gets it. It was for a like new Hobart 125 EZ. Still had the original spool of flux wire inside of it that was barely used. I think I got a good deal…. Only thing I upgraded was the negative clamp for it. It welds very nice, if I was buying a welder today though and couldn’t find a deal like that I’d probably go with that green welder from HF. Does the black one work? Absolutely! I bet with enough practice and “grinder and paint makes me the welder I ain’t” you could do some nice work with it but the green one is what… $80 more? I know that’s almost double the price of the black one but I’d go for it.
Added the improved ground clamp and using US Forge wire. (Thanks for those tips!) Works much better than expected. Excellent little tool for $170.
Nice.. im not a pro welder at all...I seem to get best results when I "pull" the direction and at that little angle... thanks for posting...just bought it. very pleased as well.
I have the Titanium 125 Flux welder. I use it for some personal and some work. It does everything I need it to do. I spend less than 300 for the welder, gloves, clamp, and helmet.
@jarictrout9909 I have a Hobart 140 and just got the titanium 125 and it’s flawless. I had a weld pak 88. In my opinion, the titanium is superior and is cheaper
I just got the Titanium yesterday and although I've been a blacksmith and custom knife maker for 17 years I have very very little experience with welding and I finally decided to change that. I've used a few stick welders and I tried gas mig welding a couple times but I suck at it badly so I didn't want to shell out big bucks until I got a little bit more experience in welding and I gotta say I'm very impressed with what this little machine is capable of. For someone who knows almost nothing about welding I was able to build a decent little welding table. I think with a few weeks practice I'll be pretty decent at it.
Got this over the weekend and absolutely love it. I haven't welded in 30 years and that was with a stick. Get it, you wont regret it - Easy to use and so much fun. This will be on sale next week 4/8/22-4/10/22 (Inside Track club 4/4/22) for $169.99 . Great deal on a Great welder!
@F12-i2g yes used it all the time and still do great little machine.
Did you use it a lot? I’ve had mine for 11 months and haven’t had any issues but I don’t use it much
Yep, I did a little piece of scrape in my latest video. https://youtu.be/jtpzYOEsC-E
I bought the titanium 125 it seems a lot better lol
I am 25 years old for starters. No real prior experience besides watching my dad. Bought the titanium 125 flux core welder for little projects and loved it. About 6 months ago i bought this welder. I have since then used this welder to fund a whole outfitted rig and fashion my own business and soon will pay for certification for welding. Even though i have a big fancy welder now i will still take this welder and a generator across a muddy field to fix a farmers tractor. I have used and abused it and smiles every day for me. Im not saying this welder is the end all be all. It has its limitations. I would recommend to anyone who is looking to start out with small jobs or at home.
It still works great. I only use it occasionally, but I haven’t had any problems with it.
For the price get the 170amp black one I like it for 3/8 steel. I just got my 125amp black one is okay for rod iron Jobs.
@-DIYPRO- Hmm.. I ended up buying the welder on sale and welded up 2"x2" 3/16" square tubes to 1/4" plates. It seemed to work fine. But time will tell. Hope it fully penetrated the two metals together. Looks like it did. 😉 Thanks for your response.
Have mine 1 1/2- 2 years still works great but hoping for big sale around Christmas and buy another put away for spare
Have mine 1-1/2-2 years now still works great lot lot use. I updated mine to real good strong ground clamp and mine work great with US Forge wire from menards stores lot less splatter bb's
I got the cheap black welder 15 years ago (actually mine is blue) for $89. I've fixed many things with it, both auto and home, so paid for itself many times over. The welds aren't purty but a grinder fixes that, and could be more me than the welder. I've welded up to 3/8" steel and it gave good penetration (turned blue on backside).
This is so much easier to use than my Lincoln stick welder…., it’s easier to just dial in the thickness of metal I want not having to change rods…!
To add to this. I have the Chicago one, and this morning could not get a wield to hold. I watched the video, went down to harbor freight and picked up the Titanium, and came home and wielded the item that I spent all day yesterday trying to put together. I am not a wielder at all. Just a DYI guy. well worth the upgrade for the low price.
I saw the same thing and really thought about replacing my HF Titanium 125 that just quit working. With my 20% discount it would be $169 before tax. But common sense finally prevailed. I havent uses my OmniPro 220 in months now so, why do I need two welders. I did like the 125 for its 11# weight and it really welded FCAW well. Now my OmniPro 220 will SMAW, FCAW, MIG and TIG plus I have a spool gun for welding aluminum. As long as it works, I have everything covered and I still have my Miller 220V 250 amp stick machine for backup. It was sure tempting to get the 125 though.
I have this welder, if you get too close to the work you will burn up the tip fast while practicing and learning how to use it
Just bought the titanium 125. If you use blue demon wire you can get a half inch penetratrion. I love mine. For what I do this is the best solution. For the money you can't beat it. Great video. Ignore the arm chair experts.
@scorpiofor I can't stress this enough though. Replace the ground clamp, and get better quality wire. After I ran through the pack in wire; I bought some Lincoln .035 wire; and it is like a completely different machine. It is easier to set up and makes even nicer welds than it did before.
I've welded 22 gauge fixing body panels on my Z. It's tricky and hard to not warp things. But it's possible
Great machine for the money. I had formerly bought a chicago electric ac flux welder and it was such crap, I sold it on craigslist for twenty bucks and said good riddance when it left. This titanium 125 has worked so much better.
Van I weld my muffler with this machine
Hello , i have one i modified angle of gun . I desmantle gun , and remove the brass tube of gun and bend with Tube bender 3/8 , now angle for weld is most better . Good machine for the price , always 🙂👍🇵🇷🇵🇷
I didnt have good luck with the first Everlast multi process machine. The board went out after about 5 minutes of welding, cost me shipping charges to get it back to them and then they wanted to charge me to return it also. After much arguing the dropped that fee but when I got it back, it was still broke. I had to send it back again (prepaid shipping on the next go round). They fixed it that time after much phone discussion with the tech on what it was doing. I havent used it much since I got it back. I bought a HF Vulcan Omni-Pro 220 and that is what stays by my fab table. I have not had any problems with it at all but it is way above your stated price range ($999 and it never goes on sale, at least I havent seen it). I also bought the spool gun with it ($200) to weld aluminum and it works good also. I first bought the Titanium 125 flux machine and it welded awesome. I ran maybe 10# of wire thru it with no problem and then it just quit working between passes. I am thinking of getting another one since it is a throw away at the price of purchase, it would cost more to fix than buy a new one. It is a handy little 10# machine that I used on 150# of heavy duty extension cord to weld on my fence and it worked great. I used multiple passes to weld up 1/2" plate with it with no problem. For the price, I would recommend it even though mine quit on me after a couple of months (get the extended warranty and it will be ok.)
The standard spool works fine wym I got clean welds with it
Works best on a 20 amp circuit. I've ran mine on 15 and you can tell the difference.
I just picked this up today. I successfully welded 22 gauge with the 20 gauge .030 flux core settings. 80 amps/13.5 volts/5 on inductance.I’m not running a bead but simply tacking every inch and filling in the spaces. Worked beautifully, I noticed it stops itself at about 1 second, so I guess it has a built in timer. I took back the Titanium Easy Flux 125. I could not find a stable setting that was consistent. Sometimes I’d get a good spot weld, next time burn through, next time no penetration... don’t buy that one for less than 18 gauge which is as low as the settings go on the cheat sheet inside the welder. Cant wait to get a bottle next week for .025 wire. Great welder but I’ll probably take it back as well. There are better multi-process welders American Made that are cheaper. The spool gun option is cool though.
I did the exact same thing. The green one blows the black one out of the water, period.
I have one of those welders. Mine works fine. Not quite clear on your issue. Does the wire just curl when it's being fed and not arc like its supposed to? Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk
I have had mine during a year and a half and move it went through 14 lbs of wire so far with no problema
Picked one up last year finally guna get a plasma cutter the Lotos 5000D and get going on my 325 gallon smoker. I did make a few welds with it, made a few grill grates and it works like a champ.
I never welded before and needed a welder. I got this, watched some youtube videos and was welding in no time. I practiced on scrap metal and got pretty good at it. I love this welder! Now I look for things to weld, lol.
Ok< what machine did you buy? The cheapest HF machine that I could recommend is the Titanium 125 for FCAW only welding. They were on sale a couple weeks ago for $159 but now back to $199. I cant attest to how long they last though. The one I have worked fine for several rolls of wire and produced very good welds but it just quit working a few weeks ago. Just like all of the inverter machines, they work well till they dont. I really liked that machine for it's portability and welding qualities and was considering buying another but am on the rail about that for the time being. As for your elcheapo machine, dont be afraid to turn the dials and see what happens. Kick it up to highest amperage and cut back on the wire feed till you get a consistent feed rate. If you feel the wire pushing back on the gun when welding, you have too much wire feed, not enough volts or both. With the smaller machines you really cant run too hot with them to cause any problems so crank up the volts and see what happens. Likely it will cut out due to thermal overload if you go beyond the work limit though.
Grind a small 45 deg. angle on the end of your tubing to get more weld in the gap.I have the smallest HF TITANIUM Easy-Flux 125 Amp Welder 20a 120v ,use it with a small generator to make mounts for my saddle bags on my bike and it worked great for $175 on sale.Took a chance when it first came out ,bought the extended warranty, it still works great after a year .
I bought this a few weeks ago and just started using it this past weekend. I just fixed a massive rust hole on an inner fenderwell for a Jeep Cherokee. The battery tray was attached to literally nothing. So, I had to remake a giant patch where the tray once was. I bought a small piece of 22mm stainless steel, cut each piece to small size panels, drill 1/4 inch holes on the edges, and set the voltage at "A" and the wire speed at "3". Worked beautifully. Not bad since I haven't welded anything since 1995.
do it! still using this machine and havent had a single problem with it
@patf03 I was disappointed to learn that my outdoor outlet at my garage is 15amp. It tripped one time and I really wasn't doing anything compared to normal. It's been since summer that I used it and you'll notice you usually use ~70% setting so it works well. The wire spool that comes with it often has an unwinding and binding problem. Just have to prefeed off the spool until the problem goes away. The next spool you buy from typical welding supply co will not have that problem.
Subscribed because this video is awesome. You’re awesome. I have the Titanium also and it’s a phenomenal little machine.
It doesn't. I've tried doing aluminum with a flux core machine. It just balls up and doesn't even stick to the piece. I guess the alum. spool gun is not a scam!
@shermanyoung8185 I return it for an upgrade to the T140. Its started to smoke after it pop. The 140 seems to be better tho. I about to get the plasma they make.
I had one for five monthes or so, then one day it just made a loud bang and it was dead. It made a good little welder while alive. So I had to upgrade to the 140. Get the warranty and keep receipt.
The flux 125 is super useful at my lawnmower shop. Fixes decks and snowblower housings. Can also patch intakes if they’re steel and exhausts on the riding mowers. Great welder has lasted good too. The only thing I did was upgrade the ground clamp
@mbirdie12 The welder works great. If you watch my channel you can see it's my number 1 welder to use. The easy flux 125 is ok but the 140 is about right.
wire speed is an issue with my blue one so I always ran it 5 plus to keep up, just slow down and clap your product down, fyi
I got the Chicago 190 and welds really good, with practice and playing with the limited settings you can weld no problem. I do have the titanium 125 as well. Nice little welder for sure.
lol, since this video I've tried the Chicago electric a few times again (after months with the titanium) and I can actually make some pretty dang respectable welds with it. its just way harder to do than the titanium. thanks for watching!
You made some of the better welds I've seen with one of those machines. I got the titanium 125 last year and really like it. DC makes much less spatter and a cleaner weld. Worth the few extra bucks if you can spare it IMO.
I have this Titanium welder. I threw the wire that came with it in the trash and bought some Lincoln wire and I replace that crappy ground clamp with the heavy brass one. It works great. I have a small engine repair shop so I use it on zero turns, riders, decks, trailers, stuff like that.
I wouldn't try to weld more than 1/4" thick plate with it . So far I have only welded up test coupon that is 3/8" thick but just welding fillet welds I have never had the machine overheat with at least half an hour of constant welding. I dont think I would start a trailer manufacturing business with the Titanium 125 but I think it could do most any around the house repairs to equipment. I have repaired my brother in laws bush hog skid plates, welded up cracks in the frame and patched holes in the deck all none stop and it worked fine. The only draw back to it is the spool capacity (2#) so they dont last very long. BUT you get a fresh roll pretty often so that is a plus for the occasional user so the wire doesn't go bad. Nothing like have a $50 spool of wire go bad and have to discard it.
@1dariansdad I pay attention to the duty cycle, the chicago has 20% at 90a and the titanium has 30% at 90a, ive never ran either of them even close to their duty cycle rating. but im always checking them to see if the warning light has come on, and after well over a year of using the chicago and quite a few months of the titanium ive never seen the warning light come on even once.
Did you actually pay attention to duty cycle? Most people, including myself, don't and the welder will virtually melt down from internal heat. Luckily my latest black 125 has been humping along nicely for over three years of light use.
It works surprisingly well. The ground clamp is pretty bad. I'm planning on doing a video in the next few weeks comparing different types of ground clamps and attempting to measure the effect they have on welding performance.
I bought one of these a year ago for the portability. I have welded up to 1/4” with no problems. Hi Only issue I ran into was they cheaped out on the ground clamp this is a common thing done by most manufacturers.
Also a good flux core welder is right for some occasions. Even though I have bigger and more powerful machines, I use this little 11 pound Titanium 125 Fluxcore welder a lot. It is easy to move around and using 110V power, it can be used just about anywhere if you have a small genset. I have ran it using over 100 feet of extension cord and it worked fine. I removed the shoulder strap since I mostly just let it set on a table, but with it on, one could just hang it on your shoulder and walk around to weld all kinds of stuff.
I think I finally have some photos of my test weld that I did with the Titanium 125. First photo is the back side of the root and second is the front. It came out pretty good considering the small amount of prep that I did, the first time I used the machine AND the first time I have welded flux core. I have did a few MIG welds in my lifetime but it has been over 25 years since I did any wire feed welding at all. My eyes are as good and my hands arent as steady but I think I did OK>
Have Harbor Freight wire feed. Make rocket stoves, 4 inch square tubing. 3 sixteenths. Works great. Got last Christmas as gift. 84 year old hacker. Have wood work shop. New hobby. 🐻
The Titanium 125 cut off briefly but I am not sure it was overheated. It went completely dead, no overheat light just dead. It came back on a few seconds later. I must have bumped the cord(it was plugged into a heavy 20 foot cord. I thought it had tripped the 20 amp breaker but it was good. After thinking about it a bit, I dont believe it tripped the thermal overload since the fan quit working. I have the Vulcan set up with .025 solid wire and the Titanium 125 with .030 flux wire. I havent had time to do any thing with them lately. I have been checking out the used car I got for my Grandson. It is a Buick Century 2003 with 190K on it but it purrs like a kitten. So far I just had to do an alignment and put on a new tire. It drives, shifts and rides really well for 17 year old car. I want to drive it around here for a few days to check it out further before heading out on the 4 hour drive to deliver it.
So true. MY Titanium 125 is a real champ. I then bought a 170 and it never ran right. Pull the trigger on the MIG gun and it would hesitate long enough for the wire to burn back almost to the contract tip then start feeding, then when you released the trigger, it would continue feeding up to about 8" of wire before stopping. I ended up taking it back spending another $700 and got a Vulcan OmniPro220 and a spool gun to weld aluminum. So far I am happy with it but I havent done a lot of welding with it yet. The Titanium lineup claims to be Professional grade and Vulcan Industrial grade, they are certainly about twice the weight of the Titanium welders. I think the T170 weighed 28# and the Vulcan weighs 42#.
I recently picked up a Titanium Easy Flux 125 inverter welder. What a great little welder it is! It does everything I need it to do around the house and out in the garage
Every machine has it quirks. I set up the Vulcan 140 and thought sure I had another problem. It has a cold feed switch that runs the wire without energizing the gun. It would feed rapidly but when I pressed the gun trigger it just creeped out at maybe 2" in 5 seconds. I went ahead and tried it and it speeded up nicely when the arc was struck but even on max wire feed and max amps it still is much slower than my Titanium 125. I boxed it back up nicely and will swap it for the 215 when one comes in.
I have no idea and wasnt about to open it up while under the 90 day full warranty. I dont think it was a relay sticking though, I could trigger it quickly and release and it would not feed 8" of wire. My Titanium 125 works well and stops immediately when the trigger is released.
@PatrickWagz hey. Buddy and yes i did actual bought the omni 220 but unfortunately I hat to returned to be honest I only used it once and I was welding with it and when I was done welding and saving everything I was about to close the lid, and it accidently closed by itself because I i was wearing the gloves and belive it or not it stoped working and never turned on after the lid was shut down hard which made me question durability for a bit so I returned because that was the first try lol. So never used it only once but it was still under the 30 days so I end up getting the titanium 170 which I think it welda the same and is not using a digital screen or anything like that and well it's being holding really good 😊. I have being using it alot well I mean just doing some trailer rapaira and Mowers repair but I think it welds the same as the titatanin 125. If you don't have any welder and want to start welding with a cheap welder the titanium 125 I think it's good machine if you want to spend a little more and have a future proof machine that can weld 220 and have more options I think go for the 170😊 hope that helps
This welder is good for beginners, I’ve been welding for 2 days and I can stick 3/16 steel together pretty nice with this. I got a better ground clamp tho
I thought about selling my Titanium 125 since I now have the Titanium 170, but yesterday I use the 125 to weld up some bracing on my corner fence post. It only weighs about 10 # including the MIG gun and all cables. It ran well on about 100 feet of extension cord. I think I will keep it around.
I used my Titanium 125 this morning to weld some braces on my yard fence corner post. I had to stretch out about 100 feet of extension cord but it worked fine. I drove some T-post in the ground at an angle then welded them to the galvanized post. Didnt even have to remove the thin galvanized coating. I do need to clean the welds up and put some paint on them now so they dont rust out. I used my B26 FEL to push one post up straight so I didnt need to get in neighbors yard. The other two, I used my Kubota RTV 900 winch to pull them straight and hold them for welding. It worked out well, but I was soaked in sweat by the time I finished at around 10:30 A.M. This 90F heat is rough on a old fat man.
Best said so far. I always say that with a MIG one can put down in 30 seconds what takes 30 minutes to grind out. For the novice, if an experienced person sets the machine, the novice can weld very well, with a little coaching on travel speed, the first time he uses a MIG. Sometimes getting the machine set properly is a trick. I started out welding stick then TIG on pressure piping back in 1968. I didnt see much MIG use till I got into quality control and management building steam generating plants for electrical generation. Lots of MIG used to weld up seams in condensers and boiler tube walls and I got to do some of it for practice. I never bothered to buy a machine till after I retired and then bought a 250 amp Miller AC/DC CC machine for stick welding. I caught a HF Titanium 125 flux core welder on sale one day for $159 and couldnt pass it up. I liked it so much that I started welding most of my welds with it. I later added a TIG torch and plasma cutter and my first inverter welder (Everlast 206SI) mainly for the plasma cutter. Then today I wanted to get a machine that will MIG with gas or without and have more power than the T-125 so I came home with another Titanium 170 MIG. My first weld with it using some .030 Welcote brand flux core wire came out pretty good. I started with a setting that I saw on Youtube of 200 IPM wire feed and 19 volts. I made one pass with it and it worked pretty good but with a little bit of adjustment to 19.2 volts and 300 IPM of wire speed I got the results below. This is 3 passes with the Welcote wire. Tie ins on sides are very good with no undercut, some spatter but nothing like the Chicago electric or Vulcan wire from HF.
Some of the welding with the Titanium 125 Flux core welder. Top photo right side was vertical up over paint on one side and welding to galvanized metal on the other. Flat weld was one pass filling in a 1/4" gap. The left weld that is partially ground off was filling a big gap. I had to cut out the original weld and square up the fit due to extremely out of square after welding. It had at least a 1/4" gap up that side and on top. I also couldnt get all the slag out from cutting with the plasma torch. My little faux pas for today. You can still see the edge of the weld which is not much wider than the gap I was welding up The next one was one pass with the paint buffed off but still welding to galvanized on one side. The rest are same thing
I have a 90 amp Chicago Electric with a 150 amp bridge rectifier, 100000 mfd capacitor, plastic flux nozzle, 20' 12ga power cord, heavier ground wire and clamp and a 100+ cfm internally mounted pancake fan. The fan blasts air through the louvres cooling the internally mounted rectifier and the transformer. It should improve the duty cycle. I also have a Titanium 125 with a better ground clamp. Advantages are light weight,much finer adjustments and better on thin gauge metal. Disadvantage is won't fit 10 lb spool. Similar results on mid range metals between the 2 welders. I probably have almost as much money in the CE but I bought it years ago. I also enjoyed doing this upgrade. I paid $150 on tax free weekend for the Titanium. I am planning on buying SS fluxcore wire which runs on DCEP. The CE can be switched to DCEP by flipping the wires at the rectifier and capacitor. I also like Lincoln wire.
I keep forgetting how good these Titanium 125 fc welders weld... .030 NR211-MP on 1/8"... and great for getting into tight places!
Dont be fooled by your own doubt. I have welded structural metal projects with the 125 hf welder with great results and good penetration. Any welder that can produce at least 80 amps can weld structural projects. I have done it ac and dc.
I've found it's a lot easier to relax and get good welds when you're not dodging balls of molten metal the whole time.
My Titanium 125 will occasionally trip my 20 amp breaker (I think twice since I have had it) but I think both times I had my Everlast plasma cutter running (but not cutting)on the same circuit.
These Titanium fc welders do pull some amps for sure. I ran mine at 80% of max to weld some 5/16" material and blew my non-dedicated breaker twice. Ran 220 to my garage since and a dedicated 10 gage circuit with a 30 amp 120v breaker and 20 amp outlet (since the machine has a way lighter gage input cord with 15 amp plug). Should be plenty safe for it or any other 110v welder I may get.
The Titanium probably does weld better than the Hobart. It is an inverter machine whereas the Hobart is a transformer. Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
I got mine on the same deal you did. Leaps and bounds better welder than their ac fc welder.
I just received the HF July catalog and they have the Titanium 125 FCAW machine on sale for $179. I caught mine for $159 which is why I have it, it was just too cheap to pass up but it works fine on the thin stuff and even with multi-passes on the thicker stuff.
I tried the Chicago Electric and it refused to feed more than a few inches before freezing in the contact tube. I cleaned the contact tube, tried again and same thing. I put my INWELD spool of wire in and it worked fine. It does seem to weld hotter than the Vulcan wire. It is .035 compared to .030 on the Vulcan so I would have expected it to require more amps but that doesnt seem to be the case.
All welding was done in vertical position with plate tilted back about 10 degrees.
I had some 1/4" rusty old piece of plate laying around so I cut it into 2 pieces with my plasma cutter and ground a quick bevel then welded it up with the Titanium 125. I ran a down hill root pass then filled it and capped it uphill. #48 is the back side of the open butt root pass which was ran downhill. #51 is front side of root prior to power brushing #52 is after brushing and # 54 is the cap pass. It is a bit rough but not bad for my first attempt on some very roughly ground rusty metal.
With your small welder, try preheating the piece with what ever torch you have. A propane weed burner is great for preheating a large piece and cheap to buy and use (only needs propane). Also dont try to make a one pass weld, make several small passes of not more than 1/4" wide. Any equipment mfg that says will weld up to 3/8 or up to 1/2" is either full of shxx or doesnt know what they are talking about. That is like saying you can only weld 1/4" thick plate with a 3/32 rod. If you make enough passes, you can weld unlimited thickness with any machine or rod. Having said that, the more amps you can push out, the better you are able to use any machine. A 140-170 amp MIG machine will do about any thing you want to do but it may be a bit slow compared to a 200 or higher amp rated machine. Also you have to look at the duty cycle. A 140 amp may have a 10% duty cycle at 140 and 35% at 100 amps. Duty cycle is how long you can weld vs how long it needs to cool. A 10% duty cycle is 1 minute of welding to 10 minutes of resting. You might weld for 10 minutes before the thermostat shuts down and have to rest for 90 minutes or until the machine cools off. You can spend a lot of money on cheaper machines that dont perform well before you decide to invest in a good machine. A medium power machine is going to be at least $650 for Chinese made and Miller will cost you way over $1500 for the same rated machine. I just mainly do hobby welding so I got a HF Titanium 125 amp FCAW machine to complement my Miller AC/DC stick machine. A couple weeks ago, I bought a plasma cutter that also stick welds and came with a high frequency TIG torch that is supposed to be able to weld aluminum and steel. It welds steel fine, havent worked with the aluminum yet (no weld rods). That is my next project.
I was pleasantly surprised with my Chinese made Titanium 125 in the smoothness of arc and depth of penetration. What surprised me most is the amount of time it welded without overheating. My friend and I welded almost a whole 2 # spool of wire and it never cut out. My Everlast is Chinese made also but it is backed by an American company and tested and inspected when they get it.
I have a bit of thick plate that I am going to cut and prep to weld with my 120 volt wire welders. I will use my Titanium 125 and post some pictures if possible. I am a bit curious to see how it turns out myself since I have not used it to weld thick stuff, only 1/8" sheet metal so far and it does a great job on that.
I have a 250 amp Miller stick machine setting in my shop. A friend and I just finished a repair job on my brother in law's bush hog. The welds at the back corners had broken and the sheet metal was bent badly (likely hit a lot of big rocks or stumps) and due to mowing with the bush hog too low to the ground, the slide rails on each side at the front of the frame were worn completely away at the front 6-8". We used my Titanium 125 FCAW from Harbor Freight to weld up the seams in the frame (both back corners) then decided to put some new rails on the bottom. I had some scrap iron so I cut out some pieces and welded them under the bottom as sacrificial slides. This entailed horizontal and over-head welding. We welded pretty much non stop for over an hour with the machine set on G7 which is about 75% of full power. The heat overload never cut out and it welded non stop without a problem. My friend owns a Hobart 140 and he says the Titanium welds much better than his $400 Hobart. It was also loaded with the free spool of wire that came with it from Harbor Freight. We burned about 3/4 of the 2 pound spool of wire. My friend looked like a welder in a 3rd World country what with his flip flops, shorts and T shirt but we got the job done and no one caught on fire. Instead of welding sleeves, I had to rig up some cover for his legs and feet. What a hoot we had with the little 110 volt welding rig. Prior to fixing the bush hog, we hooked up my new Everlast 206 SI plasma torch and TIG rig. It smoothly cut a piece of 1/2" plate with the plasma cutter with very little slag on the underside. The TIG welder worked better than any rig I used in construction. I loved the finger control to turn it on and off plus the high frequency start was great. I use it to wash weld a bead in the plasma cut that I made without using any filler wire. I got about 3/4 of full penetration in the cut in one pass. I had a big shop fan blowing on high speed right on my back not 2 feet from me and the TIG rig worked flawlessly. That fan was producing about a 15 MPH wind but the argon didnt blow away. It was set on 60 CFH. I later turned it down to about 20 after turning the fan down to low and reducing the post flow purge time to about 5 seconds. I really like both machines. Next project is to get a bottle of 75/25 and check out my little MIG 100 by Airco. I wish I had one machine that would run both MIG and FCAW like the Hobart Handler but I have what I have. If I were doing projects all day long, I would have a 200 amp wire feed welder but for now things are working well with the cheap(er) machines.
I didnt take photos, but the little Titanium 125 amp FCAW machine from Harbor Freight did a great job on the exhaust pipe on my Kubota. Except for the excess amount of buckshot that it generates, it did a fine job with pretty good penetration and only a couple of blow outs that filled in easily. I also found a piece of muffler pipe in my scrap yard that was just a bit larger than the OD of my pipe and was able to make a reinforcement sleeve to weld to the pipe and the manifold attachment plate. I think now it is better than new.
If you try welding anything 1/8" or thicker with that machine you will want to upgrade. For twice the money (coupon brings that down) you can get into they're better dc line of flux core welders. I have the black CE 125 ac flux core machine and the Titanium 125 which is a dc flux core machine. Bought the Titanium as an upgrade and it will weld twice the thickness of the CE model. I like the flexibility of a flux core welder and being able to weld outdoors and possibly from a generator in a remote location. Do upgrade wire. I've had good luck with either Hobart E71T-11 and Lincoln NR211-MP with my Titanium fc welder. They are multi-pass wires, where most -GS wires are not. The Lincoln wire acts more of a "fast freeze" wire and may not work well with the low heat from the CE model. The CE model will weld. I've made a stand out of handrail and have fixed exhaust with it. The Hobart wire made a big difference in repairing holes in exhaust or filling in drill holes. If you want to weld thicker material you'll want a better welder though.
both, my garage has a 15 and a 20. I can get away with using the 15 on Lower settings but if it's maxed out it needs the 20 amp.
Had my Titanium 125 from HF for about 4 months, has been great until today. Heard some crackling coming from inside the welder and it blew breaker for receptacle it was on. Attempted to power it back on and while it did not blow breaker again, it kept crackling from circuit board area in welder and would not power on. Luckily I had the 2 year warranty, returned for a full refund incl the warranty cost since they did not have one in stock near me. Went online and purchased the Eastwood 135 to take its place, will be nice to have a mig welder instead of the Titanium 125 flux core welder I have been using. It is about $150 more than the Titanium welder not incl purchasing a tank and argon but hope it will last longer and make better welds on the sheet metal I use it on.
The maximum open circuit voltage is 42 volts when not welding. When you start welding, it will be lower. The voltage knob is only relative, so you don’t know the actual voltage. From my experience, though, you’re probably running a little over 20 volts most of the time during welding.
Like you, I finally had a chance to do a bucket list item, learn to weld. After I retired, I overbought (spent $2000) buying Miller 135 mig and plasma cutter. In GA, seniors can "audit" college or tech school classes for free. You get knowledge but no "credits". I attended 3 semesters and learned a lot, (made the Dean's List for academics) but still couldn't weld. I recently bought a Harbor Freight Titanium 125 flux core welder for about $170 on sale. I watched a lot of You Tube videos on using the Titanium 125 and other flux core welders then went out in the shop and started welding. Pretty shameful welding started to become less bad. Now I am able to do a decent job. The hardest thing is learning to find the pool. And, stay in the joint. You will become a proficient grinder before you become a proficient welder. Mostly, have fun! Don't get discouraged.
I've used mine a lot to weld 1/8" and 3/16 off a 50ft 10ga extention cord on a 20 amp circuit. So far, no blown breakers or signs that it's over taxing it.
If you don't go hard on the voltage you will be fine. I used this welder on 1/4" plate steel and had the voltage very high and if I welded for a minute straight I would trip the 20A circuit.
@robertsantiago953 I got this welder and am running some flux core wire from Amazon (brand made in Italy). The setup has not been an issue at all. Use the recommendations to start and it's in the ballpark from there Its been crazy easy to dial in. The Setup should not be an issue at all. I know most of the time, to get the heat on 110v welders the voltage has to be maxed out but this welder is not like that. Start with the recommended setup, you supposed to make sure the metal is clean. But all I have to do is knock off paint, I been welding dirty and bare with no issue. Bare stock with its normal rust, I don't have to clean, welds no problem. It's exceeded my expectations. I would recommend trying some different wire, just to make sure it's not the issue. If you are still having issues, take it back to harbor freight and swap it out. Cause this welder just impresses most people that I have let use it and most ppl with it have nothing but great results. In my opinion, my titanium 125 welder is hands down the best flux core welder I have been around. While the issue you speak of seems pretty rare, there a Reddit post of something similar. They could not get his titanium 125 to weld properly, having issues getting the settings right. Those issues went away after it was swapped out for a new one at harbor freight. I do recommend using better wire, no matter if you return it or not. I promise though, this welder has plenty of heat to do what it's rated for...and then some. I can get over 125amps no problem, just for kicks, trying to get the the max I could, on 035 wire I got up to 135amps on my fluke clamp meter. It's not typical for my purposes though. I don't know your experience but be sure you have the tension set right on the wire feed, the setup book goes thru the method to check, pull the trigger and let the wire hit a piece of wood, it should be a loose as it can be and still bend the wire at a couple inches out. Too tight and the wire feed can be inconsistent and drag. Also the ground clamp needs good connection. It's not the best ground clamp but it certainly connects good enough to not be an issue.
I just tried my new one yesterday for about 2 hrs , welding little short periods of course like 2 mins and my breakers are 15 amp , it didnt triggered them .You should be ok , just make sure no one else is using microwave or other gadget at the same time in the line you using
Got rid of my Lincoln 140 mig for 100$. Bought this harbor freight welder thinking this will be better than the Lincoln. Big mistake the harbor welder is a toy compare to the Lincoln. Wish I still keep my lincoln
I still use mine, still love it.
I just bought this welder yesterday. Never welded a day in my life but watched a ton of videos. After I would start running a bead it would just intermittently cut out. Any idea why ? I used all different types of stock. Even went to lowes and bought some 1/8 ms flat stock and it was better but still was cutting out.
I recently got a the titanium 125a mig welder and it absolutely works great. I bought this one instead of the one in video because the titanium one has variable settings instead of low/high.
ElCajoia works great on muffler . Just keep the numbers down
That's what I bought mine for when they had that one day special, this little thing cranks the output for a 110v.
Just picked one up today. I don’t do alot. Just some exhaust here and there. I put on the heavier ground clamp and I use lincoln electrics .35 flux core wire. Changed the tip to .35 also. Didn’t use it much yet but so far it worked good on a piece of exhaust connection
I've run mine on the max settings quite a bit and never tripped the 20A circuit breaker, so I don't think that's an issue. As for using an extension cord, a 12 ga ext cord of 25-50' should work on a dedicated 20A circuit. I'm no electrician but from what I've read this should do the trick.
These machine don’t weld sheet metal. I tried and it did burned the sheet meat very easy even on the lowest setting and I stayed 3/4 away from the metal
I picked one up today, was on a black friday sale for $149.99, but no stock. Saw a couple of returns for $100, plus they let me use a %25 off coupon, $75 out the door, SCORE!. I tried it at home and welds great!. I upgraded from a basic $99 dollar black beginner harborfreight welder and its a big difference. Much better and more consistent welds.
Wow that's a lot. Well I can say I've used it on both a 15 amp and 20 amp the 15 was for some thinner stuff that I only needed the lower settings. I've used it on the highest settings on my 20 amp breaker and it is not tripped ... yet ! Haven't tried it yet with any generator or inverter.
I recently bought the Titanium Easy Flux 125, that is a great little machine; especially since it often goes on sale for $150. Although that one works more like a mig, you do have to prep the metal a little more than with the black box.
I've been building sides for my utility trailer with this little beast. Works great for attaching angle iron to square tubing. I caught it on sale for $149, so this thing was a great deal
Yes, I use it mostly on a 15amp and it only trips on the highest setting so 25 is plenty
I ended up folding when I was in my local HF store and bought this few weeks after it had released. Current usage must be low cause it runs off my extension cord that I have running to my shop. (Don't real power run out to it yet) and it also works on the low side when hooked to my 2000 Predator generator. I'd think if hooked to a bigger generator this thing wouldnt even care. Picked it up for my blacksmithing adventures. Liking it so far.
Agreed, for the thicker material it would be better to use 0.035". From the 18ga to 3/16" I stuck close to the settings under the lid using 0.03". Since there are no suggested settings for 1/4" and i already had 0.03" in the machine i stuck with that.
@pantac4493 no. I was welding and it made high pitch noise and it trip the breaker. I flip breaker back on and it came back on and did exact same thing. When I tried turn on welder just the switch light was on but no fan and power indicator light on front panel was off. So I let it sit all day and tried later in evening but to no avail still situation. I just left it. Looked at circuit board side of welder did not see any burnt connection. I tried fan in my other welder it worked. Short is somewhere on circuit board I cant see. I haven't take board out to really inspect it. I'm at a lost. So it boxed up on the shelf as of right now. The drive motor works, tried it in my other welder. I don't know what shorted out.
Review videos
After 5 Years Is It Still Worth It?? Harbor Freight Titanium 125Jul 4, 2024 · YouTube ↗
Harbor Freight Welder: Titanium 125 Review, Setup, and TestFeb 18, 2024 · YouTube ↗
Harbor Freight Titanium Flux 125 Welder....first time user reviewMar 27, 2024 · YouTube ↗
Weld Like a Pro with the Harbor Freight Titanium Easy Flux 125 | Flux core welding tips and tricksOct 4, 2024 · YouTube ↗
TESTING TITANIUM 125 FLUX CORE WELDER FROM HARBOR FREIGHT!Apr 28, 2026 · YouTube ↗
Harbor Freight Titanium EasyFlux 125 Welder IS SICK!! #harborFreight #harborFreightWelder #weldingFeb 6, 2023 · YouTube ↗
