What owners do with it
Input power8 owners said
240V outlet50%
120V outlet25%
Generator13%
Both 120V and 240V13%
How it is used20 owners said
Paid work45%
Hobby and home40%
Auto and fab15%
Process used39 owners said
TIG87%
Aluminum8%
Stick5%
Specs
What it does
- Amperage
- 10-115A (120V), 10-205A (240V) TIG
- Duty cycle
- 115A at 35% (120V), 205A at 25% (240V) TIG
The machine
- Warranty
- 90 days
- Maker price
- $1,199.99
62 owner reviews
Not sure. Mine is still working well.
@christophercarroll1977I know this is 4 months late but I have that same welder and it runs just as good as my miller. Super smooth!
I'm struggling with arc start. Even on a brand new tungsten sharpened with a special tool. I maintain the Gap and not even introducing filler rod yet, I just struggle with getting the puddle started. I thought it was an issue with the spark gap inside the machine so I went and swapped it at harbor freight and got the same results with the new machine
180a matted in sneakers and 1/16th filler had me rolling
@whoknows3347 ya my father was mostly impressed doing ac on 6061 aluminum Just could not believe how clean the cleaning cycle was and how smooth it welded I could not tell you the difference I’m just a novice lol and he is not easily impressed with anything so I was really happy about it
@made_by_chris it is so much easier to set up than my Miller. Thanks for watching
I have the 205 My father has always worked at nuclear plants as a welder and only used miller and Lincoln most of his life He laughed when I told him I got a welder at harbor freight Then he used my pro tig He was stunned at how well it works and could not believe the price Not sure how it would hold up for all day everyday use?? But for what I do it’s been awesome for 4 years now and I love this machine
I recently got one. I can't believe how straightforward it was out of the box. I needed it for a job and it paid for itself on day 1. I never TIG welded before and honestly, it made it really enjoyable.
I just finished up a huge order of concrete tools. The average temperature is over a 100° in Arizona and the middle of October. And I tell you what that Vulcan machine is very hard to beat. Especially when it comes to the price, thanks for the comment and the view.
Thanks for sharing! Just one BIG caution. At 7:57 you recommended stick-out equal to cup diameter, which is also the prevailing recommendation on You Tube (This Old Tony, et al). However, now I'm thinking that applies to GAS LENSES, not std collet bodies like this. On pg 10 of the PT-205 owner's manual (and in the Eastwood manuals), the recommended tungsten stick-out is only 1/8" to 1/4"! Owner's Manuals from Miller, Lincoln, HTP, etc. don't seem to give a value. I chased my tail for HOURS trying to get aluminum to "puddle" correctly using the std collet bodies & cups that came with my PT-205 (retrofitted with a CK torch). It didn't seem to matter what Ar flowrate I used. Switched back to a gas lens and BOOM, no problem. I haven't gotten around to retesting with 1/8" - 1/4" stick-out, but I read somewhere else a guy had the same problem and solved it by reducing stick-out to the value recommended in the manual. There also *could* be a compatibility issue between the PT-205 std collet bodies with CK torches.
It definitely does decent. I haven’t done a ton of stick with this since I have a dedicated machine, but you won’t be disappointed with its performance.
@Motorhead_MarkI had the same one, didnt work, exchanged for Vulcan protig 205. Much better machine and hardware that comes with it
I'm 100% sold on the Vulcan Pro-Tig 205 myself. The arc with TIG is extremely smooth and it's HF start so no touching the Tungsten to the workpiece (which caused inclusions). The foot pedal is very linear as well. Only thing I don't like about it (and I did replace it) was the TIG torch. It's heavy and the head is rigid and it's hard to deal with so I replaced the Vulcan TIG torch with a CK worldwide water cooled TIG torch, series 2 and it has a flexible head. The issue with the stock torch when welding aluminum or even steel at high amperage is the torch (stock) can and will get very hot, hot enough at high amperage to actually melt it. The Pro-Tig is 100% digital readout, has 'fan on demand' cooling and it remembers the last settings you had and returns to those settings when you power it up. The digital display is very intuitive as well. Easy to set up, easy to use other than TIG welding does take skill to master, unlike MIG which really takes little skill. The CK Worldwide water cooled torch always runs cool because it has coolant circulating in it constantly. Of course you need to add a water cooler, which I did, bought an Everlast cooler for it and bought specific coolant for a water cooled torch. I got the torch and the coolant from Weldfabolous and I also get my argon filled bottles from them. They have really good prices on filled bottles and free shipping on everything and no tax either. There is a bit of 'plumbing' involved and you also need to by a gas through CK DINSE connector for the machine. The CK Series 2 torch takes specific gas lenses and gas saver diffusers which they also sell. Nice thing about the water cooled torch is, I can run at maximum amperage as long as I want to and the torch never gets hot. We do a lot of aluminum here but it's also good for heavy gage steel. I did purchase the HF extended warranty on both the plasma cutter as well as the Pro-Tig. Like their warranty. If for any reason the machines fail, HF replaces them with a new machine. Helluva warranty and worth it for me, simply because they are solid state IGBT machines. The Pro-Tig and the plasma cutter will run on 110 as well but I only power them on 220. Bought the CK water cooled torch with 25 foot leads and I also extended the HF ground clamp out to 25 feet as well. Bought a 25 foot roll of Number 4 stranded copper cable from Spartan Cable to extend the ground clamp and the stock HF ground clam is very nice with it's solid copper contacts and braided copper lead that connects the upper clamp to the lower clamp. HF has really stepped up it's game far as welders are concerned. Right in there with the big players now and with their extended warranty and replacement guarantee, the stepped above the big players. You don't need to ever worry about finding a service center should your machine fail. Just return it to any HF store with your warranty papers and get a NEW one. No questions asked. None of the big players like Lincoln, Miller, ESAB or Hobart can even come close. I know the warranty is golden as I purchased the Vulcan welding cabinet, got it home, did the minor assembly and went to unlock the side door and the pin lock key would not fit, so I called the local HF store where I purchased it at and they had me return it and replaced it with a new, in the box cabinet, no questions asked. I'm 100% sold on HF welders, not that I'd ever sell the 2 Hobart 210 Migs I own simply because they are excellent machines and have never given me any issues in the 15 years I've owned and ran them.
Do you ever run stick in this? For some basic stuff I just want to stick weld but damn it's really tough to strike and keep the arc from going crazy. Tried 6010 and 6011 rods. I trained on a Miller with 6010 and it was like butter. This thing is all over the place with 6011
Why because I got mine for 899.00 and paid like 180.00 for a 3 year warranty. Harbor freight will exchange it with the warranty without any issues. I didn't want to worry about shipping and all that mess if one failed. So far its a super great welder running on 220v.
Its a great welder. 220v is best for all these converter welders. Only issue I have seen with them or any model is 110v. Some people just don't have a good 110v supply of power and yes they will not do as well. I love my TIG 205 so far.
Mine works great. Welded a lot on Millers. Maybe you have one that needs replaced. They are not junk!
This welder is junk. Just bought one and I have to return it.
I bought a ProTig 205 last month. I first tried using DCEN on steel and it seemed to work ok. Then switched to AC for aluminum welding and the welder would not even strike an arc. I called Technical Service and we went through Reset and also all the connections and still would not work. Due to only having the unit for a couple weeks I attempted to return the welder to Harbor Freight. They demanded that I pay a 20% restocking fee which was around $200. I resisted and tried to explain that they sold me a defective welder that never worked. They still demanded the restocking fee. I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER ITEM FROM HARBOR FREIGHT DUE TO THEIR REDICULOUS RETURN POLICY ON A DEFECTIVE PRODUCT.
Trust me guys do not buy this welder it’s junk I bought one and it struck an arc once on ac and then no arc on ac after that. Works on dc but won’t strike a arc on ac high frequency cost me 200$ in a restock fee. If you don’t believe me google pro tig 200 not striking arc on ac.trust me it’s another piece of Chinese made junk.
I bought a Vulcan 205 from Harbor Freight. It did not work on AC tig immediately out of the box when less than 2 weeks old. I returned the welder to Harbor Freight and they would not return my money. I immediately called Customer Service and their suggestions like reset or connections did nothing to solve the problem. The best they could offer for a refund was 80% of amount paid with a 20% return cost out of pocket of $200. I WILL NOT purchase another item from Harbor Freight. I cannot believe Harbor Freight would sell a defective item and not return the full sales amount to the customer.
Mike, I bought a ProTig 205 from Harbor Freight last month. The first time I used it on Tig AC on aluminum, it would not even strike an arc. I called Customer Service and we went through connections, reset etc. I had just used it on DCEN on steel so the connections were correct. Harbor Freight would not refund my money and in fact charged me a 20% ($200) restocking fee even though it was less than 10 days old and I had the original receipt. I WILL NEVER buy another item from Harbor Freight.
Doesn't weld aluminum very well. Or at least my machine doesnt.
I'm running it off of a fifty amp dryer outlet and i've never had a problem with tripping the breaker
I recently purchased a Protig 205, when I plugged it into 220v a pop was heard and the breaker tripped. Reset the breaker, the machine turned on and the display was responsive, that is as far as I took it. Harbor Freight gave me no drama exchanging the machine, this one works great. This is one of the videos that I used in deciding which welder to purchase, Thanks!
I bought the protig 205 largely based on this review. I love the Festiva channel. However... I have had terrible experiences with HF in the past, so I was very reluctant. But I went against my better judgement and bought the 205. This worked in my shop, but threw error codes when using it in the field on my Honda 6500 generator. Fault 02, which is an unspecified voltage issue. Cold rolled mild steel, so not terribly challenging TIG work. I could weld for 5 - 10 seconds, then it would code out. I'd wait a minute for it to come back, and I could weld for another 5 - 10 seconds. A welder simply has to work on a generator for me - and this one is advertised as lightweight, so you can use it in the field. Took it back to Harbor Fright and they said because it worked on shop current, in their mind it works. So with a total of owning it three weeks and getting about 6" of weld out of it, I was charged a 20% restock fee. This is why we hate Harbor Freight. This is the crap that makes us non-customers for life. Buy something else unless you plan to always use it in your shop.
I guess it depends on if you want a welder that does MIG. I haven't tried the Omni Pro, but it looks great for the price. I still use my Pro Tig about once a month or so. It still works great. I primarily just Tig weld, but if I were doing lots of general welding, I'd probably go with the Omni Pro.
I believe it will weld at 5 amps in TIG mode. On a side note, this machine is still working great!
Well, as of this moment, this thing is still going strong with no issues. Who pays for the shipping if you have an issue within 5 years?
The Harbor Freight Pro TIg 205 now has only a 90 day warranty. For pretty much the same price, you can get an Everlast 255EXT with a 5 year warranty. The Everlast is smoother and the HF start is way better. I've had the Pro Tig 205 and before a week was over using it, I returned it to Harbor Freight. Your MMV. I have the Vulcan 215 mig machine and it is excellent. Highly recommend that machine.
Hey I appreciate your comments and your insights I kind of went through the same process when I purchase this particular welder I really wish I could afford a Miller dynasty 350 but it was just out of the question and I figured it would get me by for the moment and so I feel like for what it is it's OK Thanks again
Actually, it's been almost 2 years! Yeah, long story short, It's still works great and I really like it. I haven't had any issues with it. I ended up taking it to the shop where I work, and I'd say I probably use it about once a month on various projects. There's been a few days that I used it pretty heavily all day long, and I'd say I have no complaints so far.
That protig 205 is AC/DC also for less than $1k, mine works great for me and it also auto recognizes 120/240 without having to change a setting on the machine.
They reintroduced the protig 205 and it's amazing! I love mine.
I bought the Pro TIG 205 for my gunsmithing/gun engraving business and I absolutely love it. I use it for other things also. Looking at the Titanium 45 Plasma cutter for my next purchase.
Hey I apologize that I omitted that stuff anyways it's worked great and I haven't had to replace anything Thanks for the comment
Yes I have one I need to review soon, it welds good, it’s just extremely simple, not many options, but it will weld aluminum, stainless steel and mild steel well. Keep an eye out on my channel for a review
It’s still going strong! I’ve got a project I’m working on now, so I’ll probably do a 1 year update long term review video in the next week or so. Thanks for the question!
Have fun! It's been a great machine for me. Still works great!
I think in general, you can get them for $899, or at least that's what I paid for mine. Additional 3 year warranty is available for an extra fee. I actually considered getting the AHP and the Everest as they were both a little less expensive, but after hearing the nightmare stories of actually trying to get any warranty service, especially from the AHP, I chose the Vulcan. It's pretty simple to take it to your local Harbor Freight vs paying shipping to maybe get it taken care of? You tell me. As far as the AHP Alpha Tig 203XI being a "much better welder" that I don't know. I've never tried one out. I had a Lincoln and learned on a Miller, and all I can say is that at this point, my Vulcan is going strong after being torture tested many times, so in my opinion, it's been well worth the few extra bucks. Do your research be for you purchase the AHP is all I can say.
Still really like it! No issues so far.
As I posted the other day I got the 205. I got it all connected finally after the cord issue I had. I started doing all the basic stuff that is suggested on many sites like running a line on aluminum surface to clean the porosity off and make a clean weld with no filler rod. It took a few to learn to hold the tig wand and move with it etc. But once I got it going it was a blast. It took no time to figure out the maching and after a day and half I decided to try using filler rod. It took time to learn to control the flow once it got going I did some nice clean stacks and got excited. I kept going but got to happy and cooked a few spots. Then accidently bumped to tungsten and stopped to calm down from being to happy. I love this dang machine. its worth every penny.
@mxxmikexx1 no it has worked great for me. I keep it at like 70 amps for intercooler pipe. It only burned through when my joints didn’t line up good.
It's still going strong! I've been using it to weld some pretty thick material at home and at work. I've had it maxed out in the 120 volt outlet, and so far, it's been great!
I think out of all the Ac/DC TIG welders I have tried out, the Omnipro is the easiest to setup. My friend has a Miller dynasty TIG and the Omnipro is easier to setup for sure. The Omnipro 200 was extremely quick to setup but they included a few extra settings on the 205. I think you will not have any trouble, I’m really happy with mine. Take care 👍
@Mikefestiva it's funny because a few days before it arrived I was talking to a 30-year experience welder about where to source argon locally and he started asking me about the machine I was getting and he basically laughed and told me I was wasting my money and they don't even teach aluminum TIG welding until third year welding school, the guy basically made me feel like I made a huge mistake. so the fact that I was able to lay down some pretty decent beads on aluminum with the machine with no prior experience, I'm pretty excited from this point on. And it's encouraging to hear you didn't have any issues with your last Vulcan machine. ! Love the rest of the videos on your channel BTW. Very cool stuff
Thanks I really appreciate it 👍 I have had zero problems with my ProTig 205. I had owned my ProTig 200 for a year and a half without any problems, I sold it for a good deal to my friend and it’s working great for him too. I think you will enjoy this machine for many years to come. TIG is a longer learning curve that other welding methods but it’s really clean and very controllable. Take care
I bought this machine based largely on your review. I haven’t had a chance to TIG with it yet, but I did try it out with 7018 and 5P+. The 7018 (3/32” Excalibur) ran as smooth as butter. The 5P ran better than I expected, but certainly not as well as an alternator machine. Some of the things that stick out to me are the quality of the lead and power cord insulation. It’s very supple like silicon rubber. All the dials and buttons feel like quality. The ground clamp and stinger are also of decent quality. This is much less important, but I’m a weirdo about it: The cardboard packaging was real cardboard, not like the typical Chinese stuff, and the operator’s manual was actually translated very nicely👍🏼. I didn’t expect that. Can’t wait to get a bottle of argon so I can try out the TIG.
Mike festiva definitely jumps in steps would best describe it. The only way I had it smooth down was watching the display and being super easy on the pedal as I was messing with it.
Swapped out my 200 for the 205 and so did my boss. we both have the same problem with the way it ramps in or out on amperage. It doesn’t seem to ramp in or out smoothly unless you are super slow on the pedal. Anyone else experience this?
Yeah, I haven't tried a big clear cup yet, but I'm going to soon! I've been running the welder quite a bit the last 2 weeks. No complaints so far. Haven't messed with the pulse settings just yet, but overall, on DC it's pretty much the same as my Lincoln, but this thing welds aluminum on AC like a champ! I ran it pretty hard today for a couple hours on some 1/4" steel. Doing some work on a car rack for a buddy of mine. All I have available right now is my 110 V outlet. Had it cranked to the max, and the Vulcan never missed a beat!
I got the ProTig 205 a couple of weeks ago. I have no complaints! Another thing you didn't mention that's nice is that the machine saves the settings, so for example, if you're welding aluminum and get everything set just where you like it, then do some steel on DC, when you go back to AC tig, all your settings are still there unless you change them. It's also super easy to swap the torch and hose out to a superflex type if you're into that. I made a video review on mine showing how. I actually purchased mine after watching your video on the ProTig 200, and after seeing the upgrades on the 205, I was sold!
Ryan I’m glad you got your 205 worked out 👍 the HF works great on my 205, it seems like it’s got more of a crisp start then my ProTig 200.
I just got this last month. Been working great. Although my welding sucks.
Ill share my experiences. I bought my first protig 205, got it fairly quickly. The machine welded smooth but the hf start was iffy, Then one day, after about a hour of weld time, the hf start died. I returned the welder, and ordered a second one. The new one is much much better. The hf start on this one is consistent and starts crisp. I am fairly confident to say that the first one I had was defective, and that the hf start is better on the 205, although I never used the 200.
Just bought one, seems like a good unit, the petal is a little notchy but tolerable, still has a few false starts, not a big issue. Gonna put a few dozen hours on it soon, but I have a esab mpi350, a Miller side kick and a Miller 251 just wanted something I could leave set up to weld aluminum which I do very little of. Might do a welding vid an impression vid later on....
Right on! I've been playing with it and made an aluminum box to hold small parts at work. Seems like a really good welder to learn on for sure!
I just got one Friday. I've never tig welded before, after a bunch of youtube videos before I tried, I was able to weld some aluminum intercooler pipe super easy. I like this welder alot.
You're welcome! I played around with it some more today. So far I really like it!
Mustang James the welder it self isn’t bad I would say 25% duty cycle at 200 is stretching the truth my complaint was my tig torch couldn’t handle the heat from the aluminum and burned up pretty quick but for smaller welds and tacking it worked good
Fair warning if welding aluminum at 200 that duty cycle is closer to 15% and that tig torch doesn’t handle the heat from aluminum very well unless they’ve changed things I burned mine up but if you only need it for short 2 inch aluminum welds it’ll work
I have the old version. It works pretty well.
Review videos
Here's What NO ONE Will Tell You About Harbor Freight's "Best" Welders....May 5, 2022 · YouTube ↗
Ultimate Guide to Harbor Freight Welder: The Real "BEST" Setup!Apr 16, 2023 · YouTube ↗
The new Vulcan PROTIG 205 TIG Welder from Harbor FreightJun 19, 2020 · YouTube ↗
Vulcan Vs Titanium AC/DC TIG Welder Review.Feb 25, 2022 · YouTube ↗
Putting The Harbor Freight Vulcan Protig 205 To The Test - Is It Worth It?Jan 12, 2025 · YouTube ↗
The Harbor Freight Vulcan ProTIG 205 is Pro machine at a Hobby PriceyJan 13, 2025 · YouTube ↗
