Need Basic Setup Info for Flux Welder

[vtec-this]

Well to make a long story short an associate owed me money and could not pay. I asked him what he had lying around and he showed me a Canadian Tire welder ($499 in stores) with a nice cart, bottle holder etc. Never been used, said he got it for christmas. 120V 20 AMP

I brought it home and realized I have never even used a flux welder before (its flux and MIG). I have very limited welding experience (only use them if I have to) and really just need to figure out how to test the thing to make sure it works.

Usually when I have used a MIG welder I just put in the appropriet size wire, adjust the feed speed and have my buddy adjust the gas properly as I never seem to get it right and ground the piece I am working on with the clamp.

When I open up this welder I see this nice warning

Now I did a bit of reading and it seems I should have reversed polarity for FLUX welding (no agron/co2 or trimix gas)

Can anyone point me in the right direction? I just want to try this thing out to make sure it works before I decide to either flip the thing or hold onto it and maybe try out some flux welding.

I already have a spool of flux wire, just need to know how I should be clamping and if I need to move the terminal wires. I have a feeling I just swap the terminals as I have no way of unhooking the clamp and physically hooking it up to the positive terminal, but really have no idea as I have never done this before so I am just assuming.

Ive never even plugged the thing in yet so dont worry I havent ruined it or anything lol

here some more pics




So ya just switch the terminals or is there more to it than that? I figure some DIY er on this forum must have used one of these flux welders before.

[ftjandra]

Yup, you just switch the wires at the terminals right next to that sticker.

--Ferdi

[vtec-this]

awsome thanks so much. I just picked up a proper outlet and 20A breaker and will wire it up this week and try it out.

thanks again, jeff

[scortadict]

keep it like that. that how mine its installed and i'm working with flux, no gaz. i have the exact model.

[scortadict]

i just check the manual and its say :

for flux-core welding, connect the torch cable from the wire feed mechanism to the - polarity connector, and then connect the work cable to the + polarity connector.

the torch cable its the small one and the work cable its the big one.

[vtec-this]

AWSOME I never got the manual so that helps alot.

thanks!

using this welder what is the thickest steel you think I could weld with flux? I have some 0.06 sheet metal I was going to play around with to try it out and see how it goes. If the flux works well I think it could be very handy for making a sheet metal intake manifold etc, but Im not sure what to expect. Its only a 120v 20 amp I heard these units arent the greatest either but I dont know Im no welder lol anything is better than nothing I guess. I also have some thicker stock metal I was planning on cutting up to make some custom engine mounts for my GTR swap, but I doubt this thing has enough penetration to work properly, then again what do I know lol Guess I will just have to try it out and see how well it goes.

I will let you know how it turns out.

[scortadict]

its marked on the side of the welder for the thickness stell you can weld with flux and mig.

its not a miller but for the price its help me a lot with my project!! i'm relay satisfied. got it 2 year ago for 250$ on Christmas sale

[vtec-this]

sweet thats what the guy owed me did yours come with the cart and bottle holder or was it extra?

[SgtRauksauff]

bottle is usually leased from the gas supply company. In my case, I got a fairly large tank, with a 5-year lease, and fill-ups are ~25 bucks.

The bottles need to be tested/certified every few years, so unless you really really really want to own it, it's better to do the lease, at least in my opinion. I built my own cart once I got my welder, it didn't come with one. It was an option, but since I get out into my driveway, on gravel, I wanted something with bigger rubber tires instead of hard plastic ones like all the pre-made carts were.

I used an old bed frame for the material, and the cart was my first project.

--sarge

[scortadict]

sweet thats what the guy owed me did yours come with the cart and bottle holder or was it extra?

yes it come with the cart and bottle holder. i got a lot better cart at princess auto for 50$ it would cost me more in material to make it.

[therieldeal]

sarge, building a welder cart for your first project sounds like an excellent idea lol

as you get better and better you can always look at it and think "damn, look how far ive come"