Converting a Flux Welder into a MIG Welder

In this video I go into detail how I converted a cheap flux core welder into a full MIG welder. I bought a broken MIG welder and used the parts from it to convert my Titanium 125 to accept shielding gas.
If you want to do this conversion yourself you will need a 24 volt gas solenoid and a 12 volt relay module. If you do a similar swap with a different welding machine you may need to use a different solenoid or relay, I have no control over this situation. I used 1/4" automotive air line to run the gas from the solenoid to the gas cup, and I did have to swap the polarity from DCEN in order to get this welder to work properly. I'm running 75/25 Argon/CO2, this thing does weld quite well now that I got it dialed in.
This video really is for entertainment only. This swap does not make any sense to do. If you aren't an experienced electro-mechanical technician I can't recommend you attempt this job, especially because it could do harm to you or your property if you do it wrong. Even if you are experienced in this type of thing, I still don't recommend it.

[@mungomungo6035]

I really like your honesty as to thye value of the value of the viewing person doing this project. I enjoyed seeing how you went about it.

[@ingressodellaruahkennel7773]

I bought this flux welder and did the same conversion. Alot of ppl say why not just spend 250$ on a Hobart 140 but ppl dont realize this welder is super light weight to do small mobile welding. Hobart and other mig are heavier than this Titanium

[@twatbass]

and Hobart 140 is $549

[@ingressodellaruahkennel7773]

@@twatbass that's right 500$. They're not cheap bc they're owned by Miller

[@jeremiahstone5285]

For some reason gas migs cost quite a bit more, which brought me here thinking maybe I could modify a cheaper flux machine. My old Craftsman/Century was a good welder for awhile but it mostly sputters anymore and none of the normal fixes like liner and connections seem to be the problem, so might need a new machine. I was thinking there's a Clark style torch on Amazon, no relay, just a valve on the trigger and then just run gas to it

[@ZeroBaller0]

Well that’s was terrific to watch my dude!! Keep on stranging on

[@garagekeys]

Harbor freight should sell a plug and play mig ready gun for this in case anyone wants to do the conversion.

[@wicklash9065]

You could probably get the same effect with a setup similar to how a tig welding torch with the valve works. Gas line with a valve spliced in, close to the torch end. And the same way that you supplied the gas to this gun. For someone who doesnt want to go through the hassle of getting electrical with it. Just dont forget your gas on ;p.

[@Paulman50]

Ha, well done. Had to laugh when I saw that piece of weld in your hand, never seen that before. 👍😊

[@StrangeGarage]

That blew my mind! I literally peeled it off with pliers, I was in awe! Lol.

[@jmtx.]

Doctor Who and all those other scifi guys always fixed things by reversing the polarity.

[@StrangeGarage]

I had surgery that screwed up the nerves in my chest, I always joke that the doctors accidentally wired the nerves up reversed polarity.

[@717UT]

Seriously underrated comment right here.

[@jmannUSMC]

Love me a nice Frankenstein project. Brilliant!

[@StrangeGarage]

Me too. I almost put bolts in the sides of it, no joke.

[@scottb4029]

@@StrangeGarage it's the right color for Frankenstein.

[@robertvillafan1220]

Thanks for the video!

[@StrangeGarage]

Yeah man, you are welcome. Thanks for watching!

[@waltschannel7465]

Another great video!

[@wisconsinwoodsman1987]

"Everybody need reverse polarity." - Rush

[@scottb4029]

Have you tried to do stick with the titanium 125?

[@scottb4029]

Have you had any problems with welding dcep with the titanium. I'm thinking about doing a dense connectors so I can scratch rig and stick weld? Any suggestions. Btw I love the titanium 125. I'm disabled and the weight is perfect

[@kambo209]

Can you try welding aluminum with it now?

[@RussellHoughton]

I have parts on the was to do this same mode to mine but I'm hoping to power the valve off the wire feed motor.

[@johnibbertson2960]

you would have a variable voltage though surely, and would be unstable.

[@johnhill484]

This is super awesome!

[@andrewbjornberg9701]

I bought a weld pak125 hd does anyone know if the wiring works or how to make it run a solenoid like this.

[@chrismitchell45]

The flux in the flux core wire puts out a lot of CO2 which makes a hotter and deeper penetrating arc. Thereby, enabling the 125’s good flux core performance. Try again with straight CO2! Lol

[@StrangeGarage]

Yes, I actually have a plan for this but I gotta keep it a secret for a little bit longer. It is a lot colder running 75/25 vs straight flux but it sure lays down alright.

[@landonlehman5497]

Nice work!

[@TrueSeek-m7b]

Did you switch to MiG gas only wire? Regular flux core wire will not work with 75/25 gas mix.

[@Yophillips3272]

I just wanted to see if you could hook up a longer 15ft mig gun, idc about gas.

[@lonniehand1386]

first good video it keeps people on to the end .2nd I have to know where did u get the bender from Futurama i went to your vids and figured out I don't have one of those so I will have to live with not having one

[@StrangeGarage]

I made the plasma table, there is hope for you too. It's a huge pain for not a lot of return though. Thanks for watching!

[@MartiArtisan]

Do you think this welder can handle 1/4"? I know that it isn't rated for that originally

[@chrismcallister2083]

So you ran low voltage (heat) and maxed the wire speed. The machine is done voltage (A-G) wire speed (1-10) interesting video but I'd like to convert it to euro so I can get quick connect leads. BTW, typically migs run hotter due to the gas. So running it as a mig, the low voltage you were using it on was probably close to mid voltage in the dcen usage. By the way, I'm a hobbyist using a titanium easy flux welder, and also a professional welder in a factory using a Miller mig that is water cooled.

[@user-cz1ex7kf2g]

Is there any danger in reversing the leads? I don't want to burn my dad's shed down.

[@garagekeys]

That's would be bad

[@956DannyM]

Nope. If at worst your welds would just come out ugly but you would learn this later down the road if you weld a lot.

[@bonkbonk92]

Mightve been able to put a PTFE tube down the whip. Then just swap the gun with a universal one.

[@juanfigueroa6941]

I almost have all the parts except the nozzle, what brand and machine is it from?

[@garraper]

could the relay work on the 130 flux core welder...the tip is always ...HOT.

[@saturngaminghd1031]

You can just swap polarity wires inside and its good and safe?

[@mikebarnea4789]

Anyone have thoughts on dcep performance being limited by the wire gauge in the FCAW specific torch?

[@ayitsyaboi]

I'm sure it's been said, but you can get a solenoid valve for gasses for about $20, maybe cheaper if you want to play the Chinese lottery. Regardless, super cool video.

[@raysplace6548]

Sweet.. Thanks for sharing this.. 🍻🍻 Earned my sub..👍👍

[@moonpeach4684]

👍

[@southern_merican]

You pointed to wire speed but said "power" and vice versa . But nice vid

[@hvymax]

Melwood School of Engineering.

[@MudDuckGames]

why does my 125 flux titanium have more stuff inside?

[@StrangeGarage]

Is yours a henweigh?

[@MudDuckGames]

@StrangeGarage what do you mean by that? Its the same green one from harbor freoght it just seems to have an extra board inside.

[@StrangeGarage]

@@MudDuckGames You are supposed to say "what's a henweigh?" And I would say "about 2 pounds, depending on the breed of chicken. I don't know why your welder has more stuff in it though." What is the other stuff connected to?

[@MudDuckGames]

@@StrangeGarage maybe its the same and im tripping, i gotta watch this again. can confirm mine looks like a different revision, board is mounted to the right side of case from front apposed to bottom.

[@cclarke-wk7hi]

⁠​⁠@@MudDuckGames Hi, the board on mine is also mounted on the right side of the case like yours. My machine is the same welder but painted blue instead of green and sold in Canada as Mastercraft i125 by Canadian Tire stores. I’m trying to do the modification shown in the video but it is not working, the control trigger voltage goes to near zero when I press the gun trigger and so will not activate/open the solenoid. Since your board is positioned on the right side of the case just like mine, you may be unsuccessful with the modification too. Please let me know. I just reached out to Chad who posted in a reply comment about 3 weeks under a 10 month old comment by johnnibbertson, about a slight modification to the wiring shown in the video that he had to do for his machine which is a YESWELDER but appears to possibly have the same board design that I and maybe you have

[@johnibbertson2960]

is that right 12volt relay 24volt fan feed? and 12volt solenoid valve, have i got that right.

[@chada1030]

Did you ever find out? I have the 12 volt relay and 24 volt fan feed. 24vdc solenoid does not work so ordering a 12v solenoid and a 110 to see which one will work.

[@chada1030]

Figured it out. This actually worked for me too. In the schematic on the right side of the relay it shows + and that is the positive from the welder 24v fan wire. I also had to connect my control cable to the upper right labeled "in". Mine was a yeswelder and I had to get a 24 vdc relay to use with my 24 vdc solenoid. Otherwise this video works for a mod.

[@cclarke-wk7hi]

@@chada1030 Hi. I have the same titanium 125 except it is called Mastercraft 125 sold by Canadian Tire in Canada and painted blue instead of green. I tried the mod shown in the video but no go. The power to the relay shuts down to next to zero when I pull the trigger so it won’t power the relay. I notice also that the relay in the schematic is not the same as the relay in the machine in the video. Please can you clarify for my simple mind the different connection that you yourself made

[@cclarke-wk7hi]

If I understand correctly Chad, 1)the red wire from the fan is the same red wire from the welder power supply. I would connect this to the + that is on the right side of the solenoid. It also goes to the COM on the left side of the relay as shown in the video schematic. 2)the one side of the solenoid stays as shown connected to the NO on the left side of the solenoid. 3)the connection marked - on the right side of the solenoid stays as is connected to the black negative wire going to the other side of the fan and also the other side of the solenoid. 4)the blue control wire from the trigger is then connected to the input on the top right side of the relay above the -. In the video schematic that connector screw is shown with nothing connected to it but according to YOUR modification that is where the blue control wire from the trigger goes to make the solenoid function when the gun trigger is pressed. Do I have it right, Chad? I just can’t get my solenoid to function when I make the connections as shown in the video schematic😢 I would love to succeed as I would like to use CO2 to mig with this wonderful little welding machine

[@chada1030]

@@cclarke-wk7hi So I will say that my solenoid that I purchased from Amazon is a 24v solenoid that probably doesn't match what he has in his video. The 12v relay didn't work for me so I purchased the same 1 channel relay but for 24v.

[@bobd.fletcherjr4912]

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍🙋‍♂️🙋‍♂️

[@chanceholland2470]

Go get a titanium mig140

[@jvazquez53]

In and out, just a waste of time.

[@StrangeGarage]

Is that the title for your biography?

[@OtherDalfite]

@@StrangeGarage grandpa's just mad you whipped out the fancy electronics he doesn't understand. Cool video and enjoy the electronics section especially.

[@StrangeGarage]

You're probably right, but I could not have made it much simpler for him. Thanks for the comment and the kind words!

[@mattfogarty8144]

Why not just spend an extra $250 bucks and get a Hobart handler 140?

[@StrangeGarage]

@@mattfogarty8144 I said that in the video, dude.

[@makingcookingfixing]

Hi, thanks for sharing, I think it was a great video. I have a flux mig welder and this certainly could be an option instead of buying another mig welder.

[@Chatchie007]

I know I'm super late to the party here, but, why not just take the solenoid feed directly from the motor that drives the spool . That school only runs when the trigger is pressed. Take the positive feed from that to a relay and that will power your solenoid until the trigger is released which will stop the spool and close the solenoid. I understand that the motor for the school is variable voltage as it's adjustable speed from the front panel but you should be able to get a relay with a voltage range that would work.