Harbour Freight 120V Spot Welder Honest Review and Application

[@eCitizen1]

This information was exactly what I was looking for. I appreciate it. Thanks. BTW: I made a spot welder using an old microwave transformer that got the job done, but my cheesy box for it was as ugly as it gets. I thought I could use lengths of a copper grounding stake but found that they have a lead core. Doh!, so I had to attach proper spot welding contacts to them. I made it two 3ft cables that I can hold with my two hands and have a foot switch to activate it. Those handles get pretty hot if I use it for very long. but it is great when I have a hard to reach spot to weld.

[@SteffsGarage]

Dang Larry you should post a "how to" on the build of that thing. These little jaws were very limiting on the project. I could only use the spot welder for close jobs as the jaws are only 6" deep. Thank you for sharing, this is what I post the videos for. So all of us can put our heads together and learn.

[@eCitizen1]

@@SteffsGarage Haha, I learned how to do it from a KZbin video. And recently learned the easy way to get the secondary winding out of the transformer without cutting the core using a grinding wheel to cut the wires and punch them out.

[@curtiswatkins4909]

Thanks for the information. I purchased the same spot welder recently to repair a 1965 mustang cowl area. I appreciate your honesty.

[@SteffsGarage]

I really appreciate the view and the comment. I've actually installed the cowl and the radiator support on my 72 mustang with this spot weld gun. I then took it to my buddy shop and we did a radiator support on his 1970 Mercury cyclone. After I've now done quite a few jobs with this spot welder if I had the capabilities of running the higher voltage unit I probably would have done that over the 110 but it definitely works

[@sylvanshelton9884]

Thank you for posting this It helped so much. Today I replaced my 72 mustang cowl with the 240v model and knew what to expect.

[@SteffsGarage]

Dude nice job. I am going to get wired up for 240v soon and a whole new world of tools is going to open up for me.

[@iLLeag7e]

perfect. exactly the information I needed about this spot welder. Thanks man!

[@SteffsGarage]

You got it dude thanks for checking it out my I'm still using this today. I found it works on stainless headlight rings too

[@abctowin]

Thanks for the honest review! I'm looking at replacing a radiator support on a slightly wrecked Subaru... I think I'm going to gamble on that spot welder. I will look it over to see if there's anywhere that 6" tongs will not handle. Local shop wants $500 to do the work, I'll buy a tool and learn something new. Appreciate the video.

[@SteffsGarage]

Your absolutely welcome and thank you. If it's something you think you will use you can always buy a mig welder and use it for many other things.

[@robertstill2442]

Thank you for demo the welder

[@andrewbuzzard1130]

New to the channel I was thinking about buying one and I wasn’t sure thanks for the info I subbed gonna check out some more of your stuff

[@SteffsGarage]

I really appreciate that man thank you so much. I really hope it works out for you and I have lately thought about upgrading to the 220 volt version since I have the bigger shop now and if I end up going with that I'll throw a review up and compare it to the 110. I've been using this spot welder a lot lately for some smaller projects and I don't know if it's because it's aged but you really have to be particular about how clean the metal is on all sides you basically clean it to raw metal with his little to no debris as possible and about the only thing you can have on those meeting surfaces are weld through primer

[@andrewbuzzard1130]

@@SteffsGarage is their a reason or just something new?

[@TSRGarage]

Good video. It shows the how and what and your opinion as a user all in a reasonable amount of time. Thanks You mentioned popping the breaker. What size breaker was it connected to?

[@SteffsGarage]

Connected to a 20 amp breaker, it needs a 30 amp. Thank you

[@AtomicDog58]

I have been looking for someone who was using the 110 or 120 spot welder I could not find anything until I saw your video . I have to spot weld parts on my car✊️😎 The only thing I am worried about is the duty cycle How fast can I weld with it

[@SteffsGarage]

I never encountered any issues with duty cycle. I had more issues with it kicking my breaker on the house.

[@harmsc12]

Seems like handy information. I'm planning to build my own computer case, and maybe make a few custom dough cutters. I think a tool like this will get the job done nicely.

[@noeamaya5195]

Can be weld metal and aluminum?

[@SteffsGarage]

I believe it only welds metal, not aluminum.

[@Majorreflexes]

Thanks for the reviews

[@SteffsGarage]

Thank you. Doing what I can with what I have and learning along the way.(editing and camera tech)

[@roberthendricks3673]

Thanks for giving me good information.

[@SteffsGarage]

you are welcome and thanks for watching

[@REGROY1913]

Thanks for this review!

[@chriswilliams5268]

Mine works GREAT

[@danielc5205]

I just bought this model of spot welder, I need to reskin a truck roof, where rosette welding creates too many sparks.

[@SteffsGarage]

This should have no problems reaching most of the areas on the truck around the drip rails, front windshield tray, and rear window tray. I'm not sure about in the cab corners but if you get close to half the welds you need without having to finish grind them you saved some serious time.

[@dadams19111]

Nice, I am glad I found your channel. I learned like you, hahaha Now I will buy one, doing my 69 Gto

[@SteffsGarage]

Nice, I love the GTO. Their are a few in the Pontiac car club here in town. I do like the Buick GS on the same platform.(1070-1971 would be my preference).

[@andrewhigdon8346]

Check the specs on the welder to see what the maximum amp draw is. The rule of thumb is that a regular household 15 amp breaker is good for 1800 watts, and a 20amp breaker is good for 2400 watts. If there is another device on the same circuit as the welder, say maybe your compressor or a fridge or a space heater or whatever, then that will limit the amperage available before tripping the breaker. So put any high draw device on a separate circuit, preferably if the circuit box is set up correctly try to put the other high draw device on a circuit on the other side of the box, which should theoretically be a different phase of power, or basically the other “leg” of power, which will also help. The device getting the full available amperage is crucial for top performance, and these devices which would otherwise be on 240 volt are often compromised to be more convenient power wise.

[@SteffsGarage]

Thanks for the tip I will. It has truly been annoying to say the least, the tripping of, my breaker.

[@travisdurfee6319]

Good vid 👍pro's and con's👌good dude👌

[@SteffsGarage]

Thanks for the comment. I really appreciate it.

[@dustsmoke]

There are a lot of "issues" going on in this video. 1. You're trying to conduct electricity between the tips which means you have to remove the coating from all FOUR surfaces. Not 0 or sometimes 1 or maybe 2 like the video. The pamphlet in the box is very clear about this 2. If you file down the tips you need more current for the increased gauge. You're dealing with a 120v 13.5 amp spot welder, filing them down only hurts the thickness of material it will be able to weld 3.Breakers are popping at 13.5 amps which says thats not even a 20amp breaker or proper gauge circuit to support a 120v spot welder (or a decent house vacuum) The harbor freight spot welder is just a sticker on the side of a very common cheap ass white label chinese spot welder. Its not great... but its not terrible. It gets the job done. And for the record the welds on that mustang will be just fine with the tips out of the box with the 120v. You don't need to file the tips down unless you want them to fall apart more easily.

[@SteffsGarage]

I do appreciate the input and education on the subject matter. Definitely glad I never claimed to be an expert. Just a hobbyist in his garage trying to get some work done. Sounds like you have a background as an electrician wished I had you in my area maybe we could wire this place up a little better than it is.

[@blackhawk7r221]

Well, it’s kinda like a spot welder. Always buy a 220v option if available.

[@lionellambert9456]

Man, most all spot welders have to clean the area first😂

[@michaelzedalis4690]

Can this work on door hinges?

[@SteffsGarage]

I would personally say that this version being the 110 probably wouldn't work on a door hinge given how thick they are