HIZONE 140A Simplified Aluminum MIG Welder, 6-in-1 Gas MIG/Gasless Flux Core MIG/Stick/Lift TIG Welding Machine with Large LCD Digital Display, 120V/240V Multiprocess Inverter Welder Machine

I got this welding system for my husband, though I didn't know a MIG from a TIG, I knew he would and would tell me I got him the WRONG kind of welding system. But here's the thing: the HIZONE 140A 6-in-1 MIG Welder is like the multitool of welders—perfect for anyone. Whether you need MIG, Stick, TIG, or even Aluminum welding, this welding system had me covered. What he loved: Super Versatile – Welds steel, aluminum, and more. Safety First – Built-in protections keep you from frying your welder (or yourself). What he didn't like so much: He said the wire feed can be a bit finicky. It also has no instructions to speak of, so it was trial and error. There needs to be more support either in printed instructions or on video in using this model. TIG mode is very difficult to set up without help. By and large, it's getting the job done--he does a lot of different projects in the garage. So, the bottom line on this: If you want one welder that does (almost) everything, the HIZONE 140A is a great pick, a great value for the money, a powerful took, functions fairly well, with a definite learning curve involved.

Attempting to feed the aluminum wire from the machine all the way through the line and through the gun makes the wire bunch up in the machine. After wasting a bunch of wire attempting to just get it out the gun, (which took me taking the gun apart, feeding the wire and assembling the gun) I was finally able to lay a beed on a scrap piece of Aluminum. However as soon as the arc flashed, the wire stopped and bunched up in the machine again. As you could imagine the heat created from how angry i was at this point nearly melted my scrap aluminum. I am a second chance kind of guy, and so I got a bottle of gas 75/25 and fed .030 wire through the line and welded steel fairly well, the feed is not real consistent, so for beginners this may not be the best learning machine. All in all I'd advise you to buy a better machine.

If you are just starting to weld, be aware that there are very few process and/ or machines where you just plug it in and go. Each process has it's learning curve, and each machine, it's quirks. These small Chinese machines deliver a lot of bang for the buck, quality of the mechanics and especially the electronics has gone up. Often ingenious solutions they devise however are defeated by production quality issues. In this case, I refer to the MIG torch . They recently developed a unique method of providing a removable torch for these small machines, that, at one time were exclusively offered with permanently attached torches . Normally the slightly larger machines come with a "Euro" torch connector, which is a universal standard adaptor that lets you swap out torches in a few minutes, you can have torches set up for aluminum as an example, with teflon or graphite liners, and then switch to a torch with a standard liner for solid steel wire. much easier and quicker than tearing the torch down to change the liner type each time. These small removable torches are ingeniously designed, ( I have completely torn one down on another machine), but there are a lot of little junctures that can be built up in a way that problems with smooth feed can arise, Smooth consistent wire feed is essential for MIG process to work properly, especially with aluminum. Thje first torch of this type I used, from another supplier, was lots of trouble, the one included with this machine however worked just fine. Another thing to check on these are both the spring tubes on the feeder on the machine, feeding in and feeding out, they often have burrs where they were cut, and also the output tube needs to be pushed up against the plug of the torch so there is no place for the aluminum wire to buckle and start a bird nest. This machine will weld aluminum, surprisingly without a teflon liner. In general however I'd say if you are not patient and capable of analyzing your results in a way you can make appropriate adjustments with settings, or mechanical issues, I would say opt for some other solution. It takes some time to get things dialed in with these smaller machines. I did not try the lift TIG but suspect it perform adequately, again lift TIG with a gas valve mounted torch is a pain on any machine, but this function is not for use building a sand buggy frame, rather for smaller jobs or repair where it is advantageous to use the TIG process and the disadvantages of lift TIG can be overlooked or tolerated. This is mechanically a nice little package that for the price gives considerable welding capability to the home, hobby, or maintenance weldor, you just have to give both yourself, and the machine, time to get acquainted.

plastic parts are very easy to brake

This welder is very easy to use and works well for gasless flux core MIG and stick welding. Its functionality is quite good, featuring a SYN that increases the voltage as the wire speed (amperage) is increased, making the setup process straightforward. This machine can also be used for solid wire welding with the addition of a gas regulator and a bottle of inert welding gas, which produces much cleaner welds. It is compatible with both 240V and 120V power sources, thanks to the included adapter. The duty cycle is 40% at maximum amperage: 140A at 240V and 110A at 120V. I successfully welded 10-gauge steel (approximately 3mm) using the supplied flux core wire without any issues. The welder appears to be well-made and offers good value. The display is bright and easy to read. I particularly enjoy using flux core for certain projects, especially when my stick welding skills are a bit rusty. Speaking of stick welding, it handled 6013 and 7018 electrodes up to 1/8 inch (on 240V) without problems. While I have only had this welder for less than a month, it seems very good in my opinion.