[Teachu2]

Just be sure to get the extended warranty, they might not have a spare for exchange if needed. Maybe they would give you a more expensive model?

No extended warranties for me. If it lasts 30 minutes, will probably last 30 years. I'm not dependent on it anyway, I have lots of redundancy in welders.

 

[tapwelder]

Maybe they would give you a more expensive model?

The.world is truly upside down when Newer. Bigger. More expensive... Would not be acceptable...

 

[smithdoor]

It happens any place on earth.
They use magic

Dave

We don't allow that to happen here, at least so far.

 

[California]

Back to describing the Amico MIG-130A, 130 amp dual voltage flux welder (described above) that I bought when there were no more Titanium 125's shown available in NorCal or 200 mile radius - Redding, Reno, clear down to Fresno.

I finally got over to the ranch and ran a second brief trial. It's powerful! The screen shows up to 130 amps welding current whether its plugged into 120 or 240 volts.

With 125V input and 80 showing on the screen it tripped the overload breaker in the HF 4 ft power strip above my bench. And that looked like a plenty hot weld.

So I plugged into the plugin GFI (with male and female 125V connectors) at the barn's wall socket. This broke the GFI, it won't reset. (It's old, maybe it was ready to die). I suspect the Amico is pulling more than 15 amps when the screen shows 80 amps output, and 125v input.

So to get the fan going again I plugged it into the 240V welder outlet. This works fine at any setting, in fact I burned through the 1/8" test scrap when I set it to show 130 amps.

Summary - if you have a 240 volt welder outlet then this Amico has more power than a 120-only welder run on house current. Its a keeper. HF should be selling these!

 

[smithdoor]

I agree
I have own and try the 120 volt 2 times in life. They just did not do a good job and the breaker flip a lot.

The HF 170 is a 240 volt and works great 👍. It is very close to my Miller welder I had but great for small shops.

Dave

Back to describing the Amico MIG-130A, 130 amp dual voltage flux welder (described above) that I bought when there were no more Titanium 125's shown available in NorCal or 200 mile radius - Redding, Reno, clear down to Fresno.

I finally got over to the ranch and ran a second brief trial. It's powerful! The screen shows up to 130 amps welding current whether its plugged into 120 or 240 volts.

With 125V input and 80 showing on the screen it tripped the overload breaker in the HF 4 ft power strip above my bench. And that looked like a plenty hot weld.

So I plugged into the plugin GFI (with male and female 125V connectors) at the barn's wall socket. This broke the GFI, it won't reset. (It's old, maybe it was ready to die). I suspect the Amico is pulling more than 15 amps when the screen shows 80 amps output, and 125v input.

So to get the fan going again I plugged it into the 240V welder outlet. This works fine at any setting, in fact I burned through the 1/8" test scrap when I set it to show 130 amps.

Summary - if you have a 240 volt welder outlet then this Amico has more power than a 120-only welder run on house current. Its a keeper. HF should be selling these!

 

[Mr Earl]

I received the Amico MIG-130A as a Christmas gift, and am about to set it up and give it a go. Surprised it came with a gas nozzle rather than a gasless type, given its gasless flux core only capability. Any ideas on a gasless nozzle that may fit? The gun appears to be a Binzel brand, but I only find gas type nozzle available.

 

[California]

Harbor Freight sells a 2-pack of hard rubber 'gasless nozzles' that fit perfect on this welder. I see 'store only' so maybe they are on closeout. Tweeco consumables fit the Amico, so any welding store should have similar ones.
https://www.harborfreight.com/gasless-flux-core-nozzle-set-2-pc-63795.html

And I put up a longwinded revew of my new Amico MIG-130A Flux over on Welding Site:
https://www.weldingsite.com/threads...mico-mig-130a-130-amp-flux-wire-welder-110-230v-dual-voltage-149-on-amazon.390/
You might need to subscribe to see full-resolution photos there.

 

[Mr Earl]

Thanks, I was going to give the HF nozzle a shot, so it's good to know it will fit. And good info on the Tweco compatibility, too.

Yes, I read your review over on the other site, it's one of the reasons I hinted at this model for a gift!

 

[Mr Earl]

Well I fired up this welder and the max wire speed is only 6.5 ft/min. As a result, pretty poor welds. Looked at the drive mechanism, contact tip, spool tension, roller tension, all are either OK or changes didn't affect the wire speed. Just for comparison, my HH190 set for ~1/8" mild steel using flux core dispenses almost exactly 4 times that rate. Oddly, when the fast wire speed button on the Amico is pressed (to fill the gun lead), the wire rate is quite fast. I contacted Amico using their website form, hopefully they have a remedy.

 

[California]

max wire speed is only 6.5 ft/min. As a result, pretty poor welds.

Strange. Sounds like a defective welder. I've dumped wire on the floor by accident a lot faster than that.

I did some tests welding with my Amico on 1/8", and I turned the wire speed down a couple of times before I found the speed that would burn in instead of just piling on weld material.

I described this test in the most recent addition to that thread I linked in post #27, above.

 

[smithdoor]

I did read on this one 120/240 volt.

Amico MIG-130A, 130 Amp Flux Wire Welder, 110/230V Dual

It looks good and is dual voltage.

Dave

Strange. Sounds like a defective welder. I've dumped wire on the floor by accident a lot faster than that.

I did some tests welding with my Amico on 1/8", and I turned the wire speed down a couple of times before I found the speed that would burn in instead of just piling on weld material.

I described this test in the most recent addition to that thread I linked in post #27, above.

 

[Mr Earl]

The seller, DR POWER, is sending a new gun, FedEx. So they're standing behind this machine. Hopefully it's a fix.

 

[Chiefcook]

Are you satisfied with your Amico 130a and the customer service?
About all I can find other than Amazon reviews is what California has posted.

 

[California]

I'm curious too.

I see 465 views in your thread about it here, and 1k views over on WeldingSite which is more a DIY crowd than pro's. But almost no replies in those threads.

At any rate mine continues to work fine.

 

[Mr Earl]

DR POWER (the vendor through Walmart)) has been really great. What hasn't been great is FedEx. The replacement gun was shipped to the wrong (and non-existent) address. DR POWER called FedEx and corrected the address. Then, it was scheduled for arrival last Thursday, but not delivered for unknown reasons. It's sitting in a FedEx Distribution center 5 miles away. DR POWER then sent another replacement gun, and it appears to be hung up in Tennessee. WTH is going on with the "premier" shipping service in the world? Anyway, I can't report on the fix or the welder, yet. But DR POWER customer service has been just about perfect. And the welder appears to be reasonably well made.

 

[Chiefcook]

Hope it shows up soon. Glad to hear that the customer support is good.

 

[California]

Yeah I had a similar experience with half-assed FedEx service, delivering the welder. I waited placing the order until Amazon showed delivery would be earliest next Monday, or later. Because we were going to be out of town.

Saturday afternoon my neighbor texted me that the welder was on my porch in plain sight for anyone to steal. The tracking number still showed 'in transit'.

Neighbor took the welder home until we returned on Monday. Thanks FedEx.

One of FedEx Ground's problems is they don't actually do last-mile delivery. They put delivery out to bid. Some cheapskate company will bid to take several routes, hire idiots cheap, and this explains the haphazard service. UPS acts more professional. Delivery is nearly always on the day they specify.

 

[Mr Earl]

So the saga continues. BOTH mig guns/leads arrived, neither fixed the slow wire speed issue. DR POWER emailed a FedEx shipping label to return the welder, and shipped a new welder as soon as I dropped the old one off at a FedEx shipping point. These guys at DR POWER are really stepping up.

 

[Mr Earl]

The saga is over. The replacement welder behaved exactly the same as the previous one - way too slow wire speed. Must be a bad batch of welders or motors. DR POWER wants to refund the purchase price. Oh well.

 

[California]

The saga is over. The replacement welder behaved exactly the same as the previous one - way too slow wire speed. Must be a bad batch of welders or motors. DR POWER wants to refund the purchase price. Oh well.

Take the refund and move on. These cheap welders are a gamble. Mine works fine but apparently that doesn't predict the next one off their line will.

I have continued to look at Amazon's list of similar dual-voltage flux welders. There are a few more brands there now with substantial reviews, and under $175. One is dual wire/stick. Another gamble if you have the patience to try another cheap welder.

I would pay particular attention to reviews describing vendor support. dr power is excellent but in this cheap end of the market others may be unresponsive. You have 30 days after purchase to buy the 3 year repair warranty (unrelated vendor) that is listed alongside the Amazon 'add to cart' section. I think buying that warranty - after trying the welder - is essential for these cheap ones. Only $30.

Many of these dual voltage welders have the stupid style 110/220 adapter. A cord that plugs into 220 then goes to a receptacle that has 220 volts but accepts the welder's 110-style plug. That's gross ignorance to design it that way. I wouldn't buy a welder that has this. Amico comes with a proper adapter - a 220 cable and plug from the welder, plus an adapter to go between that and the wall 110 outlet.

Good luck with your next welder!