Eastwood Mig 90

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Beams

Beams

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Has anyone seen or used Eastwood’s MIG 90? Looks similar to their MIG 140, but smaller.

https://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-90-amp-mig-welder.html

May be a decent option to have a true MIG machine for a beginner doing sheet metal work without a big financial commitment. Otherwise, I’m looking at the harbor freight flux core welders.

I’ve been on the fence with picking up a welder, but haven’t been able to justify it. The MIG 90 is attempting.
 
I bought a Hobart runs on 110V and welds everything for automotive applications. Not a fan of the fluxcore only welders. 65'
 
let me check my garage in a little while
i know i have an eastwood and i weld just about anything with it (with fluxcore wire too) but im not sure on the number
its a 110 for sure
 
I have a Miller 130. Runs on 110v. It has done anything I wanted it to do through the years. Sheetmetal, angle iron, hobbies, etc, etc.

BUT...I'm no welding expert so maybe there are others just as good.
 
I don’t know what your budget is, or what you plan on doing, but I would save my money and buy the MIG 250.

You may never need it, but you’ll have it if you do. That machine will easily weld aluminum with a spool gun and 100% argon gas. With a 60% duty cycle at 250 amps you can actually get something done and not wait on the machine. And the 250 has a 100% duty cycle at 194 amps.

No one ever said I wish I’d bought a smaller machine. Usually.

The other thing is the bigger machines generally do better at lower amps. You aren’t running so close to the edge of the duty cycle.

Who knows…you may start doing sheet metal repair and end up fabricating all kinds of stuff.

Buy once, cry once.
 
Just checked, mine is a 135

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Flux core wire is going to require a LOT more clean up and grinding than solid with gas. I wouldn't consider it for body sheet metal that you care about. For structural stuff it isn't as bad. But, that machine is setup to use gas too so if you get frustrated with flux you can get a bottle and get clean welds. Understand the thickness limitations that machine has. Probably OK for 95% of the material on a car but other structural stuff bigger than 1/8" will be a problem. I think the 140Amp machines are a good sweet spot for most people, but being who I am, I went with the Hobart 190 so I have some capability for structural weldments (and it came with an aluminum spool gun). It's paid off already in being able to repair a set of lower shock mount plates rather than buy new. I wouldn't have trusted this to a 100 amp flux welder

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Man. Y’all were on it this morning. Thanks for all the input. I think it was pointed out a few times that the MIG 90 would take care of the vast majority of car-related work.

Almost afraid to admit that I hit “buy” on the small Eastwood unit this weekend. Just a hair over $200. Arrived yesterday. includes 90 day trial period and 3 year warranty. I need to pick up a couple safety items, and think I have access to gas. I’ll be sure to update.

The YouTube videos make it look promising, by the way. It’s all marketing, but again, I think it should meet my needs for the most part.
 
I think you'll be fine with it for the vast majority of car repairs. Like everyone already said, don't mess with trying to flux core weld sheetmetal. Also invest in a decent helmet. I made the mistake of using a Harbor Freight one for years until it finally bit me in the ***. Got a Hobart one off Amazon that has worked much better with better visibility.

Welding pliers, vice grips, magnets and a copper spoon should get you going nicely for sheet metal work.
 
Having a blast with the MIG 90. Used it to do the dual exhaust transmission crossmember modification for my 65 dart. Used 16 gauge, and I though it handled it extremely well.

Here’s some pics. No clue if the welds are technically good, but the trans crossmember seems solid.

Honesty appreciate everyone’s input and advice provided.

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That looks pretty decent. One tip that will help strength when butt welding is to leave a gap about equal to your wire thickness between the parts. This promotes/allows full penetration without excessive heat or if you are on the edge of running out of heat for the thickness you are working with.
 
Grind a "V" in the metal to be welded if it's thick enough metal and stay in the puddle. Heat is your friend and heat is what low amp welders can't produce much of.
 
Another thing that works best for low amp wire feeds, use .023 wire instead of trying to melt .030.
 
toolmanmike said:
Another thing that works best for low amp wire feeds, use .023 wire instead of trying to melt .030.
Click to expand...
I've got .023 in my Hobart 190 right now because I've mostly been doing sheet metal and rusty thin frame stuff on my kid's truck. No problem welding thicker stuff with it or getting good welds on thin material.
Do they make flux core in .023? I don't think he's using gas yet.
 
Fortunately, I was able to snag a bottle of gas, and the machine came with .023.

@gzig5 your note on the gap makes a lot of sense. I had some that were too tight, and some that I had to fill more. Thinking back, the ones that felt best were close to wire width.
 
gzig5 said:
I've got .023 in my Hobart 190 right now because I've mostly been doing sheet metal and rusty thin frame stuff on my kid's truck. No problem welding thicker stuff with it or getting good welds on thin material.
Do they make flux core in .023? I don't think he's using gas yet.
Click to expand...
iirc .030 is the thinnest flux core you can get. Handy stuff if you have to weld outside but will absolutely burn through sheet metal for anything more than a tack if you blink. Runs hotter than solid core because the shielding gas doesn't cool the weld. Or so my welding book says. The spatter absolutely sucks though
edit: but I'm no expert
 
65TerrorCuda said:
The spatter absolutely sucks though
Click to expand...
They sell anti-spatter spray that you can coat the pieces with to help the cleanup. I've never used it, but the only time I had to use flux-core was just to try it out before I had my bottle. I don't know how they affect the paint-ability of the surfaces either so keep that in mind if you go that route.
 
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