Century FC-90 welder

[FergusonTO35]

I need a little welder for mostly joining thin sheet metal together. I want a Miller Matic but my budget just isn't there and I don't want to add any more debt. Been looking at the Century FC-90, seems pretty good for a low cost machine. I have a Century battery charger that has served me well for 25 years. Any experiences with this machine? Looks like you can buy them for $200-250 shipped.

 

[FergusonTO35]

Or, how about the Forney 140-FCi? There is one locally for $250.00. Guy says he bought it to do one job with this year and still has the receipt. I've read that Forney is a really good cheap welder.

 

[blades]

1/4" in one pass on fc90 - nope , have an earlier version my experience

 

[FergusonTO35]

Thanks. I bought the Forney for $220.00. I test drove it and seemed to do well. Burned through a piece of 1/8 no problem which is about what I will use it for mostly.

 

[FergusonTO35]

Ok, so turns out my garage is wired with the master bathroom for unknown reasons. When I try to weld, it kicks off the GFCI outlet in the bathroom. We never even use that outlet for anything. Would it be safe to yank the outlet, cap the wires, and put a plate over it? Sorry for the dumb question, all my electrical knowledge is 12VDC.

 

[Al Smith]

Evidently who wired it didn't know beans from apple butter .However most likely if you tied into the feeder ahead of the GCI it should work .Give me a second and I'll find a drawing of it

 

[Al Smith]

Try this .Tie everything to the line side not the load side of the gfci .That way it will not affect anything and in the bathroom should still be gfci protected------

 

[FergusonTO35]

You're awesome, thanks!

 

[Al Smith]

Well starting in 1967 until the present something had to stick .

 

[FergusonTO35]

Just ordered a new Eaton GFCI outlet for it. The old one is 1995 vintage builder grade. Did a bit of sheet metal welding with the Forney 140 today. It seems to work quite well, although my welds look about like the Apollo moon pictures.

 

[Al Smith]

Welding just takes practice .My favorite welding story on another forum .A typical California know it all said I couldn't weld --sooo I gas welded two tin cans together and then the silence was deafening .

 

[Al Smith]

According to what I've read that welder is a light duty flux core wire welder .As such it would work for sheet metal or for that matter heavier applications .The later obviously would need more passes to build up the weld .
I've seen the older light duty stick 120 volt machines that will do the same .Not too fast but they work also .What ever works--works . WTH you could drop a 3 foot oak with a mini Mac it would just take longer .

 

[FergusonTO35]

Yes, it is. I don't need anything complicated or expensive. I'm actually looking forward to fabricating things out of sheet metal and learning to patch up cars and trucks. Tonight I have to weld a deck wheel bracket back on my dad's riding mower, hope that is successful. I noticed my local farm store carries a variety of brazing rods. I would like to learn how to braze also.

 

[Al Smith]

In reality brazing is just hard soldering .You'll need a torch with oxegon like mapp,natural or acetylene because a "turbo " torch won'tget hot enough .You'll also need clean metal ,no rust paint etc .

 

[FergusonTO35]

Thanks. I've read that brazing actually works better for many applications including auto body.

 

[FergusonTO35]

I managed to put the wheel bracket back on Dad's riding mower. Was able to weld the top back in its original position and shoved small bits of sheet metal into the hole under it and stitch it all together. Seems pretty sturdy but as Elmer Keith would say, "That's uglier'n a jackass eatin' cactus!"

 

[stretch5881]

I managed to put the wheel bracket back on Dad's riding mower. Was able to weld the top back in its original position and shoved small bits of sheet metal into the hole under it and stitch it all together. Seems pretty sturdy but as Elmer Keith would say, "That's uglier'n a jackass eatin' cactus!"

View attachment 386251

You need to clean the paint and rust off before welding to get good contact. Also blow the grass off the deck, so you don't have to show your work to the fire department. Linger a bit longer on the heavier metal to get better penetration.

 

[FergusonTO35]

I did remove the paint and rust in the areas where the welds attached. Didn't see a reason to go beyond that. I forgot how hot the surrounding metal gets, I did have a fire extinguisher handy. Yeah, I have a lot to learn!

 

[srcarr52]

Wire speed and voltage need to be adjusted together, as you increase the voltage you'll probably need to increase the wire speed to keep it from burning back and globing.

 

[Al Smith]

Well it's certainly not x-ray quality .You just need more practice .Hang in there ,you'll get it .Rome wasn't built in a day .
Very few grew up like I did .In a small village in the midst of the midwestern grain belt where by the time you were 15 years old you had learned a lot of stuff .Tutered by tough old hard drinking WW1 and WW2 vets .Who mean as a snake would take you under wing and give you the shirts off their backs if were cold out if they liked you .That's my story ,greasey haired kid with a black leather MC jacket and cowboy boots .Lots of water over the dam since but I wouldn't trade my teenaged years for a million bucks .