![]() ![]() ![]() One of the strongest sides of this little welder is how straightforward it is to get it up and running. Okay, now it’s time to see why this welder is a good overall value.įorney made a great entry-level machine ticking off many boxes while remaining quite affordable. However, many other brands like Hobart, Lincoln, or even Miller, won’t print it out on the machine, but they still include it in the manual. For example, you can typically see this with Eastwood’s machines. However, many brands now print this information directly on the unit instead of an arbitrary 1 to 10 scale. When someone tells you, “just use about 250 IPM wire speed with 100A,” you won’t be able to follow along.įorney is not the only brand to leave us in the dark regarding the actual wire speed. If you are a hobbyist welder, you are likely to follow some YouTube tutorials on building something. The knob has simple values from 1 to 10, but that doesn’t tell you the wire inches per minute you are feeding to the torch. They should’ve included the actual wire speeds in the manual since they haven’t printed it around the knob. I don’t like Forney’s unspecified wire feed speed. This would prevent the machine from damage and sucking up metal dust. But there will be lots of sparks, so I wish the leads were at least 10ft long. Sure, this is a 140 amp machine, so there won’t be any big molten metal droplets flying around. You don’t want sparks, metal dust, debris, and molten slag splattering on it. If you want your welder to last longer, keep it as far away from the weld as possible. At just 8 feet, you need to pay more attention to where the sparks are flying, especially when fluxed-core welding. The Forney 140 FC-i has leads on the shorter side. If you take good care of it, it should easily last long enough to pay for itself, and then some. However, this is a hobbyist grade welder it’s not made for everyday work. Therefore, it’s always better when a wire feed welder has a full metal drive system. If your wire feed system breaks, your welder will be hindered. So, I wish Forney had ditched the plastics when they were designing this welder. Its metal drive system is likely to last longer than a plastic system. Many budget machines now use a full metal drive, like the Eastwood 140 MIG, for example. That’s one of the more significant quality cuts found in this unit. This unit has a plastic feed system that holds double wire drive rollers. If you are one of them, consider a different welder. Many hobbyists love the idea of playing with aluminum. Using a tri-mix gas like argon-helium-CO2 can give you significantly different results than using 100% CO2 or 100% argon, for example.Īlso, there is no spool gun support since the use of shielding gas is not supported. Flux-core produces similar results, but MIG is less hot and has less spatter.įurther, with different gas blends, you can achieve different results. That means you can’t do gas-shielded MIG welding. Forney did a great job streamlining this well-made unit while keeping the essential elements needed by hobbyists. That’s how you should consider the 140 FC-i limitations. What does this welder offer, and is it good enough for my work? This is a budget welder, so you must understand that Forney intentionally cut corners to lower the price. What To Know Before Buying the Forney Easy Weld 140 FC-i So it’s worth checking them all to see where currently has the best deal: There are a few retailers selling the Forney 261 140 FC-i, and they all run deals from time to time. ![]() Unable to weld aluminum or stainless steel.For light use, limited to 120V welding with 140 amp output.Mind you, it’s not for heavy-duty work, but it’s more durable than what you’d expect. The machine performs well and has more control over the arc than most budget-priced welders. Forney made a good blend of features while cutting costs to make a great welder with an attractive price tag. You are limited to fluxed-core welding.īut, it’s a very inexpensive machine aimed at beginners, DIY enthusiasts, and light fabrication use. This means that you can’t do actual MIG welding because it doesn’t have a gas line support. Overview of the Forney Easy Weld 140 FC-i (261) In this article, you’ll learn the strengths, who it’s for, and a few issues that should have been corrected, even at this price point. It’s not without flaws however, it’s better than most welders at the low end of the price range.Īs long as you get this welder for the right kind of workload, you will be satisfied. It’s priced accordingly for what it offers and built well. The Forney Easy Weld 140 FC-i is a hobbyist-grade fluxed-core welder. ![]()
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