help new flux core welder

by Brent
(Camas, Washington)

hey i just bought a 120volt 90 amp harbor freight flux core wire welder not sure of the name but its blue and pretty popular 110 dollar welder, i used it this weekend to weld back together my motorcycle's muffler that i had gutted and was very unimpressed there was alot of spatter and the weld just seemed to pile up on itself and make clean welds very hard and when i put it back on my bake it had at least 3 large leaks that were underneath piled up welds, lol i actually took it back off and cleaned up the welds with my schumaker 110volt stick welder, i was hoping you could give me some tips ive never mig welded before but this doesnt seem right to me, maybe it isn't set up right like the ground is backwards?
p.s. it works great for tacking stuff but i cant sustain a weld at all, and i bought it second hand because it was in perfect condition but it did not come with a manual so i am not sure if the previous owner who knew nothing about welding put it together wrong


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couple of things to look at...

yes make sure the ground is positive and gun is hooked up to neg.

most self shielded flux core wires use electrode negative.

next, it may be the wire...lincoln nr 211 is a very popular flux wire and its pretty cheap fix if it works.

also, stickout can make a big difference, try using anywhere from 1/2 to 3/4 stickout and find a sweet spot where it works best and then attempt to use that.