Hitbox hbt250p worth buying?

[GraemeVW]

I know nothing about tig welding, only mig.
But I'd like to learn, and if I'm going to do it, I want to be able to weld ally too, so a.c., pedal, pre and post gas flow are all good I believe.

These seem cheap, the cheapest of the ac/dc I've seen.
Are they actually likely to be any good though?

Would get minimal hobby use, might sometimes be wanting to weld stainless up to 2 or 3mm, sometimes mild steel the same, sometimes ally up to maybe 4mm.

I assume this won't, for arguments sake, do things like weld a 90° joint between 2 bits of 10mm aluminium.

I have single phase electrics only and don't want to throw loads of money at the situation for what will be used maybe 5 times a year tops. Second hand is a minefield as I don't know what I'm looking at, and most are 3 phase anyway.

Thanks.

 

[addjunkie]

It will weld, will it last, your guess is as good as the next persons, its a pure gamble. I learnt buy cheap buy twice. Its a gamble, buying from a box shifter with little or no support.

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Wonder if the name is an instruction...when it's not welding properly..."hitbox!" .

As above...its an unknown so may be junk...or may be amazing...only one way to find out.

 

[GraemeVW]

Found some good reviews online, at a bit over £300 it may be worth a try before spending £1k on something decent.

 

[fizzy]

Remember even some of the high end expensive welders are made in China anyway.
Good reviews on Amazon and you get buyer protection

Just over £400 - a real bargain. You will pay over £1000 for an RTech.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/HITBOX-Aluminum-Welding-Inverter-Warranty/dp/B0BNVG6BF8?th=1

One of the reviews here!

"I never write reviews, but as there aren’t many for this and I’m so impressed I feel I need to.
Firstly, the price and weld quality of this machine is fantastic, I TIG weld with a Kemppi most days, obviously the Kemppi has lots of extra features, foot pedal, AC and pulse etc, but weld quality from this isn’t far off. It’s nicely controllable, the digital screen is great and the amps setting id say is spot on. The main reason I went for this model was the high frequency start, which again is faultless, The arc will strike even from 25mm away from the work piece. Another big plus for this machine is the adjustable gas purge this works flawlessly.
As to be expected with the price, the consumables and accessories aren’t great, it comes with a collet body rather than a gas Lens which works okay but I will be changing to a gas Lens, the tungsten I didn’t try as I prefer the 2.4mm I believe the standard one this comes with is a 1.6mm. The gas hose from the bottle to the machine is okay, but hard clear hose which would probably split over time, again I will be replacing this. The electrode holder for ARC welding looks like it would do the job but is a bit cheap. The plastic cover that goes over the torch hose from the machine cracked straight away when trying to tighten the fitting but it’s not needed just makes it look a bit nicer.
The TIG torch is comfortable and doesn’t seem to get hot, the hose and cable are in a nice sheath and extremely light and flexible which is easy to use.
I tested the machine from 2 amps all the way to 203 (Maximum) again no problems and the display seems accurate, the machine also stayed cool as it has a nice fan permanently on.
I can’t say anything about longevity of this machine as I’ve only had it for a few hours but so far so good. If you were like me and dubious about this due to the price and unfortunate name of the brand, don’t be. I’m glad I got it"

Check the plug though - one UK buyer has reported there was a bit of wire instead of a fuse in the 13amp plug

I would be tempted. Andelli also look good.

 

[GraemeVW]

Remember even some of the high end expensive welders are made in China anyway.
Good reviews on Amazon and you get buyer protection

Just over £400 - a real bargain. You will pay over £1000 for an RTech.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/HITBOX-Aluminum-Welding-Inverter-Warranty/dp/B0BNVG6BF8?th=1

One of the reviews here!

"I never write reviews, but as there aren’t many for this and I’m so impressed I feel I need to.
Firstly, the price and weld quality of this machine is fantastic, I TIG weld with a Kemppi most days, obviously the Kemppi has lots of extra features, foot pedal, AC and pulse etc, but weld quality from this isn’t far off. It’s nicely controllable, the digital screen is great and the amps setting id say is spot on. The main reason I went for this model was the high frequency start, which again is faultless, The arc will strike even from 25mm away from the work piece. Another big plus for this machine is the adjustable gas purge this works flawlessly.
As to be expected with the price, the consumables and accessories aren’t great, it comes with a collet body rather than a gas Lens which works okay but I will be changing to a gas Lens, the tungsten I didn’t try as I prefer the 2.4mm I believe the standard one this comes with is a 1.6mm. The gas hose from the bottle to the machine is okay, but hard clear hose which would probably split over time, again I will be replacing this. The electrode holder for ARC welding looks like it would do the job but is a bit cheap. The plastic cover that goes over the torch hose from the machine cracked straight away when trying to tighten the fitting but it’s not needed just makes it look a bit nicer.
The TIG torch is comfortable and doesn’t seem to get hot, the hose and cable are in a nice sheath and extremely light and flexible which is easy to use.
I tested the machine from 2 amps all the way to 203 (Maximum) again no problems and the display seems accurate, the machine also stayed cool as it has a nice fan permanently on.
I can’t say anything about longevity of this machine as I’ve only had it for a few hours but so far so good. If you were like me and dubious about this due to the price and unfortunate name of the brand, don’t be. I’m glad I got it"

Check the plug though - one UK buyer has reported there was a bit of wire instead of a fuse in the 13amp plug

I would be tempted. Andelli also look good.

Cheapest I've found it, with a foot pedal! is £340. That was on ebay, but from a UK welding supplies place

 

[JOEPRO]

I've no interest in buying it myself as I have a SIP one already but that amazon link is showing a £70 off voucher too

 

[fizzy]

Cheapest I've found it, with a foot pedal! is £340. That was on ebay, but from a UK welding supplies place

You could buy 3 to 4 for the price of a similar UK branded one.

 

[GraemeVW]

The eBay link includes a foot pedal!

The seller seems to be the main distributor, this us the website

HITBOX ELECTRIC LLC

HITBOX ELECTRIC LLC

unitweld.com

2 year warranty.

I know it may break, and quite soon. Maybe the warranty won't be worth the paper it's written on. Maybe it will be a waste of money, but it's probably cheap enough to try.

I've read the accessories aren't great, something about the torch cup or something, I don't know.
But seems a better option than paying 1k for something that might only ever see 3 hours worth of work.
If I get on with you, I cannbut a better one. If I never used it, I've not wasted 1k.

 

[Monkeypeas]

I've looked at these too and been tempted, they were on sale on ebay with a pedal a while back for £280ish

I wouldnt count on the warranty being worth anything, i just really fancy trying tig welding ally.

It comes down to either these or the wsme200 type ac/dc tigs, the wsme ones seem to have some internal parts avaliable from china, replacement boards and have been around a while so people know whats inside them so i'd lean towards those from a troubleshooting perspective, but they dont have ac frequency adjustment only balance and seem somewhat crude, so what they do to a tungsten or behave like i have no idea, the machines above seem far more modern.

Let us know what its like if you get one, i for one would be interested.

 

[GraemeVW]

I've looked at these too and been tempted, they were on sale on ebay with a pedal a while back for £280ish

I wouldnt count on the warranty being worth anything, i just really fancy trying tig welding ally.

It comes down to either these or the wsme200 type ac/dc tigs, the wsme ones seem to have some internal parts avaliable from china, replacement boards and have been around a while so people know whats inside them so i'd lean towards those from a troubleshooting perspective, but they dont have ac frequency adjustment only balance and seem somewhat crude, so what they do to a tungsten or behave like i have no idea, the machines above seem far more modern.

Let us know what its like if you get one, i for one would be interested.

I suspect warranty from the manufacturer will be worthless, so where it's bought from will be important.
As for fixing it, I would assume it's probably not fixable if it brakes. Thats the trade off with it being £300 nor £1000.
However, hopefully bybthe time it brakes ill know more about tig welding and know if I'm prepared to by something better or not.

I'm still undecided. I've been thinking about tig for years but always managed without.
The thought come maybe every 2 years and I've not given in yet.
I have a new project that needs some aluminium welding though.

I'll definitely report back if I go for it.

 

[Richiew]

Looks an attractive deal. Reviews seem impressive. They can't fake them all. In practice, would you have more come back buying from Amazon? Ebay is like the Wild West sometimes. Especially a while after the sale.

 

[GraemeVW]

Looks an attractive deal. Reviews seem impressive. They can't fake them all. In practice, would you have more come back buying from Amazon? Ebay is like the Wild West sometimes. Especially a while after the sale.

I don't know. I'll look into all the suppliers

 

[Darwin01]

I don't know. I'll look into all the suppliers

Hi GraemeVW, I just wondered if you ordered one of these Hitbox Tig welders. If so how are you finding it? Kind regards Darwin1

 

[GraemeVW]

Hi GraemeVW, I just wondered if you ordered one of these Hitbox Tig welders. If so how are you finding it? Kind regards Darwin1

I haven't yet. I'm aware it's a bit of a risk. I think the torch needs some modifying too. I'm still wondering if it's worth the risk. I keep deciding I'll order one and then bottling out

I really could do with a tig though...

 

[JOEPRO]

I haven't yet. I'm aware it's a bit of a risk. I think the torch needs some modifying too. I'm still wondering if it's worth the risk. I keep deciding I'll order one and then bottling out

I really could do with a tig though...

What's the worst can happen? Go on!

Keep the box and test it out and if it works then it is a proper bargain and lots here would be interested I'm sure. If it doesn't work out then you will be able to return it I'm sure. Maybe better buy from ebay or amazon to be sure in that regard.

 

[GraemeVW]

What's the worst can happen? Go on!

Keep the box and test it out and if it works then it is a proper bargain and lots here would be interested I'm sure. If it doesn't work out then you will be able to return it I'm sure. Maybe better buy from ebay or amazon to be sure in that regard.

I need to check the prices from various suppliers. Amazon is safer, but more expensive.
Main concern is it mill end up the best part of £500, which is a bargain if it works and lasts a little while. But it's pretty much half way to something better.
£500 and it may be going in the bin in 6 months, of £1k and something with warranty.
The hitbox has 2 years warranty, apparantly, but I wouldn't hold me breath.

 

[GraemeVW]

I've read some good reports, but I think its too new to judge reliability.

 

[tom-madbiker]

I know this is an older thread but I'm thinking about one of these too seems good at 322 quid on eBay with a foot pedal not done a lot of tig welding tho my other one is an old miller that weighs about 400kg

 

[tom-madbiker]

Did you get one in the end