Advice on buyin welder.

iano93

Hi, I'm thinkin of purchasing a small welder for just doing small, light repair jobs around the farm (eg. repairing hinges and gates etc...) I only want a cheap one for doing light work! I see one advertised by connaught gold as a 130 amp welder 4 €90? I went to look at them there two saturdays ago but they wer all out!:( He said they all sold in a day and he reckoned deyd be grand 4 doin ordinary work around de farm!:D

.........Seems decent value? But has any1 else bought this welder or wat wud ye think about this welder becoz wen it comes to welders i havent a clu?

blue5000

250 amp air cooled would be better, as a friend of mine says 'its very easy to change the bit on a welder'.
I'd also recommend going to night classes in local VEC to pick up the basics.
Are you looking at rods or a mig? Mig is easier and faster to use but you will need gas. Sounds like you only want to do some light work so rod will probably be good enough.

dar31

if you can stretch to it buy an inverter welder, about the size of a biscuit tin and run no prob on 3 pin plug
think they are about e350 + might be a bit on the dear side for an occasional bit of welding

Avns1s

Buy a 180 amp at least. Much less wont do anything major if your fixing machinery or any type of heavier metal at all, as you would around a farm.

red bull

buy an inverter costs more, but who want a black n white telly anymore. on my second welder just doing ordinary little jobs. go for it I would. Powerful small its the way to go

rooney32

inverter all the way. amazing machine for size. ept in carlow have them for 350 euro

vanderbadger

whats the diff between inverter and normal welder, plenty of them on ebay pretty cheap by the way

tophat

Inverter would have a DC ouput, may have smooth start for easier starting of the arc, and better controls to keep the arc stable, this is what you're paying for. The cheaper AC welder may not have these features. AC is supposidly better for penetration if you're welding heavier gauge material or doing fillet welds. Some specialist welding rods can only be used in a DC machine. Like some of the posts above I've a small Lincoln inverter which is dead handy for carrying around. Won't weld all day but fine for maintenance/short runs

John_F

blue5000 wrote: »

250 amp air cooled would be better, as a friend of mine says 'its very easy to change the bit on a welder'.
I'd also recommend going to night classes in local VEC to pick up the basics.
Are you looking at rods or a mig? Mig is easier and faster to use but you will need gas. Sounds like you only want to do some light work so rod will probably be good enough.

also harder to weld with a mig outside, gas is blown away

bk1991

i have a 200 amp inverter welder cost 700 euro but worth it .i am currently doing awelding course and its not as easy as it looks .the cheeper welders will have a low duty cycle and will cut out after burning a rod i can non stop weld with my inverter and doesnt cut out

bk1991

iano93

bk1991 wrote: »

i have a 200 amp inverter welder cost 700 euro but worth it .i am currently doing awelding course and its not as easy as it looks .the cheeper welders will have a low duty cycle and will cut out after burning a rod i can non stop weld with my inverter and doesnt cut out

bk1991

Tanks ya learning how to weld will b the next problem! Ur basically sayin its easier said than done;) Wat does this inverter do, dey all seem to recommend it?

iano93

tophat wrote: »

Inverter would have a DC ouput, may have smooth start for easier starting of the arc, and better controls to keep the arc stable, this is what you're paying for. The cheaper AC welder may not have these features. AC is supposidly better for penetration if you're welding heavier gauge material or doing fillet welds. Some specialist welding rods can only be used in a DC machine. Like some of the posts above I've a small Lincoln inverter which is dead handy for carrying around. Won't weld all day but fine for maintenance/short runs

Tanks
BTW: Sorry and please excuse my ignorance wats the arc?

bk1991

iano93 wrote: »

Tanks
BTW: Sorry and please excuse my ignorance wats the arc?

basicaly an inverter welder is a welder that requiers less in put power and a more compact size than normal old type transformer welders.and some like mine have option for tig (specilist)welding .basicaly they have newertecnology compared to older welding plants . they require a bit minding dont like damp or abuse ,loads little circut boards in em .



to answer ur question about whats an arc . when you have ur welding rod in rod holder u tap of scratch the tip rod on steel to creat an arc (the blue light) its the current jumping from the tip of rod to the steel you are welding .if the weldr has a hot start its easier to strik the arc .and then you have to maintain the arc length and correct angles aswell as speed of travel .

its a lot harder to vertical weld than flat welding .
bk1991