Inverter Welder

Surfn

i know there is many other threads about welders but im in the market for an inverter welder to be used around the farm.
will be welding mainly of a 13 amp plug but the like the option of abit more power later on
which make or model do yous recommend, esab, paraweld, etc. are they all the same and rebadged or is 1 better than thy other
also any good deals on them at the minute
cheers

Reggie.

Surfn wrote: »

i know there is many other threads about welders but im in the market for an inverter welder to be used around the farm.
will be welding mainly of a 13 amp plug but the like the option of abit more power later on
which make or model do yous recommend, esab, paraweld, etc. are they all the same and rebadged or is 1 better than thy other
also any good deals on them at the minute
cheers

I use a paraweld one here myself and never any bother with it

kay 9

http://www.wholesaleweldingsupplies.ie/index.php?route=product/product&path=69_649&product_id=1948
Have one of these myself, as a coded pipe welder some years ago I used all the top gear like Miller & Lincoln etc.
I've found this little welder faultless and there's a lovely weld off it. Have it about 3 years without a problem. Only fault I'd have is the leads supplied are very short but that's minor.
Most of the inverters under 3-400 euro share the same internals and cards and some are irreparable.
All inverters are sensitive to bumps, bangs and drops as well.

mycro2013

The most important thing to invest in when buying one of these is a decent extension lead as the cards in these plants don't like excessive voltage drop. Failure of the above will lead to premature failure.

If I was to recommend a plant it would be an ewm inverter they are not cheap but I have mine the last 13 years and it has done a show of work although tis not semi retired.

kay 9

mycro2013 wrote: »

The most important thing to invest in when buying one of these is a decent extension lead as the cards in these plants don't like excessive voltage drop. Failure of the above will lead to premature failure.

If I was to recommend a plant it would be an ewm inverter they are not cheap but I have mine the last 13 years and it has done a show of work although tis not semi retired.

Good point on the lead, and forgot to add, by no means use a Jenny unless specified it's safe to do so.

mycro2013

kay 9 wrote: »

Good point on the lead, and forgot to add, by no means use a Jenny unless specified it's safe to do so.

And don't link extension leads if you can't reach it with one extension lead being used hire a welder Jenny. The amount of lads that I've seen doing the above and blowing their plant boggles. Then they write off the plant and the supplier.

These units have there limitations don't expect to be doing production welding and limit the rod size to 3.2mm. 4mm welding rods will kill them.

Surfn

http://www.wholesaleweldingsupplies.ie/index.php?route=product/product&path=730&product_id=2059
http://www.wholesaleweldingsupplies.ie/index.php?route=product/product&path=69_649&product_id=1948
is these 2 welders thy exact same, 1 of them has added shield, gloves and rods

kay 9

Surfn wrote: »

http://www.wholesaleweldingsupplies.ie/index.php?route=product/product&path=730&product_id=2059
http://www.wholesaleweldingsupplies.ie/index.php?route=product/product&path=69_649&product_id=1948
is these 2 welders thy exact same, 1 of them has added shield, gloves and rods

Look the same. Be worth calling them up. I've got the older version with the strap which is handy at times. Don't know why ya get free gear with one and not the other for the same price. You can see the older version in one of the pics or a video link on the add.

Who2

I've a Jefferson here and can't fault it. Bought around four or five years ago

charolais0153

Is welding a very hard skill to pick up or are you better to get a lad in

Mf310

charolais0153 wrote:

Is welding a very hard skill to pick up or are you better to get a lad in

Do a course or even youtube videos are good too but course would be better

Sam Kade

charolais0153 wrote: »

Is welding a very hard skill to pick up or are you better to get a lad in

I picked it up easily enough back in the 80's without any courses and obviously no youtube. Some people take to it like a duck to water while others find it very hard to get the hang of it.

MasFer

I have an ESAB Buddy welder for about 3 years. I find it nice welder, no problems. However I don't do a huge amount of welder.

kay 9

charolais0153 wrote: »

Is welding a very hard skill to pick up or are you better to get a lad in

Get a local welder to give you a few tips and lessons, be worth a few pound. Or better yet do a course.
Most fabricators are using mig/tig anymore due to speed and versatility, can weld anything from a coke can to a towbar.
Stick is used mainly by farmers, pipe and steel erectors etc anymore.
Stick is fine for most farm situations though.
Don't do towbars or towing eyes unless you're experienced.

maidhc

My ESAB Buddy lasted 3 years. Very disappointed with it, but they are very cheap.

I now use an old transformer welder when I need something quick and dirty and also bought this for the more involved work as it can do practically anything.

Most community colleges run night courses in welding. Cheap and a good place to start.

Also, don't leave the new welders out in a damp shed.

clonagh

Surfn wrote: »

http://www.wholesaleweldingsupplies.ie/index.php?route=product/product&path=730&product_id=2059
http://www.wholesaleweldingsupplies.ie/index.php?route=product/product&path=69_649&product_id=1948
is these 2 welders thy exact same, 1 of them has added shield, gloves and rods

Hi,
I'm new to welding and was thinking of buying an inverter? Has anyone bought/used one of these welders? Is it any good? What thickness of metal will it weld?
Thanks.

Dakota Dan

kay 9 wrote: »

Get a local welder to give you a few tips and lessons, be worth a few pound. Or better yet do a course.
Most fabricators are using mig/tig anymore due to speed and versatility, can weld anything from a coke can to a towbar.
Stick is used mainly by farmers, pipe and steel erectors etc anymore.
Stick is fine for most farm situations though.
Don't do towbars or towing eyes unless you're experienced.

I picked up welding in secondary school, only basic welding. I’ve welded drawbars with 7 inch channel welded together and towing eyes for trailers that have drawn thousands of bales and none failed yet. I’ve seen a factory built bale trailer and the eye snapped on a public road and the trailer rolled back and hit a car.

dunlopwellies

clonagh wrote: »

Hi,
I'm new to welding and was thinking of buying an inverter? Has anyone bought/used one of these welders? Is it any good? What thickness of metal will it weld?
Thanks.

I got the parweld version. Identical. Very easy to use. Ive welded 1mm thick sheet right up to 25mm plate no problem with it.

clonagh

Thank you Dunlopwellies. I've some odd jobs to do around the farm and just want something easy to use thats at least semi decent...

mayota

clonagh wrote: »

Thank you Dunlopwellies. I've some odd jobs to do around the farm and just want something easy to use thats at least semi decent...

I got the Parweld 142 a year or so ago for €125. Great value. 3.2 rods no bother.

clonagh

mayota wrote: »

I got the Parweld 142 a year or so ago for €125. Great value. 3.2 rods no bother.

That looks like a handy machine, where did you get it?

mayota

clonagh wrote: »

That looks like a handy machine, where did you get it?

Wholesale Welding supplies.

clonagh

Thank you.

lakill Farm

mayota wrote: »

I got the Parweld 142 a year or so ago for €125. Great value. 3.2 rods no bother.

same here (spare one in the shed, I dropped an rsj on it by accident)

Had a lad in welding 2 weeks ago used it and ran it off my Generator. It says it needs 3 or 3.5kva generator but one I have is 6.5kva diesel

He welded 12mm plate to 8mm 100x100 box legs

SuperTortoise

The Parweld is about as cheap as i'd go, it's ok for the money, low duty cycle though which suggests cheap components but again you'd expect that for €250
No limit to the thickness it can weld, you could weld 2 inch steel with it if you have enough patience.

Buy a good brand of rods, the rods they send with them are the cheapest of the cheap shyte and ready for the scrap bin, Murex, Esab are fine, Oerlikon are about the nicest rod you can buy and maybe a couple of euro more but worth it.

SuperTortoise

Dakota Dan wrote: »

I picked up welding in secondary school, only basic welding. I’ve welded drawbars with 7 inch channel welded together and towing eyes for trailers that have drawn thousands of bales and none failed yet. I’ve seen a factory built bale trailer and the eye snapped on a public road and the trailer rolled back and hit a car.

Not trying to be smart of anything but it only needs to fail once to do a serious bit of damage.
Factory welds are notorious for being shyte, good welders are like hen's teeth, good welders willing to work for €10 an hour are even rarer!

clonagh

SuperTortoise wrote: »

The Parweld is about as cheap as i'd go, it's ok for the money, low duty cycle though which suggests cheap components but again you'd expect that for €250
No limit to the thickness it can weld, you could weld 2 inch steel with it if you have enough patience.

Buy a good brand of rods, the rods they send with them are the cheapest of the cheap shyte and ready for the scrap bin, Murex, Esab are fine, Oerlikon are about the nicest rod you can buy and maybe a couple of euro more but worth it.

That's good advise, thanks

kevthegaff

Are the old oil welders much better if I bought one for the workshed

SuperTortoise

kevthegaff wrote: »

Are the old oil welders much better if I bought one for the workshed

They are fairly bulletproof, the only big downside is they're a pig of a thing if you need to move it around.

patsy_mccabe

I was going to buy a new invertor welder, then I heard how delicate they are. My old welder here, must be over 30 years old. Rusted cover but welds away grand. Got electric supply sorted this year and new heavier extension lead and it works a dream now.
I was told by an experienced welder once that if it's strength of weld you want, then stick (arc) welding is the best. A MIG weld will look better, but you won't get the same lever of penetration in the weld.

Dakota Dan

SuperTortoise wrote: »

Not trying to be smart of anything but it only needs to fail once to do a serious bit of damage.
Factory welds are notorious for being shyte, good welders are like hen's teeth, good welders willing to work for €10 an hour are even rarer!

It is a Lorry body that I welded a drawbar on with 7inch channel. Obviously I welded on the eye before welding the drawbar to the chassis with multiple welds. It’s 25 years old now and I used to bring 8 tonne of stone in it from the local quarry and drew plenty silage bales with it. Believe me it has been well tested.

G-Man

These newer inverters are much easier to weld with than the old transformer ones. In past days we moved from stick to MIG and it was amazing difference. However it became harder to get bottles and MIG is not so forgiving of old steel,its also poor outdoors (gas shield is blown by wind) so once a few large projects were out of the way it was pushed to back of the shed..

Inverter welding with the extra flux on the rods really is where to go now for farm welding. Store your rods indoors, behind the range or on top of an out of the way radiator. They dont like damp. Watch the duty cycle of the cheap welders, this will hammer you when you do a bit of a project, you wont notice it on the small repair, but on a full day it will do you in as you have to wait for welder to cool or it damages itself.

Make it easy on yourself when starting out. Do new metals, grind well, use a supporting clamp, get tight fit, do it on the flat on a bench at comfortable height. choose a 4 inch grinder, not the unwieldy 9 inch, its not in the size, its how you use it.

TooOldBoots

lidl welder €99
Any good or a waste of money folks?

I bought the €99 Chainsaw a few weeks back and I'm very impressed

SuperTortoise

Nope, no good.

patsy_mccabe

Anyone have a Draper 180A Inverter Welder, (model 70029)

MMA Inverter Welder, 180A (70029) | Draper Tools

Spec seems good. Duty cycle - 60% @ 180A / 100% @140A

£145 on Amazon;

Draper 70029 MMA Inverter Welder, 180A Blue One Size : Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools

My 30 year old welder blew today. Maybe the dampness got to it eventually. I haven't opened it up yet.

timple23

https://ige.ie/pacini-pro-arc-190amp-inverter-welder

This one is good value for money, nice and light for carrying around the farm.

orm0nd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120043018#Comment_120043018

Mighty little welder but the leads are very short

patsy_mccabe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120041802#Comment_120041802

Opened my old welder today. Looks like a wire fused onto another one. A bit of insulating tape and tidied up the wires with small cable ties and it's good to go again. Might do for another 30 years. Happy out ! 😀