inverter stick welder

Evening all .Anyone use or have any experience with Inverter welders,if so could you recommend me a make or model . Up to 120 amps will be more than enough .

Sean

I'm using an R-Tech inverter MIG/MMA (130A model) and on stick it is the easiest and smoothest welder I have ever used. I've owned it for 2 1/2 years.

It's also a very competent MIG.

The customer service from R-Tech is superb.

Just a satisfied customer with no connection to R-Tech.

I have one of the older Fronius Transpocket 140 units. Superb welder, gives me the illusion of knowing what I'm doing, lightweight and very compact. Her ladyship has bigger, heavier, handbags. Aimed at the on site market so dual voltage 110-240 input. Eye-wateringly expensive when new, current versions merely painful.

If you are used to a normal buzz-box stick welder the two big differences are reliable welding at low currents the ability of a DC inverter welder to hold a very long arc if you aren't decisive about breaking contact. Mine will easily pull an 8" long arc. Ignore the bottom end imports, get a good brand. Very bottom of the range ones have a well deserved reputation for unreliability.

The R-Tech combined MIG / MMA looks excellent value for money but, inevitably, is a bigger box than mine.

Mine lives happily in a customised mount replacing the top box of a plastic tool cart thingy from Lidl. Three drawers for rods and bits. Large flap opening space below with room for the my welding helmet, welders apron and gloves. Maybe takes up 10" by 15" floor space. Wheels and handle make it easy to move up to the job. So nice to be able to keep everything together.

Clive.

I have an Esab AC/DC TIG welder, where you get inverter driven stick welding for free. The arc is consistent and stable, which makes life easier. And I need all the help I can get.

Andrew

I have a 'Giant TIG 200M' Not used it much but been well impressed so far. Much better arc than the old traditional set, and I can pick the damn thing up, which was getting difficult. Bit embarassing to have to ask #2 son to move it for me!

If you only needed 80A this thread might be useful.

**LINK**

I asked more or less the same question on a UK welding forum about a year ago. I was steered towards a Parweld 160 from Weldequip, which I went for. It has not disappointed - worlds away from the buzzbox things.Might be worth a look.

Rob.

Hi Sean, they are much better than the "Buzz Boxes" but as has been said, try and afford one that's not at the bottom end of the market. You may find however, that some of them will require a higher than a 13A supply to function correctly, so be aware of this. I've known people who have plugged them into a normal domestic ring main and found that they don't do as well as the specs say they should and then just moan about it. I have a fairly old Cebora Bi-Welder 1350, which is a 110V/230V and needs a 32a supply to work as it should and it is a brilliant thing and with the right gear (which I haven't got) can be used as a lift start TIG welder. Buy a decent bit of kit and you will not be disappointed.

Regards Nick.

Machine mart AT150 jobbie does for my small amount of welding, works off a 13A socket

Hi,

I recently purchased the Parweld XTS 142 from eBay item No 262719324591 Cost including postage was £158, this also included a Parweld auto dimming helmet and a pair of leather gloves.

Have not used it much but worked really well, and also will work as a scratch start TIG with the addition of a suitable torch.

HTH

I have a CT-312 120A 3in1 machine and it handles my requirements with ease.

As already mentioned, buzzbox and inverter machines are like chalk and cheese.

My stick welding has improved beyond recognition compared with the absolute disaster it was when I tried a buzzbox years ago.

Geoff - Workshop 23°, Carport 30° so guess where I'm spending my time?

Sean

Budget seems reasonable to get a perfectly satisfactory welder. Hard to know what the right price is with so many known brands coming up £50 or more off.

Main things I'd look for are a decent warranty from a known brand or supplier who is going to be around should you have problems. Inverters are intrinsically less rugged than buzz boxes. Overheating is the usual reason for early demise so look carefully at duty cycle. Specifications are very misleading. 50% duty cycle doesn't mean half the time welding and half the time waiting for it to cool down. Actual welding time will be rather less.

For example my Fronius specification is for the given duty cycle over 10 minutes. Then you have to wait until it cools down. Flat out at 140 amps 10 minute specification is 35 % duty cycle. Cooldown time if you do red line it is maybe 20 minutes before the watchdog circuit lets you start again. But the fan will still be going so its not cooled right down. Now thats a full on industrial welder rated 100% duty cycle at up to 100 amps and even at 120 amps you don't really have to think about duty cycle. Fan may be running permanently tho'. Had to think when I used it at 140. That sort of toughness and safety margin comes expensive.

Gotta accept that with a lower end, i.e. affordable, machine you need to be a bit more careful in use. Doesn't help that many suppliers inflate the actual capability of the machines with an unrealistically low duty cycle at maximum output. Doesn't help that there is no time specification either. Sheer mass of a hefty heat sink may give a minute or two flat out before it warms up enough to endanger the electronics but then it takes a long time to cool back down. Noodling around E-bay I see a few likely suspects for this trick. Nobody specifies cool down times.

20% duty cycle over 10 minutes is only a couple of minutes welding. Realistically anything under 40% duty cycle in the range of currents you tend to use means a serious risk of trespassing outside the safe operating area and into the will it / won't it go pop region. No one puts a stop watch on their welding time and I guarantee that how ever carful you intend to be you will overstep the mark at times.

If you possibly can find one with 100% duty cycle at the maximum current of the rods you will normally use. 80% will do for the upper end of currents but you will need a bit of care. Helps that inverter welders work fine with lower currents than buzzboxes on a similar rod size. No experience of them but the Draper 64533 INV146 seems to specify well with 40% duty cycle flat out.

Clive.

> Geoff - Workshop 23°, Carport 30° so guess where I'm spending my time?

Walking into my workshop is like breathing hot water today!

Sean, I have a 140 amp MMA welder from the early1980's (from Middleton Mail Order, the supplier advertised a lot back then).. A professional welder who used it said it was very smooth, I'll take his word for it, use it once in every blue moon and am no expert. If the metal sticks together, doesn't fall apart, and looks reasonable after tarting up with the angle grinder then I'm happy.

However, it also used to cut out after about 10 mins and then you had to wait about an hour to use it again. So I 'liberated' a 240 v ac fan from an old computer, fitted it in the back to blow over the transformer and wired it to come on when you plug it into the mains, which means it runs all the time it's plugged in - and problem solved, you can weld as long as you like! Hope this helps,

Chris

Hi ChrisH, I did the same thing with my 140 amp MMA back in 2010 and posted about it on this thread **LINK** on the 5/11/2010 and put photos on this **LINK** on the 6/11/2010. I still have this welder and still use it occasionally, but I use it on a 16A supply because it had a habit of blowing 13A plug top fuses.

Regards Nick.

Well, had a look the label on my Parweld 160 XTI which indicates a duty cycle of 100% at 135 amps falling to 60% at 160A. I'm a bit surprised by that! Anyhow, it's never cut out out on me, but I haven't needed to push it. Fan runs continuously (and stirs quite a wind) from switch on - maybe that's why?

I run it from a 32A line (only because I have one) but I seem to recall reading on the weldequip site that it works fine up to 140A on a 13A plug.

I'm not a Parweld rep or owt, it just worked for me, has a 3 year guarantee and was supplied by a well-established retailer. Doubtless many others out there as good.

Rob.

Walking into mine felt as if I'd stepped into a freezer by comparison and took my breathe away for an instant.

Soon warmed up though following a number of trips back and forth.

Geoff - The efficacy of insulation proven.