bornfree Posted November 29, 2018 Report Share Posted November 29, 2018 I've got a javac 170amp inverter arc welder which was quite expensive when I bought it about 10 years ago and I've never really got on with it the duty cycle isn't great and it's very rod fussy. So looking on eBay for a replacement I noticed several 200amp inverters for amazing prices. The cheapest was £48.99 or make an offer so I offered £45 and it turned up in three days. On opening the box it looked like a toy it weighs about 4kgs and is tiny. After fitting a plug and using the leads off my other welder (the ones supplied are rubbish) I fired it up and amazingly it worked I ran 10 X 3.2 rods in a row and it never cut out so I turned it up to full and ran a couple of 4mm rods and it still didn't cut out. It welds very well I don't suppose it will last very long but for £45 it's amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldypigeonpopper Posted November 29, 2018 Report Share Posted November 29, 2018 13 minutes ago, bornfree said: I've got a javac 170amp inverter arc welder which was quite expensive when I bought it about 10 years ago and I've never really got on with it the duty cycle isn't great and it's very rod fussy. So looking on eBay for a replacement I noticed several 200amp inverters for amazing prices. The cheapest was £48.99 or make an offer so I offered £45 and it turned up in three days. On opening the box it looked like a toy it weighs about 4kgs and is tiny. After fitting a plug and using the leads off my other welder (the ones supplied are rubbish) I fired it up and amazingly it worked I ran 10 X 3.2 rods in a row and it never cut out so I turned it up to full and ran a couple of 4mm rods and it still didn't cut out. It welds very well I don't suppose it will last very long but for £45 it's amazing. hello, they are great tools for welding, did it come from china or a uk seller but chinese made? my little welder like that cost £100 and its been good so far after 3 years use, considering i got the farm a decent one made in UK cost £400 about the same time, 180amp, good luck with yours, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bornfree Posted November 29, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2018 2 minutes ago, oldypigeonpopper said: hello, they are great tools for welding, did it come from china or a uk seller but chinese made? my little welder like that cost £100 and its been good so far after 3 years use, considering i got the farm a decent one made in UK cost £400 about the same time, 180amp, good luck with yours, It must have come from a UK supplier as it only took three days. But a Chinese company is listed as the seller so I guess they have a warehouse over here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldypigeonpopper Posted November 29, 2018 Report Share Posted November 29, 2018 40 minutes ago, bornfree said: It must have come from a UK supplier as it only took three days. But a Chinese company is listed as the seller so I guess they have a warehouse over here. hello, yes i have purchased from a chinese UK supplier, anyway good luck with your welder, cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
figgy Posted November 29, 2018 Report Share Posted November 29, 2018 How can they make a welder for that price? Transportation costs profits for maker and seller, it don't add up. But they do and I have seen some you tube videos of reviews and even pros are surprised by some. I would like a tig inverter with hf but knowing which are ok and what to avoid is difficult. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted November 29, 2018 Report Share Posted November 29, 2018 try and get a 2nd hand Fronius........... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawkfanz Posted November 29, 2018 Report Share Posted November 29, 2018 i bought a pic arc oil cooled one,about 1972,only 110 amp but 50/80 volt circuits,240/440 volts amazing bit ot of kit,made loads of trailers etc over the years,came with a 15year waranty,still going strong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddy Galore! Posted December 18, 2018 Report Share Posted December 18, 2018 On 29/11/2018 at 21:54, ditchman said: try and get a 2nd hand Fronius........... I know where there's one of them, I tried to borrow it from my old man but he's having none of it, to be fair he rarely gets anything back that I borrow, so I bought a cheap one from aldi of all places for £25, I can ask if anyone is interested Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Heron Posted December 19, 2018 Report Share Posted December 19, 2018 If you are only doing a small amount of welding (one rod a year) then probably one of those **** Chinese things will do get yourself one made in England it will last for years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bornfree Posted December 24, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 24, 2018 On 19/12/2018 at 12:06, The Heron said: If you are only doing a small amount of welding (one rod a year) then probably one of those **** Chinese things will do get yourself one made in England it will last for years. Well it's already done one 5kg pack of oerlikon 3.2mm and several 4mm and still going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneshot1979 Posted December 24, 2018 Report Share Posted December 24, 2018 Neighbour of mine showed up on the doorstep backalong proudly carrying an ALDI bought Parkside 130amp inverter stick and asked for some lessons, I'll admit to a little snobbery when he unboxed it, at £70 with leads, auto darkening helmet, chipping hammer and a small pack of rods how good could it be. Well for a start it comes with a 3 year money back or like for like guarantee. No need to post off and register like some of the trade names just rock up to your local store with the receipt, so in theory you can't loose. We ran all the 2.5mm 6013 rods it came with pretty much non stop, partly as he was keen to learn but mostly to see how long before it overheated or popped. It ran fine so we moved up to some 3.2mm 7018 that I had in the van. He didn't like them but the welder never even faltered. For that £70 you could nearly call it a disposable welder on a site job and for DIY around the house I don't think you could go wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon R Posted December 26, 2018 Report Share Posted December 26, 2018 Parkside are Lidl, but still decent stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddy Galore! Posted December 27, 2018 Report Share Posted December 27, 2018 do you guys reckon these cheap welder would work ok with cast iron rods? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldypigeonpopper Posted December 27, 2018 Report Share Posted December 27, 2018 10 minutes ago, Paddy Galore! said: do you guys reckon these cheap welder would work ok with cast iron rods? hello, depends on what size rod and amps of your welder and what you are welding? pre heating might help, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddy Galore! Posted December 27, 2018 Report Share Posted December 27, 2018 26 minutes ago, oldypigeonpopper said: hello, depends on what size rod and amps of your welder and what you are welding? pre heating might help, it's garden furniture so not the best quality iron, I haven't got any iron rod yet so don't know the core size, I think the amps run upto 120A, i'll have a look about for the rods, might be able to get some slim ones, cheers for the reply. gram Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldypigeonpopper Posted December 28, 2018 Report Share Posted December 28, 2018 12 hours ago, Paddy Galore! said: it's garden furniture so not the best quality iron, I haven't got any iron rod yet so don't know the core size, I think the amps run upto 120A, i'll have a look about for the rods, might be able to get some slim ones, cheers for the reply. gram hello, you can get rods that requires no pre heating come in 2.5 which should work up to 120 amp, best do a few test runs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
figgy Posted December 28, 2018 Report Share Posted December 28, 2018 Castolin rods were ok for small repairs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted December 28, 2018 Report Share Posted December 28, 2018 15 hours ago, Paddy Galore! said: do you guys reckon these cheap welder would work ok with cast iron rods? check first..........some of these "not normal" rods like cast iron....high deposition rods etc....prefer a DC welder as sometimes it is recommended to weld negative electrode..... positive earth.............check the writing on the box first before you buy... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
figgy Posted December 28, 2018 Report Share Posted December 28, 2018 Thought arc welders were DC output and you could just swap the cables round to change polarity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted December 28, 2018 Report Share Posted December 28, 2018 56 minutes ago, figgy said: Thought arc welders were DC output and you could just swap the cables round to change polarity. welders are a/c or d/c...................with a d/c welder if you are welding positive electrode...2/3rds of the heat is in your rod....if you weld negative electrode 1/3rd is in your rod thats why when you are using lo-hy rods 2.5mm on a root run you always burn at negative electrode.........some coatings on the rods are designed for the polarity....it will advise you on the box.......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
figgy Posted December 28, 2018 Report Share Posted December 28, 2018 I mainly used DC welders with large outputs for MMA welding. The inverters we used were more for tig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted December 28, 2018 Report Share Posted December 28, 2018 if you are using DC then you can do anything.........................the new...(newish) inverters Fronius........are superb........i have one that will do MMA and TIG and you can alter the force and ocv and all sorts of things.................they are good but bloody expensive........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddy Galore! Posted December 28, 2018 Report Share Posted December 28, 2018 just been looking at fronius website, they even do a cordless welder now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddy Galore! Posted December 28, 2018 Report Share Posted December 28, 2018 (edited) 9 hours ago, ditchman said: check first..........some of these "not normal" rods like cast iron....high deposition rods etc....prefer a DC welder as sometimes it is recommended to weld negative electrode..... positive earth.............check the writing on the box first before you buy... I remember back when I worked in the foundry we had a big old oil cooled DC welder, I spent weeks weld filling cast iron panels for the albert memorial thingmajig. for some reason I thought inverter welders were DC i'll go through the destructions of my little £25 aldi bargain this weekend, do need a face mask though, so probably shopping first cheers for your help gents Edited December 28, 2018 by Paddy Galore! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bornfree Posted December 28, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2018 I haven't done any cast iron welding for years but when I did it was with nickel rods on an AC welder with an 80v ocv setting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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