Abe and Mike scoured the internet for the cheapest welding machine they could find. Is it any good? What cheap welding machines do you know about that are worth picking up?
I have one like this which I keep in the van for field repairs. It’s excellent for this as it weighs nothing and will burn 6013 1/8” rods brilliantly. It’s not a production welder but it’s small and light enough to carry it up a ladder on a shoulder strap.
I know this is an older video, but I reviewed one of these recently, and the polarity is in fact reverse from what it says (I confirmed with my fluke meter).
Thats actually a super common way to destroy electric lawn mowers. If you power it with a tiny ass 16-gauge wire, the voltage drop is severe enough that it will burn out the motor. Motors actually consume more current when the voltage drops.
Mel Gross you can't go by the appearance of the cord. Some of the cheapy thin gauge cords have heavy insulation but thin 16 or even 18 gauge conductor. If you have a heavy cord with a 14 gauge or even 12 gauge wire it's not an issue.
I have owned this same machine. It's close enough to borderline that you have to be careful to get the best out of it. On 110 you need all the input amps you can get. I used an outlet mounted next to the panel and wired to a 30 amp breaker less than a foot away. 10 AWG and nothing else on that breaker. You can get away with a contractor grade extension cord if you keep it *short*. 1/8" steel is near max, you can do 1/4 if you bevel. The root of a piece of 1/8" angle isn't 1/8". It's closer to 1/4. Main thing though is the power. I knew you were going to have trouble as soon as I heard "extension cord". It will burn 1/8" rod on a good outlet but you bump up against the duty cycle pretty quick.
As soon as they started welding I noticed right away that it was set up on reverse polarity!, because of the sound!.same thing happened with a little welder that I got from harbor freight.
Its during COVID right now, and a friend got me the next step down so I can practice since I don’t have access to the machines to practice on like I did while studying. Have been working on scavenging the materials I need for a safe enclosure to practice in and not risk hitting neighbors with arc flash or spreading sparks around.
I bought a $99.99 200A 120/240 vac yeswelder arc-pro 200 on eBay that has arc start mSec and Amps, arc force and VRD. I've never seen E6010 but I know it runs 1/8" E6011 well.
I have one of these machines and it works fine with 3/32 6011 and 5/64 7014. I suspect the actual amp output is around 80 to 85 if plugged into a 20 amp wall outlet. It takes a 30 amp circuit to get full power. A 6011 3/32 will work fairly well on 1/4 plate.
Hi Tom, I agree the amp meeter on those machine are not true and probally around 80 max amp is more real. Thanks for the rod suggestion, I was looking for that!
You dudes are AWESOME. You can tell Im old ish, because to me you guys are the CHEECH & CHONG of FREAKING WELDING. And that, is SUPER cool, to me. :-) Thanks for the video, as this is helping me choose my first welding machine.
@@scorpiofor Its funny, I bought the machine, and still have never used it. UGH, I will for sure. Cheers and hope all is well with you dudes during this crazy covid thing.
We found our miller 110 welder didn't perform well when we plugged it into an extension cord. When we plugged it into the outlet directly it seemed to work better. Just my .02. Really enjoy watching all your videos!
Its called line drop the internal resistance in the machine added with the resistance in the extension cord add up and even though the voltage drop might juat a be 1 volt it takes its toll
It really depends on the gauge of the extension and the length. If you have a 25 foot 10 gauge it will be fine for a 200 amp welder. U use an 8 gauge welding extension for my welders and that heavy enough for a 50 amp draw from the wall.
im thinking the read out is double actual amperage..............i bought a cheaper 75amp welder from princess auto here in canada........only good for 3/32 electrode , it has a fairly smooth arc, but starting isn't the greatest, but for the 120 it cost can't really go wrong
They tried different things to get it to work right by thinking outside the box. But the first thing they noticed was that the it sounded like the polarity was reversed. They never checked this though. I have done this before with other things myself. I've assumed something was not going to work, and did not inspect it closely enough, and then bought a replacement only to find that the original was ok.
There is definitely a voltage issue. I have an Amico ST 165 which is a duel voltage unit. It runs fine on 220 but not real well on 110. I also have an older Campbell Hausfeld that runs on 110 which I have never been able to do much with either.
Did you guys have the machine set up on DCEP or DCEN? If the machine will run 3/32" 7018, it should be able to run 1/8" 6010 or 6011, unless you have the polarity wrong. You should be running DCEP.
So... i read all the comments, can a guy just swap the polarity to see if it straightens out? Or is there a safety issue? Ive been welding for years but never bothered to learn in depth..
If you ever try it make sure it's in a well ventilated area like outside. Throw on a $30 respirator while you're at it. The fumes are dangerous toxic. Like destroying lungs after one use toxic.
@@GoldbergPatriot no problem. Aluminum is the worst. Make sure if you are welding aluminized mild steel to sand all the coating away from where you are going to weld, while wearing a respirator. The heat from welding can create a white smoke cloud that is quite toxic. The original tin man from the Wizard of oz ( Buddy Epson) had a violent reaction to aluminum dust power in his make up, he said his breathing was never the same.
Try checking the leads. The arc jumps from negative to positive. So keep that in mind. I believe the negative lead will be much hotter than the positive, causing more melt, a puddle is what you're looking for. If the electrode tends to puddle up and fall off quickly, try switching the two. Or in other words, try grounding your stinger instead of your piece
Just get the everlast 200sti that’s what I have and it’s solid. I don’t have enough generator to run it past 120amp but it handles 6010 fine and 7018 great. Perfect quality low cost inverter welder
I want to get that machine, I have an everlast GMAW/SMAW machine that has been great so far, except I cant run 6010 like the sti can. The only thing the sti is missing is PAC capability lol
I got the 160 amp DC, dual voltage machine. It welds on 110volt but works much better on 220volts. Much better.... The good thing about this brand is they do have a warehouse in California, so if you need a part or to send it back for some reason, you don't have to send it back to China. IF you buy this machine, get the dual voltage machine. It takes the normal 50 amp welding plug. I payed $149.00 for mine and it works great and I do use mine on 220 volt.
Hi guys, I want to make some metal window planter boxes. I bought some iron and its sorta square tube and super heavy. I want to cut it into 3 pieces and then weld side caps and a bottom plate. I've never welded before. Do you think this equipment would work?
I have same welder and polarity is reversed. + is - and - is +. I got info from another RU-vidr. The indicator stickers are wrong. I burned 1/8 6011, 6013, 7014 and 7018 with machine.
As I watched your video and heard your comments, I was thinking that where you had trouble, it might work for welding sheet metal like fixing a car body, where there was rust.
I'm new to welding so correct me if i'm wrong but unless something else is connected to that welder a reversed polarity wont matter if you are welding on ac and I doubt it would matter on dc either or? plus it can be checked very easilly.
@@ivanrodionov9724 You are correct with AC. I believe this machine is a DC only. If it's DC only then there would be a rectifier to convert to DC then to a step down transformer to allow for amperage adjustment. From there there will be a + & - terminals. This is where the manufacturer assembler could have "crossed the wires" by accident.
Whoa - flashback! When you two were opening the box, Mike all-of-a-sudden stopped to close the blade of his knife! Good to see the Boy Scout come out in you, Mike! - Keep up the good work sharing your welding knowledge and teaching us nubes. I’ve got a travel trailer frame to repair cracks on...me, and tens of thousands of other travel trailer owners (victims of now industry-standard weight-saving frames and what appears to be cheap-ass folded-metal I-beams). • Your team could get tens of thousands of hits if you did a three part series on the proper way to repair your cracks and breaks on American made travel trailers...just sayin’...
The company probably did a dead short between the two leads and measured that current. It's 140A, so they put that on the dial. This would be meaningless because the resistance is much higher when you are welding (all of the resistance and heat of the circuit is in the arc). If you actually measured the current while welding, it's probably less than half of what the dial says.
@@scorpiofor Yes, just try to get the Welder as close to the Power Source as possible, if not a a Heavy 10 guage Short Extension Cord will do the trick. Also use Lincoln Electric Stick Rods, not the cheap stuff...its makes a HUGE difference
1 year ago I bought the amico tig-200dc and as far as stick welding it has held up. The tig is something I havent used. I actually going to do a review video testing the machine fitting prior to buying an argon cylinder and regulator. I feel like my main gripe will be the scratch start.
Shorten your arc length. Long arcing it too long trips the breaker because your amps will be fixed by the dial but you run higher volts the farther you hold your electrode out, meaning you overdraw on wattage.
I have a larger version of this machine the 225, thats dual voltage. These particular machines prefer the 220 volt plugs and they also work better with 6011 or any ac rods really
You could run 6013 with 2 lengths of electrical wirre hooked to a car battery and get great weld lol. Just kidding but 6013 is definately a top rod to use.
I purchased a 80 $ machine burned rods just like that i was thinking it was 110V but it was a 220v and welds good burns 1/8 6010 7018 and stainless it advertise that it can tig its called zojan the power of leader i will recommend it stick and tig it only go up to 120 amps
Sounds like the polarity is backwards the lugs are probably labeled wrong. Amperage readout is defiantly off lol 🤷🏻♂️ cheap welder get you by in a pinch.
The newer model has two nobs (arc and amps). Also see people connectioning ground clamp to positive on the left in other videos. Abolutely no guide with this unit for noob.
Thank you guys for the review I’m a beginner .what Machine would you recommend that’s a step up from that machine if you can list by name that would really be helpful
@@efrainperez846 ya if u can wire for 11000watts and feel like doing some craigslist/ facebook market place hunting. u r right that’s definitely good choice for a lot of people but not all
One thing that will help with heavier metal, Pre heat to 500 degrees if you have a torch or an old grill you aren't cooking on any longer and the piece can be pre-heated. Otherwise but a 200 amp machine. These are not production level machines anyway. What do you want for a 100 bucks
For $99 the cables between the machine and ground clamp and stick holder most likely aren't quality enough to transfer the correct amps needed along with being a 110 machine it needs it's plug in cable shortened and plugged in real close to the outlet for maximum amps from outlet to machine, and like the gentleman says in his comment below, a larger fuse at the outlet would also help in transferring amps to machine better. It's all bout amps baby, from $10,000 dollar machines to the $99 dollar machines. With quality welding leads and set up closer to outlet could make the little machine perform good on smaller jobs as it was designed for.
I have the 120amp version and I have no problem running 3/32 7018, 6013 and 6011. Ive run 1/8" 6011 and while a tad cold, it burned the rod smoothly and layed down a decent bead. Im pretty sure your polarity was reversed btw. I purchased my machine through home Depot if that means anything.
@@hwfranjr not really. You can do 1/4" steel no problem on 90 amps with a 3/32 7018. It will burn right through 1/16" steel bar at 90 amps. I've been welding 1/8" steel at 50amps with 6011 with great results. Stick welders aren't for thin material. I agree that it's not the most capable machine, but it's inexpensive and very capable with 3/32 and even 1/8" electrodes with a 30amp outlet. If you want to weld thin material, get a wire feed machine.
Shit I thought it was just me. Mine does the the same but I have the 160 converted to a 220 plug. Starts out good but machine messes up after a few beads.
Not enough juice, seems to be the problem with the 110 DIY welders that don't have enough Amps. It works but at a bare "meh" quality even if used by a skilled weldeer. Thank you for performing the experiments anyways, it will at least tell folks to invest in proper equipment.
