For a $100 bucks!!! Sure why not I’ve used the princess auto cheap 110 arc welder and it worked fine. Don’t think your doing anything heavy duty or using it for long bursts But small welds in lights stuff It works ok.
Check youtube. They had some good vids of some of these smaller welders. Most noted on the mig machines was that they actually put out lower amps than advertised.
To be serious for a moment, about 3 years ago I took a chance on an Everlast inverter welder (Chinese) with the same specs as this (230/110 input, 160 amps output) for about $300. It turned out better than I ever hoped. Has the technology and economy of scale improved enough to allow a good welder to be produced for this price? Maybe. At this price point, you could take a chance. If it works out, great, but if it's a dud, you could probably pass it off to some unsuspecting do-it-yourselfer at your next garage sale for $200. There is one fact that stands out : They (at least my Everlast) are DC welders and therefore superior to the AC only "Buzz-Boxes" us old-timers grew up with.
I bought this one a long time ago. They had an ad in the back of Hot Rod for years so I sent them the money. Probably still sitting on the shelf in the garage. However, it the zeny welder is a newer inverter welder, it probably would work on smaller stuff.
Wow, goldmountain you actually bought one of those! I bugged my Dad for years to buy us one but he never gave in. Later, he bought us one of those Lincoln cathedral shaped stick welders. I think it’s still in the garage at my Mom’s house! So, did it work? Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I bought one similar to that when I was 13 years old. Valuable lesson learned, that you have to pay up for a good welder.
It may not have welded worth a damn but it's probably worth a lot more than you paid for it to those who collect automobilia. And yep, Dad was pretty smart as it turns out, if I hadn't listened to him I'd be working 'til I dropped dead instead of retired and playing with my hot rods. As far as welders go, I bit the bullet and bought my little Lincoln SP-100 28 years ago and it still works great. Same with my big Lincoln TIG300.
I had one of those 2$ welders, only I think mine was more like 7$ of paper route money. couldnt arc weld anything useful with it, but I sure got pretty good at brazing with the twin-carbon-rod electric arc in one hand, and the bronze rod in the other hand . Man that carbon arc threw out a whole lot of heat in all directions, and made my gloves really hot in short order, but it did let me learn how to braze with a carbon-arc torch until the two glowing wire coils inside the metal housing eventually burned out. It was a stepping stone in the learning process, including a lesson for a 13 yr old in you-get-what-you-pay-for, and a lesson in making a good useful thing out of a cheap toy. I eventually had to take a real welding class as an eighth grader at night school in order to get my minibike built WHY BE ORDINARY ?
You used gloves? I used mine quite a bit with the carbon arc torch, later progressed to a aircraft generator [A40 Austin] engine powered [not for indors!] and then to a Lincoln Tombstone, welded lots with that..
The very 1st arc "welder" I got any experience with was actually 4 12 volt batteries hooked together. The setup belonged to my boss at the gas station I worked at. It actually would weld stuff together pretty good, but you didn't get a lot of weld time between battery charges. I didn't use it very long, but I suspect the battery life was pretty short. I did buy a Lincoln Tombstone welder and used that for many years. My Miller mig was a huge step up from the old Lincoln. I've looked at a lot of the cheap welders over the years. Some were not too bad, most others were real junk. Getting a good one was pretty much a luck of the draw, brand names didn't seem to make much difference. One thing that is consistent with cheap welders is the very short duty cycle. Most are 20% at maximum output, which means in a 10 minute welding cycle, you weld for 2 minutes and let the machine cool down for 8 minutes (if your at maximum output, which you usually are with them). My Miller has a 100% duty cycle at maximum output, it will wear out the guy long before it effects the machine. Most guys exceed the duty cycle and the cheap welders burn up (or more accurately, loose power) in a couple years. Gene
The Zeny I posted a link for in post #4 is listed as 60% duty cycle, which isn't bad for most hobby users
i agree with @Budget36 , nobody uses arc welders any more so the good old ones are cheap. lots of 50 and 100 dollar miller 250 amp stick welders that will burn a hole in 1/2" plate, and worth 50 in scrap if they die, which they most likely wont
i remember buying one of those so called welders from a car mag too. all i every got it to do was shock the crap out of me under a car trying to weld an exhaust pipe. (i was holding the the wrong part and turned myself into a good ground)
It's not a case of 'not' using arc welders as much as it's a case of 'can't' use an arc welder. Stick welding is a bit of a lost art. Cheap MIGS have found a place in hobby garages.
I bought a Harbor Freight arc welder for my heavier work and it welded a car trailer together with no issues. As often as I use it maybe once a year it does the job.
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