A good budget priced welder?

   / A good budget priced welder? #82  
yomax what is effectively? i use mine at ac 225 to gouge and cut.it still works.can a 160 amp dc inverter cut thick steel? i recommend thunderbolts because they are a versatile, budget priced US brand welder. josh i have never seen a carbon arc torch.

Hook a Carbon Arc Torch up to your Thunderbolt and you will see what I mean.
 
   / A good budget priced welder? #84  
New "transformer" welders are NOT electronics free. There are boards and other electronically related parts. Diodes ARE electronics. Diodes are used to make DC current... The thing about our inverter welders, especially the analog ones, is that we use "off the shelf" components, not proprietary ones.


The ONLY "electronics" I've seen in my Thunderbolt XL are the diodes, which are individual components. Very likely there will still be substitutes available in 40 years.

IDK, perhaps it is a moot point about replacement parts for low cost inverter welders.
 
   / A good budget priced welder? #85  
Probably should have said transformers above "entry level".
 
   / A good budget priced welder? #86  
I think everybody should take a blind taste test on welding equipment! :shocked: Then they should take a terminology course so we're all on the same page. There is a HUGE difference between a carbon arc torch used for brazing and heating and an air carbon arc torch used for gouging. If you want to use an arc welder to cut, you can get special rods but 6010 ran hot on straight polarity will cut better than AC. I'd take a 160 amp DC inverter over a Thunderbolt any day. I wouldn't use an arc welder to cut, I'd have a torch set that is complimentary if you do any kind of welding or repairs.

I used Thunderbolts and I've used small Chicom inverters(Thermal arc and others) and much prefer the inverter. I've never used an Everlast. I don't need too... Shield Arc bought one and if he says it has one of the best arcs he's ever used, you can take that to the BANK! Shield Arc owns a collection of some the most desirable welders on the planet. He has nothing to gain by promoting a machine and tells it like it is. As much as he likes the Everlast machine, I'm sure he wouldn't mince his words if he hated it or his V-350 Pro or his Dynasty, etc. Actually he did say he hates the Dynasty for stick welding but since it's such an awesome TIG machine, I think he's decided he'll keep it. LoL
 
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   / A good budget priced welder? #87  
I would love to try out different welders, but as a hobbiest, I dont get exposed to that many different machines. Most of the folks i associate with have similar equipment. Mostly Lincoln, Miller and Esab. Maybe different sizes but pretty much the same brands. I fact, i dont know anybody that has chicom welding equipment. I find terminology to differ even among the small group of folks I am around. For brazing, I use oxy/act, and cant remember the last time I did any. For cutting its oxy/act or plasma. Mig I run only wire and gas, Never tried flux core. Tig, I just play around with and not much of that. For stick, I use my old ac/dc tombstone (even tho I have a Idealarc 250/250 machine), and mostly 1/8 7018, sometime 5/32 and been a while but occasionally 3/32 if the metal is really thin, but thin stuff is why I bought the mig. Cant remember the last time I tried 6010 or 6011. I have been welding to some extent for about 40 years, never professionally, and have found I have been able to get by with what I have described pretty well. While i would probably enjoy some of the new features being described on on other welding equipment, I wouldnt know how to get the best use out of them and if those features didnt exsist, I wouldnt probably miss them, or know any better.

I think most of the folks here really need to think about their actual needs and not just what they want. I want a lot of things, but dont really need them. I would love to have a new fangled welder with all the bells and whistles, but my skill level wouldnt allow me to get the best use out of that type of equipment. I dont do structual or critical welding where dozens of folks may die if one of my welds break. I fix things around my house and what I own does well for that sort of work. In my case, a chicom welder would probably work just as well as what I am using now.

I want to add that when I finally retire, I plan on taking some welding courses at the local tech school. Might finally find out what I have been missing with these new fangled welders.
 
   / A good budget priced welder? #88  
You should hook up your Idealarc 250. They are an excellent machine and I'm sure you'd notice a difference. You might have the skill level but your machine is holding you back. Hobbyists and farmers don't need a welder with all the bells and whistles but with inverters being less money than the low end end conventional machines from the big manufacturers, it makes sense to at least consider them. Having a machine that is so much easier to use makes the learning curve way easier and a lot less frustrating.
 
   / A good budget priced welder? #89  
I think most of the folks here really need to think about their actual needs and not just what they want. I want a lot of things, but dont really need them. I would love to have a new fangled welder with all the bells and whistles, but my skill level wouldnt allow me to get the best use out of that type of equipment.

I think this is really a subjective thing, though. I mean, do we really "need" tractors, or could we all be out there plowing our fields with mules? Life's not about living in the most utilitarian way possible. Comfort and enjoyment are valuable too. Frugality is a virtue, but asceticism isn't mandatory.

About your skill level holding you back? You know, I believe that might be true in some cases, but if we are talking about hot start and arc force for stick welding, I just don't see it. That's like saying, "I'm only a beginner at driving race cars, so I don't want anti-lock brakes, because my skill level won't let me fully utilize them." Arc force is just one of those things that should have been part of stick welding from the beginning, except nobody had invented it yet. Experts can drive race cars without anti-lock brakes and traction control, and very good welders don't need arc force. But even very good welders enjoy the puddle control that arc force gives. Beginners won't have that same level of control, but they still will appreciate not sticking the rod all the time.

The beauty of the situation is that you don't really have to compromise. It's not like, "Should I spend $500 on a buzzbox or $1000 on a higher-end stick welder with advanced features? Well, I guess I don't need the advanced features." Hot start and arc force are accessible to people on even relatively limited budgets.
 
   / A good budget priced welder? #90  
Dont get me wrong, I am sure features such as arc force and hotstart are nice. I already know my Idealarc will run prettier beads than my buzz box. To hook it up, all I need to do is plug it in. I tried to sell the tombstone, with 50ft of leads, about a year ago for $150 and had so many lowballers try to beat me off that price I just decided to keep it. It sets in front of the idealarc, pretty much in the way, but easily accessable when the need arises. It does what I need just fine and I am used to it.

As for the tractor comparison, since we have already graduated from mules to tractors, I guess you could take it one step further. Do you need a 25hp tractor for your garden spot, or would a 100hp one make the job easier. Do you really need a enclosed cab with heat and air, or will a simple rollover devise suffice. I agree, this decision is subjective to the end user.

I think, and its JMO, that a lot of internet readers, looking for their first purchase of a welder, can easily be misled into buying more than they really need. If you have never welded before, dont know anything about the process, well, you really dont know what to believe. Asking questions is the only real way to find out, but asking questions from the right people is just as important. You have to admit, there are just as many novice welders, (I include myself in this group), as there are experienced people on any site about any subject. Many times the novices will offer up advise as if they are seasoned professionals. For someone that is experienced and a professional, its easy to tell who is real and who is full of bull. The novice isnt as lucky because they simply dont know. The old saying, the greasy wheel gets the grease sort of applies here. The novice, wantabe, that squeaks the loudest, is usually the one most heard. Therefore for someone who needs/wants a welder for use on a few projects, and once they are done with that project, will probably let the welder sit in a corner somewhere collecting dust. Because of what they have read on the internet, they purchase some new piece of expensive equipment, thinking the equipment will make up for their lack of skills, when they would have been just as well off buying a older, used machine, without all the bells and whistles. For someone that has been properly trained in welding and been doing it for a living for several years, they should know what they want and be able to sort thru the bull.
 

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