skotl
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I'm not a fan of arc welders - never had much success with buzz boxes but then discovered that my R Tech MTS 255 multi process machine could give even a numpty like me half a chance of stick-welding two bits of metal together.
It's also been super useful while I've been re-working a trailer but it's been no fun dismantling the R Tech from its gas supply and carting the 25KG unit and all of its umbilicals out to the garden.
So I had a hankering for a cheap arc welder that I could take almost anywhere - it had to be an inverter, cos I've been spoiled, so I spent some time hovering around the used ads but couldn't find anything less than £100 until I spotted these on Amazon: Sungold 200A inverter stick welder, at £99.
Reviews were mixed, and there seemed to be some serious concerns at whether the plug was wired correctly, but what sold it to me was an Amazon cosmetic refurbished unit at £92 delivered, so with the full Amazon warranty.
It came with a mask and hammer, which need to be thrown straight in the bin, as well as a stinger and ground clamp:
Turns out these are mini-dinse so I can't use the R Tech leads directly. The ground clamp is a bit pants but overall, they're not the worst.
I checked the plug which was, thankfully, correctly wired - I'll put a 16A or 32A plug on it, though.
I'll also fit a fuse holder on the back panel...
It's very dinky, only weighing 3.5KG:
Started out with some GYS 2mm 6013s on 3mm steel - set it to an indicated 56A but no good - just spat at the metal. I dialled it up to an indicated 85A and all seemed good.
These are the welds it produced. Please don't feel the need to comment on my lack of stick-welding ability - I knows it
The ones on the left were the 2mm at indicated 56A. The three on the right are:
Underneath view - again, 2mm on 6013 on the outer two and 3.2mm on the middle one:
Some internal shots which show that (lack of fuse notwithstanding) it's surprisingly well put together:
All in all, I'm pleasantly surprised. For the money it seems well put together and does a decent job (though I doubt it would get all the way up to 200A, or stay there for very long!).
If you buy it from a trusted supplier, like Amazon, then I'd heartily recommend it.
Finally, here's a link to a youtube version of the review:
It's also been super useful while I've been re-working a trailer but it's been no fun dismantling the R Tech from its gas supply and carting the 25KG unit and all of its umbilicals out to the garden.
So I had a hankering for a cheap arc welder that I could take almost anywhere - it had to be an inverter, cos I've been spoiled, so I spent some time hovering around the used ads but couldn't find anything less than £100 until I spotted these on Amazon: Sungold 200A inverter stick welder, at £99.
Reviews were mixed, and there seemed to be some serious concerns at whether the plug was wired correctly, but what sold it to me was an Amazon cosmetic refurbished unit at £92 delivered, so with the full Amazon warranty.
It came with a mask and hammer, which need to be thrown straight in the bin, as well as a stinger and ground clamp:
Turns out these are mini-dinse so I can't use the R Tech leads directly. The ground clamp is a bit pants but overall, they're not the worst.
I checked the plug which was, thankfully, correctly wired - I'll put a 16A or 32A plug on it, though.
I'll also fit a fuse holder on the back panel...
It's very dinky, only weighing 3.5KG:
Started out with some GYS 2mm 6013s on 3mm steel - set it to an indicated 56A but no good - just spat at the metal. I dialled it up to an indicated 85A and all seemed good.
These are the welds it produced. Please don't feel the need to comment on my lack of stick-welding ability - I knows it
The ones on the left were the 2mm at indicated 56A. The three on the right are:
Top and bottom: 2mm at indicated 85A
Middle: 3.2mm at indicated 117A
Middle: 3.2mm at indicated 117A
Underneath view - again, 2mm on 6013 on the outer two and 3.2mm on the middle one:
Some internal shots which show that (lack of fuse notwithstanding) it's surprisingly well put together:
All in all, I'm pleasantly surprised. For the money it seems well put together and does a decent job (though I doubt it would get all the way up to 200A, or stay there for very long!).
If you buy it from a trusted supplier, like Amazon, then I'd heartily recommend it.
Finally, here's a link to a youtube version of the review: