small arc welder recommendation

[5030]

My inherent issue is simply this... Why deal with some out of town repair source or wait for parts and then repair a unit yourself, when, your HF store is maybe 30 minutes away and so long as it's under warranty, they exchange for a NEW machine, no questions asked. One reason I sold my Lincoln Squarewave TIG. Repair parts are through the roof and authorized repair facilities are at least an hour's drive from here.

 

[5030]

Had one of my Titanium plasma cutters take a poop and I took it to HF which is 15 minutes from here and they gave me a new one, in the box, no questions asked. I do have the extended warranty on all the HF welding and cutting machines but compared to the cost of any of them, the extended warranty is peanuts.

 

[MillWeld]

I still have not purchased my small welder but am strongly leaning towards the Titanium 225. Here are my questions/concerns:

1. Reading the online owner's manual I learned that when operating at 120 VAC the input current draw is 21.3 amps at 70 amps welding output. The 120 VAC plug for the welder is a NEMA 5-15 which is 15 amps - yet the welder is drawing 21.3 amps in the example given. I asked the HF manager about this and did not get a clear answer.

2. Owner's manual says "do not use an extension cord". What's the reasoning for this? legal protection? I wouldn't use one designed for a Christmas tree but would use a 12 or 10 gauge one.

3. It also says " do not use outdoors". I have been welding for 50+ years and sometimes it was outdoors.

I have never welded with 120 VAC. My old welder (before moving to a retirement home) was 240 and I usually welded at 120 to 135 A. My immediate welding job is to weld a 3/8" rod end into a hole in channel iron. Can a 120 VAC welder do this? See pic.

 

[2manyrocks]

1. The amperage carrying capacity of the circuit should meet or exceed the amperage draw in order to avoid overheating the circuit. This may mean needing to install a line specifically for the welder.

2. Longer lines mean loss of capacity and potentially overheating the circuit.

3. Do not use outdoors means they don't want someone thinking they can leave a welder out in the rain or use an electric welder in wet conditions where they could be fatally shocked. Welding can throw sparks 30' feet which can cause fires indoors. Do they mention that in the manual?

4. 110v can weld a 3/8 rod. The issue has tended to be that smaller 110v welders did not have the duty cycle of 220v machines so you could only weld a small amount before the welder needed to rest

 

[chim]

The only indoor welding I've done was when I ventured into the weld shop where I worked. I'm surprised they don't warn you about using a welder in the bath tub

I always use an extension cord. Sometimes (plugged into the house) it's only a 25-ish footer and when I use my generator to run it the cord is close to 100' so I can work in peace and quiet. When I use the generator it's on 240V, so the AC amps are low enough the voltage drop isn't bad. Making sure the generator's THD is important.

 

[5030]

I stick weld outdoors all the time with my Ranger engine drive because it's always for a customer and usually an in field repair.

Far as extension cords are concerned, I use an 'extension cord' with all my 220 welders to gain access room but my 'extension cord' I made up myself using copper stranded neoprene sheathed welding cable. It's 15 feet long, heavy and very suitable for heavy amperage draw and it's for 220-1 only. I'd not trust a commercially available extension cord for heavy draw 110 use unless it was specifically rated for that use and most are not. In my situation, I've never used any generator to power any welding machine and my Ranger engine drive has it's own built in 110-220 generator function and outlets that I can power my grinders or needle scalers with.

 

[5030]

Hard to beat the HF Titanium series welders, not only for price, but guarantee as well and keep in mind they are all IGBT machines so they are extremely efficient as far as electricity usage is concerned. If you want the exact specs on any of them (current requirements, duty cycle or general specs, just use your browser and load up the HF website, type in 'Titanium welders' and visit the specific page and click on the specifications and they will load up. You can also download the users manual (PDF) and all the specifications will be listed there as well.

 

[2manyrocks]

I could see wanting a very heavy duty extension cord to get the welder out of a residential garage in good weather days to reduce the fire hazard. But I can also see some HOA or whatever not being happy about it, too. Throwing sparks on a car parked in the driveway or into dry mulch in the yard might not be good, either.

 

[chim]

I made 10ga cord extensions with "clothes dryer" plugs and caps. Connected to our sources - both house and generator power - of 240VAC, the voltage at the far end is still over 230VAC at full load of 22A for the stick welder, 21A for the Miller 175A MIG and even less for the Hypertherm 30Air plasma cutter.

Of course the only one of them that gets extensions on the business end is the stick welder. I made up 2/0 welding cable extensions with Dinse ends for those times when the 10' factory-provided leads don't reach. Unless it's a small project on the table I frequently use the extensions just to make sure I don't need to move the machine around.

It'd be neat to have a 1 ton weld truck set up with an autocrane, Miller Bobcat, Hypertherm Powermax 65, yada yada, but I'm a Harry Homeowner / tractor user / tinkerer and the equipment I have exceeds any of my needs. But don't mention that to Wifey

EDIT TO ADD: I couldn't survive in an HOA community. HOA Representative Brenda Busybody certainly wouldn't like my response to any of their recommendations.

 

[rangerfredbob]

The old standard for stick welding was 1/8" and is my go to but for your use I would switch to 3/32" rod for less amps and might be more forgiving as it would take less amps.