Thread: good arc welder for a novice

Originally Posted by brettule

I want to buy a decent arc welder for home use. From what I understand the cheapo units won't do me any favours but if I'm willing to part with a little cash there are some decent units which are a pleasure to use. Can anyone recommend make/models I should look at which would suit a novice looking to do basic jobs at home? I don't have a lot of space either so I'd prefer the smaller units too.

As recommended many times on this forum - BOC Smootharc MMA 130 - I haven't checked the price lately, but it's somewhere around the $300 mark.

Originally Posted by RustyArc

As recommended many times on this forum - BOC Smootharc MMA 130 - I haven't checked the price lately, but it's somewhere around the $300 mark.

Couldn't do a whole lot better, except maybe a 160-170A version if you have the need and the 15A services required.
A decent stick welder will cover most situations that the home user will face.

After having a buzzbox for a lot of years I got a Unimig 170A DC inverter with tig function too. I became a better stick welder overnight.

The delight hasn't worn off yet, and renewed my interest in stick welding. Got mine for $400 but I've seen them as low as $300. These are the cheap welders and I'm impressed. Can't imagine what the machines costing around $1K will be like.

Keith.

I've been using an italian made telwin for years, it's a simple transformer type with a 10amp plug

GMC sold these, it would be safe to buy a used one, there isn't much in these that will fail, they don't have any transistors or capacitors

These are much cheaper than the brand name inverter welders

Hi all,I asked the same question recently and after advise I purchased a BOC Smootharc MMA130 and am very happy with it. I haven't struck an arc for many years and then it was very basic and haphazard I plugged in the smootharc and struck an arc instantly and proceeded to weld up a rack for the back of the ute and all went well straight off. The welder cost me $208.00 at BOC Sunshine coast.
Regards Rod.

Originally Posted by Rod Gilbert

The welder cost me $208.00

That sounds like a good price, I can't find it for under $300. Was it a sale you got it at? Can anyone point me to the best price for this unit at the moment?

I was talking to my friendly welder repair shop the other day and he was saying to stay well away from the cigweld inverters. He has seen large numbers that fail just out of warranty and are not worth repairing. The occasional one seems to go forever. One of the local fabrication companies runs them and as soon as they fail, it's a one way trip into the rubbish skip.

Originally Posted by brettule

That sounds like a good price, I can't find it for under $300. Was it a sale you got it at? Can anyone point me to the best price for this unit at the moment?

I stumbled across this site while researching what would be a good inexpensive welder for a beginner. I read lots of positive comment re the BOC SmoothARC 130, so I bought one. I got mine from Astill Welding Narromine. I'm more than happy with it - but as a novice my opinion is of limited worth :P . I've just pulled out the receipt - 6 months ago it cost me $235 shipped to Lismore in northern NSW, shipping was $20.48. Just had a look at their site and its currently $235 without shipping. Dunno what shipping would be, Melbourne's probably a similar distance from Sydney to Lismore. So thats maybe a starting price for you. If you are just starting out like me you still need to buy all the other kit; rods, mask, gloves, hammer etc, so maybe you could do better locally getting it all from one shop?

Good luck with you welding adventures.
Marty.

I have Ryobi 170i for sale. It is the copper wound transformer type with upgraded earth and work leads (heavier and longer cables than original. Its 10 years old and made in Europe and would make for a great first arc welding machine. I can give you more info if interested and if in Melbourne can arrange a test drive.

Originally Posted by noeyedeer

I stumbled across this site while researching what would be a good inexpensive welder for a beginner. I read lots of positive comment re the BOC SmoothARC 130, so I bought one. I got mine from Astill Welding Narromine. I'm more than happy with it - but as a novice my opinion is of limited worth :P . I've just pulled out the receipt - 6 months ago it cost me $235 shipped to Lismore in northern NSW, shipping was $20.48. Just had a look at their site and its currently $235 without shipping. Dunno what shipping would be, Melbourne's probably a similar distance from Sydney to Lismore. So thats maybe a starting price for you. If you are just starting out like me you still need to buy all the other kit; rods, mask, gloves, hammer etc, so maybe you could do better locally getting it all from one shop?

Good luck with you welding adventures.
Marty.

You got it cheap. I bought mine from Lismore BOC for $370 a couple of years ago now. I haven't checked recent prices on this machine, however, it's a brilliant welder for around the $300 price point.
I literally can't kill mine. 6011, 6012, 6013, 7014, 7016 & 7018 all run smooth and easy. I've spent many (entire) days welding at 100+ amps and have never ever tripped the thermal safety.
I would never hesitate purchasing another BOC machine.

Anyone tried the TIG function of their BOC Smootharc???

Originally Posted by Karl Robbers

I was talking to my friendly welder repair shop the other day and he was saying to stay well away from the cigweld inverters. He has seen large numbers that fail just out of warranty and are not worth repairing. The occasional one seems to go forever. One of the local fabrication companies runs them and as soon as they fail, it's a one way trip into the rubbish skip.

Just a note on Cigweld inverters I have had a 160 amp inverter welder for about 7 years but it wasnt cheap cost about $1100 dollars from memory but it has done just about most things in that time and I havent been able to fault it touch wood.I have welded hard facing,low hydogen,stainless as well as a lot of fabrication work a lot of it driven by a 8kva gen set on site and no problems but however there is a cheaper version that looks identical that sells for round about $300 to $400 dollars. I was working for a bloke using one of these welders it was brand new and I actually thought it was exactly the same as mine except for the price till I happened to look on the back of the welder and saw what the duty cycle was.Mine is 60% at 160 amps the cheaper version was more like 35% at the same amps.I was wondering perhaps the cheaper versions may be the ones that have a problem more so then the heavy duty ones similiar to what I have as last time I looked you can still buy the two welders at the similiar prices the only difference as far as I can see is the duty cycle.