Small inverter welders

1894 Views 7 Replies 5 Participants Last post by kbenz, 8 mo ago

JesseA

Discussion Starter · Feb 12, 2022

I’m currently looking to add to my (small) fleet of welding equipment.
I’m looking to add a small electric stick machine for general use around the house and will mostly get used for small projects since that’s all I really do anymore.
Big ones will be relegated to my 350Amp miller portable and the Ln25.
I’m looking for something that will run be happy running 80-125 amps stick welding 3/32&1/8 E7018 and 1/8 E6010/6011, not die in 2 years and not be on the duty cycle every 7 minutes
Im looking at 3 primary options
*Hobart Stickmate 160i
*Forney Easyweld 180
*HF Vulcan Commander 225

Has anyone here got one of these?
online reviews are all either “it’s great!!!!1” or “ this thing is a heap of garbage” with nothing in the middle.

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OscarJr

· #2 · Feb 12, 2022

not open to other suggestions?

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JesseA

Discussion Starter · #3 · Feb 13, 2022

sure. I’d take other suggestions. Mainly I was interested in those three because tsc and hf are close by.
I’d prefer to have a dinosaur transformer welder that’s older than I am and will last another 80 years but those aren’t in the budget.

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OscarJr

· #4 · Feb 13, 2022

I'm just a garage hobbyist, but I have been a long time supporter of HTP (un-sponsored I might add!) They just came out with a nice dual-voltage lunchbox welder the Inverarc 160 Plus that is made in the same factory as some Esab stuff as I've come to learn. The duty cylcle is really good, and it's built like a tank. Nearly all heat-sink inside. The customer support I receive is the reason I support their products from way over here in Texas.

Large fan for the case size, and nearly all aluminum heat sink inside.

It can even run Lincoln 5P+ and 6P+ E6010s. There's some other 6010s it won't run (Blue Demon, Böhler, Best Welds), but don't matter too much as Lincoln is pretty much the gold standard IMO for SMAW rods.

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