How to choose a welding machine for home and garden

Welding equipment of different types is designed to work with metal blanks and are required for construction, overhaul of a house, apartment or car. In the absence of experience in using this kind of equipment, it is difficult to understand how to choose a good welding machine for your home or summer cottage yourself.

When there is a desire to master the skill of welding, you can purchase a suitable model based on the opinions of professional craftsmen. Useful advice from our experts reveals the essence of all the main technical characteristics of highly specialized equipment, which helps to determine which welding machine to buy for your household needs.

Types of welding machines by type of supply

Welding machines are divided into several types, each of which implies a certain range of available jobs, and differs in parameters. Welding in domestic or industrial conditions is performed by the following types of equipment:

• Inverter welding machines designed for manual arc welding of MMA and are widely used for working with ferrous metals. For devices of this type, the quality of the seam will directly depend on the experience of the master and the setting of the equipment. Stick electrodes are consumables. MMA is considered a fairly simple mode; in most cases, such units are used for domestic purposes.
• Welding semiautomatic devices with the MIG / MAG welding type are used for welding ferrous and non-ferrous metals, alloy steel. Under the influence of current and oxygen, the wire melts, filling the seam. When deciding which semiautomatic welding machine to choose for working with aluminum, pay attention to the availability of specialized Pulse MIG and Double Pulse MIG modes. There are units that combine the function of argon-arc welding. Semi-automatic machines are professional equipment with simple operation, they are suitable for beginners and professionals in welding.
• Welding rectifier works in MMADC mode, in other words - converts alternating currents into direct ones. These devices perfectly cope with welding of aluminum, stainless or carbon steel, cast iron.
• Welding transformer widely used for welding carbon steel, when there are no increased requirements for the quality of the seams. The units are quite reliable and efficient, and differ in relatively low cost. This technique is often chosen when you need to buy an inexpensive but good welder. Among the minuses, one can note the large weight and the presence of certain skills in working with these devices.

When deciding which welding machine is better to choose for home or garage work, you should take a closer look at inverters and semiautomatic devices. For specialized activities, the specifics of the work will be the determining factor: types of materials to be welded, working conditions, requirements for the quality of seams and financial capabilities.

Choosing a welding machine - the main criteria

Welding equipment is not classified as household or professional. For home use or periodic work on a personal plot, low and medium power devices that operate from a 220 V network are chosen.Also, when buying, you must take into account a number of factors:

• climatic operating conditions
• Ease of use
• functional
• dimensions and weight of the device
• Energy consumption

In addition, the proposed types of work should be determined, the general operating conditions and the reliability of the power grid should be evaluated.

Models for professional activities are chosen according to the type of welding, the expected quality of the seam. Production conditions, as a rule, allow the use of three-phase models, large-sized units.

Current type

Most welders operate on DC and AC current, but some of them convert it to high frequency current. Welding with direct current allows you to achieve thin, even seams, which is important for decorative work.

For equipment such as MMA, TIG or MIG / MAG, direct current is characteristic. AC welding is available in TIG AD / CD (DC-AC) combination machines. The alternating current promotes high-quality welding of aluminum, it perfectly heats refractory oxide films. High-frequency currents are typical for plasma cutting welding machines.

Maximum welding current

One of the key factors determining the capabilities of this type of equipment is the maximum welding current. High amperage affects the thickness of metal workpieces that can be welded.

For household tasks, an inverter or transformer-type welding machine for 160 A - 200 A is more than enough; such units easily melt electrodes with diameters of 3 - 4 mm. Choosing a semiautomatic device for a home or a summer residence, you can choose a model with a value up to 180 A inclusive.

It is better when the device has a smooth regulation of currents, such a unit is suitable for summer cottages, body repairs or professional activities. Setting the parameters will allow you to more accurately adjust the equipment for a specific type of work, due to which the quality and aesthetics of the seams will be at their best.

For a clearer picture, we will give an example of how to calculate the current reserve. For welding 1 mm of metal thickness, about 20 A is used. Accordingly, a current of 100 A will be quite enough for metal about 5 mm thick. In order not to overload the unit, it is better to buy it with a current margin of 30%.

Working voltage

The operating voltage of the welding machine is always indicated in a certain range. If the mains voltage regularly drops within wide limits, the operating voltage range should be larger. Models with a voltage of 215 - 225 V or 375 - 385 V can be used in ideal conditions, where the network is stable at any time of the day, which is quite rare in practice. A convenient range is 140-250 V.

Power

Power consumption plays a decisive role when choosing a welding machine for home, summer cottage or work in the garage. If in industrial conditions the power grids are designed for high loads, then the wiring in apartment buildings limits the maximum load per outlet - up to 6 kW. Good, in terms of power, welding machines can withstand a large load and are less prone to overheating.

You should also pay attention to the number of power phases: 1 phase - 220 V, 3 phases - 380 W. In most cases, devices with a power of 5 kW and above work only from a 380 V network, but there are also combined models.

Open circuit voltage

The higher the idle voltage, the easier the arc forms. Regulatory documents limit the limits for DC and AC currents - 100 V and 80 V. When buying a welding machine, you can focus on these data as maximum. Models with a higher indicator should not be purchased, their use can be harmful to health.

Duration of on time

The maximum duration of the on time (PV) is indicated as a percentage relative to 10 minutes: 80% - 8 minutes of work and 2 minutes of break, 70% - 7 minutes of work and 3 minutes of break. This indicator determines the performance, the higher the percentage, the longer you can use the unit before it is overloaded. When choosing a good model of a welding inverter, you should give preference to devices with a certain supply of PV, otherwise the device will regularly “go to the defense”.

Operating temperature range

Each manufacturer sets its own temperature limits in which it is permissible to use that other unit. Before purchasing a welder, evaluate the conditions under which it will be used: winter or summer, in a heated room or in a cold garage. Particular attention should be paid to the minimum value, not all welding machines are capable of functioning even at zero air temperature. The limit, as a rule, does not exceed 40 ° C.

Protection class

Welding machines have their own classification of mechanism protection: IP21 or IP23. number 2 means that the case is protected from mechanical contamination, more than 1.2 cm in size, while fine dust easily gets through the ventilation holes. The second number indicates the degree of protection against moisture: 1 - the device is protected from vertical drops of water, 3 indicates protection from rain drops falling at an angle of 60 °. Please note that it is prohibited to operate the welding equipment in the rain.

Functions that might be useful

Additional functionality improves the quality of welds and usability. Some manufacturers are trying to position the base option as a unique equipment: arc afterburner, anti-sticking, hot start, “uphill” ignition, however, please note that these functions are present.

A high-quality welding machine has other useful options:

• overload protection
• indication of operating parameters
• smooth regulation of currents
• installation of additional nodes that expand the capabilities of the equipment
• the ability to connect to a household gas generator

Which company is the best welding machine to buy

Experienced craftsmen often write reviews on the forums about various brands of welding machines. Responsible manufacturers always provide the buyer with a detailed user manual in Russian, where all the key and additional technical characteristics are indicated. Products of a good brand always correspond to the declared parameters, and in terms of reliability they surpass the models of dubious firms by an order of magnitude. In addition, companies that take care of their customers provide an extensive network of service centers and spare parts availability.

High-quality units with a good price-quality ratio are offered by the leaders in the production of welding equipment. Among the well-known companies, it is worth noting the best manufacturers of welding machines:

• Resanta
• Fubag
• BlueWeld
• Aurora
• Cedar

How to choose a welding machine

Choosing a welding machine for home and summer cottages is always beneficial, because the owner will use it at any convenient time without spending money on welder services. The recommendations of our experts on how to choose a welding machine for home use will help you understand the types of welders and their technical features. With proper skill, using this unit, you can install a reliable fence in the country, repair a car or make decorative elements for a personal plot.