[Solved] Choosing a 230V MMA inverter welder up to PLN 500 - which one to buy?

I said goodbye to the transformer welder and I`m going to buy a 230V inverter, only MMA without TIG, etc., on a well-known website there are discounts of up to 45%, budget approx. PLN 500. Welding machine for amateur/garage purposes, thank you in advance for any advice and suggestions.

Maybe MAGNUM SNAKE 200

Hello, I recommend Dedra DESI 199BT.

And what about WELD MASTER 330A, although also with TIG, which doesn`t interest me, but the price for All... PLN 499 is quite interesting with a maximum current of 330A, if it`s not a lie? "thousands of copies sold, not a single complaint"... writes the seller
What are the advantages of the ones you offer? Probably some transistors and electrolytes used in these low-budget welders are very faulty, do you know which ones, can it be checked?

The sellers are completely blind. Buy something recommended on the forum, with a real current of about 180A. Some Dedra, Magnum or Sherman. If I were you, I would spend a little extra and buy the Bestera 170-ND. In my opinion it looks solid, requires a 16A fuse and has relatively normal length of working cables. But that`s just my humble opinion.

Michelson wrote:

If I were you, I would spend a little extra and buy the Bester 170-ND.

And isn`t max 160A too little? plus, only 16A protection, I`ve been thinking about Dedra since yesterday but I can`t find information about which ones are the least reliable. Bester has traditions, maybe that`s a big plus, but I guess it`s also Chinese now.

You`ve met MOST, I`ve had it for 5 years, no problems.

marqqv wrote:

You`ve met MOST, I`ve had it for 5 years, no problems.

Unfortunately no, I`ll read it in a moment and what specific model do you have? Max 200A and protection 16A?
Maybe someone knows what`s going on with Dedra, the manufacturer advertises a 4-year warranty, sellers give a maximum of 2 years?

16A

Added after 52 [seconds]:

I was almost there with her -)

Am I reading something wrong on this card? - 34A protection?

Come on, 16A

I would buy a welder with higher currents written on it, i.e. 300A. Unless it`s a Bester for PLN 1,200, maybe it will have the 200A as written. 160A can be welded with a maximum of 3.25 mm electrodes. If someone wants 4mm, they must have at least 180A. I bought a cheap one for PLN 330 on Allegro with the inscription 250A and it actually gives 160A and when you turn it on it burns well. The only problem is that you have to play around with it a bit to strike an arc with it. In my opinion, welding machines costing PLN 300 are not suitable for continuous use. Much more serious and expensive equipment is used for continuous operation.

MM2X wrote:

I have said goodbye to the transformer welder and I intend to buy an inverter one for 230V , only MMA without TIG, etc., On a well-known portal there are discounts of up to 45%, budget approx. 500zł. Welder for amateur/garage purposes, thanks in advance for any advice and suggestions.

Mate, 90% of welders are Chinese. For 500PLN you can buy a welder up to say 150A, and in principle it does not matter the company. What does matter is the size. I do not recommend very small ones because they are not easy to repair. On the other hand, Magnum, Sherman, Ideal, etc. are the same machine, just painted differently. I service them quite a bit and they are quite easy to repair, so I can recommend them. As far as electrical parameters are concerned, the manufacturers compete, often giving nonsense. For an amateur, any of them will be fine, especially as you are moving from a transformer. It is important that the electrodes are dry, unless, as someone wrote, when they burn out, they weld well, because they are dry.
I myself own a Spartus mig, a Tiga Trafi lux and a Magnum MMA. They all weld in the same way and the 40% duty cycle doesn't seem to bother me at all - I haven't yet stopped any of them from overheating, but I'm not a professional welder either and I still manage to weld two, sometimes three, electrodes one after the other. I also recommend an automatic visor - they have become much cheaper, and it is a great convenience.

Awyrdonyt wrote:

A colleague will point out that this welder cannot be welded continuously if the welding current exceeds 63A.

I am looking for for garage purposes , but you know you may get and bigger welding, how is it with these duty cycles refer to 1 hour of welding?
It is assumed that 50A is needed for 1 mm electrode so 63A is just for 1.5 mm electrode?

Łukasz.K wrote:

I bought some cheap one for 330zl on Allegro with the wording 250A and it actually gives 160A

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Wow this is something I hadn't considered , I'm planning 500-600£. Maybe here will be realistically what is in the description on the other hand it is impossible to check, you would have to rely on the experience of other colleagues.

grzeskk wrote:

I service them a bit and they are quite good to repair, these I can recommend.

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O super you are therefore a practitioner .

grzeskk wrote:

I am not a professional welder and still manage to weld two sometimes three electrodes one after the
the other

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These are the same needs as mine.

grzeskk wrote:

I do not recommend very small ones because they are not easily repairable.

Valuable comment, as switching from a transformer I just wanted something small and lightweight.
@grzeskk - what breaks down most often in this type of welders, yesterday I talked to a guy both he and brother-in-law bought in Castorama and he stopped adjusting the potentiometer, the one from amperage, allegedly the transistors also fall down, they have too weak heat sinks....

Quote:

For 500PLN you can buy a welder up to say 150A

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So these descriptions of 200-330A are rubbish at this price?

Power transistors and the surrounding area most often fail in welding machines. This happens because few people disassemble the welding machine and clean it inside, and conductive grinding dust collects there because the fan sucks in everything in the air.
As for potentiometers, handle them gently.
And welding machines priced around PLN 500, the Magnum type, will be good for an amateur and you should not worry about the written parameters, e.g. that above 63A, welding will have to be interrupted. These are fairy tales of people who either have not welded with such welders or very little.
Writing that the 1f welder has 300A is a big lie. They have up to about 150A, 200A can have mig or tig.

They can easily have 200A and it`s not a big deal. Mine gives 160A on C16 switches in the apartment. So for C25, how much could it be 25/16 * 160A = 250A. It`s true that I don`t weld it continuously, but I haven`t managed to turn off the C16s even once at maximum amperage, and I`ve already welded several dozen electrodes. I also welded with 4mm electrodes, although it was superficial welding, but it confirmed the 160A that I measured with an oscilloscope.
These welders should be cleaned inside every dozen or so hours of operation, especially those in which the fan operates at the volume of a vacuum cleaner and angle grinders are used to cut around the welding area.

Added after 11 [minutes]:

If you are not welding, it is also worth turning off the welder so that it does not suck dust inside.

Łukasz.K wrote:

Mine gives 160A on C16 breakers in the flat. That's on C25 how much could it have 25/16 *160A = 250A.

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This is no way to calculate. The fact that you welded on a C16 fuse means that the welder was taking current below its trip and a C25 fuse won't change anything.
The fact is that these are 1f powered units with a factory plug so suitable for 16A sockets.

What I mean is that it is possible to produce a 1f welder that will weld with a current of 250A in a 25÷60% cycle on the C25 circuit breaker, and not that the C25 switch will "strengthen" my welder.

At work I have a Magnum Snake 200s. 4 mm electrode, non-stop welding. I`ve never had it turn off. He has been working in a dusty environment for several years. No failures so far. Unfortunately, it is no longer available.

I have a Magnum 200p, over 10 years old model, still small terminals to connect the wires and only a potentiometer, used on a farm, also 95% of the electrodes are rutile 3.2 (here the current is almost always 110A) but there are 4 at a current of 180A (max is theoretically 200A) and it has never turned off when the protection is switched off and its cycle is 200A 60%, but it is measured from turning off the protection at 40*C, so when cold it is even more. There are no AS HS FA facilitators, but I compared them to the new MiG 210 Synergy Easy and whether I set FA or HS to 10 or 0, it welds in the same way as with this simple snake.
I don`t know about the security issue because I have a pre-meter 32A, then 3xtopik 25A, and in the garage 3xtopik 20A.
When I opened it, there were 6 double rectifier diodes and 6 IGBT transistors in the housing.

Awyrdonyt wrote:

If for welding, a current of 30A per 1 mm of electrode is enough

And not 50A per 1 mm?

grzeskk wrote:

Power transistors and the surrounding area most often fail in welding machines. This happens because few people disassemble the welding machine and clean it inside, and conductive grinding dust collects there because the fan sucks in everything in the air.

Well, this is a specific hint

grzeskk wrote:

Writing that the 1f welder has 300A is a big lie. They have up to about 150A, 200A can have mig or tig.

I come to the same conclusion after reading the topic for several days.

Łukasz.K wrote:

At work I have a Magnum Snake 200s. 4 mm electrode, non-stop welding.

You can find it online for about PLN 700-800, do you vacuum it often?

tesla97 wrote:

I don`t know about the security issue because I have a pre-meter 32A, then 3xtopik 25A, and in the garage 3xtopik 20A.

My problem is that there is only 16A in the garage at the end.

Awyrdonyt wrote:

The work cycle is counted in 10-minute intervals. 40% would be 4 minutes of work, 6 minutes of break.

That`s what I didn`t know.

Here is an interesting observation that some manufacturers set the duty cycle arbitrarily: https://allweld.pl/czem-jest-cykl-pracy-spawarki

freebsd wrote:

Here is an interesting observation that some manufacturers set the duty cycle arbitrarily: https://allweld.pl/czem-jest-cykl-pracy-spawarki

The Chinese do what he wants and write what he wants. These duty cycles are as reliable as Chinese 250A welders on 1f.

Anonym wrote:

welders prefer their own experiments to sound knowledge.

I will admit that I prefer the experience of practitioners.

bearq wrote:

Chinese do what they want and write what I want. These duty cycles are as reliable as a Chinese 250A welder on 1f.

If the officials didn't go after small savers but took on the mothballs then maybe the Chinese would learn to be correct.