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Is it worth buying a cheap £90 KD1879 welder? My impressions and tests

teskot 12801 67

TL;DR LABEL_AI_GENERATED

  • The KD1879 is a very cheap IGBT-330 inverter welder bought from an auction site for less than PLN90.
  • The front panel is readable and the encoder is convenient, but the internals use aluminium for the current leads and choke instead of copper.
  • A 2.5 mm electrode needed 125 A here, while the same weld on a Dedra 160A took only 70-80 A.
  • It does weld, and the unit is light and handy enough for simple fence and gate jobs.
  • Non-contact arc ignition may not work, and the much higher current setting suggests “Chinese amps.”
AI summary based on the discussion. May contain errors.
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  • #61 21434528
    ^ToM^
    Level 42  
    Posts: 9051
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    Rate: 2939
    That doesn't stop this Turkish shack from working and for domestic applications nothing better is needed. :) .
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  • #62 21435239
    Macosmail
    Level 35  
    Posts: 2862
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    endriuj23 wrote:
    Turkish junk on Chinese parts.

    Yes, but this sh*t will pay for itself in 15 minutes.
    You can always buy yourself a European no - shack, but a basic MMA is the price not 2x more, but 20-30x more. And you don't want to continue welding yourself....
    I mean a truly European design, like KEMPPI, Fronius, etc, not a well-known brand name on the casing and an interior from the far east.
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  • European welders cost 20–30x more than basic MMA units

    #63 21552408
    Strumien swiadomosci swia
    Level 43  
    Posts: 27581
    Help: 1405
    Rate: 6430
    Macosmail wrote:
    You can always buy yourself a European no - sha, but a basic MMA is the price not 2x more, but 20-30x more. And the welding itself still doesn't want to....
    I mean a truly European design, like KEMPPI, Fronius etc, not the name of a well-known brand on the housing and the interior from the far east.

    Exactly, Europe can't compete with China at a x20 discount. After 2 you can see that there is no more heavy industry in Poland like 40 years ago, where you used to combine 3 SPB315s in parallel....
  • #64 21552645
    E8600
    Level 41  
    Posts: 8984
    Help: 529
    Rate: 2520
    Gasless flickers have come down in price a lot recently, if memory serves me right, I've seen them for under PLN200. China must have produced huge quantities of these that the prices are falling so much.
  • #65 21553946
    Strumien swiadomosci swia
    Level 43  
    Posts: 27581
    Help: 1405
    Rate: 6430
    Some link to the 160 A mag.... Gas.
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  • #66 21553979
    cirrostrato
    Level 39  
    Posts: 4907
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    Rate: 958
    Strumien swiadomosci swia wrote:
    you can see that there is no heavy industry in Poland anymore like 40 years ago, where you used to connect 3 pieces of SPB315 in parallel...
    I bought SPB315 11 days before martial law, it works perfectly until today only the weight of almost 200 kg.... And then, a price of PLN34800 in the shop.
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  • Questioning cheap welder quality and copper scratching

    #67 21602010
    Dobromir pomysłowy
    Level 25  
    Posts: 995
    Help: 46
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    I understand the excitement of the price, unfortunately people (probably more so guys) buy the price. :( Unfortunately it's impossible to ban the production of crap or any other crap. I'd definitely pay a second 90 denier for a warranty, a third 90 for what I'm buying, that's only PLN270, and another for reliability, sturdiness, to outlive me, etc. I can't stand buying junk - unfortunately fraud everywhere, so thanks for this topic. And did you scratch the Cu? I had to buy urgently from the same company and took it abroad, there will be time I'll have a look and describe, PLN330 with gas and possibly a wire with powder. Nice looking but sticky. :( .
  • #68 21602154
    acctr
    Level 39  
    Posts: 4554
    Help: 389
    Rate: 2025
    Dobromir pomysłowy wrote:
    I hate buying junk - unfortunately scams everywhere
    .
    That's why nowadays you have to take your time and read reviews in various shops, post-purchase comments, etc. before buying.
    Helpful post? Buy me a coffee.
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Topic summary

LABEL_AI_GENERATED
Discussion centers on a very cheap KD1879 inverter welder advertised as 330 A, with users confirming that the real output is much lower, typically around 120–150 A, and that the displayed current is heavily overstated. The thread examines the internal construction, including minimalistic power stage, SG3525A-based control board, STM8S003 display section, undersized leads, and the need to replace aluminum cables with proper copper welding leads. Practical tests show that despite misleading specifications, the machine can still be useful for occasional home, allotment, and light fabrication work, especially after modifications or when used in parallel with another unit. The discussion also covers soft-start behavior, fuse tripping, current calibration via potentiometer, electrode size limits, and comparisons with better-known budget welders such as Spartus, Red Technic, Majster Polska, Kraft, Wuber, Dedra, Graphite, Kemppi, and Fronius.
AI summary based on the discussion. May contain errors.
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