does anyone have any suggestions on a good/relaible stickwelder?

 

Though I don't have one...you can never go wrong with a Miller or Hobart. Much will depend on your usage. Every once in a while or on a weekly basis? Do you need portability? What power do you have available?

 

Lincoln is also a good brand. A lot depends on what you intend to weld. Are you looking for a little buzz box, an ac/dc welder or something in between. Would a mig or flux core welder fit the bill?

 

I've looked into Miller, and Hobart. Their a little out of my price range. Yes, I'm looking for something portable, with 110v and 220v. I'm looking to do a few repairs. I came across Longevity. Any experience with them?
Ever heard of them?
Thanks.

 

I don't know if you can get a unit that will run on both 120 and 240. The small 120 units are very portable. I still occasionally use the buzz box I bought 30 yrs ago, it was a discontinued brand. The small units are limited on both the thickness of metal it will weld and duty cycle. A larger 240 welder can handle bigger rods and thicker metal but aren't as portable.

What kind of repairs are you needing to make?

 

Just for a little background: the Miller or Lincoln "tombstone" welders that have been mentioned are transformer type welders, meaning they have copper windings. These run off 220 volts and call for 50 amp circuits, but you can run it off your 30 amp clothes dryer circuit. (I've done this.) These are usually AC machines, but some higher end models come in both AC and DC.

The smaller, lighter 110 volt welders you've seen are inverter type welders, which use electronics instead of copper windings to create welding power. Most often these are DC welders, but some higher end models are also AC.

I have not used a Longevity machine, but I own an Everlast MIG welder that is dual voltage and it has a stick function too. I've been very pleased with the Everlast, both in MIG and stick functinos, and I've heard good things about their stick machines. They have DC stick welders that are dual voltage and that are lift-arc TIG welders too. The dual voltage machines run off a 110v wall socket (although they call for 20 amp circuits, where your typical wall socket is 15a2) and 220v. 30 amp circuits generally serve these welders well enough, too- many users (including me) use the dryer circuit at the house.

The question about "what kind of repairs" is a good one- it's VERY convenient to be able to plug a welder into a nearby wall socket. But if you're talking about powering a welder with a generator, inverters require a "clean power" generator with total harmonic distortion at 5% or less, or else you may cook the electronics. Clean power generators are generally more expensive than others.

Both Everlast and Longevity have user forums that you can join, or surf through looking for user comments about machines. Hope this helps!

 

I'm looking into repairing a few fences around my house. Longevity has a Stickwelder that is affordable. I've been looking into their company.
I think I'm going to give them a call and look at my options.

 

How heavy is the steel fence? It's easy to burn thru the metal when using an arc welder on light weight steel. How far is the fence from your power source?

 

The fence is about 1/4" thick.... Talking to the reps and welder, it looks like I can get away with the stickweld 140
STICKWELD 140 - Stick Welders (SMAW) | Longevity Global Inc

For $250 it seems like a very good option for me. One thing i was worried about was the duty cycle on a small machine, but this one has 60% on 110v and 220v which is pretty impressive. I went ahead and ordered one. I will update you guys on how she does.

 

I don't know what the duty rating is on my old buzz box but it has a similar range. It does great on small welds although 1/4" is probably the max it can reliably handle. Mine will flip the breaker if you are doing some hot and heavy welding. 220 might make your's work better but then it's not as portable. I don't know how far you need to get from your power source but you'll want a good heavy duty extension cord.