All welding machines can be classified into two groups: electric and gas. Since we are talking about choosing a welding machine for home, we will not consider gas equipment that cannot be stored at home, and the safety of its use is much lower than that of electrical analogues.
Types of welding machines
All welding machines can be classified into two groups: electric and gas. Since we are talking about choosing a welding machine for home, we will not consider gas equipment that cannot be stored at home, and the safety of its use is much lower than that of electrical analogues.Types of welding machines
Two types of equipment are found among electric arc welding machines: semi-automatic machines, in which welding is carried out by wire, and DC and AC welding machines that work with electrodes, inverters are also referred to here. There are also combined semiautomatic devices, with which you can work with both wire and electrodes.
Each of the above types of machines allows you to perform a welding seam of high strength, especially if they are used by an experienced welder. If you still do not have much experience in the welding craft, then it would be wise to give preference to a semiautomatic device. When working with a correctly tuned tool, the arc ignites in automatic mode, while there is practically no metal spray. The design of the equipment directly affects the quality of its settings..
Today in the market you can see a wide range of welding equipment. If you want to choose a welding machine for the home, it is important to decide whether its type is necessary: household or amateur. Their main differences are maximum power, reliability and price. When choosing equipment for home use, it is important to pay attention to some characteristics. Let’s consider them in more detail..
Getting to the Choice
It is best that the semiautomatic transformer cooling is dispensed with without a fan, i.e. natural method. If you want the best welding quality, try to buy a device with a large battery capacity and a powerful inductor.
If the equipment is equipped with an electronic brake that stops the wire feed when the welding machine is turned off, then it will not be necessary to constantly bite off the excess wire.
Pay special attention to the quality of the wire feed unit: the smoother the wire feed, the less spatter will form during operation. It’s best if the broach unit is made in Germany..
Now about the spark arrestor. It should completely eliminate the occurrence of sparks when the semiautomatic device is in the off state. Its purpose is to remove the residual charge from the tank.
If you plan to use a semiautomatic device with flux-cored wire, then you will not need anything else besides it. Otherwise, you will have to purchase a gearbox and a carbon dioxide cylinder. When welding, carbon dioxide should be minimally fed to one or two divisions of the pressure sensor.
Advantages of inverter welding machines
Inverter welding machines have several advantages. First of all, inverters are characterized by output currents ideal for welding, and besides, it can be adjusted in a wide range.
The efficiency of the inverter system is more than 90%, since there are practically no internal inductive losses. This allows you to halve the cost of electricity compared with similar transformer devices in terms of arc power. When choosing a welding machine for the home, the power consumption quite often acts as a priority indicator.
Other important characteristics when choosing welding for a home are its weight and dimensions. Most often, the inverter weighs no more than ten kilograms, so it is convenient to transport and carry, and besides, it does not require a lot of space.
The main and main disadvantage of inverters is the high price compared to conventional welding machines. In addition, they are more demanding on the quality of the electrical network – if the voltage is too small, the high-frequency converter of the equipment simply will not start. This, in turn, somewhat limits their use: not in every locality the electric grid has a stable voltage, especially this is unusual for rural areas. If you decide choose a welding machine for home, it would be wise to pay attention to its adaptation to Ukrainian conditions.
As a rule, it will be enough for a house to use a 160A inverter, since devices with a current strength of 200A are already professional and they cost much more.
