Review of $57 stick welder

[Gold5one]

I purchased a reconditioned Campbell Hausfeld 70 amp stick welder last week from the CPO outlet store- it's a 115volt welder. you need a 20 amp circuit/breaker to operate it- and good voltage. I have about 125 volts on my outlet straight off the panel, so voltage drop is not a problem for me. If you have only 117 volts, then you will need a #10 drop cord if you go over about 15ft. Low voltage will drop your arc voltage and in turn make it very hard to strike an arc and keep a good puddle.
I am using this welder to convert a Harbor Freight 40x48 trailer to a boat trailer- the steel channel is just under 1/8" steel, which is the maximum thickness this welder can handle. You can't weld two pieces of 3/16" steel, but you might be able to weld a piece of 12ga steel onto 3/16", if it is clean and the ground is good.
So far, I am liking this welder a lot. It's well worth the $57.59 (on sale)that I paid for it. I started welding in high school and on the farm, then I welded quite a bit as a construction electrician- of course my eyes were a lot better 50 years ago.
Rods- you have 2 sizes, 1/16" and 5/64" and two current settings- low and high= use low for 1/16" and high for 5/64". I purchased my rods at Rural King- Hobart brand for about $8 a package- they make a special rod called US Forge Eazy Strike, that is easier to get an arc started- you can find them on Amazon. I use 6013 rods, it's always been a favorite of mine for projects and repairs.
Position is very critical for this welder. For the best results the work needs to be flat, with vertical welding (down) my 2nd choice. Forget about overhead welding, I doubt you will be able to keep an arc going.
Duty cycle- do not abuse this welder, it won't take it. I burn 2 rods and then take a 10-15 minute break. It has an overload warning lamp, but why push it. I want to build a welder stand with small 115v muffin cooling fan under the welder, which should prevent any welder damage.
For someone like me who is only doing repairs and modifications, this welder fits the bill. Of course a 180amp buzz box would work better, but then it takes 230v power and I can't take it with me for mobile repairs. My wife hates big noisy tools- they scare her , this welder looks safe to her.( and it was cheap)

-

[Gold5one]

Here is the link - shipping was under $10- after I bought it, they sent me a free shipping offer in my email- so sign up first- factory direct is cheaper than Amazon
http://www.reconditionedtools.com/factory-reconditioned-campbell-hausfeld-ws0900-70-amp-arc-welder/cbhrws090001rb,default,pd.html?start=4&q=welder
I put the trailer on it's side to get the best weld on the angle overlap. Get an old bed frame to practice on- grind off the enamel paint first before you weld.
use Eazy Strike rods if you have no welding experience, then you can go to regular rods. Cut the tip off of a used rod, if you have trouble getting a spark. watch a lot of youTube welding videos!
Hood- it comes with a handheld welding glass- which works for me, but for a newbie go buy a self darkening hood at Tractor Supply or Harbor freight.
I prefer the 5/64" rod on high setting. The 1/16" rod seems more suitable for lighter gauge material and it burns down fast, so rod control is more difficult.
Welding under palm trees is a bonus-
Mark

[Dale M.]

I don't want to rain on your parade.... But if one is going to get a welder at least get a 140 amp and for ease of use get a MIG.... Anything less for heat will leave you wanting.....

I have Hobart Handler 140 (120 volt) and already have found it wanting, as you start projects they seem to get bigger, and if you turn up all the heat you have and its not enough, you will regret purchase.... Conventional wisdom is buy a bigger welder and you can always turn down the heat... The small 70 amp buzz box will struggle to do 1/8 inch material and that is about minimum size most use for trailer frames... About all it is really good for is light materials like car body panels and sheet metal...

After using MIG, I would never go back to stick....

If one wants small welder this would be minimum I would get...

http://www.hobartweldshop.com/servlet/t ... ler/Detail

This would be better...

http://www.hobartweldshop.com/servlet/t ... ers/Detail

Dale

[Gold5one]

Thank you for your obvious insight- I have read the reviews on that welder and guess what?- someone always claims their $1000 Acme welder is soo much better.
Of course this welder is limited in it's scope, but so far it is doing much better than I expected. I have no desire to buy a $500 welder to build a $500 trailer frame- The purpose of this review was to show what a 70 amp welder can do, not compare it to a more expensive mig welder.
This welder does not struggle to weld this 1/8" material- at least with my skill ability, I see no problems. Getting the arc started is a little touchy, but this welder has nothing in it to break, as long as it is used within it's design parameters.
Added:
-a 5/64" welding rod will run a bead up to about 2" long, which means this welder is for repairs, modifications and small projects- but if I claimed it was too small to weld the tube steel on 24ft geodesic dome, someone would prove me wrong. One aspect of this welder is better than a mig- I have a clear view of the weld and puddle vs, on a mig the nozzle blocks your view in many instances.

[Gold5one]

I had a job last year for a Westinghouse company that does pipe welding in nuclear plants. They hired me as a welder tech to maintain the mig welders, welding heads and correct equipment issues that affected the weld. The welders just punch in the the weld recipe the engineer provided, start the arc and watch the puddle on closed circuit TV cameras. I tried it on a test piece of 24" pipe- even I could do it. Concentration is the key- and not getting drowsy. The welds on a big steam generator pipe might take 72 continuous hours of welding to complete. ( its a 500 amp welder)
Here is the Diametrics welder- they only cost $75k each.

[Gold5one]

Any 115 volt welder has to follow ohms law. Well, can a 115 volt mig welder really put out 140 amps?- Maybe it's just a marketing gimmick, because the total heat (watts) is the same as my 70 amp stick welder-assuming the circuit beaker is the same 20 amps, which the Hobart manual says it is.
Amps x voltage= power
20amps x 115v= 2300 watts of heat. The transformer in the small migs has a higher winding ratio to generate more amps by using a lower arc voltage to do it. However, the watts of heat applied to the weld would be no more than the inexpensive 70amp stick welder (which has a higher arc voltage) You would need a 230 volt welder or a 115 volt welder that uses a 30 amp circuit to gain any functional ability to weld 1/4" steel. The 140 amp rating is really the dead short amps, which isn't the actual useful amps that you weld with- it's probably closer to 90 amps, but again the watts (heat) is the same. The wire welder just makes it easier to add more passes to compensate for the limited penetration.
In summary- all 115 volt welders basically have the same penetration limitations -

[Shadow Catcher]

As some one who spent most of my career doing weld inspection on everything from the space shuttle to carnival rides and including some of that big power piping, if you do not have experience welding, do NOT try and weld anything critical that can get you or some one else killed, like a trailer. I have seen so many welds from even certified welders that were utter garbage...
I do not do my own welding it is just not worth the risk.

[Redneck Teepee]

As some one who spent most of my career doing weld inspection on everything from the space shuttle to carnival rides and including some of that big power piping, if you do not have experience welding, do NOT try and weld anything critical that can get you or some one else killed, like a trailer. I have seen so many welds from even certified welders that were utter garbage...
I do not do my own welding it is just not worth the risk.

As a former certified welder from kids go-karts all the way to nuclear power plants, I will second this with emphasis on the safety factor.

Little welders have very limited uses, not that they don't have a place or use, they just aren't made for welding anything structural (such as a trailer frame) that's going to be subjected to normal towing abuses. First and foremost, it must be safe, safe for you and everyone on the road.

[Gold5one]

As some one who spent most of my career doing weld inspection on everything from the space shuttle to carnival rides and including some of that big power piping, if you do not have experience welding, do NOT try and weld anything critical that can get you or some one else killed, like a trailer. I have seen so many welds from even certified welders that were utter garbage...
I do not do my own welding it is just not worth the risk.

25 years ago I watched a mechanic weld a trailer hitch to the frame of a full size GM sedan- I really wanted to say something about how bad the weld appeared, but he was a friend and the customer was present. Afterwards, he said he had welded plenty of hitches and none of them had failed. Remember, a professional ( someone who gets paid for his work) wants to get the job done asap= time is money. As an inspector, you know a bad weld when you see it- the man who paid my mechanic friend had no clue his $20 hitch weld was a poor job.

[Dale M.]

As some one who spent most of my career doing weld inspection on everything from the space shuttle to carnival rides and including some of that big power piping, if you do not have experience welding, do NOT try and weld anything critical that can get you or some one else killed, like a trailer. I have seen so many welds from even certified welders that were utter garbage...
I do not do my own welding it is just not worth the risk.

25 years ago I watched a mechanic weld a trailer hitch to the frame of a full size GM sedan- I really wanted to say something about how bad the weld appeared, but he was a friend and the customer was present. Afterwards, he said he had welded plenty of hitches and none of them had failed. Remember, a professional ( someone who gets paid for his work) wants to get the job done asap= time is money. As an inspector, you know a bad weld when you see it- the man who paid my mechanic friend had no clue his $20 hitch weld was a poor job.

And there in lies the problem.......

You glowing report on the virtues of the undernourished little buzz box will give the beginning welder a false sense of security and get him into trouble....

Dale

[Gold5one]

I wish I had this welder when I was a teenager in the 60's on my dad's farm- the stuff I could have built with it.
Well the 50% off sale is over- the price on this welder is now over $100 again.
It's a sleeper of a welder- if you have the skill to use it correctly and keep it within it's design parameters.
I once owned a Volksplane- never an issue with it- keep the speed up on landing- don't take off and then do a banking turn until you have an extra 10 mph of airspeed- watch out for those down wind turns- you can stall out sooner than you think. I never had any problems, but others did and crashed that design.

[Gold5one]

Dale, the point was- paying for a welding job is no guarantee of getting a good job. I worked a few seasons as an RV tech- believe it or not- the average customer has no clue if the tech did a good job or it was crappy work, but they paid $120/hr for it.
I never suggested this was a good welder for a beginner- it's not. I doubt a beginner could easily learn how to weld on this little box. Newbies, need to do what I did when I was 15- take welding classes and then I took more classes in my electrician apprenticeship. Cut the welds apart, bend them until they break- learn what a good weld looks like- how to prep the work, what rods and steel to use for a project. It's all very complicated. I suspect that is why so many of these welders get returned- failure to launch syndrome for the hobbyist.

[Gold5one]

So a trailer frame can't be built using a 70 amp buzz box? I never suggested it could.
That one little weld in the picture is better than any of the factory welds on the new HF 4'x8' trailer that I assembled. The rules are different in China for welding I guess. I plan on beefing that hitch area up before I start on my build.
I watched a newbie on YouTube weld with this welder- he actually wasn't doing too bad of a job. Maybe a new lad could wrangle a weld out of this little box. Those eazy strike rods do help shorten the learning curve on striking an arc.

[Gold5one]

You glowing report on the virtues of the undernourished little buzz box will give the beginning welder a false sense of security and get him into trouble....Dale

hahaha- you're full of it. I gave a positive review- based on the results I obtained. Glowing?- that's a stretch.
I wonder how many who claim to be experienced welders can stick weld at 70 amps, let alone a new welder. You may not like my results, but they are valid results. As they say- user results may vary. Lots of substantial projects have been done with 115v wire welders- it's even easier if they are the more expensive DC versions. Those welders have basically the same wattage at the weld as this welder- it all comes down to skill. Those who can muster the skill can weld with this welder- the rest can be forum welding inspectors.
I like debates, however, conjecture and personal opinion, that lack any facts to back them up, are not worth my time to reply to anymore.
I'll keep adding more to this topic as I complete future projects with this welder.