I saw an item on marketplace that intrigued me.  A handheld, portable stick welder.  I googled it, and found it on sale for 70 bucks at a popular online retailer.  I ante'd up my 70 bucks, betting it might just work.

It plugs into a 110v outlet and is supposed to be capable of up to 130 amps, 1/8" rod or smaller.  It really does sound like a hair dryer on low when it turns on.  The unit has cooling fans in it, drawing air from the rear, through it to the front.  I cleaned up the edges of a couple pieces of 1/8" scrap steel.  Then I gave it a shot at a butt weld.  Mind you, I have not tried to stick weld in 35 years or more, and I was pretty bad at it then.

Just as a reminder that it's perfectly acceptable to name companies, websites, brand names, and even item numbers. The IFI terms of service only forbid live links to commercial websites.

Yes, I know.  But also I am mindful that some here don't like this particular one.   Thanks John.

Don't like which Lee, the company or welder? There are still enough people subbed to Iforge there will be someone who doesn't like virtually anything posted.

When those little hand held stick welders first hit the market a lot of them were junk, it seems they're becoming more reliable and kind of tempting to pack in the RV tool box just in case.

Tell us about it. Is it DC, straight/reverse. AC, both . . . or?

Discussing this sort of tool is one of the things we do here. If someone gives you crap, let me know I'll glare at them.

Frosty The Lucky.

The large river in South America, as it is sometimes referred to here.  It is a straight DC welder.  So far, I like it.  The other day I started welding a half finished plant holder project.  Opening a whole new world of joining possibilities for me.  The model is simply Arc 130, easy to find.

I believe saying you got it on Amazon isn't a violation. Just don't link to the site or the page you ordered it from. It shouldn't take long to know if I'm mistaken about the rules or missed a detail. 

What is the "duty cycle" of this welder? That's how long you can lay a bead without letting it cool down. It's "usually" expressed as a % of a given time, minute, hour, or?

Frosty The Lucky.

It says that it has a 60% duty cycle, 6 minutes of 10.  Has high temp warning and overtemp shutdown.

A quick search of Amazon yields the "GZ GUOZHI Welding Machine Handheld, 110V 130Amp Portable ARC Welder Hand Held Welder Machine, Digital Display IGBT Inverter with Welding Tool Set and Toolbox" for $69.99.

55 minutes ago, Frosty said:

I believe saying you got it on Amazon isn't a violation. Just don't link to the site or the page you ordered it from. It shouldn't take long to know if I'm mistaken about the rules or missed a detail. 

No, that's all exactly correct. 

That's the one.  I think that a HF 110v spot welder will be the next acquisition.

Another thing I forgot to mention.  I am running it off my inverter in my partially solar powered shop.

 

For the record naming brands helps us all know what to buy and what to avoid.

I'll keep this updated with what I am able to accomplish with it.

Okay, for a sort of silly example. "I bought a set of Ford hubcaps on Amazon for a great price! Woo HOO!"

What you bought and where you found it but no links phone numbers, advertisements, no problem.

I'm off to Wally world in a minute, I'll let you know if I found a bathroom scale I like but I won't bore you with my grocery list.  

Frosty The Lucky.

3 hours ago, JHCC said:

Welder Machine, Digital Display IGBT Inverter

3 hours ago, LeeJustice said:

I am running it off my inverter in my partially solar powered shop.

You're running an inverter off an inverter? 

So, double inversion makes it right-side-up!

 

Sunday I fixed a couple of tomato cages that had defective welds from the factory.  I think that this welder is capable, more so than I am.  I used 1/16" 7014 rod to weld them up, set it to 50-60 amps..  The thinner gauge really gave me some trouble, no pics of that mess.

 

Behold the Zucchini ladder!  I don't like my Zucchini plants lying on the ground, and the option of tying them to a stake seems too sketchy for me.  I dreamed up this angled ladder for the plant to grow onto.  For size reference, the longest crossmember measures 16 inches.  This post is here because I used that welder to make this.  The steel is 1/4", maybe 5/16" dia.

 

Do zukes like climbing? I have some old bent up ranch panel fencing that would work for that sort of thing. 

Looks welded to me, from here. You'll let us know how it works when you harvest? Sure beats slitting drifting and tenoning the joints.

Frosty The Lucky. 

 

I don't know that they like it, but I don't like them on the ground.  It should benefit them from getting more air circulation and keep them drier, so that they don't get some kind of mildew or rot.  I expect I will have to train or encourage them to grow onto it.  I have plenty of places to tie off.  Yes, I will give an update.

Seems to me that would be a pretty good tool to have in the shop. The whole reason i bought my stick welder is to tack things i am working or things like forge welding. I can not do a drop tong weld to save my life, so i just tack the parts together first. And like you have done small repairs around the house. 

I really do not like Amazon or wally world. But i do and will order from them becuase sometimes that is the best way. 

It has been pretty good so far, ultra portable.

That is cool as hell How did I miss this? Did it hold up through the season? I've been thinking about swapping a quarter panel on my old Dodge and this would work great for that. I've been living with a giant "horse kick" dent for 10 years and was starting to think about doing the repair with pop rivets and panel adhesive.

I know the one about climbing - zucchini tend to trail out, but they have varieties that "climb" better than others. They won't generally grow up on their own, but once they're encouraged by hanging the vines over or tying them up the plants tend to thrive off the ground. You get less rot for sure. The biggest problem was if it gets too heavy without support then the stem will break off; you can't just let it go without checking once in awhile.  I've made trellises for them out of metal fence stakes and box wire. Come down at the end of the season like tomato cages.