How to choose a welding machine for the home

When the question arises of the choice of a welding machine, the eyes run up from all sorts of options and models. How to choose exactly what you need?

Let's see what's inside the welding machine. We will focus on electric welding, as there are also gas welding machines, but for home use and gardening with a cottage, it is best suited electric welding machine.

Electric welding machines are made on the basis of a step-down transformer with a broken magnetic circuit, in them the regulation of the welding current is achieved by adjusting the gap in the magnetic core of the transformer. There are transformers with numerous taps in the secondary or, conversely, in the primary winding, and transformers with additional chokes and rheostats.

Another class of electric welding machines is welding inverters, they also use a transformer, but it is much smaller in weight and dimensions, compared to the first ones.

Transformer in inverter electric welding machines It is used more for galvanic isolation, and its dimensions are smaller because such a transformer operates at an increased frequency, and not on a network of 50 hertz. This allows you to control it with the help of conversion schemes and more smoothly regulate welding modes. But electronics is a more moody thing.

Returning to traditional transformer electric welding machines, it should be noted that they are more "dumb" and heavy. But the fact that they are arranged easier and easier to use, At the same time transformer electric welding machines it is more difficult to disable than electronic, despite the presence of all kinds of protections in the electronic filling. Still, the "coarse iron" is more difficult to burn, rather, the supply network itself will "fly out".

The next point that you need to pay attention to is that transformer electric welding machines are available for 220 and 380 Volt networks, or combined, which can work in both combinations.

Truly three-phase transformer electric welding machines are more expensive and bulky, but they better support arc burning. Transformers single-phase, which can operate on a linear voltage of 380 volts, still use only two phases of the network, but can reduce the load on the supply network than those that operate on 220. Although for living conditions, operating voltage transformers are most often suitable. 220 Volts, due to the greater availability of this power option.

What electrodes and seams, what metal thickness they can be cooked, are usually indicated on the packages of these same electrodes, and the recommended welding current is also indicated there. The material of the welding electrodes and the coating are of various options, depending on what kind of welding work they need.

It is necessary to navigate under which power networks you are going to use the device, and what material to weld. The first rule is that the power supply network is enough. To take a welding machine so that it has as many functions and capabilities as possible and “in reserve”, this is not reasonable. The larger the value of the welding current, and the more different combinations of its inclusion, the more expensive the electric welding machine will cost.

If you plan to weld metal with a thickness of not more than five millimeters, this will require a welding machine with an output current of up to 160 Amps, and electrodes with a diameter of four millimeters. For household networks, these are limit values. Well, as for the smaller thickness of the parts to be welded, such an electric welding machine will also cope with this and electrodes less than a millimeter can even be used in it.

The gradations of an electric welding machine with an output of 250 amperes or more are not suitable for general-purpose household networks, the initial limit is two phases of 380 volts, this is what is needed to power such a device, although the electrode diameter is only five millimeters. In domestic conditions, in most cases this is not required.

Make no mistake when choosing a welding machine for the home, determine your claims in advance correctly!

Mikhail Barsukov

See also: Modern inverter welding machines