Please help! Westward flux only welder

[tundrawolf]

Please help I have the opportunity to buy this flux only welder for $100, but I need to know if they are good? Does anyone have one?

[DesertRider33]

It's probly as good as any flux-only wire feed welding machine in it's price category. For $100, it's a cheap gamble. Try it and let us know how it works.

[tundrawolf]

Nobody has one???

[tundrawolf]

OK so I bought the Westward welder. It is approx 11 years old as evidenced by the sticker on the rectifier. I took it apart and it seems very basic. Two transformers, one large, one small, appear to be very well made (No overlaps). 8 diode rectifier with large heat sinks. No fan, though. 2 heat settings, high and low, and actually has a picture of a 15 amp outlet for low, and a 20 amp outlet for high.

Wire feeding is very smooth, much smoother than my Lincoln Weld-Pak 100.

I went to the job I needed it for today (Welding 1/8" thick base plates to 2" square tubing, tubing having a very thin wall, for a fence).

I tacked 16 tacks with the welder. It performed better, actually, than my Weld-Pak 100. Easier to use, honestly, and I felt a higher quality arc was produced. I was very impressed.

After 16 tacks, the welder suddenly started to hum like I had attached the tip to the ground clamp. I quickly turned it off. I took it apart, and after some diagnosing and help from an electrician, we found out that it had one bad diode that shorted its anode to its cathode and was effectively connecting the outputs of the main transformer.

I cut the wire to the bad diode, and hurriedly put it back together, not even thinking, and tried to weld with it. It stopped humming, but couldn't maintain an arc. I thought it needed the diode, but now I realize I put the assembly back together wrong. We rented a welder (A Lincoln Weld-Pak 100, my Weld-Pak 100 was traded for a VW Beetle a while back) and I finished welding for the day with it.

I had a lot of trouble with the heat of the Lincoln, either way too much heat, or not enough. And, the wire does the EXACT same thing that mine did when I had it, it wants to go in fits and spurts sometimes, totally ruining what would have been a perfect weld. I thought mine was bad, but this means it is probably a common problem. You notice the welds I did with the Westward, they are very clean and smooth, but the Lincoln, only about 1/3 are this way.

I found a rectifier diode assembly at Radio Shack for under $4 to repair the rectifier assembly on the Westward. A cheap fix, and the diodes on it have lasted 11 years so far. It is possible I will eventually replace them with higher rated units, but for now I think the Radio Shack fix will be fine.

All in all I am extremely impressed with the Westward, even in spite of the difficulties I had today. It is a very well made unit.

Pros:
Light weight, lighter than the Weld-Pak 100 by a few pounds
Great ground clamp, secure hold
Put together very well, internal components seem to be very high quality
Welds very well, even on the low setting, very smooth
Easy to use, high and low heat settings
Thermal overload protection

Cons:
No shut off for electricity to wand, it is always "hot" though the button is not being pressed. This is a small plus in one area however, direct connections to the transformers mean full current to the weld.
No fan
Short distance between wand and welder
No quick-disconnect for the tension on the wire feed mechanism
Release latch for the wire spool loading area is a weird design, but it works

Would I buy this welder again? Absolutely. Once it is repaired, I think I will weld a cage for a small generator and the welder, to make a small engine driven welder, for portability. I will add wheels for towing behind my motorcycle. Surprisingly little information is out there regarding this brand of welder. I would definitely consider buying this brand over Lincoln and Miller, etc. (Especially after my twofold experience with the Lincoln Weld-Pak 100)


Dave

[DesertRider33]

Wow. Glad to hear it worked so well and you got it fixed and running!