Im looking for a portable stick welder

[DefectedSoul]

I have a Lincoln Electric MP 210 and i love it but id like something i can take out with me easily Im familiar with Miller and Lincoln and Miller has the Maxstar but its kinda pricey for me right now i seen Everlast has one for 250 and Klutch has one for 180 but i know nothing about them brands. are they anygood? or are they total junk? or what should i get?

[soutthpaw]

The AHP 160st is really nice. 60% duty cycle @ full output. Dual voltage and supports lift TIG.

posted with Skype from mobile.. excuse the weird typos

[Louie1961]

Me personally I would go for this: http://store.cyberweld.com/esmi161lts05.html

Great name brand, great support. Lots of members here have them and rave about them.

[DefectedSoul]

i recently found out about ESAB and was wondering if they were good or not lol

[BrooklynBravest]

I have the pair of the 210mp and SW200

If I was gonna go portable to stick weld, the SW200 is more portable.

I wouldn't spend $1300 or whatever on a square wave for a stick welder though.

[Gamble]

The AHP 160st is really nice. 60% duty cycle @ full output. Dual voltage and supports lift TIG.

posted with Skype from mobile.. excuse the weird typos

+1. It's a great little welder

[tapwelder]

I have and use an esab miniarc150 APS as a portable welder. Welds well and foot pedal capable. It is about 12 years old. Paid 1100 bucks for it. It has served me well. It was surprisingly ugly and tankish when new. It was thrown together to rival the lincoln invertec and the maxstar. It works better on 120 than the my maxstar 150.

Hope th new stuff is as good/durable. At a much better price.

[BrooklynBravest]

+1. It's a great little welder

AHP must be killing it. I see a lot of guys photos with miller dynasty's and other high dollar machines, and an AHP unit on the side as their smaller or carry around unit.

I liked my alpha TIG I just couldn't resist the Lincoln pair deal.

[GerryM]

I have a Lincoln Electric MP 210 and i love it but id like something i can take out with me easily Im familiar with Miller and Lincoln and Miller has the Maxstar but its kinda pricey for me right now i seen Everlast has one for 250 and Klutch has one for 180 but i know nothing about them brands. are they anygood? or are they total junk? or what should i get?

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ChuckE2009 has has vids on 2 small portable stick welders here's a link to one of them

The other vid is of the Everlast 140 - I have a older 140 and it a nice small unit and welds nice.

[M J D]

I have the esab 161 and it's a great welder . I have burnt a few hundred pounds of rod with no issues. I have also test ran a ahp 160 and it also worked well. Either machine would be a good choice. It would be a balance between price and warranty , in my opinion.

[N2 Welding]

I wonder how much the generator Lanse was using had a part in why the Fronius was able to weld from so far away.

[Bonzoo]

I have a dual voltage 180 inverter called Elite(imported to Miami) I swear it rolls off the same shelves as Everlast. Damn thing welds 7018 like an SA200.Its a mean little machine. Most of those things are. I don't know how long the life span is but 3-5 years for $300-$400 and toss it/replace is cheap "rent" for something so portable.I think its lighter than a 12 pack.

[hillbillyfab]

I used a Thermal Arc 95, I think it was. It was a contractors that I took a "short call" for a few years back. We was doing punch list work on a high rise. Man it was nice carrying that lil ole shoe box on a strap. Sure beat dragging lead I know that.

[Oscar]

I wonder how much the generator Lanse was using had a part in why the Fronius was able to weld from so far away.

Well I doubt it's better than utility power, so if anything it's a testament to how much (if any) better it would work on the grid.

[MinnesotaDave]

Another vote for the ESAB/Tweco/Thermal Arc 161

[shortfuse]

I cast one more vote for the ESAB 161LTS. Great little welder. Dual voltage, welds 6010 if you need to. ESAB stands by their warranty (ask me how I know). I'd buy another in a heartbeat.

[lennyk]

hate to mention this here as it may draw a lot of flak but
Igbt shoebox Chinese inverter stick machines are highly commoditized now

Myself and friends own a few of the noname $120 zx-200 machines and they have held up after a few years use.
These don't have capability to run 6010 like the bigger name inverters like everlast but work fine otherwise.

They claim 200amps but are really about 170 when I put a shunt amp meter on them.
Ymmv

[storeman]

I wonder how much the generator Lanse was using had a part in why the Fronius was able to weld from so far away.

IMO, it had no effect. Juice is juice. It was on a 20 amp circuit. He described the first extension cord as "#10 or maybe #8". I doubt that it was larger than #12, possibly #14, given the size of the cord. In fact if you look closely at the plug at the generator at 10:27 in the video, it appears to be a 15 or 20 amp plug. Impressive performance.
Jerry

[Weldalittle]

I'm not gonna plug any brands, but I will suggest something dual voltage. I purchased the little Klutch stick welder years ago, and it's done fine. But on the occasions when I need/want to weld bigger and have access to 220, well; hindsight is 20/20...

[Jawslandshark]

I could not watch the entire video but why is welding so far away from a generator such a big deal? I have run 200 ft+ for both voltages a time or two and never had a problem with any of my welders. Maybe I am missing something.

[Bonzoo]

hate to mention this here as it may draw a lot of flak but
Igbt shoebox Chinese inverter stick machines are highly commoditized now

Myself and friends own a few of the noname $120 zx-200 machines and they have held up after a few years use.
These don't have capability to run 6010 like the bigger name inverters like everlast but work fine otherwise.

They claim 200amps but are really about 170 when I put a shunt amp meter on them.
Ymmv

No flak. Its a fair cheap investment and 170 is an aszload of amps running a 7018.Man. My machines rarely see anything over 3/8 ad do most repair fab shops. When a backhoe or something comes in all tore up ya gotta bust out the big dawgs but most days. That lil shoebox can do some work. Incredible really.
I remember running around with an ac/dc Lincoln 225 in the back of an El Camino and headed up stairs with a refrigerator type utility cart. Man. I'm glad those daze are gone.
A guy starting out now can have a dual volt inverter, a Hypertherm 30 air and a 6 inch grinder( Metabo of course), folding sawhorses and fairly call himself " portable welding service" in a damn Honda Accord ! Amazing

[Iain P]

Just got the Everlast 140st in January (I don't have a welder problem, I have a collection) so I haven't had it long but I've put about 6 hours of arc time on it and I'm just amazed something the size of a toaster can burn rod the way it does. Now I also have an AHP Alpha tig 200 (still a just a collection) and if the little AHP 160 amp welds half as well as it's big brother I don't think you could go wrong with it either. The only thing that pussed me towards the Everlast was that it came with a tig torch and AHP sells it separately. From a duty cycle perspective AHP wins. As far as the Klutch, I've never used or seen one in person so I don't really know about them other that that it's 120v only and there's only so much stich welding you can do on 120v. I'm a big believer in dual voltage machines.

[Bwood1070]

Another vote for the esab 161 I love mine its light portable dual voltage it runs off my generator fine and burns 6010 I think its the best bang for your buck from a known trusted name

[Sedanman]

Yet another vote for the Esab 161. My only gripe was the power cord is stiff plastic, l swapped it out for flexible rubber. I imagine all newer machines have plastic coated cords.

[WNY_TomB]

i got the HF $200 to $210 tig stick welder (includes tig torch)
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145 amps and easily carry one handed. 240 volts only. i run 7018 easily, 6011 ok but you cannot pull very long length arc at high amps for rod size for example
1/8 6011 at 70-130 amps normal range, at over 110 amps arc is difficult to maintain if long length arc
5/32 6011 at 90-160 amps best to keep under 135 amps
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1/8 6010 at 70-130 amps normal range but runs best 100 amps or less. not sure whats up with inverters and running cellulose rods hot and arc goes unstable if long. basically short arc length and weave or do circles it runs ok
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i have had machine 14 months and runs good when you get used to it. still works, if it stopped working i would buy another but it still works good. i try to use every week.
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many times i have carried one handed to back yard and used 50 foot 10ga extension cord. 40% duty cycle but i have never seen overheat light come on ever. not like i am burning 5/32 rod all day. really better suited to 1/8 and smaller rod. works good running 7018. i use with 6011 and 6013 too. depends on what mood i am in that day what rod type i use. i can use with 6010 too but it is not as easy as using 6011