Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)For $100? This is not an industrial welder, and not a welder you will be making go-karts or dune buggies with. For $100, it's exactly what the average tinkering home-owner needs to do a few repairs, tack welding of a bike, kids wagon or a bird feeder.
Due to the size of the rods this welder uses, the resulting weld is small, not as such with 1/8" rods on commercial or heavier duty welders. You won't be welding 1/4" angle steel roll cage tubing, but you can repair garden tools, and small items that are not stress critical. This is a hobby welder, not a commercial welder.
Using the welder out of the box is a 3 minute chore...plug it in, connect your work clamp, load a rod into the stick clamp and strike an arc. Uses rods such as: 5/64" Eazy Strike Rod-7014
Cons:
-The supplied power cord is relatively short, as are the work cords...you'll need to be within 6 feet of an outlet so clear your work area.
-The rod clamp has a somewhat loose clamp and only works with small rods (1/16" to 5/64") which limits the size of the finished weld, use of larger rods (1/8" which are more widely available) melts the clamp assembly due to amperage draw.
-The WS0970 has already been relplaced with the WS099001AV by the manufacturer on it's website, same welder, different box.
-Took away 1 star because welding clamp construction is slightly weaker than it could be -(but if it were stronger people would probably clamp up 1/8" rods!)
Pros:
-Small, compact, portable and easy to use, instruction booklet and how to weld worksheet.
-An expensive welder and well made for the price, best quality for the money in it's segment.
-Great for simple quick small repairs and great welder for first timers.
-Unit comes with an observer hand held face shield and 10 rods (1/16").
-Uses a standard 15 amp/20 amp household outlet just like a vacuum cleaner.
-Low gas/smoke output.Tips:
-Some reviews note the unit is difficult to strike- the welder is a low voltage 70amp welder, so surfaces must be extra clean, and the grounding work clamp must be in firm contact with a clean work area. When the unit is applied to fresh brushed clean metal, a slow steady drag will cause an arc quickly. If the work area is painted, greasy or fouled by welding gases, you will need to brush or grind to expose clean metal to get a quick stike. The closer you can get the work clamp to the work area without interfering with the work the better.
-Buy a decent hood, don't waste your time with the romper room welding shield supplied - you'll need both hands to weld. Try a Hobart helmet for $19 (Hobart Weldit Standard Fixed Shade Welding Helmet, 4 1/2 x 5 1/4 in Lens and let an observer use the shield.
-Weld on concrete or buy a piece of tile backer board to lay out your work...it makes a great clean flat work surface and won't burn.
-Invest in small C-Clamps or metal work clamps to hold your work together.
-Use a few rods up practicing first...even with former experience, this welder requires a delicate touch and a small learning curve to produce quality welds.Considerations:
The unit is a 20% or less service time welder - this means in 10 minutes of continuous welding (you won't be doing this), the unit will need 8 minutes to cool. In my experience of welding 3-5" beads, the unit never shut down for cooling, but longer on work time will cause the unit to go offline for cooling - the panel light indicates out of service cooling process...when the light goes out, you can weld again. In typical welding, I've yet to get the cooling light since most work I've done is not seam welding but joint welding of parts. Considering a typical 1/16"x12" rod will only produce a 5" final bead, the cooling cycle is irrelevant, since you'll be stopping to change rods anyway.
I've had no issues striking an arc as other reviewers have mentioned, as long as the metal was clean and bare. You will use up a 12" rod in a 5" bead, so plan to purchase at least a 1 lb. pack along with your welder. The 7014 5/64" rod pack works well on high.
The unit has a low setting, which I would suppose is good for small small small hobby welding (What that is I don't know since this unit produces such a small bead to begin with) but the 5/64" rods work well on High. Hair dryers have a low setting as well, but I don't know anyone that uses a hair dryer on 'low'...My experiece:
My first use of this product was to weld 3/8" square steel bars to the back of 12" wide 3/8" steel circles to make plinking targets for rifle shooting. Each 4" bead used almost a whole rod, and I had no issues striking an arc provided the surface was clean and bare. Smaller work such as affixing flat washers to the bars required a little more skill since the welder is low amperage. Overall:
There are many welders in the $299+ range. Many of them require a dedicated circuit, are larger and have a longer duty cycle. They are more commercially rated in their intent, and weld large beads efficiently. The quality of this unit is high and as a small welder it fills it's segment well. At 1/3rd the price, it has a duty cycle and produces a weld at 1/3rd the size. Many reviews I've read rate this welder up against a larger higher amp heavy duty welder. Think of this as a small 4- cylinder pick Up versus a commercial welder as a two ton 4 wheel drive duelie...they are made for a different purpose, and produce different results. As the product does *not* hold itself out as a heavy duty welder, I consider this product an excellent purchase for the $'s in it's segment.
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Campbell Hausfeld WS0970 115-Volt 70 Amp Arc Stick WelderThe Campbell Hausfeld WS0970 115-volt 70 Amp arc stick welder can weld mild or stainless steel from 18-gauge to 1/8-inch thick, and is ideal for use on boat trailers, wrought iron, or automotive sheet metal. It comes with a dual heat setting for use with welding rods, and its thermal overload protection automatically shuts off the welder at its duty cycle rating. A contoured face makes operating the arc welder easy, as do the carry handle and storage clips to hold the cables in place. The Campbell Hausfeld WS0970 welder is powered by a 115-volt current and generates 70 Amps of power. A built-in storage keeps accessories organized while cord management maintains secure storage. This welder includes a welding shield, hammer/brush, electrodes, and quick start guide. Campbell Hausfeld backs its welder with a 5-year limited warranty.What's in the Box Welder, welding shield, hammer/brush, electrodes, and quick start guide.
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Click here for more information about Campbell Hausfeld WS0970 115-Volt 70 Amp Arc Stick Welder
