I've wanted to get into welding for a long time. After some questioning, I decided that stick welding was best for me to start on because I wanted portability and outdoor versatility and have no need to weld aluminum. So I went looking for a "first welder" that was mostly a stick machine.
In my research, it became pretty clear that there was a lot of gap in the "middle" of the market. The market was bifurcated between social-media hyped companies (primeweld, everlast, yeswelder, etc), or you could stick with the "big guys" on team Blue, Red or Yellow.
I was almost ready to bite the bullet on a Yellow Esab Rogue 200i.
I kept hearing great things about the old Thermal Arc welders and how they were industrial quality but priced reasonably. Well it turns out that Thermal Arc was made by an overseas makers of power supplies called Sanrex, and that Sanrex was trying to get into the US market under their own name.
A paper comparison shows that the Sanrex was very impressive. Sanrex has a pretty bare bones line, but the machines are all high spec and built to industrial duty cycles and usage. What they lack in features they make up for in performance. By specifications, it compared quite favorably with many welders much higher in price, like a Fronius or a Miller Maxstar or the aforementioned Esab.
I called one of their US distributors (as they are hard to find) and ordered the 160a stick/tig machine for $600.
As I’ve learned to stick weld, I’ve come to the mind that this machine is an absolutely killer 120V machine. I have 240V for it, and it works brilliantly on 240v. But the killer feature here is the 120V performance. It works so well on 120v, yet plugging it into 240v feels like cheating a bit with the hotter starts and such.
I challenge you thusly: try to find another machine under $1000 that will run 1/8” E6010 or 3/32 E7018 all day long at 90a on a 120v outlet with a 20a breaker and 100ft of extension cord. This machine will do it and do it WELL.
I recently was able to do a bucket repair for a JD tractor. I pulled the <20# welder out of the back of my SUV, plugged into the 120V garage outlet at my friend’s house with 50ft of extension cord, and proceeded to weld through nasty rusty material with E6010 for a couple hours. Real welds on a bucket and mount while the tractor was parked on a gravel driveway in the middle of farm country. I switched to E7018 for some material build-up and cover passes on some thin areas where it needed the reinforcement.
The 20a breaker in my friend’s garage was shared with a garage freezer and who knows what else. I tripped it once in the heat. Dialed my machine from 90a to 85a and it never tripped again.
The machine tops out at an impressive 125a on a 120V/20a breaker within CSA rating. I have validated this myself. Set at 125a, the machine will run a 5/32” E7018 rod for about 6” of bead before tripping a shared 20a breaker. And it does this on a 50ft extension cord! How many machines can do this at any price? VERY few. Now, how many of those cost under $1000? I know of only one.
In the garage, I plug it into my 240V 6-50R outlet and I can run up to 160a and comfortably push up to 5/32" 7018 if needed. That's a LOT of heat and will give root penetration on 1/4" fillets.
It has excellent control on the bottom end too. I've been able to stick weld as thin as 18ga sheet using 6013 on straight polarity at 50a.
The machine is pretty short on features. The panel as two controls—an amperage knob (with no digital display) and a TIG/Stick switch. That’s it. It’s the essence of simplicity. But boy howdy is it useful in the real world. Since I got it January of last year, I've used it to for some really useful repairs. I welded up some cracks in the exhaust of my old commuter car. I fixed a trailer ramp where the expanded metal had broken the welds. I didsome rust repair and reinforcement on my GX460 (mostly welding closed frame seams where rust likes to start). I welded closed some holes I had to make to extract broken bolts, and was able to redrill and tap. I've started making some metal racking for my garage. And most recently there was the aforementioned John Deere bucket repair of a couple weeks ago.
The real-world utility of a 6010-capable machine that can run happily on 120V is just something you have to experience to believe. The weld quality and strength far surpasses what you'll achieve with a comparable flux core machine any any material thick enough to not blow holes.
A new shed ramp I made:
E6010:
Some practice welding on thin (18ga) material that's vertical:
This is a fantastically capable portable stick machine with enough 120V capability to liberate you from the need for 240V to have real world functional utility thanks to its high efficiency and power factor correction.
If you are looking for a small stick machine, I'd recommend this to your consideration.
In my research, it became pretty clear that there was a lot of gap in the "middle" of the market. The market was bifurcated between social-media hyped companies (primeweld, everlast, yeswelder, etc), or you could stick with the "big guys" on team Blue, Red or Yellow.
I was almost ready to bite the bullet on a Yellow Esab Rogue 200i.
I kept hearing great things about the old Thermal Arc welders and how they were industrial quality but priced reasonably. Well it turns out that Thermal Arc was made by an overseas makers of power supplies called Sanrex, and that Sanrex was trying to get into the US market under their own name.
A paper comparison shows that the Sanrex was very impressive. Sanrex has a pretty bare bones line, but the machines are all high spec and built to industrial duty cycles and usage. What they lack in features they make up for in performance. By specifications, it compared quite favorably with many welders much higher in price, like a Fronius or a Miller Maxstar or the aforementioned Esab.
I called one of their US distributors (as they are hard to find) and ordered the 160a stick/tig machine for $600.
As I’ve learned to stick weld, I’ve come to the mind that this machine is an absolutely killer 120V machine. I have 240V for it, and it works brilliantly on 240v. But the killer feature here is the 120V performance. It works so well on 120v, yet plugging it into 240v feels like cheating a bit with the hotter starts and such.
I challenge you thusly: try to find another machine under $1000 that will run 1/8” E6010 or 3/32 E7018 all day long at 90a on a 120v outlet with a 20a breaker and 100ft of extension cord. This machine will do it and do it WELL.
I recently was able to do a bucket repair for a JD tractor. I pulled the <20# welder out of the back of my SUV, plugged into the 120V garage outlet at my friend’s house with 50ft of extension cord, and proceeded to weld through nasty rusty material with E6010 for a couple hours. Real welds on a bucket and mount while the tractor was parked on a gravel driveway in the middle of farm country. I switched to E7018 for some material build-up and cover passes on some thin areas where it needed the reinforcement.
The 20a breaker in my friend’s garage was shared with a garage freezer and who knows what else. I tripped it once in the heat. Dialed my machine from 90a to 85a and it never tripped again.
The machine tops out at an impressive 125a on a 120V/20a breaker within CSA rating. I have validated this myself. Set at 125a, the machine will run a 5/32” E7018 rod for about 6” of bead before tripping a shared 20a breaker. And it does this on a 50ft extension cord! How many machines can do this at any price? VERY few. Now, how many of those cost under $1000? I know of only one.
In the garage, I plug it into my 240V 6-50R outlet and I can run up to 160a and comfortably push up to 5/32" 7018 if needed. That's a LOT of heat and will give root penetration on 1/4" fillets.
It has excellent control on the bottom end too. I've been able to stick weld as thin as 18ga sheet using 6013 on straight polarity at 50a.
The machine is pretty short on features. The panel as two controls—an amperage knob (with no digital display) and a TIG/Stick switch. That’s it. It’s the essence of simplicity. But boy howdy is it useful in the real world. Since I got it January of last year, I've used it to for some really useful repairs. I welded up some cracks in the exhaust of my old commuter car. I fixed a trailer ramp where the expanded metal had broken the welds. I didsome rust repair and reinforcement on my GX460 (mostly welding closed frame seams where rust likes to start). I welded closed some holes I had to make to extract broken bolts, and was able to redrill and tap. I've started making some metal racking for my garage. And most recently there was the aforementioned John Deere bucket repair of a couple weeks ago.
The real-world utility of a 6010-capable machine that can run happily on 120V is just something you have to experience to believe. The weld quality and strength far surpasses what you'll achieve with a comparable flux core machine any any material thick enough to not blow holes.
A new shed ramp I made:
E6010:
Some practice welding on thin (18ga) material that's vertical:
This is a fantastically capable portable stick machine with enough 120V capability to liberate you from the need for 240V to have real world functional utility thanks to its high efficiency and power factor correction.
If you are looking for a small stick machine, I'd recommend this to your consideration.
