I've had this little gem for over 6 months now, and I'm liking it better all the time. For light-duty welding, it works really well. When I first got it, I had some difficulties due in part to the fact that I'm not a trained welder. I got the 1/16" 6013 they sell at HF, and I was having all sorts of flux inclusions, rod sticking, you name it. Once I learned how to hold an arc, I began having less problems with sticking, but was still having problems with ugly welds and worm holes.
I did try (on the advice of some here) some 3/32" 6011, and had better results. For this, I had to turn the welder all the way up (80 amps) and I could get decent welds. Obviously I'm not doing structural welding, but for 1/8" and 3/16" metal, it seemed OK.
Then I read some reviews of the 1/16" 6013 rods at the HF website, and it seemed like some people love it. They wouldn't love it if their welds looked like mine. I revisited my technique. "6013 is not a whipping rod" is the familiar refrain. I discovered, however, that a back-and-forth motion, i.e. whip-and-pause, or doing little cursive e's worked much better than just dragging the stick along. I am able now to use the little 6013 rods at about 45 amps and get decent beads.
I also noticed that HF has 1/16" 7014 rods. I got some of those, and have been very happy with them. Easier to use than even the 6013. I use the same kind of manipulation as I've been using with the 6013's, and I'm getting some nice looking welds with no holes. Running about 55 amps, it's very easy to weld 1/8" thick angle iron, which is mainly what I'm doing.
Just to let you know, I have a couple of 220v. welders, nothing too sophisticated; I have used my Lincoln AC/DC tombstone more than any other. Having that kind of power available is nice, and makes it easier to keeps the rods from sticking, etc., but the little HF inverter is so portable, and works so well on little stuff, that I think it's a keeper.
I did try (on the advice of some here) some 3/32" 6011, and had better results. For this, I had to turn the welder all the way up (80 amps) and I could get decent welds. Obviously I'm not doing structural welding, but for 1/8" and 3/16" metal, it seemed OK.
Then I read some reviews of the 1/16" 6013 rods at the HF website, and it seemed like some people love it. They wouldn't love it if their welds looked like mine. I revisited my technique. "6013 is not a whipping rod" is the familiar refrain. I discovered, however, that a back-and-forth motion, i.e. whip-and-pause, or doing little cursive e's worked much better than just dragging the stick along. I am able now to use the little 6013 rods at about 45 amps and get decent beads.
I also noticed that HF has 1/16" 7014 rods. I got some of those, and have been very happy with them. Easier to use than even the 6013. I use the same kind of manipulation as I've been using with the 6013's, and I'm getting some nice looking welds with no holes. Running about 55 amps, it's very easy to weld 1/8" thick angle iron, which is mainly what I'm doing.
Just to let you know, I have a couple of 220v. welders, nothing too sophisticated; I have used my Lincoln AC/DC tombstone more than any other. Having that kind of power available is nice, and makes it easier to keeps the rods from sticking, etc., but the little HF inverter is so portable, and works so well on little stuff, that I think it's a keeper.
