My FIL sells welders and welding equipment for a living….all the extra “stuff” is a non-issue. But he doesn’t sell cheap welders which is why I asked this question here and not to him 😁

120v welders are already basically useless outside of maybe some very thin sheet metal, but add cheap on top of that and you probably are wasting your money. We have used some Lincoln and Miller 120v units and they don't even weld great, they just don't have the power they really need to burn hot enough.

If you have never welded and just want to piddle I would at least suggest a mig welder. The gasless versions aren't great but you could piddle with it. If you are wanting to make repairs to farm equipment etc you are going to have to step up to a 220v or combustible unit.

This is the correct answer. Just save a little with each paycheck and buy a decent one. My old Lincoln, I bought used. It welded just like a new one for a lot less money.

Thanks for that. I didn't know how to interpret duty cycle. I just started a stick welding class at Beville. We use a Miller 335 xtc machine. I stay that machine for 3 hours when I'm there. And that welder never checks up. I guess by the time I run a stick and then load another, the machine is ready to go.

Gomer,
There's a learning process for welding, not being a smarta$$ BUT it's kind of like learning to drive through mud puddles. You will be money ahead to have someone weld your stuff for you or just replace what needs welding. I can go to Hobby Lobby and purchase paints, brushes and a canvas pretty cheap but I'm no Leonardo da Vinci. Good luck on your journey.

Guy at work bought one for small stuff so we wouldn’t have to drag a big welder around,it’s a piece of crap and will not weld,can’t even get it to weld for more than a second and then the rod sticks,we have a Miller that’s small like that and it welds great as long as you have a heavy duty extension cord

It's not about trying to save money by repairing things....it's mainly just that I have always wanted to learn to weld. Not for a living or anything, just to be "serviceable". Being cheap was obviously a plus (if it actually worked) but the main reason I was intrigued by these was the size. Literally small enough I could keep it in one of the bottom drawers of my tool chest when not using it, instead of having to leave it sitting around on a cart or something.

I'll probably just end up trying to find a decent small used Mig welder at some point...it seems the general consensus is that something like that would be a lot more useful and user friendly

I use 200 amp Amicos on the job all the time, the last one lasted a year and a half of hard welding in industrail setting. I call that pretty good. I've got a small amount of hours on the current one. I would get and AC/DC 200 amp regardless. Then you can weld anything from 14 gauge to half inch thick plate

That's probably due to not enough amperage for what you are trying to weld. I've never seen a machine cause the rod to stick.

I got this one a few years ago. I’ve welded a bunch of rods through it and it’s done fine. I mainly use it on 220volt, but the 110 works good too. I’ve have and still do use it on the farm regularly, run it off a generator and made a portable welder. Main reason I got it was to make it portable for catch pens and stuff on the farm. Works dang good for the money! I ain’t saying I’d make a living with it, but for what I do and burn a few lbs of rods a year. I’ll take it all day long.

DEKOPRO 110/220V MMA Welder,160A ARC Welder Machine IGBT Digital Display LCD Hot Start Welder with Electrode Holder,Work Clamp, Input Power Adapter Cable and Brush https://a.co/d/6O0Kh5Q

I got a miller, and Lincoln wire welder, also got a Lincoln 220 buzz box. This welder does just as good as them for what I do with it.

Interesting...I'll check it out

I have this same welder and yes, it does fine for making repairs. I also use it on a 220v circuit in my shop. I researched these small welders before I purchased it and the main complaint on most of them are the ground clamp and stinger/electrode are substandard. I replaced both of mine with heavier duty ones and it will burn any rod you put in it. If you ain’t trying to make a living using it, it will be fine for what you are wanting.

I say that you oughta buy one and have fun learning to use it. Back when I was an Ag teacher, I taught many 9th graders how to arc weld, and some of them got really good at it even that young. Most anyone should be able to learn to weld well enough to make repairs to farm equipment; it just takes a steady hand and a little practice. I think it's a skill that every man oughta have.

As long as I was in the school business I could use the shop welder and never bought one for myself. After retiring, there was a guy who had a one man shop in Sylacauga and I would take it to him when I had a repair job. Then he retired, and I didn't have anyone to do small repair jobs. My shop doesn't have 220 volts, so I decided to try a Harbor freight 110 volt welder. I knew it would be slow and inefficient, but I thought that maybe it would be good enough for the occasional small job. As others have already told you, they aren't worth buying.

I got some of the tiny little e6011 rods and have done several jobs with it, but it's extremely frustrating to try to weld with that thing. I am gonna have to give up and run a 220 line to the shed. I don't know the brand, but my neighbor has a small 220 welder that isn't much bigger than mine and it works great, so your idea of a small and portable welder is very possible; you just gotta find a decent unit. Maybe the one already mentioned in the thread will work for you.

Talked me right into that, thanks

I have a Hobart wire welder 140 that I use. I have yet to run the duty cycle out on it. I also have a 110 welder I was using first. It’s a pain when the duty cycle runs out. It does work decent with the smaller wire.

Don't buy anything 110 lol. For what you're doing you don't need a stick welder. Get a mig welder and find someone to teach you how to weld. It's alot harder then you think and it takes a long time to get good.

Don't get a stick welder, regardless of the price. You're wanting to weld thin material, and by your admission, you're not a welder. Thin metal is hard to weld with a stick, even if you're good at welding with a stick. You're going to throw $70 down the drain. Get a 110 volt wire welder and use flux core wire. It's harder to weld with than a gas welder but you could practice and get to where you can weld with it. If you try to weld a hole in a mower deck, it's going to turn into a hole about 4 times larger, as soon as you strike an arc. You're asking for frustration and failure with a stick welder. I know a thing or two about metal work.