Best Spot welder under $200

[usf_tim]

Can anyone suggest a spot welder for under $200. I don't have easy access to 220V so 110V would be best. I have seen a few DIY ones on the forums but not sure if that is any cheaper than buying one from China.
What should i be looking for in a welder (max current, a foot pedal, variable timing etc).

My kids have 3 razor scooter with SLA batteries that are getting old and I would like to replace them with 18650 cells from recycled laptop batteries. Looking to create a 24V pack for 100W motor.

Thanks

Tim

 

[Nobuo]

If you want a very cheap one, those are whose are getting better feedbacks. But don't expect to weld more than 0.15mm of pure nickel

http://www.aliexpress.com/store/pro...-800-A-0-1-1-0-mm-36-V/931105_1688122105.html

 

[Syonyk]

The 788+ series Sunkko welders are OK, but you might find yourself repairing it - the triac in mine blew up shortly after receiving it.

http://syonyk.blogspot.com/2015/05/overview-of-sunkko-788-welder.html
http://syonyk.blogspot.com/2015/05/sunkko-788-welder-failure-and-repair.html
http://syonyk.blogspot.com/2015/05/notes-on-sunkko-788-battery-spot-welder.html

 

[parajared]

I have had a few welders so far.
My Lincoln would overheat on big projects: project where you are welding for a good 20 minutes or so. When it would overheat everything would shut down and you would be stuck having to sit around and wait for cooldown.
My Miller was good, but it had feed funny feed problems where the little motor that feeds wire wouldn't feed consistently and I would get occasional wire jams.

Ultimately Pro-series MMIG 125 ended up working better than my name-brand stuff. Amazon is selling them for $170 at the moment. I think the low setting is still too hot for real thin jobs, but no other gripes.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003FGWZK4?ref_=pdp_new_dp_review

 

[riba2233]

I can recommend you my welder, you can see it in my signature. It uses battery power so you're not limited by 110V. Also it doesn't blow like this chinese ones (they are great, but just blow often lol)

 

[ohzee]

Yea my vote is with Riba. I thnk with the others it's a crap shot , but with Riba you have a great product with great support right here.

 

[sberdos]

Hi everyone,

I'm quite new in the sport so I'd appriciate some help in the following issue:

I' ve just received a sunkko 787A+ and I have two questions:

1. How does the current affects the welding? I mean what's the diffrence if you weld in 40Amps or in 30? I tried in both numbers ( 18650 batteries) and I wouldn't say I saw big diffrence..

2. In the safety note it sais I should plug it into a plug that can withstand 20Amps of current but in the rear of the machine sais that the maximum input is 15amps. Why does it need a 20A plug since its maximum requirement of current is 15A ?

Sorry if my questions are a bit obvious for an advanced battery builder but I've searched the forum and haven't found something relevant so far.

Thanks in advance

 

[Nobuo]

maybe the fuse could be 15 amps continuous on the machine, but the pulses reaches more amps. it should reach around 40A maximum pulses amps

For the pulses current try to use the minimum that if you try to rip the strip from the cell, welded spots makes the nickel break, so the spots are really welded to the surface of the cell. If you use more amps that needed you will just make useless welding strength with more probabilities to make big holes, and making the machine having a shorter life span

 

[sberdos]

You are right I did tried it in plug that gives 16Amps (the maximum I can have in the house) and the power went off fortunately without losses.. So I guess it needs more than that. I'll try to find out the minimum welding current maybe it's better for both plug and machine since I've read here that those machines break after a while..

 

[SlowCo]

I had to install a "slow" 16A fuse to be able to use my TIG welder in the garage. A normal or "fast" fuse tripped due to the peak amp pulse when activating the welder. It's been fine with the slow 16A fuse for a few years now. So look into that.

 

[JensenDan]

I see someone is sugesting the 788 welder. i have 2 defective units, from 2 diffrent suppliers, the first one worked for 30 minutes, the last one never worked. I cant suggest them. I ended up building my own when i started, now i have bouth an Dp-1KW welder 4 months ago, and it welds superb, fast and very consist. So far iam happy, just hoping it will hold up

 

[Syonyk]

I see someone is sugesting the 788 welder. i have 2 defective units, from 2 diffrent suppliers, the first one worked for 30 minutes, the last one never worked. I cant suggest them. I ended up building my own when i started, now i have bouth an Dp-1KW welder 4 months ago, and it welds superb, fast and very consist. So far iam happy, just hoping it will hold up

How did yours fail/what do they do now? And what voltage are they?

I had to replace the triac on my 788+ after about 30 minutes of use because it blew up rather violently.

http://syonyk.blogspot.com/2015/05/sunkko-788-welder-failure-and-repair.html

It's been behaving properly since then, though I tend to go slow with it.