DC Arc welder

[Johnny A]

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Century-Inverter-Arc-120-Stick-Welder-K2789-1/100672845

I can pick one up new in box for 175.00. I have a regular Home owner 90 amp ac arc welder. I was told I can do more with the DC Arc welder. Can anyone school me on this topic?

The differances

 

[AA/FC]

I'm just wondering when Century went back into business? That company has been out of business for at least a decade or longer.

 

[RedneckWelder]

Don't even waste your time with another 110v stick unit.

When they said do more they meant a 230V machine like the Lincoln Tombstone, Miller Thunderbolt, Hobart Stickmate, and so on. The welders I listed are available in both AC and AC/DC versions. The 230V power gives them a hell of a lot more punch and where the 110V version tops out at low amperages and very low duty cycle, the 230V machine doesn't have those low limitations.

As far as "Do more" with DC. It's not so much do more with DC as do more with the more power. DC does provide the advantage of better arc characteristics, you can use more rod types, and you can do stuff like DC scratch start TIG, but tons and tons of projects have been done with the old reliable Lincoln Tombstone AC-225, which is probably one of the most popular welders ever.

I'm just wondering when Century went back into business? That company has been out of business for at least a decade or longer.

Don't hold me to it but I want to say Lincoln brought the name. Dunno where they are made now, if I had to guess it would be Italy.

 

[JimDon]

The DC welder will give you a much smoother arc than AC. Starting and re-starting your arc will be much easier than with an ac machine. Electrode selection will be a bit larger too, but with ac, you still have 7018ac (which I personally like a lot). Having the rod stick is more likely with ac than with dc. And you will have to up the amps on ac to get some rods started, where they'll generally start at lower amps with dc. The Hobart Welding forum will have reams and reams of information on this topic under the "stick welding" topic.

Are you positively sure you do not want anything higher than 90 amps DC?
You could get yourself a used Miller or Lincoln AC/DC buzz box for about $200 used on craigslist, which will usually give you up to about 150 amps dc capability. Those buzz boxes are bulletproof and barely ever fail. Guys simply sell them cause they are taking up space in the garage and they want to get a little cash.

As for the Century machine at Home Despot -- Century had been out of the arc welding biz for a number of years, although I think in the past they had a pretty good unit for homeowners. I don't know where this one is made, or what the overall quality is with it. Others may know. Me? I'd stick with a Miller, ESAB or Lincoln machine.

SBerry may chime in here on your question soon, and knowing him for years, his word and opinion is about the most solid you'll find anywhere on welding trade. So you can take what he says as gospel.

Hope this helps,
JimDon

 

[warweapon762]

I'm just wondering when Century went back into business? That company has been out of business for at least a decade or longer.

Century has been around again for awhile. I've seen their welders at Walmart Supercenters in my area for the last 4 years.

Buyer beware, the stick welder I looked at was really sketchy. Much worse quality control than the Harbor Freight welders for like 3x the price.

 

[AA/FC]

Century has been around again for awhile. I've seen their welders at Walmart Supercenters in my area for the last 4 years.

Well, it appears Lincoln bought the Century name. (According to Redneckwelder) which makes sense.....

On another related note..... I drive by the former Century factory/company HQ almost every day. The buildig sat vacant for many years, with a few temporary tenants here and there. Ironically, last week I noticed the "Solar" name above the front door. Solar was also a brand name that built welders and battery chargers back when Century was in business. And if I'm not mistaken, I believe Solar and Century were somehow related, or even the same company at one point. The only difference is the "Solar" name on the building today is in a different color/font than the old "Solar". It's either a major coincidence that the same building would have two companies with the same name, or the original Solar is coming back to life?

 

[BD1]

Skip that and get a 220 volt machine as stated. A Miller Thunderbolt AC / DC or Lincoln tombstone is my choice. Check Craig's list too.
Miller has a heck of a deal on their 211 mig. Free spool gun plus rebate.

 

[Sam'sAutoParts]

I got a used name brand stick welder with a cart and a HF MIG for $220. All 220 volt and the MIG had a half full bottle. Deals are to be had in the used market. If I had to do over I would have held out for a nicer MIG but the HF MIG was part of the package.

 

[Johnny A]

Guys,
Thanks for the info on the DC vs AC. I think Craigslist is the way to go.

 

[G_P]

Craigslist/garage sales/flea markets.

I picked up an old Century AC/DC machine for $20 2 years ago. I find that DC welding goes much easier than AC welding. (I'm still a ****** welder though!)

 

[sberry]

Ok, no gospel but thanks. I havnt ran this but am interested, I bought a little Forney in this class but my bet is this might be better. I was poking at Hobart to make an entry level machine like this.
I might try the Forney on a 30A circuit but it trips the breaker on a 20 and is really limited to 6011 at 3/32 to work. I suspect this may be a better machine, its more expensive and it weighs more. While 90A isn't much work can be done with it, that's really all I use my Maxstar with. It would be worth watching to see if this runs a 1/8 6011 or a 3/32 7018 without a trip.
Here are the Forney pics, its about as good as the machine gets in terms of power. The thing really heats fast, dan comes on about at arc strike and is really blowing hot air at the end of a rod, the Max rarely comes on during a rod.
1st, 1/8 6011, next 3/32, 3rd 3/32 7018 and 4th same size but 7018AC. Its a little better with the AC but this is at the top of its power and is a struggle, operator really has to work to keep it going.
My only reason for suspecting at this point the Century may be better is weight, the F was 7#, the Max about 11 or so.
A little scale on the plate didn't help the little ******.

 

[rlitman]

Well, it appears Lincoln bought the Century name. (According to Redneckwelder) which makes sense.....

On another related note..... I drive by the former Century factory/company HQ almost every day. The buildig sat vacant for many years, with a few temporary tenants here and there. Ironically, last week I noticed the "Solar" name above the front door. Solar was also a brand name that built welders and battery chargers back when Century was in business. And if I'm not mistaken, I believe Solar and Century were somehow related, or even the same company at one point. The only difference is the "Solar" name on the building today is in a different color/font than the old "Solar". It's either a major coincidence that the same building would have two companies with the same name, or the original Solar is coming back to life?

Century was bought by Cebora, who was bought by Clore, who was bought by Lincoln (or something like that). The Century name has never been out of trademark.

Yes, I believe that Solar was a brand under Century, so it would make sense that it was passed along with all these acquisitions.

 

[crab]

If you can stick like that you don't need a mig.

 

[TejDarkmoon]

I'd agree with the folks saying check CL for a Lincoln tombstone. great welder

 

[sberry]

If a guy is doing equipment repair he likely could well benefit from a DC. A Dialarc or Idealarc is more robust but the 50A machines will do the work and is still my go 2 for shop stick. I abused it way past its duty cycle and still works perfect. Burn a whole handful of 1/8 lohi on it at a time.
Where the little sucker shines is remote. I never use 240 on my Max as I got the buzzer but its neat on 120 and I did a couple real jobs from it. Wish I would have had one when I was a kid, it replaces almost all my engine drive.
I just cleaned it up a bit, I had 20 yrs of accumulations of connectors and attachments way beyond obsolete.
It would be interesting to find out if the Century is a grade above the Forney. I read the reviews, one does mention breaker problems and one is never quite sure about the reviewer.
It takes a fair amount of know how to test something like that where the operator is such a significant factor.

 

[Johnny A]

Guys, I'm new to Arc/ Stick ( couple of years of DIY)
On the model I listed can those be reversed to be DC + & DC - ?
Electro negative & Electro Positive?

My neighbor said that all dc Inverter units without a switch can be reversed.

Anyone have info ? Thanks






www.homedepot.com/p/Century-Inverte...3001rw&cm_mmc=CJ-_-6147012-_-11210757&cj=true

 

[sberry]

Yes.

 

[Johnny A]

S berry,

Great! Thanks for the info.

And thanks to everyone! Who needs google! I got you guys

 

[sberry]

As I mentioned I have a passing interest in the newer cheaper models and where the cost meets the threshold of being useful.
A good share of the worlds work is actually done small electrode. I fix a forklift the other day, 10 minutes of actual welding and about 4 inches where it needed a second pass and it was vertical, about 3 or 4 rods extra on the whole job, took less time than rigging a bigger machine and was a lot easier.
I saw a test on a Longevity by a top hand that looked good, run several rods without tripping the breaker. There is a green one that hits the price range of about 3 or so that I bet works spiffy. Its 1/3 the cost of a Maxstar.
Here is a shot of same rod as Forney but more power, at least 5 amps which in a smaller electrode may mean a little. Kind of wobbly but very fluid. This one was overhead though. In fact both overhead and if I did it regular like might like a couple A to this.