Sip t112

[caretaker1973]

Hi. Can anyone tell me if this inverter welder is any good? I am looking for something that is not too expensive (as it wont get used that often) easy to use and to be generator friendly so it can eventually go anywhere. My welding capability, I would say, is below average (we all have to start somewhere) and my generator is 3.8Kva. I wont do welding any thin stuff, mainly diy repairs to things like gates and fencing. Thanks in advance for any knowledge gained. Dave

 

[PTvor]

Regardless of the quality of the machine, it's only 80A max which limits you to 2.5mm rods, and it only has a 35% duty cycle at 80A, which might be a pain if you are practising.

http://www.sipuk.co.uk/tools/info_SIP05182.html

If the pennies can stretch a bit further you might be better off with something like this.

http://www.weldequip.com/parweld-xti160.htm

Then you can use 3.2mm rods and are unlikely to have a problem with the duty cycle. You won't be running it on the edge of its capability most of the time.

You also have to look carefully at this generator friendly business. It doesn't necessarily mean friendly to all generators, just ones which are very adequately rated and with AVR.

 

[caretaker1973]

Thanks for the reply. The Parweld machine is nice and the pennies might just stretch that far. However I would not be able to run it from my generator as it is rated 16 amps and requires a 6Kva supply.

 

[pedrobedro]

I doubt if you will find a machine that will run from a 3.8Kva generator. Most of the generator friendly ones advertised need a minimum of 5Kva and preferably 8Kva.

 

[PTvor]

All you know about that SIP is that it's claimed to be generator friendly. Any inverter is generator friendly with a big enough generator and it's easy enough to jot 'generator friendly' down in an ad.

It's certainly worth checking with SIP to see if it's going to work with no problems with your generator before you buy it. I have an idea that the warranty with some inverters excludes generator damage.

The manual is on this page.

http://www.sip-group.com/acatalog/SIP_Products_05182___T112_Inverter__664.html

It talks about the power supply, which is supposed to be 230V +/- 10%, which isn't that much of a margin with a generator. It doesn't mention generators. It does say the machine will stop if it doesn't like the supply but doesn't say much.