SSimder Mini Stick Welder 110V 220V Dual Voltage 4.98LB Portable Welding Machine IGBT Inverter ARC Force Adjustable ARC Welder for Workshop Outdoor Supports E6013 E7018 Rods 1/16" 1/8"

Was too good I had to order twice!!! Works really good

Impressed how good it works

I purchased the Sminder MINI ARC200 120Amp welder because I have no outlets to run my 220V MIG welder or Dayton stick welder at the house I currently live at. I bought this hoping it wouldn't pop a 15 amp GFCI outlet so I could repair my mower deck. Surprisingly, it ran continuously for about two hours without popping the breaker.Pros:Able to operate on 110v 15a GFCI outlet.It actually welded better than expected using 1/16 E6013 rods at 40 amps.Able to run on 12' extension cord, pretty much have no choice but to use one.Cons:Short power cord, stinger and grounding cords, like six feet short.I couldn't get a great bead. Seemed like amperage fluctuated too much, but that's one reason it has the Arc Force feature, which I didn't use. It probably would do better on 220v if you have the three prong outlet, which is not used much anymore.I recommend using 1/8" diameter rods, as the 1/16" rods are hard to fill with. You'll use way less rods with 1/8" rods. I probably would have gotten a better bead if I had them but I want to buy 10 pounds of them for one repair. The 1/16" rods were available in 2 pound box.All in all, for $55 it did what I needed it to do but, I wouldn't try to use it on anything besides small repairs in a pinch.

I purchased the Simder mini stick welder so that I could teach my teenage daughter the fundamentals of stick welding without the intimidation of industrial sized equipment. I purchased the cute little mini welder, which is about the size of a toddler lunchbox, and an extra auto darkening helmet. My main goal in this purchase was to find something that would let me teach her to start and hold an arc, proper angle and travel speed, and be able to do it on 110v, on the patio, with a regular extension cord. Check yes to all of the above. Never tripped a household breaker, even running 3/32 a 90 amps for 5 or 6 inches on 1/4 plate. We started with 1/16 6013 rods, cut in half to make starting the arc easier. Then I moved her to 3/32 6013, cut down, then to 3/32 6013 full length, then 7018. So we opened the box, set up, and within 4 hours she was running crooked but solid weld beads without ever touching a welder before. I would say that $60 welder was well worth the cost. I am getting ready to make a YouTube video with a bunch of sub $200 welding machines, and will definitely include this little guy!!Now, let’s talk about the big con. The electrode holder is short, brittle, & cheap. Ground is short but works. I knew they would be. Order the $39 Simder leads separately. These are much better leads and electrode holder. Way better. If you have some DINSE 10-25’s they will fit.The machine arcs & welds fine. The electrode holder sucks, but I still give the machine itself 5 stars because of the value for the money, and because you can actually weld with it. Heads up- I did try the electrode holder, my daughter wanted to use it because it was cute and tiny, but it would not hold the rods firmly and actually broke after several beads, with the plastic popping off of the contacts. Once again, still worth $60 as it DOES STICK WELD FINE IN SMALL DOSES. Great first stick welder for teaching a kid, learning as an adult, or using around the house/garage/shop. Just get new leads!

The media could not be loaded. This thing is super easy to use.. you buy some good quality rods and go to town. I was using my uncle's Campbell hausfeld stick welder and it couldn't compete with this arc welder. It's very easy to start an arc (as opposed to the CH) and my and my wife had a great time learning how to weld. So easy my wife picked it up at about the same speed as I did.I had to weld our mobile home frame together after we purchased it without knowing it had a rusted out and broken frame from a simple dripping drain under the sink. It had termites so I was taking apart the floor when I discovered the frame. I am completely new to welding.Since the unit is so cheap I bit the bullet and since, have gotten pretty good at welding. I've now purchased a flux core machine and will probably grow my new welding addiction. I've attached some pictures of the addition and also a video of the wife trying to get a bead going. She's learning and I'm having a lot of fun teaching her how to weld. She's an electrician and I'm an HVAC/PLUMBER so we get to share hobbies.This tool has been a great addition and I am so glad to learn a new skill for under 100$. It has paid for itself already!I added a ground from harbor freight and I actually bought a new stinger. It doesn't need them but it's a pretty nice upgrade over the old ground. Stinger works just fine but I couldn't resist upgrading.One con I'll mention is that the cords are super short. I dropped the unit into the dirt where I was welding.. glad she could handle some abusing. She works fine still. Dropped her about 2-3 times. Also tripped the breaker.. but only when I would turn it back on? Weird. If I kept it running it never tripped a duty cycle.. I did a whole lot of welding. I've stood on the orange addition plenty and am very happy with the welds.Watch a bunch of stick welding videos and you'll soon become addicted to.Wish this thing just came with some longer leads but for 65$ I'm not really complaining.Now to look for a decent DC electrode Negative flux core machine.. Harbor freights machines are AC so you'll get spatter, but at the moment I've been learning so much about welding I might try and set this arc-200 for lift tig.. lots of cool things to weld up!!Also this thing is soooooo light weight!!! My flux core welder is a brick compared to this thing!!Thanks ssimder!! I'll probably try your flux core welder next!!

This is actually a pretty good welder for the size and price. I brung it to work and had a couple other guys try it too. Everyone was impressed for it size.

Very good