Choosing welding inverters, it is important not only to focus on that, how much is such equipment, but also to evaluate its reliability rating. Expensive models, although they are of better quality a priori, can also bring unpleasant surprises to their owners. Cases, when a brand new inverter, which required large financial investments, fails after the first few inclusions, is not such a great rarity.
The main task when choosing a welding inverter - to find "their" value for money
You should also not focus solely on budget models, which, usually, are issued in China and do not differ in stability of qualitative characteristics and high indicators of reliability. If funds allow and the task is to purchase a reliable welding machine, it is better to pay attention to the model, represented by world famous brands: EWM, Elitech, Blueweld et al. It should be taken into account, that the cost of such inverters starts with 1500 US dollars, but it is adequate to the high quality and reliability of the product.
When choosing welding equipment, keep in mind, that not all models, made in Europe, are able to work efficiently and reliably from domestic electrical networks, do not differ in voltage and current stability. However, mid-range inverters are well adapted to such conditions, produced by Russian and Chinese manufacturers. These devices are adapted to work with voltage drops, while they have decent technical characteristics.
The advantage of most Russian welding inverters is the availability of components for repair
Inexpensive inverter devices
If you need a budget welding inverter, you can consider one of the following options. I must say at once, that the listed inverters do not differ in outstanding qualities and functionality and are not included in the top three on a reliability rating. This is entirely due to their low price.
GERRARD MMA-200
If you are interested in one of the cheapest welding inverters, which nevertheless shows itself well in work, then GERRARD MMA-200 will suit you optimally.
The GERRARD MMA-200 inverter is easy to use due to its compactness
Among the technical characteristics of this device are the following:
- welding current control range - 20-200 A;
- duration of continuous operation at maximum current - 60%;
- supply voltage value - 220 V (the device can operate at maximum voltage deviations ± 15%);
- table - 5,3 kg;
- power consumption - 5 kw;
- dimensions - 445x180x271 mm.
Though, that this welding inverter has a number of significant disadvantages, related to its configuration, welds when used are high quality and reliable. The disadvantages of such a welding machine include not very high reliability of connectors for connecting power cables (they loosen up quickly), as well as that, that in its complete set there is no device, with which it can be transferred.
KAISER NBC-200
The equipment of this model is a bit more expensive, than the inverter discussed above, although they differ little in their technical characteristics.
Inverter of the budget category KAISER NBC-200
The KAISER NBC-200 welding inverter is characterized by the following parameters:
- range, in which the welding current can be regulated, – 20-200 A;
- period of continuous operation (at maximum current) – 60%;
- work from a single-phase network with voltage 220 V (permissible voltage drops in the electrical network - ± 15%);
- table - 6,5 kg (mass, compared to the weight of the previous model, provides better heat dissipation from the electronic components of the inverter);
- dimensions - 445x180x271 mm;
- power consumption - 6,7 kw (due to the higher power, the electrical wiring of this device is heated much more intensely, than in the previous model).
A serious disadvantage of the KAISER NBC-200 inverter is its low maintainability. At the end of the warranty period, this welding machine often refuses electronic boards, which are subject to replacement only. The cost of such repairs, if we talk about its feasibility, comparable to the price of a new inverter.
Cedar 200
In the reliability rating, the inverter of this model is much higher, than the previous two devices. This device is a little more expensive, than cheap Chinese models, but in its quality and reliability in many respects surpasses them. An important advantage of such an inverter is that, that welding work with its help can be performed even then, when the mains voltage is too low (to 140).
The device for manual arc welding of Cedar-200
Cedar 200 has the following parameters:
- regulation of welding current in the range from 20 to 200 A;
- period of continuous operation, performed at the maximum value of welding current, – 60%;
- operating voltage interval - 187-242 V (microprocessor unit, used in the design of the inverter, allows to carry out welding works at decrease in pressure to 140);
- table - 5 kg;
- dimensions - 320x123x220 mm.
As mentioned above, the reliability of the welding machine of this model is at a fairly high level, however, copies may be included in individual batches of inverters, initially of low quality.
Characteristics of some other middle class inverters
Professional models of inverters
The top lines in the reliability rating are inverters, designed for professional use. Even if you consider those professional series inverters, which have technical characteristics, identical parameters of the above models, they are distinguished from budget welding machines by a much smaller number of failures, as well as advanced functionality. That is why such equipment can be used not only for manual arc welding, but also for connecting parts in a shielding gas environment. Consider the characteristics of two inverters, which occupy the highest steps in the ranking of popularity among professionals.
Svarog 205
The level of the professional welding machine this inverter did not receive only on one parameter - stability of continuous work. If you value this device, then it is quite expensive for home use, but quite affordable for a construction company and even a small workshop. Actually, Svarog 205 most often and acquire small production organizations, service stations and repair crews.
The warranty on Svarog inverters can reach 5 years
Inverter Svarog 205 has the following technical characteristics:
- welding current control range - 10-180 A;
- duration of continuous work at the maximum welding current - 60%;
- mains voltage - 220 V (the device can work at voltage differences, within ± 15%);
- power consumption - 5,7 kw;
- table - 5,8 kg;
- dimensions - 336x120x198 mm.
Due to the high reliability of the inverter, it needs to be repaired very rarely, but it should be borne in mind, that the cost of such repairs is quite high.
Though, that the country of manufacture of the device of this model is China, in the reliability rating it occupies a high position. This is evidenced by the fact, that the inverter of this model is often counterfeited, therefore, when purchasing it should be very careful.
The fast and the furious 200
Among domestic inverter devices this model occupies the top lines of ratings of popularity and reliability. The high cost of such a device is offset by the good maintainability of the inverter, components which are much cheaper, than its foreign counterparts.
Fast and Furnace 200M welding machine with advanced functionality
This device is characterized by the following parameters:
- adjustment of welding current in an interval 10-200 A;
- supply voltage value - 220 V (the inverter can operate at voltage drops from -35% to +15%; due to the ability of the device to operate at a sufficiently low voltage in the network, you can not use the stabilizer);
- power consumption - 7,2 kw (due to the high power consumption for the operation of this inverter it is necessary to use a separate power line or perform welding only on low current);
- table - 5,8 kg;
- dimensions - 295x145x182 mm.
Among all the above models of inverters Fast and Furious 200 is the most reliable and ranks at the top of the popularity rankings. in addition, this device can be used to perform welding in a protective gas environment.
Before purchasing a certain welding inverter, it is useful to get acquainted not only with its technical characteristics, but also according to those, who is already a user of this model. This will help you not to make a mistake in choosing and buying a device, which will best suit your needs.