Wasted $200 on a cheap welder from a flea market last spring

Thought I was being smart saving cash on a little stick welder some guy swore was fine. First job on a boiler patch job it just sputtered and barely fused anything. Ended up borrowing a buddy's Miller and got it done in 30 minutes. Anyone else learn this lesson the hard way or am I the only one who fell for it?

2 comments

2 Comments

ellis.robert1mo ago

Could be a voltage issue if your house wiring is older.

olivia_carr71mo ago

Read an article not too long ago that talked about how a lot of those flea market welders are just old, broken units that guys clean up and resell. The transformer might look fine but the windings are shot or the arc stabilizer is fried. You're definitely not the only one who got burned (pun intended, I guess). My neighbor bought one of those little red stick welders from a flea market too, tried to fix his trailer with it, and it just made a mess of bird poop all over the metal. He ended up throwing it in the trash and buying a cheap new one from Harbor Freight that at least works okay. Live and learn, right?