Spot welder

I've used the 1.5kva/ 120volt version for sheet metal work. Really handy tool to have. We did tear testing of 18ga samples with the unit, the usual failure mode was HAZ pulling completely through one piece or the other. A single weld would pull out in the 800 pound range.

The 1.5 kva units are rated to 1/8" total thickness. I wouldn't push that number very hard if you want c> I'm thinking of getting a home 115V spot welder.Are these things any

I have the 220v. model and like it. See it at:

I have used that 220 welder and its works well.

xman

Does anyone have any recommendations on a spot welder for wire cages? My

sister-in-law trains dogs and instructs other dog trainers, and she and my brother have 7 dogs. They have wire cages the dogs sleep in at night,

and they are made of wire that has been spot welded together. They aren't the fanciest things on the planet, and there are frequently bad welds somewhere in the structure. I haven't examined them closely, but the wire ranges from a little less than 1/8" diamter to around 3/16".

Thanks!

Doug White

Spot welding two wires each 1/8" diameter is 1/4" diameter total, which would require a real hefty spot welder. 3/8" total would require a serious beast. You are way way out of the HF spot welder range here. I had a nice little Miller spot welder some time ago and it wouldn't touch this either.

GWE

Greetings Grant, I can understand trying to spot weld two pieces of 1/8" sheet being out of the range of the 115 volt spot welder. But I've wondered about round rod since the contact is much smaller. Do you know what is the largest dia round material these will weld? Thanks, Eric

Two crossed wires will have a contact area well less than the usual spot weld tip area. As the weld progresses, the contact area will increase. Just how much is the issue. I have a hunch that the standard 120 volt/1.5 kva unit would do 1/8" wires, the bigger 2.5 kva unit might go to 5/32". These are just guesses, I'd stop by the local body shop on a slow day and see if they would let you do a test on theirs. Knowing them, they probably have some serious opinions on which ones are better. (Or maybe you get lucky and they have an olde they want to get rid of!)

Ayth> Keywords:

Nope, don't know a'tall. - GWE

Ok .. ya made me go out and try it :) Works great but ya have to be quick on the trigger or it will melt the wires too much. I used 3/16" wire as it was the first scrap I found and it was springy stuff from an old deck umbrella. It had a zink coating on it which flashed into the nasty white smoke and then the wires melted together nicely. They didn't stay straight as they were unsupported. Point is the cheap harborfreight 120V spot welder has plenty of power to weld 1/8" wires together. Glenn

Roy, It is the 115V Harbor Freight unit. #45689 1.5 KVA and made in Armenia. IIRC I bought it on a half price sale about a year ago and applied my 20% off coupon so it was about $75. After using it I would not be disapointed with it at $150. I even spotwelded aluminum with it. It has no timer so you just have to judge when to release the switch and the duty cycle is only