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Saw it at Bunnings, Smithfield.
Might be good for a beginner and odd jobs around the house.
Ozito Arc Welder $50 (RRP $108, Limited Stock) @ Bunnings
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Lcheapsk8t on 06/05/2022 - 21:56 files.ozbargain.com.au (4551 clicks)
Last edited 07/05/2022 - 02:26 by 1 other user
Last edited 07/05/2022 - 02:26 by 1 other user
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Looks to be nationwide, coming up in Powerpass (I/N: 6291451)
Oh neat; I need to desulfate a few car batteries. Thanks!
?? How?
decap the cells, boil them for 2-5 minutes, then refill.
A bottle of battery acid is much cheaper than a new battery, assuming the plates are still healthy.Here's one dude doing it…. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CxFpIoKwy0 …… But I'd highly suggest not being quite as aggressive, nor standing withing splash range, while you do this. It's not safe, and not recommended for people without some chemistry and electrical education.
Yeah… notice in the comments where people permanently altered their face doing this too. It seems like the more knowledge of chemistry you have (Hydrogen explosions for example) and the possible battery internal damage which could cause an arc, the less likely you might be to try this method of reconditioning.
@buffalo bill: Not at all.
Once you know how to correctly perform a procedure, including the safety concerns and PPE, the safer you'll be doing it.
I'm waiting for a Ozito PXC arc welder ;) Half price only of course.
With ten 18V batteries?
Nope 180V and 4AMP still nowhere near the power required
You need to run them in parallel, not series. 40A at 18 volts work work quite well for light welding.
4Ah is the capacity, and each battery should output 20A+ no problems. So 10x batteries would do 200A+. Should do the trick!
I was just trying to make a joke ;)
As impractical and unlikely an Ozito battery powered welder would be, it is doable easily enough. As ConsumerAffairs noted below, current is key. At a simplistic level, it's because more electrons flow at high current, and electrons running into atoms (resistance) is what heats up and melts the metal.
I don't know the exact cells the 4Ah batteries use, but teardowns online seem to suggest they are decent enough quality, with 20A (per cell) discharge rating. The 4Ah battery runs two lots of 5x cells in parallel, so the pack should do 40A discharge. The battery BMS can disconnect the output, but from my use I think it is when voltage drops too low, or the pack gets too hot, rather than from over current. It's hard to know how long we could sustain 40A, so 20A continuous per pack is probably a safer bet for the 4Ah batteries
Voltage will droop a bit at high current. 12V welding is possible is a bit low to make it easy to get a good arc going, so setups using lead acid batteries tend to run two or three in series.
So our Ozito PXC welder should likely do the same, and put two packs in series for 36V. In theory you could start light welding with just two batteries in series (36V, 40A), but it would not be very good, and would likely trip the battery BMS pretty quick.
Looking online at people who do it with lead acid batteries, at 36V they need around 150 amps depending on the welding rod, to do actual useful and heavier duty welds.
Using 10x 4Ah batteries, we can connect two batteries in series five times, and put those five groups in parallel. They will give 36V at 100 - 200A. Plenty for quite heavy duty welding. You wouldn't expect more than about 10 minutes of welding time though. Likely 10x batteries in parallel would work too, giving 18V at 200 - 400A. That's probably overkill current though, and the lower voltage may make welding a bit harder.
As a comparison, the Ozito welder from this deal does 48V at 55 - 130A. And it is AC, not DC. DC (our batteries) will be (mostly) easier to weld with.
How is this for a beginner? Never welded in my life. Got a small house project that requires welding. Would be saving a few hundred by DIY.
Can this weld aluminium sections aswell?Literally the same question.
Can this weld aluminium sections aswell?
LORD NO! Aluminium welding is a highly advanced skill with specialised… lots of things.
If your job involves messily gluing 2 bits of metal together, sticks are great.
Great for the thing that nobody ever does, right boys? where you hold the bits together, aim, look away, and stab.If you need to do a decent chink of it, then get a gasless MIG.
These let you actually set up a weld, close your goggles, then pull the trigger.
It took me about an hour of practice when I first got one to be doing secure welds (not pretty, but correct)If you want it to be cleaner, get a Gas MIG.
And if you want it to be showroom, and you're willing to do some nightschool; learn TIG.
Just need it for a frame which will be covered with timber anyways. So not going to be visible. Thank you so much for your reply. Appreciate it.
Guy makes it sound like it’s rocket science. Super easy, watch a few YouTube videos. These arc welders are a bit more average to use than gasless mig for sure but they work fine on mild steel (and can have a nicer finish due to less spluttering I found a lot of the time). Definitely not to use on aluminium though.
You can make a frame with these absolutely no issue at all. And hey it’s Ozito, buy a few sticks and if you can’t do it just return it who cares hah.
Get yourself an auto-darkening welding helmet. They make the job so much easier as you can position everything and just start welding; no need to flip down the helmet and lose your position (very common when starting out).
Remember, these things put out a lot of UV so cover up (long sleeves, long trousers). Safety specs under the helmet are a good step too. They give a little protection from accidental arc flash when the helmet isn't in place (it'll happen) and you're likely to be cutting/grinding as part of the job anyway, so look after your eyes!
edit: this looks quite good for the price. Don't be fooled by the large clear plastic visor. The viewing port is probably only about 15x10cm or less. https://www.bunnings.com.au/ozito-5-9-9-13-variable-shade-au…
@ripprind: They've come down in price massively since I bought my first one. That was about three times the price and is fixed shade. Hardly surprising though as they're really basic tech and they're pretty common now.
If you are an expert, there are aluminium stick electrodes that can do a very nice job. Not in the same realm as MIG though, but structurally sound if the proper pre-heating is taken care of.
MIG is much easier. This is probably the hardest it gets - a cheap arc welder. Having said that, if you are just butt welding semi-thick (3mm+) mild steel it is capable of superb results, with practice, indistinguishable from any pro… if you do your part! Best of luck
MIG is much easier on thin sheet or square section, but on plate MIG just looks much easier, but often for beginners who haven't set up the joint properly leads to poor penetration.
So it depends what you're needing to weld.
ARC is easy enough with 5-6mm steel & up once you get used to striking.
*Source: rank amateur who taught himself to weld through lockdown
Quite good way to learn to weld, and cannot beat that price.
Best thing to learn to weld with. If you learn with MIG chances are you will never even bother learning stick, but there are essential uses for it.
Maybe Scomo can pick up one cheap… he loves to watch the bright lights of an arc welder!
Actually, Scomo can buy this one, and sell the hand held welding mask for $30, and it becomes a $20 welder!
Happy welding!
For this price is this a good starter setup for a n00b to learn on?
yes
I have one of these. my BIL used it to weld the frame for my front sliding gate. he's an artist when it comes to welding and, even using a stick welder, it came out beautifully.
I've used it for a few basic things and it does the job.
Mums going to love it.
At these electricity prices? Each spark is a little $$$ fading away. ;)
What about power connection? It is 140Amp so cant put to normal 15amp socket. Any suggestion?
Product page confirms it uses a standard 10a socket.
That's on the output side, and it will be something at like 10volts.
It will work fine on a standard 10amp household socket
Doesn't appear to be Australia wide as Launceston, Tas is still at $108
didnt you read the fine print, sale in australia only, not available overseas
Bass Straight import taxes suck
120A one (IWR-120) is on clearance ($50) at Bunnings Dural. There is 1 left.
grabbed it, thanks.
price was not marked discounted yet.
For anyone considering this, I'd say don't. This is an AC welder. AC welders are more difficult to weld with because the frequency of the electrical arc is slower.
A modern DC stick welder is a piece of cake to use (unlike this one) as well as being much lighter. You can get a modern DC stick welder for $100 so it's really not a huge price difference. Particularly when you consider you still need to but a mask, gloves, apron, and welding sticks. You are looking at a total cost of $150 vs $200.
I also saw a comment above which said that Mig is easier and I also disagree. Setting up a mig properly is actually quite difficult and a learned skill. A DC Stick welder is the perfect way for a beginner to start (particularly if you have experience soldering).
Well, you might be referring to my comment. As someone who has done production runs with Oxy/Acetylene, TIG, stick, MIG, MIG welding IS by far the easiest mode of welding to master, that's why gasless MIG sold like hotcakes when it became affordable in the late 80s. It requires far less skill to master because there are less variables to control once you have the two basic controls set up correctly.
As far as frequency of arc this machine is 48V AC 50Hz, a DC machine is Zero Hz similar voltage, so I can't see your exact point there. The concept of whether you're dealing with an alternating or a direct current is &*^() when all you are concerned about is creating a pool of molten metal.
Do I need this if I still have my $30 Repco arc welder :)
Interestingly, Bunnings have revised the RRP of these to $50, which means you can get 5% powerpass discount (at the expense of your warranty's 2nd and subsequent years of course), but some stores have also started to mark them down further to clear.
Got the last one at Hawthorn VIC for $25. Best price I can see is $12.50 at Leopold VIC.
Used this same thing to weld exhaust to my forge as a vent, worked well