YESWELDER205Amp Stick Welder Large LED Display, Digital Inverter IGBT ARC Welding Machine, 110V/220V Dual Voltage Hot Start Portable MMA Welder Machine, Arc force

What can I say, it welds. It’s an $80 DC machine. I went in with zero expectations and just wow. Stick mode works like a charm, some sticking but it holds an arc. Take the amperage rating with a grain of salt, you gotta crank it to get the same effect as you would on other machines, and you also need to keep a pretty tight arc in order for it to be stable. But hey, it’s a welding machine for under $100 that runs off 110v, you literally can’t complain. Welds 3/32 rods like they’re nothing. It says it’s capable of 1/8, but don’t, you won’t have a good time. Make sure your electrodes are decent, too. Runs Hobart rods with ease but my Harbor Freight Vulcan rods it seems to struggle with a bit. Again, you can’t complain. Was able to root, fill, and cap 6” SCH40 like any other day in the job.USE A DEDICATED 20A CIRCUT WHEN STICK WELDING. This WILL trip any normal breaker repeatedly, but so will any other machine.Now TIG, this is where this little box really shines. If you opt for the bundle, the torch and mini kit it comes with is of surprisingly high quality, in stark contrast to the cheap stick leads. All you need is an argon bottle and some tungsten and you can let her rip. Current draw is a little lower in this mode (~15A), so you’ll have a much easier time on lower capacity circuits. But man is that one stable arc. No option for a foot pedal, but real welders don’t need those anyway lol. I’ve only tried up to 11GA with TIG, and it burned through, so you can likely weld thicker material with ease.Again, you’re only spending $80-100 on this. It is far from perfect, definitely not for professionals, but you will not find a better machine at this price point.

Excellent quality. The product feels solid and works flawlessly.

The ARC205DS is a small, very lightweight, and capable arc welder once you get it dialed-in, it is ready to weld right out of the box with very minimal setup (ie attach ground & electrode leads to welder and plug it in), just add welding rods and steel. I tested it with 3/32" 6013 (Forney), 3/32" 7018 (Forney), & 1/8" 7018 (ESAB) on 3/16", 1/8", 1/4", & 3/8" mild steel all using 220VAC with the dial to adjust current as needed. As others have reviewed the DRO for current is off, my findings approximate it is off by as much as ~30% in some cases (ie dialed-in at 100A but actually running 70A as verified with a DC clamp meter). I found it will weld all three rod types on the thicknesses tested but likes the 7018's the best (both 3/32 & 1/8), by far...anything with 6013 seems to start very cold and once it begins running you have to pay very close attention to puddle density or blowing a hole in the work is definitely possible, at least up to 1/4" thick. In fact, once I began testing on the 1/4"+ plate w/ 7018 x1/8" rods I had the DRO on 135A and found it would scratch start "ok" and would run good beads, but if anything lower than 130A it struggled to start. Using the 6013's it also appeared to struggle with leveling out the electrode current even after start, arc headspace was critical while laying down the entire bead. In the last hour of testing I was using 7018 x 1/8" ESAB rods, DRO set to 145A on 1/4" & 3/8" plate and found it ran great, started fine, no issues. Ran butt joints, vertical ups, and lap joints just fine, penetration appeared ok...I never could get the 6013's to perform like they typically do on say a Miller or Lincoln SMAW welder, but this box doesn't have the associated cost of the other brands either. Although it took about four hours to get it dialed-in for my applications I'm happy with the cost to quality ratio for home use, if I was buying this for production I would be ultra-cautious and never go in cold on a production piece without a few test runs on comparable material. The electrode, ground, and source AC cables are very flexible but they do have a plastic (not sure it's even a PVC) insulating jacket so I would be vigilant around hot work with the cables. Some have reviewed the stinger spring as weak, but in the unit I received it's definitely not the case, plenty of tension in the 'gator jaws' and it will accept electrodes at 90 degrees, 45 degrees, and 180 degrees ( - \ | ); the ground clamp is a bit flimsy but it does have braided copper band between the teeth and is strong enough for its purpose. The little welder is impressive in terms of cranking out the amps, but it is finicky on the type of electrodes used, leveling the current during the weld (at least on the 6013's I tried), and striking the arc (again using the 6013's). Unsure why this particular YesWelder product comes in black when all of their other products appear to be painted light blue or seafoam green, could represent an older/newer product or a run made especially for Amazon, but rest assured it is just like the one pictured.

I am absolutely thoroughly surprised at not only the power, but also the smoothness and consistency of this welder, especially considering its small size, smaller than the esab suitcase welders ive used before, i tested it out today on 7018 1/8" rod, it was absolutely beautiful, perfection (on 220) ive used e309l16 1/16" rods on it (great results) 7014 1/8" rods (great), i tried some 7018 3/16" rods with it today as well and thats where it struggled, it sparked plenty but just had a hard time holding and keeping a steady bead even at 205 amps maxed out. But thats ok, for me atleast i dont really need to run 3/16" rods with this thing, 1/8" rods at 100 and 110 amps it ran perfectly and laid some killer beads on some 3/4" plates today, i am very pleased and will continue to use this brand.

This little thing is really nice for working outside and just grabbing something to go. I'm a terrible welder and I'm running it with stick on 110. The hot start and arc force really help so that you can run lower amps and still get good results. It's quiet enough that you can hear the sound of bacon crisping with your welds. I've only used it twice so far so I can't comment on the durability and I haven't welded anything large enough to have issues with the duty cycle. I wish I'd have spent a little more to get the one with the foot pedal.

Why did you pick this product vs others?:own 5 needed another in our fleetFunctionality:We use inner shield wire 0.35 for welding mild steel and 12 gauge galv the duty cycle outperforms other brands for production and the fact it is 110 Vac or 220 Vac is great. The machine works well SMAW (stick) welding process, we don't use it much that way. Value for money:great value, I had to warranty a unit and the process was simple and fast.Build quality:as well as the other types that are red or blue. the spool holder is not great best not to transport with a 10 Lb. spool on it.Size:the weight is super light its like 39 pounds with a 10 Lb. spool.