# Forum Home Renovation Tools & Products  Ozito arc welder ...

## OBBob

I decided to try to reconfiguring the front heritage security door last weekend to match the new old door I fitted a while ago. The door was replaced to be more in keeping with the style of the house than what was on there when we bought it. These security doors are pretty expensive new and you really cant buy or sell them second-hand because they are all bespoke sizing. Anyway, the plan was to cut out the centre steel sections and details of the door and rearrange so they aligned to shape of our new front door (small window at the top third of the door), then hire a Mig welder and put it all back together. Of course being a long weekend all the hire places were closed, so after some deliberation I thought Id give a cheap arc welder a go. 
I used to borrow one from a friend (which has since become unavailable) and it weighed about 30kg :eek:. So when I picked up the 5kg (inverter) 100amp Ozito version I was a bit dubious that itd actually be useful. Amazingly  2mm steel on about 60 amps with 2mm rods was no problem. Its certainly sufficient for the little stuff I weld, like gate hinges etc. I guess its down to the inverter technology  I was very surprised!  
Given it came with a three year warranty they have clearly got the electronics to be quite robust now as well.  
Anyway,  with hire of a mig being around $65 + wire etc. ... $120 for a welder I can keep turned out well.

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## Gaza

You think it would weld 1.6mm or blow through. 
I got to weld up some shelves at home but my mig is 3ph i don't have 3ph power at home it would save me doing it at work.   
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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## OBBob

Oh,  I should add that I'm not exactly a good welder! I've done it here and there for years but never enough at once to get good. So I'm happy to get some solid steel in there and clean up with a grinder (although some joins were surprisingly neat).  
Anyway, I'm not sure about the 1.6 mm. The manual suggests 2mm to 4mm steel is the range. It did seem to have very good control of the current, so maybe with 1.6mm rods and low current it may work but I really couldn't say I'm afraid??

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## OBBob

So they're building a Super Tram stop outside my office in Melbourne ... I look down on construction works and there is one of the builders welding a couple of 150mm (approx.) SHS sections together with this same welder! Well if it can hold the trams stops up then it must be sufficient for my DIY purposes ...  :Smilie:

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## ErrolFlynn

I bought an Ozito jack hammer.  Very cheap.  Figured I'd use it for the one job and if it was stuffed at the end then that would be fine and I'd chuck it.  I've still got it and its doing well.  I wonder if Ozito are selling their products at a low prices to get a good foothold in the market after which they will start raising their prices

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## OBBob

I think they are aimed at DIY and if you aren't beating the hell out of them day in and day they'll probably do ok. They did start off as the very cheapest on the shelf but now they've crept up a little as the cheap stakes are taken by 909 and other low end players.

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## PlatypusGardens

Avoiding the whole "My Ozito lasted 5 minutes while Dave's is still going 6 years on" conversation....   
And moving right along...  
...I just had a squizz at the Bunnings website and noticed they only sell Ozito and Weldcorp welders now.
Interesting. 
My old Arc welder was a Cigweld, 150A maybe, I forget. 
Think I got it around 2008 and it was $200.
Passed it on to a mate last year when I bought the mig, and that thing took some serious abuse.
Full ball with the thick rods for hours on end.   :Smilie:

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## OBBob

> Avoiding the whole "My Ozito lasted 5 minutes while Dave's is still going 6 years on" conversation....   
> And moving right along...  
> ...I just had a squizz at the Bunnings website and noticed they only sell Ozito and Weldcorp welders now.
> Interesting. 
> My old Arc welder was a Cigweld, 150A maybe, I forget. 
> Think I got it around 2008 and it was $200.
> Passed it on to a mate last year when I bought the mig, and that thing took some serious abuse.
> Full ball with the thick rods for hours on end.

  I think the inverter technology seriously reduces the abuse they incur... it's just so much more controlled and protected now. It's probably a bit nicer on your homes electric circuits too!

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## PlatypusGardens

Yeh I dunno if they had the Ozito welders back when I bought the arc welder, but I seem to recall the Cigweld was the cheapest in the store at the time.   :Smilie:

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## Marc

Inverter technology has had some improvements in the last 10 years and gone from being a lottery to something a bit more reliable. The cheaper brands are the last to benefit from improvements but eventually they also get there.
I haven't had a need for a portable stick welder for a long time and my old transformer "portable" stick welder is sleeping comatose in the shed. If I had to buy one I would probably choose a better brand and slightly better unit. 
It's all about the money of course. How much you value your tools and your work. I try to buy the best tool I can justify for the job.   https://sydneytools.com.au/cigweld-w...dc-welder-7017

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## PlatypusGardens

My old stick welder was probably the same size as my current one. 
But a bit lower and wider.

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## OBBob

> I try to buy the best tool I can justify for the job.

  Yep .. agree. For me it was a slightly planned expense, so it was either hire one or try a cheapie. For what I've don't it has been perfectly sufficient ... with the current, limited use it'd be a waste for me to have a more expensive unit sitting gathering dust. Other more regularly used tools get those funds.  :Smilie:

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## Marc

Having said that, I get work done at cost by a relative (sparky) who refuses to get paid so I am always trying to buy him some tools. Last time he was complaining about how gutless his rotary hammer (very small one) was compared to my hilti, so I bought him the biggest Ozito  I could find with a bit of apprehension that it would go bust after a week the way he uses tools. 
However so far so good, I believe it's been a year now. Got away with a cheap one this time haha,

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