Small, very portable hobby or DIY arc welders are an economically viable alternative to a much more expensive large arc welder found in many commercial shops or anywhere such a welder is needed. For instance, the Speedway Series Welder Kit we offer on this site sells for less than $90 including shipping, and can be delivered by UPS or FedEx. Many small portable arc welders use 120 volts AC to power them, but the Speedway Series welder uses 220-240 volts AC which helps in providing a more stable arc.

The only drawback to a 240 volt AC welder is the need for a 30 amp 240 volt AC circuit and a special lock type receptical to plug the welder into. Many home hobby shops or DIY repair shops are wired for 240 volt AC power. If they are not wired for 240 volts, they need to be rewired using at least a 12 gauge supply wire if the supply wire run is relatively short, or a 10 gauge supply wire if the supply wire run is fairly long. A small 120/240 volt capable breaker box located in or on the hobby or DIY repair shop can both provide the necessary 240 volts and 120 volts for all the various other electrical tools that require 120 volts.

To wire up a shop for 240 volts capability with 120 volt capability too, visit our Generator/Electrical Help page for tips and/or ideas.

These small portable welders take some practice to strike and maintain an arc. Correct welding rod size and type helps, and so does methods used of successfully striking & maintaining an arc. We discuss these tips next. The duty cycle of these portable welders (time spent welding/arc striking versus elapsed time) is relatively short, so don't expect these welders to do a large job in a very short time. A fairly large job can be done if done in increments while allowing welder cool down time in between. The Speedway Welder, offered on this site, has an automatically resetting device that shuts down the welder whenever the duty cycle is exceeded & overheats the welder. The automatic shutdown device automatically resets when the welder cools down!  

Very very important to successfully strike & maintain an arc with a small portable arc welder, is the welding rod size used and the type of welding rod used. Most small portable arc welders are typically restricted to two rod sizes and work best with a couple of specific rod types.

Rod size tips: 1/16" & 3/32"

While the 1/16" rod size is somewhat flimsier than a 3/32" rod, making arc striking more difficult, it will also somewhat increase the duty cycle of the welder because of the lower output amperage setting used. The exact output amperage setting for optimal welding on most arc welders for each rod size & type varies from welder to welder. Some experiment with output amperages is usually necessary to obtain optimal welding performance. The owner's manual should give relatively close starting points per rod size, but these amperages will/may still have to be adjusted. Also these amperages may have to be readjusted when changing from one rod type to another rod type.

Rod type tips: E6011 & E6013 for most mild steel welding.

E6011 with the weld bead rated at 60.000 lbs per square inch, is perhaps the easiest rod to strike & maintain an arc with. It also provides good penetration and strength for most hobbies and most repairs or construction of a pet project. Difficult removal of all the residual flux is the only real con of this rod type.

E6013 with the weld bead also rated at 60,000 lbs per square inch, is somewhat comparable to E6011 as far as penetration & strength, but it also provides easier residual flux removal.

E7018 rods can possibly be used with a small portable arc welder at very high output amperage settings, but the duty cycle of the welder will be significantly reduced. The weld bead length per duty cycle also will not be very good if a long weld bead length is preferable. Although this rod's weld bead is rated at 70.000 lbs per square inch, the lessened penetration will cause the actual weld strength to be significantly lower than a weld from a E6011 or E6013. This rod does however, make a good cover up rod for E6011 welds when the E6011 residual flux is completely removed. The residual flux from an E7018 is very easy to remove and the appearance of the weld itself is very good.

Perhaps the most important aspect of sucessful arc striking and welding with a small portable arc welder is to place your work flat so you are welding downward and left to right or right to left (at least start out this way). Overhead and vertical welding is difficult with a professional welder, let alone a hobby type welder.

Stricking an arc is very similar to stricking a match. First, slightly lean the rod holder (and top of the rod) toward the desired direction of travel. Then with a match striking motion, strike the rod to the work at the desired welding starting point with the finishing match striking motion cut off just as the rod leaves the work. Practice this until you seemlessly can both strike an arc and hold the arc during welding.

After you can successfully strike an arc & hold the arc during welding, watch the pool of molten metal at the arc. The pool of molten metal will quickly widen out to good contact with the two pieces of metal being welded together. After the pool of molten metal widens to correctly contact both pices of metal, move the rod slightly ahead toward the direction of the expected weld, and every so often (about every half second or so) back it up slightly to build up the depth of the finished bead.

Metal thickness dictates exactly how the above method is to be carried out. Very thin metal will be easy to blow a hole through but thicker metal will not be so easy. Thin metal does not need much penetration, but thick metal needs complete penetration.  Practice makes perfect, so practice these tips on scrap metal of different thicknesses to get the exact "feel" of successfully welding all the different thicknesses.

If real thick metal is to be welded, such as 1/4" metal with a 1/16" rod, bevel the two joining edges, place the edges together & weld the edges with about 3 or more beads. Be sure to clean off the residual flux before each bead weld so there will be less likelyhood of micrscopic holes in the weld that will weaken the finished weld job.