Many people in the welding business are choosing to buy a new type of Inverter Arc Welder. The advantages of this new technology are great, but they do come with some trade-offs as well. The first thing you will notice is that most use 110v power and are far smaller than most welders you have seen before. Inside, they use advanced electronics to put out a lot of power very efficiently using only household current. This can give you a lot of flexibility especially when you are on the move since you can plug in just about anywhere. They are also smaller than your conventional welder which means that you can often carry them into tight spaces instead of trying to roll your traditional welder. As a bonus, they also use less power and if you do a lot of welding, you may see the savings in your power bill at the end of the month. Finally, they are better able to cope with bad generator power than normal welders and can smooth over the rough parts easily.
The main downsides are the per amp of power, inverter arc welders are more expensive and will probably need more maintenance over their lifetime. The main reason is that conventional welders are dead simple inside due to years of manufacturing efficiency. This new type of welders use more sensitive electronics to invert the power in order to spark a powerful arc from relatively low voltage. This makes them cost more to make, and also need different types of maintenance over time. If you do buy one, you will need to plan on treating it more carefully that you might a conventional arc welder.
There are a variety for reasons why people are choosing to buy an inverter arc welder. Some manufacturing facilities have done the math and realized that simply the power savings mean a positive ROI. Other welders are keeping their current welder but adding an inverter welder for situations that require extreme portability or where they don’t have access to 220v power. In many cases, the combination of a conventional welder plus a new welder will give you the perfect amount of flexibility.