Technology is great, it helps us do things more easily and saves us time. I love old “stuff” and oldschool traditions, but one antique I don’t want is a welder. The welder you use can definitely change the quality of the work you’re doing. In recent years transformer welders have taken a back seat to inverter welders. What makes one better? We decided to put together our top 5 reasons why we chose an inverter welder first.
1. Saves Space- Inverters are substantially smaller than a traditional transformer welder. The days of your home welder taking up as much space as your work bench are over. The space saved can be used for more tools in your shop!
2. Weight- Thank goodness! Moving around a giant monster welder in your garage can be chore (even when on a cart). Many of the DIY level inverter welders can are under 100 pounds, with some weighing less than the welding bottle hooked to it!
3. Power Per Dollar- Power doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg. Eastwood Inverter welders can get you up to 250 Amps for well under $1000. In the days of giant transformer machines you were lucky to touch a unit with that sort of power USED for well under $1k. Change is great folks!
4. Safe for Generator- Transformer welders are very sensitive on the input voltage and small fluctuations can cause them to work incorrectly or fail all together. Inverter welders aren’t quite as picky and happily run on a generator out in the field if you can’t get an extension cord to your machine. This is great news for racers at the track, off-roaders, and, road mechanics, and general repair/fabrication users in remote locations.
5. Efficiency- This is BIG, inverter welders can be up to twice as efficient as transformer welders. This means that their easier on your electric bill AND they have a more stable arc due to the electrical efficiency. Seems a win-win to me!