BAOSHISHAN Handheld ARC Welder Portable Welding Machine with Soldering Electrode Clamp,Current 20-200A Adjustable/IGBT Inverter Portable ARC Welder Gun Fits for 1.6-3.2mm Welding Electrodes Rod 220V

Its been around 30 years since I've done any ARC welding, so this was a little baptism of fire, if you pardon the pun.This welder provides the option to use it like a handheld gun or with a standard welding rod clamp holder. Because I hadn't ARC welded for a few years, I tried this welder with the Electrode clamp holder first. Once I had practised on a couple pieces of angle and remastered the skill required to ARC weld, I tried the device as gun. There is a Current control which is via a potentiometer with a digital display on the gun, which gives good current control.The gun was a little heavy for me to have as good as control as with the standard rod holder on the end of a cable. I did get a good quality weld from both the Gun and the standard electrode holder. Although I wouldn't want to do too much using it as a Gun. The welder works perfectly and is ideal for those quick repair jobs away from the workshop. The whole unit comes in a plastic handheld case, with all of the required leads. There are two sets of gloves, one is a very cheap heat resistance gloves and a second are a set of rubber gloves in a pack, with the whole pack in Chinese apart from the number 400V. So assume these are meant as shock resistance gloves. There is also a very rudimental handheld welding mask, wire brush/chipping hammer. A selection of welding robs are also included. Once you open the case its very near impossible to get it all back in, shut and lock the lid.Overall the unit did weld proficiently in both modes. The protection equipment is very poor and not really suitable. A much better face mask and gloves are really required. If you take these out of the equation, then the welder is a viable portable welder for those small repair type jobs on the go away from the workshop.Most of the tool items like these kits, put in cheap protection equipment as extras. I haven't reviewed those items, because, I already have very high quality welding mask, welding gloves and welding apron that I used to review this device.

I ordered this as when working outside, I need more portability than my existing Mig/Tig/Stick welder can provide.It comes well-packaged in a substantial plastic storage case, so is easy to chuck in the back of a van & take wherever it's needed.Accessories wise, the combined chipping hammer & brush is made down to a cost rather than up to a quality but is usable. The supplied welding mask, however, is not - I challenge anyone to hold a non-auto-darkening mask in one hand and a welder in the other and weld a successful joint. I couldn't do it, but I already have an auto-darkening helmet which makes life much easier & I regard as essential welding equipment.A welding clamp is supplied which helps, allowing the welder itself to be rested on the ground or welding table - the lead then attaches to the nose where the rod would normally be.Performance-wise, in comparison to my full-sized welder there are a few limitations as you'd expect for such a small and portable device: I wasn't able to measure the current it was outputting, but I suspect it may be lower than the claimed 200 amps. It's supplied with a selection of 2.5mm rods, but is claimed to handle rods from 1.6 - 3.2mm. I tested it with 1.6mm, 2.5mm and 3.2mm rods. It was fine with the 1.6 and 2.5mm rods although I found with the 1.6 rods and sheet steel it was prone to blowing holes through the base metal, although this could well have been my fault as I don't do stick welding very often (I prefer Mig). I struggled to strike a reliable arc with 3.2mm rods on 6mm plate, it was prone to sticking. Again, this could be down to me, but I suspect 3.2mm rods are at the very limit of what it can cope with. Nevertheless, most home welders very rarely need to weld 6mm plate so that's not a showstopper.Overall, it's a useful second welder to have when you need the portability, but if you're only going to buy a single welder for home use, I'd recommend a cheap gasless Mig welder instead. And a decent auto-darkening helmet is a must in my view.