Are portable welders useful?

The invention of portable welders is indeed a remarkable advancement in welding technology. Several large size manufacturing plants find portable welding machines highly useful as quite often the welding operators have to move around to various places within the plant to carry out welding work.

Needless to say, the portable welders can save the welding operators a lot of time and they can prove more productive. The simple fact is - with the availability of portable welders, the welding operators can go to the job site instead of frittering away time waiting for the job to come to them. To provide necessary volts and amperes for the portable welding machines to function, they are usually connected to generators. 

Regardless of what nature of welding work you do, portable welders offer the convenience of mobility and quick execution of work. It is so easy to shift a portable welder to the work spot and there is no need to haul a trailer or get hold of a truck in order to do it. Again, if your weld job is in a location where a standard welder may be inconvenient to use, then a portable welder can be a great alternative.

The fact remains that whether welding work is a part of your career or simply a spare time hobby, portable welders can get the job done in multiple locations in less time than standard stationary welders. 

Two types of portable welders available are the stick welder and the MIG welder.

The stick welder is obviously cheaper than the MIG - though price alone should not be deciding factor when buying a portable welder. As a matter of fact, you should consider quite a few other factors such as welder voltage, the thickness of material that you would normally weld and welder cycle time before you need to recharge.

Portable welders weigh a lot less and appear more compact while still retaining many of the features of a regular welder. The portable welder comes with host of optional features and it is up to the buyer to decide what his needs are. The portable welder should be perfectly suited to your welding needs. It should be reliable and safe for process in your workspace.

There are quite a few types of portable welders including those that come with a gasoline power generator. These are ideal if the right type of power supply is not available at various work locations. There are portable welders available in the market that has both AC (alternate current)/DC (direct current) power output. There are also portable welding machines that have non overheating features.

Please know a MIG unit has greater speed but a TIG weld will mean high quality weld. For manufacturing consumer products where aesthetics matter, TIG is best as it provides elegant appearance. A simple MIG machine should suffice for hobbyist and welding operators who do casual welding work as they will not need the sophistication of high tech TIG machines.

The protective gear you should wear when using portable welders is the same as what you wear for regular welders, but wearing the protective gear is imperative when operating portable welders due to the different types of sites where the machines will be used.