Thread: Abel welder quality

Hi there! First post so let me know if i am filling your required criteria...
I have found an ABEL 130 amp welder
For around $100, i have done a small amount of welding and was just wondering about the quality of these machines, thanks!

of these machinesIMG_1442.JPGIMG_1441.JPG


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Welcome. Inherited my old man's one of those - and he bought it some time in the 70s(?) replacing some monster 40s artifact we used previously. It's been decades since I've fired it up, it's still under the house, though probably a bit rusty now.

Don't know if it was the rods he kept for donkey's years that were no doubt damp, but always found it to be a bit of pita to use personally. Amazing revelation, when eventually using a good 3 phase machine for stick..with fresh rods!

In their day, they were probably as good as any of the AC buzz boxes of their class. Still quite usable today, but outclassed by the numerous DC inverters.
Would I be happy using one? Yes. Would I trade my Lincoln invertec 170 on one? No.
At $100 it's a lot better than a Bunnings or Supercheap welder in that price range, I reckon you'll havea lot offun with it.

Just remembered, one of it's annoying features, if cranked up a bit or used for too long, it would burn up the fuse in a household 10A circuit repeatedly. Do recall - and totally out of character for him - he applied to the County Council for a 15A circuit to run it and was denied.

Notice that one even has the original electrode holder still, the plastic handles usually cracked up, so doubt that one had much use.

I think it will be quite able.

Same as the other blokes have said and:

A good solid small welder from the days when they made good solid welders. Brick dunny strong! It will probably by able to be used by the grandkids- nothing to wear out!

I notice a tong electrode holder there which is better than a twist handle type- less chances of twisting up the cable.

Unfortunately no extra outlet so theres no running low hydrogen rods on it. Its still plenty good for small jobs.

Get some good 2.5 mm electrodes -not satincrap - Pick from Kobe RB 26, Cigweld 6012,Hyundai 6013, Austarc 12ps. What you buy is probably dependent on where you are.I would leave 6010s 6011s alone as you don't really need them developing your electrode skills initially

A bit of 90 PVC drainpipe with a pair of caps -glue one end and fit the other for a slide on fit- keeps the electrodes dry - hot glue some silica gel sachets under the lid.

Since you saved a bit of dough on the welder look for a AD helmet and you won't look back

Keep the area under your earth return clamp clean-for good electrical contact.

Post a pic when you make something

cheers
Grahame

Thanks all, i will ring the seller and make an offer, well see how we go


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These old Abel welders were good quality in their day.
The current adjustment towards the high end of adjustment can be a bit hard to accurately set as the rate of change of amps per handle turn is non linear and increasing.
They do draw a lot of primary current, so make sure your mains lead and plug are in very good electrical condition, and that you run from a mains outlet as close as you can to the house mains entry point.
Do not use mains extension leads.
If you do, do not use in a coil.
Have a 15 amp GPO installed in your mains meter box.
Clean and tighten all internal electrical connections.
Clean up the mains plug with fine sandpaper.
I have seen plugs and outlets melt due to contact resistance and poor contact pressure in the outlet.
This tends to happen while you have the mask on, with "interesting" results.

One big advantage of the old welders is that the welding ON/OFF time is good, as the manufacturers mostly used correctly rated wire sizes for both windings, and by design, internal heat rise is managed as well as it could be.

I think there's two different questions here - is this welder "good quality"? Well, yes, it probably is for its vintage. However the more important questions is "is this the best choice for the occasional welder"? And the answer to that is no. Modern DC inverter units are simply easier to weld with, are far more tolerant of mains supply variations and extension leads, weigh much less, and if you choose a decent brand, will last a long time.

RustyArc - Agreed.

Even I have gone to an inverter unit now.
I was on a memory lane trip.
When I was about twelve, my dad and I made a 10# welder based on the Abel design.
My dad used to get "bits" from the old SEAQ workshop throw-out bins.

I wouldn't,
Maybe it was a great machine in its day which was 30 + yrs ago,
With all due respect to the other posters , This is a piece of junk worth about 50 cents a kilo, For around $350.00 you can get a welder that is far superior in every respect weighs a fraction has a three year warranty comes with new leads will tig weld etc etc etc
I can not think of a single reason to buy this machine over the current models on sale in any welding shop

Gotta be worth more than .50 a kilo, should be all copper instead of aluminium windings inside!

Not that I do much now, last bit of stick I did was last year was with a mate's el-cheapo inverter machine, nickel on cast iron - and it was perfectly acceptable. He did mention the price, but it wasn't too much more than the asking for this thing I'm pretty sure. Weight and power supply, as others have mentioned, are big downsides, it's not like the usual arc job is bench welding. As a young buck, foolishly remember trying to drag the Abel onto a roof once, must be 50kg in the machine!

Originally Posted by dubman

I can not think of a single reason to buy this machine over the current models on sale in any welding shop

I can,

Times are tight and not everyone has that extra disposable income to buy a inverter welder. For some the welder is an occasionally used tool and does not warrant expenditure required for a halfway decent inverter unit.

With practice, patience and use of correct techniques an acceptable job can be performed with the AC welder bearing in mind its limitations.

In the wash up many lower end (sub $300) inverter welders are straight DC and really don't make really good TIG until you spend $500 or more.

Heavy copper coil AC machines are robust enough to endure submersion and can be make run again with minimal problems. You see, there are no diodes ,capacitors,transistors and similar components found in inverter machines that don't fare well at all from flooding.

In any case, and when circumstances permit ,many AC transformers an be favorably upgraded with a rectifier to produce DC current. Its makes for a much nicer machine to run.

Of course its job for a experienced qualified electrical trades person and I feel sure that forum members will also do the correct thing in this regard.

When you have a limited choice the little AC unit might very well fulfill the requirement.

Grahame

A great many things were built with these welders, although not as easy to use as a DC welder, a great number of people learnt to weld on these and
similar welders. I still use one (WIA) to-day, have had it around 28 years.
Right or wrong I would not take to much notice of post #11