Buy a welder on its amperage figure and you'll learn about duty cycle the hard way. Usually around week three, when the shop is busy and the machine keeps cutting out mid-bead.
Description
An inverter welder takes your incoming supply and chops it to high frequency through an IGBT module. That's the trick that lets a 300A machine weigh 15kg instead of 60. MMA units strike off a coated electrode and handle gates, railings, burglar-proof and general site work. MIG feeds a continuous wire, runs faster, and does cleaner work on thin sheet.
Single-phase 220V covers light fabrication and anything you need to carry to site. Three-phase is where you go once one welder can't keep up with the job book.
On frequency, Chinese equipment has an advantage most buyers never think about. China builds at 50Hz. So do we. American and Japanese machines are built for 60Hz markets, and a 60Hz motor on our supply runs roughly 17% slow and gets hot doing it. There's nothing to correct for with a Chinese welder.
What actually survives Nigerian power
Frequency is already right. 50Hz in China, 50Hz here. It's the American and Japanese equipment you want to look at twice, not the Chinese.
Voltage does differ. China's three-phase is 380V. Ours is 415V. That gap sits inside most welders' tolerance, but we confirm it against the actual model before anything ships.
Your generator is a separate calculation. Rated input current isn't what the machine pulls the instant an arc strikes. Get the set sizing wrong and a perfectly good welder trips it every time you start a bead.
Duty cycle is where cheap machines lie. 35% duty cycle means three and a half minutes of welding in every ten. A shop welding all day on that rating is burning through a machine, not using it.
Specification
These are the numbers worth arguing about. We confirm every one against written supplier data before we quote you.
| Input voltage and phase | 220V single-phase for portables, 380V three-phase for shop machines. Chinese three-phase runs 380V against our 415V. Usually fine, always confirmed. |
|---|---|
| Output current | 20-630A across the range. Match it to your material thickness and electrode size. The biggest number is rarely the right one. |
| Duty cycle | The percentage of a 10-minute block the machine welds at rated current before it has to cool. This is the spec cheap machines come up short on. |
| Wire or electrode size | For MIG, what the feed mechanism handles. For MMA, the electrode range your output supports. |
| IP rating | Dust and moisture ingress. A machine going to site with no stated IP rating is a workshop welder doing site work. |
| Technology | IGBT inverter, not the older transformer or thyristor builds. Lighter, more efficient, and it holds a steady arc down at low output. You can see the difference in the bead on thin material. |
| Total connected load | In kW. This is the figure that tells you whether your supply carries the welder alongside everything else already running. |
We do not publish prices, because the landed figure depends on the specification, the Customs valuation and the exchange rate on the day you pay.
Minimum order
One machine. That's a completely normal order and it's where most shops start.
Two or more brings down freight and clearing per unit, which matters if you're equipping several bays at once or kitting out a training workshop.
What decides the right one
Start with duty cycle, and be honest about how the machine gets used. Not how you'd like to use it. A welder rated for intermittent work won't survive a shop running it all day, whatever its peak amperage says.
Then phase and voltage against what your supply actually delivers. We've had buyers order three-phase machines for sites with only single-phase, on the assumption the upgrade was coming. Sometimes it doesn't come.
Output range last, matched to the material you actually weld. Oversized costs more to buy and more to run. Undersized never leaves the light end of the job book.
Common questions
What's the minimum order
One machine. Most fabrication shops start with exactly one and add a second bay later.
Single-phase or three-phase
Single-phase 220V for portable and light work. Three-phase for a shop running a welder most of the day, where duty cycle matters more than being able to carry it.
Will it run on my generator
Yes, once the set is sized for the surge at arc strike and not just the running average. We work that out with you before you buy the generator.
MMA or MIG
MMA for site work, thicker material, rough conditions. MIG for faster clean welds on thin sheet in a fixed shop. Plenty of shops end up with one of each.
What comes in the box
The welder, electrode or torch lead set, earth clamp and manual. Electrodes, wire and gas regulators are separate, and we quote them alongside.
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Tell us what you weld and what power you've got
What material, how thick, and whether the shop runs on grid, generator or both. We'll tell you which welder that actually is, what it lands at in Naira with every line itemised, and what size generator backs it up properly.
Costs you nothing and commits you to nothing.
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