Hey, looking for first-hand info on plastic welders. These are one of those tool-types that I keep finding myself wanting/possibly needing for work.

Are they worth it?
What can they do that can't be done with epoxies or other adhesives?
Can they handle PVC?

Oh, and many things I would fix using this tool would need to withstand moderate exposure to sulfuric acid and possibly other acids. So urethane "welding rod" would be less than ideal--still doable for some things, but less than ideal.

Thanks!

 

Only you know just how much of a need you have.

Have you priced out a good system not like a Harbor fright plastic welder package.

I had thought of going this route one can buy quite a lot of expoy and glue compared to a set up to weld plastic.

My question are you spending your money or someone else`s

 

Well, I've looked over what Northern Tool has (and Harbor Freight ). I would prefer that my money not go into this--which would mean I need to sell the idea to the boss.

But, the more I look into it the less useful it seems. I work for a small firm and $3k for a plastic welder is not going to happen. More than that, I just don't see a point unless we end up dealing with huge plastic holding tanks--even then, a HF type deal would be preferable for cost and portability. Most plastics I deal with are PVC, PP, and Acrylic, all of which can be welded with solvent-adhesives.

The reason I was interested is that epoxies and whatnot can be tricky to apply and often require long set times. In field work this is nearly always an invitation to shoddy jb-quick work.