ESAB has just announced their first engine driven welder for the U.S. market, the Ruffian. The Ruffian engine driven welder is designed with portability, power, and reliability in mind. Baker's has a demo unit here and made a review video linked below.
In the video, we do an overall review of the unit, set up and stick weld 7018 with it. Later in the video, we show running an inverter welder off it. We had a Rebel 205 here so we hooked it up to show AC TIG powered by the engine drive.
Who it's Made For
The Ruffian strikes that perfect middle ground of engine drives when it comes to size and output. The machine is small enough to be moved and operated by one person easily, but still powerful enough to run most job site tools. If you are a light mobile fabricator, farmer, or just someone who needs easily portable power. This is the machine for you.
Specifications & Details
The Ruffian welder generator is an all in one inverter DC stick machine with an AC generator. The stick welder aspect of the Ruffian is basically that of a MiniArc Rogue. The Rogue lineup has been a favorite of the team here at Baker's due to the affordability and capability. So it is great to see that same technology brought into this unit. The stick welder on the Ruffian ES150G can handle difficult to weld electrodes like 6010. On top of this the duty cycle is 100% at 115A and 60% at 150A. View the full spec sheet.
The generator side of the Ruffian produces 4500 peak voltage and a continuous rating of 4000. The Ruffian has four 120v outlets and one 240v outlet protected by GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interruptor). That means that you can run a welder, air compressor, grinder, or any other power tool with ease. In our testing, the Rebel 205 worked perfectly running off of the Ruffian power. The machine has split block power so you should be able to use the stick welder while simultaneously running power tools.
We were unable to get the plasma cutter to arc, but there could have been an issue with the equipment tested that day. We are working with ESAB to find a solution.
If you order the Ruffian from us and are curious how it will show up and how to set it up, check out our Ruffian Setup Video.
What can the Ruffian Power do?
The ESAB go anywhere, and power anything welder generator packs a punch. We mentioned running an inverter welder but the chart below shows some of the most common ways you can run the Ruffian!
*NOTE we are getting clarification on the plasma power details!
Why Consider the Ruffian
The engine in the Ruffian has a Kohler CH440 engine. This is great because Kohler engines are known to be reliable workhorses, plus the engine is covered with a three year warranty! Plus this unit is backed and engineered by ESAB. Leaders in the industry for quality and innovation.
The biggest differentiators in this welder generator over any other in it's class would be:
Excellent Arc Starts (Basically a Rogue in your Ruffian)
Handle Position (Designed for the toughest conditions and more comfortable for the user to push)
Ability to truck mount (Simple to remove wheels and handles to mount)
Run time (up to 6.6 hours of run time)
If you have any questions regarding the Ruffian or any of our products, reach out to our support team! Our support team is available at 877-930-5690, or you can email us at support@bakersgas.com.
