CT520D

Certified welder mig/tig and stick. My honest opinion straight out of the box I was hesitant for how light the whole machine was. No instructions were necessary for installation of hoses, adapters torches etc..for everything is fairly cut and dry. So here are my unbiased opinion(s); Cons: I didn’t care much for the 30 amp twist connect prong plug at the end of the whip. I removed this and added a 50 amp 3 pole connector. (Lincoln plug) no big deal just didn’t fit my shop outlets. Second, I didn’t care for the 1/4” hose barb adapter on the rear for your comp air and argon connection. I removed this and added a 1-4 male npt threaded adapter and also installed two ball valves on a tee for faster air to argon change over. Then I put quick connect air chuks coming out of the ball balves. Attached an air chuck to the provided hose for the argon(which I cut down and use my 500psi fire rated air hose mainly for the plasma cutter). No big deals really just suites my faster paced commercial worksite in the shop. Not being negative towards these things but wasn’t my preference so no loss of starts there. Thirdly, the argon gauge worked perfectly but is a bit soft and on the cheaper side l. I get this due to the amazing low price of this machin so no biggie. I used my own gauge and regulator. Again, nothing wrong w product just not my preference. Lastly, I don’t like how you have to run the argon gas thru the machine and use the setup provided. I have my own tig rig that I clamp my stinger to and run argon directly from bottle to torch. No big deal after a bit of brainstorming I came up with a fix to use my rig. No big deal the factory tig set worked great I just like my stuff better. So No negatives really just a preference type opinion. Pros: First, ( I only run 220 on all my machines. Won’t use the 110 adapter unless I truly have to-not provided)I fired up the arc welder and burned 3- 7018 3/32 rods. They went smooth and good bead. The machine was quit and didn’t sound like a Harley but more like a Vespa scooter. None the less it burned fine. Then I fired up the TIG setup, and keep in mind I used all the factory components first, the button on the torch is a bit different but the high frequency start worked 100%. Very nice. The amp gauge was a bit tricky. Either too hot or not enough, will need to play a it more. Otherwise the tig worked perfect as did the arc welding. The plasma cutter cane next and I layed out a piece of 3/16 diamond plate 4 ‘ long by 2’wide. I cut thru the 2’ side in about 25 seconds. A bit of slag on bottom and had to hit a few places twice but if you go slow, like you’re supposed to, it left a nice clean top surface and cut thru it like warm butter. I sliced thru the 4’ side in about 45-55 seconds. Never phased the tip or cullet whatsoever. You need plenty of good air pressure but unit and component work flawlessly. Overall I am 100% percent satisfied with this machine. Not one single problem or glitch to contend with and for that I’m giving it a 5 Star. Would buy again and would recommend. Hope this helps and good luck

I am updating my review, I like to give credit when its due, even though I haven't used the tig welder yet(just finally got the tank and gauges) I gave it 5 stars because the plasma cutter worked flawlessly! I was amazed at how such a small and light package could cut through steel like scissors on paper, and not even a second of warm up... unlike oxy/acet. and the stick welder is just as impressive you can turn it way down and use the mini rods or crank it up and use 6011. I don't have hardly any experience with plasma cutting or welding but this machine if it lasts is worth every penny so far. I only wish I had known about other features like no touch pilot ark and pulse i would have spent more. I did weld some 3/8 pipe to 3/8 channel and to 1/2 plate only problem I cranked it up too high and melted through a couple places. but i filled it and ground it out. hopefully today weather permitting I will use the tig. well worth the $400.

I purchased this welder/plasma cutter about 4 years ago and since then it's done what I need it to. I am an armature maker so it gets used for a whole day about once a month. While the manual was a little light on details, the welder was easy enough to figure out (it was not my first time with a TIG). I had trouble using the plasma cutter. It was my first time using one, so that might be the issue tho. In case you're struggling there, start with low amperage (8 amps) and lower air pressure (30 psi) and go up on them until you're cutting through the material. If you start with either too high, the machine may abruptly shut off. The welder is all that I need it to be. I've made consistent, strong welds with it. The max of 200 amps is more than I need. I mostly work with 16g steal tubes, but I've also welded 3/8 steal as well. As mentioned earlier, this welder has been working for me for 4 years without any significant issues except for some small things noted later below. I purchased a foot pedal which should come with the tool, if you ask me, as that's the only way to modulate the power while welding. I've used it on a standard 120V outlet and a 240V dryer outlet. It is much happier on the 240V; that's the only way to get higher amperages (100 plus I think) and the electroncs just seem to work better there too. Additionally, after using it on the 240V for the first time the mode selector switch stopped working on 120V. It needs a lot of persausion to switch off of plasma cutter mode at 120V now, of it will even do it at all. I only use it with 240V now but I could see this being a big issue for others. Another complaint is the shortness of the ground cable. At about 4 feet, I have to move the welder pretty close to what I'm doing, which can be annoying. I've not tried the stick welder so I can't report on that. All in all, it feels like they went cheep on the unimportant things and made sure the important things work as they should. I would buy this again and expect simple but reliable functionality.

Purchased in 2021 and it's now 2025 so thought I'd give it a review. I have now used every feature that this machine offers. I have stick welded, TIG welded (with gas) and plasma cut. It has done all 3 surprisingly well. I am no professional welder but everything I have worked on has managed to stay together and it has included attachments for my camper van and implements for my tractor so I have tested it pretty thuroughly I think. At the end of the day, I think this machine has been WELL worth the money and would recommend it to any of my close friends if they were looking for something like this that was versitile and easy to use. TLDR: I've had it for 4 years now and have used it a fair bit. I am very pleased with my purchase.

I have been using the CT520D for several years-mostly the tig and stick welding. I use it regularly for a few months-3-4 hours a day and then off and on a few times per week the remainder of the year. Quarter inch to heavy sheet metal. Have been wanting to use the plasma cutter for some projects since I have rarely used it. Set it up last week and the regulator was defective. Contacted Lotos and the same day they requested some pictures of the regulator so they could determine the type. Texted back the pictures to them and they replied same afternoon with regulator. The Lotos representative sent a new regulator by mail-I received today and installed the regulator-we are good to go!!! Excellent Customer Service and a GREAT welding/cutting machine for the hobbyist. THANK YOU!!

I am a completely new welder, and have been using this machine to tech myself how to weld. From what my novice eyes can see this is a wonderful versatile machine for small shop/home use. I have been able to get some strong (if ugly but thats my fault) tig welds out of it in both structural and stainless steels. And from what i can tell the plasma cutter and stick welder both function wonderfully, though i have not used those as much. I will say that the tig becomes far easier to use if you acquire a compatible pedal for it, so be aware that that does not come included. My only real complaint is that both argon and compressed air for the plasma cutter feed through the same quick change connecter ( i would highly recommend replacing the quick change with a weld gas fitting and swapping the quick change in when you need the cutter) I work as a fabricator, primarily making food safe machine parts for oil extraction (welding was a rather notable void in my resume). I have bought many tools and machines from many companies. In my opinion, the most inportant metrics of a company are that the machine performs without issue, and that the company treats you well when it does not perform. I have currently had to contact lotos twice with minor issues, and have been astounded with the quality of their customer support. The first issue was a misprint in the instruction manual when first setting up (it was using pictures from an older version of the welder that still had seperate imputs for compresed air and argon. dont know why they changed that). All i wanted was clarification, and they responded within the hour and, completely unsolicited, sent me a pack of cutter acessories to make up for the confusion. The second issue was the gas release valve tended to leak at low pressure, which did not effect performance at all but was annoying. They sent me a replacement promptly free of charge. I honestly consider Lotos to have the best customer support I have ever dealt with. If i need another welder or similar tool, Lotos will be the first company i look towards. In short, this is a great machine from a wonderful company that will treat you well. Do yourself a favor and buy this machine

Am very happy I purchased this awesome little machine. Have used the ARC welder and it welds great! Had an issue with the Plasma Cutter but after contacting Lotos Tech Support, with out hesitation they advised me to send it back so it could be checked out. After I sent machine back, there shortly after I received an e-mail from Tech Support that a replacement machine had been shipped out to me. Now that's what I call great Tech Support. I have since received replacement machine and everything is working perfectly.... Satisfied Customer, and I will definitely recommend anyone looking for an affordable welder to take a look at Lotos products....

So far this is working great for 1/5th the price of a blue or red one. Time will tell how it holds up. Would buy again. Update: Just before the 1 year mark (and a ton of use, only as a plaz, to be fair) the machine failed, with a cloud of smoke. I was a little bummed, but again, 1/5th of the price of a name brand and less than half of the harbor freight. I contacted lotus by email and responded with in minutes, just asking for a screen shot of the recipet. They quickly sent out a packing slip to send the old machine back. I dropped the machine off Monday, and as soon as they saw the tracking saying it shipped, they must have shipped my replacement, THE SAME DAY. There shop is about 4-5 hours away so I received the machine the next day. I'm extremely happy with how they took care of the issue. No questions asked. New machine has been working flawlessly. Would recommend to anyone looking for a great machine on a budget.

La máquina no funcionó. No daba chispa estaba muerta.tuve que devolverla y solicitar reembolso. Es una marca muy mala. Nada recomendada