Portable welder suggestions

[Don P]

Well it's no wonder we don't have any more battleships in the Navy.  How the heck did they think they would get them out of Lima, OH?  :D

Which made me think of a tidbit of history, Charlotte was an important naval yard at one time. 

[Al_Smith]

If you get into the nitty gritty of designs on DC welders you can come up with some interesting examples .The little pancake engine machines used an 18HP air cooled  engine and most of them were a 3 phase alternator rectified to DC .The ripple was not bad but the little engine screamed away at 3600 rpm .On generator usage at maybe 5 KW it ran at 1800 .Many were sold under  Miller, Airco ,Lincoln names and others but they were all just about the same .
Rectified transformer units it depended on the rectification on how smooth they are .With just diodes on single phase they were rough and the fix to that is a PI filter .I went one step farther and used a double PI on the one I rewired from 3 to single phase .I wouldn't say it's as smooth as the famous SA 200 Lincoln but it's pretty close. Besides that it was a freebie .It's not portable but it's a good shop machine .

[Don P]

Really you can make acceptable welds with a wide variety of machines. Depending on joint design, which is a conversation with the engineer, critical welds could be fabricated in the shop and field welds or bolting can be designed around that. There's really many ways to skin the cat as long as everyone is on board with the conditions.

[mike_belben]

I built a self propelled weldernator and air compressor from a 10hp snowblower a few years ago, using a york 210 A/C compressor and an alternator from a nissan frontier sitting out back. I needed a big tank and half inch unchecked hose to power my 1" impact for busting mean lugs at the back of the JY. 


  I cut out the voltage regulator but kept the diode bridge and use a 3 way center off switch in the field wire to choose between rheostat control or ford external voltage regulator control of the field current so as to have a charge or weld mode.  

With a new battery it works great but quickly runs battery down then you have to switch and charge up again..  The truth is you need to have 2 alternators on these things for welding any length of time.  A battery to crank it and excite the charging alt's field and then that alternators output fed into the welding alternators field.  Use a rheostat between battery and alt 1s field input to control welding output.  Homemade weldernators are good on trucks because of this 2 alt setup but not so good on standalone gas engines that run on stored field current from a battery.  



I havent got my shop setup or lathe/mills brought down yet, but the first project i have set aside for when i do is building a new welder genny unit.  Ive got a delco 37mt bigrig starter that fell off a truck and  was on the side of the road.. Huge windings, huge brushes, massive iron core.  Im gonna machine high speed bearing endcaps and turn and key the armature shafts for a pulley on front and a lovejoy out the back to mount the excitor alternator piggy backed inline with the delco just like an SA200.  So itll be a 3 phase unegulated AC excitor capable of 150VAC give or take, fed into a stout copper wound direct dc welder head.  its gonna burn some rod.  Something ive been eager to build for a year now.

[Sedgehammer]

That's be neato.

[Al_Smith]

That was another neat design on those pancake engine air cooled .They picked off part of a winding from the alternator for a battery charger circuit which worked weather it was at 3600 or 1800 RPMs running either AC or DC or charging as a generator .I thought it was pretty slick . They also used a double ignition coil that fired both spark plugs like a Harley .Kept the plugs from fouling .

[mike_belben]

I actually had one and have some pics of it somewhere.. It was a pull start 10hp with just a big alternator but there was definitely some specialized circuitry in it.. Some filtering and large diode bridge for sure.  I gave it to a guy who was more electrical than me at the time and wish now i hadnt.  The armature bearing were shot and at the time it was over my head. 

[Al_Smith]

I've really not done too much on an engine driven machine .Changed a few brushes ,one reostat and one   idle up on an SA 200 but that was over  50 years ago. That one had a starter ,later model .That was in New London Conn. I worked part time at a welding shop when I was in port from going to sea .

[Walnut Beast]

Anybody got a Miller 350p or Lincoln 360 pulse welder and if so how do they like it

[farmfromkansas]

About the year 2000, or 1999, I bought a Lincoln engine drive welder generator, powered by a briggs and stratton engine, that I use with a stick to weld away from the power line.  Handy to have one when you don't have enough cords.  Welds well.  My problem right now, is I can't pull hard enough to start it.  Doc says I have to be careful for most of a year.  Secret to getting it started is, always run it out of gas when you are finished with it.

[Al_Smith]

That's the problem with just about anything engine driven They need some exercise and if they sit too long they get cantankerous ..My old Jeep CJ 5 doesn't want to start for some reason leaving me stuck with a Ferguson TO 20 tractor with a rear blade  to plow snow .That's about one level up from a snow shovel .Works but takes forever plus you get chilled to the bone out in the open .Brrr

[wildtmpckjzg]

My son just finished welding school and has learned four processes of welding, best tig welder for the money MIG, tig, stick, and pipe. I would like to get a big welder for at-home use so he could also teach my husband and another son how to do welds. Any recommendations on which Miller welder would be good for this application?

[snowstorm]

The biggest you can afford. I have a 180 miller mig I bought new. A little to small. Also have a 250 esab mig I like that and a miller bobcat nice machine

[Al_Smith]

From a buyers perspective on a used welder this season right here is almost the best for bargains .Dead of winter ,heating costs, lack of seasonal work ,income tax time . They'll be ready to deal .Craigslist ,local trader publications etc .Cash in hand usually however some like a little boot tossed in like a rusty old shotgun or a half blind coon hound .Maybe even an old pick up truck with a blown engine .The worst they can say is no .
  

[wildtmpckjzg]

If you aren't keeping it long term then I'd look for a used one if possible. I have a Thermal Arc brand I think Predator model for at least 15 years and I go months at a time without welding but it can power the house during power outages welding atlanta. 20 HP Honda powered. If you can find any known brand used you will likely recoup most of your money.

Does anyone carry a portable welder on their boat? My generate is rated at 6KW so recon I could carry a small unit. I've never done any welding before so happy to take advice. Ideally would like to be able to do both stainless and aluminum?

[TroyC]

How big of a boat? If you have never welded before, learn to stick weld, then go to MIG. You will discover quickly it is a lot more difficult and costly to weld stainless and aluminum.