dont know what portable welder to get

[cruiseroutfit]

A large part of what I do for a living is field repair of cracked and broken equipment. I have a LN 25 available to me and have never considered using it. A rod can fit any place a mig gun can but a mig gun will never fit in many places a rod will. A ready welder spool gun will be even more likely to have issues than a regular gun. If a person is not proficient with a stick welder then I can see the attraction of the readywelder but the versatility of a good old fashoned arc welder will be able to fix things a wire feed cannot. In the shop fabricating I will reach for the mig. Wire is also the only way to go for build up and also for welding very heavy material (duel sheild, spray arc, or submerged arc). For a field fix it's stick for me all the way.

That makes sense... I can definitely see the attractive benefits of the stick. For me the decision was pretty easy, I can't stick weld. Not so much I can't I guess, just that I haven't for 15 years now. I would feel less comfortable with a stick setup that I can't use out in the middle of nowhere. To each there own and for the budget conscious and stick proficient, no reason not to set up that way.

Out of curiosity, do you have pull & series 2 or 3 batteries for the stick? I've watched others do it on the trail but it was a very sketchy operation and in the end the welds failed. No doubt their lack of success was related to their setup and experience. Whats the protocol for doing a stick repair in the field?

 

[Badbuggy]

Out of curiosity, do you have pull & series 2 or 3 batteries for the stick? I've watched others do it on the trail but it was a very sketchy operation and in the end the welds failed. No doubt their lack of success was related to their setup and experience. Whats the protocol for doing a stick repair in the field?

With the Premier welder you do not, and the welds I have made on the trail did not have to be re-fixed after the repair.

The emergency fix of hooking up a bunch of batteries is a different deal. Not enough AMPS to make a bullit proof fix, but it will get you home, maybe.

 

[bobdog]

That makes sense... I can definitely see the attractive benefits of the stick. For me the decision was pretty easy, I can't stick weld. Not so much I can't I guess, just that I haven't for 15 years now. I would feel less comfortable with a stick setup that I can't use out in the middle of nowhere. To each there own and for the budget conscious and stick proficient, no reason not to set up that way.

Out of curiosity, do you have pull & series 2 or 3 batteries for the stick? I've watched others do it on the trail but it was a very sketchy operation and in the end the welds failed. No doubt their lack of success was related to their setup and experience. Whats the protocol for doing a stick repair in the field?

I have a Miller Trailblazer 302. I have never used batteries. I actually have used a constant voltage wire feed power source (I would expect batteries to be similar)with a stick however and while not ideal (unstable arc) if you pay attention to arc length it works pretty good. I have run a rod or two with a Premier Power Welder and thought it was fine. That is what I would want to have for a welder on my Jeep.

 

[Greg]

...Out of curiosity, do you have pull & series 2 or 3 batteries for the stick? I've watched others do it on the trail but it was a very sketchy operation and in the end the welds failed. No doubt their lack of success was related to their setup and experience. Whats the protocol for doing a stick repair in the field?

Shane & a few other RME'ers did some 3-battery + jumping cable welds on Shanes front driveline after it came apart on Pritchett. Shane pulled the 2 pieces, laid them out on the ground and was able to weld the broken shaft back together. If I recall, it was a weak weld that broke. Even without the proper tools & prepping the metal before welding, the new weld with 3 batterys & jumper cables was strong enough that he was able to wheel Helldorado the following day on that field repair. I was impressed!

*EDIT* - Trip report here- http://www.rockymountainextreme.com/showthread.php?t=33667

I didn't get any pics of the fix, I think we were all concerned with getting Shane back into 4WD again and forgot about the camera. Thanks to Nathan for the rod & knowledge!

 

[bobdog]

With the Premier welder you do not, and the welds I have made on the trail did not have to be re-fixed after the repair.

The emergency fix of hooking up a bunch of batteries is a different deal. Not enough AMPS to make a bullit proof fix, but it will get you home, maybe.

Plenty of amps actually. A 1/8" 7018 rod needs 125. Way less than a car battery can delver. The problem I see with using batteries for stick welding is that a stick likes to see a constant amount of current with voltage varying with the arc length and a battery provides constant voltage. I don't think 12v would work but 24 should be able to stick things together.

 

[mesha]

stick welders are more versatile. thats why I am trying to build an alternator welder too. If he doesn't know how to weld then a mig makes more sense, its easier.

 

[Greg]

With Shanes trail repair we had 3 Optima batteries, 2 wasn't quite enough for a good weld & 3 was too hot. Shane just dealt with the hotter setup of 3 batteries and melted the parts together.