Has anyone on this forum tried using old aircraft generators as a welder?
http://www.api-assembled.com/design/tec ... welder.htm
I've got two 200 amp generators and one 500 amp generator.
I've been thinking about using one of my two Ruggerini-Deutz
air-cooled, 16hp, diesel engines as the drive system.
- weldin mike 27
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Weldmonger
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Joined:Fri Apr 01, 2011 10:59 pm
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Location:Australia; Victoria
How do you control the output?
- MinnesotaDave
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Weldmonger
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Joined:Sun Oct 27, 2013 10:57 pm
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Location:Big Lake/Monticello MN, U.S.A.
Sounds like an interesting project. I've always wanted to try it but have not stumbled on a local aircraft generator yet.WerkSpace wrote:Has anyone on this forum tried using old aircraft generators as a welder?
http://www.api-assembled.com/design/tec ... welder.htm
I've got two 200 amp generators and one 500 amp generator.
I've been thinking about using one of my two Ruggerini-Deutz
air-cooled, 16hp, diesel engines as the drive system.
One of the 200 amp units would be my choice for the 16hp motor.
Dave J.
Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance. ~George Bernard Shaw~
Syncro 350
Invertec v250-s
Thermal Arc 161 and 300
MM210
Dialarc
Tried being normal once, didn't take....I think it was a Tuesday.
Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance. ~George Bernard Shaw~
Syncro 350
Invertec v250-s
Thermal Arc 161 and 300
MM210
Dialarc
Tried being normal once, didn't take....I think it was a Tuesday.
Aircraft generator welder - that brings back memories. My Dad built one back in the early 60's - when WWII surplus was still readily available. I don't recall the amperage but the generator was about about 8" or better in diameter and a good 18" long. It was powered by a 4 cylinder water cooled engine from a fork truck. It was started with a crank - more about that later.
The whole affair was mounted on a heavy angle iron frame. To move the welder one placed a few pieces of pipe under it and rolled it a little ways, picked up the back pipe when it came free and placed it in front. Sort of like the Egyptians moving a block of stone to the Pyramids
The only real down side to the rig was the fuel tank. It held about a quart of gas. It was just for testing purposes and was to be replaced with a more substantial tank some day. It did run the welder long enough to actually strike an arc.
And back to the crank... a neighbor - (he was a senior in high school while I was a freshman - but I could claim the distinction of having the Mayflower Madame in my class
) - asked my Dad if he could borrow the welder to work on his car. We formed a working party and rolled the welder to his garage. After some instruction on the starting process the fellow gave the crank a spin. In theory the spiral slot on the crank would cause it to disengage when the engine fired. Provided the operator held onto it. The fellow let go and the crank began to spin with the engine shaft. This of course put the machine horribly out of balance and the vibration caused the machine to "float" around the garage floor. Some quick thinking by someone led them to pull the alligator clips off of the temporary battery and the engine came to a stop before any damage was done. A little remedial training in the starting process and Dad and I returned home.
A while later the fellow was knocking at our door. He could not get the welder to strike an arc. A quick inspection showed the stinger layed out from the welder to the work site - the exhaust maniforld from his car sitting on a cinder block The ground lead was still nicely coiled in its holder on the side of the machine. "What is this wire?' my Dad inquired. "I don't know" said the kid. "We only use the stinger in class". "Where do you weld in class?" "On a metal table..." After a lesson in basic electricity we were back to the house.
That evening Dad looked out the window and saw his welder sitting in the neighbor's driveway - in the rain! GET THAT WELDER BACK HERE. NOW! That was the first, last and only time the machine ever struck an arc in anger. Some years later Dad gave the welder to his brother Joe.
Uncle Joe's house was on the side of a hill. The basement floor at the back was in fact at ground level. Being creative and industrious Uncle Joe cut a doorway in the foundation for easier access to his basement shop. The welder was moved from the garage where it was always in the way and placed in the basement for storage. Unfortunately a couple of months later the Ramapo river overflowed its banks (as it often does) and the water came up about 3 feet above the basement floor. The flooding was short term and the basement wall held it back. EXCEPT for the new doorway
The basement and the welder was quite well flooded. That was back in the late '70's or early 80's. I have no idea what happened to the welder after that. I will ask my sister if there are any pictures of the machine in the family albums.
Ken
p.s. If anyone wants to discuss Sidney Biddle Barrows please start a new thread
The whole affair was mounted on a heavy angle iron frame. To move the welder one placed a few pieces of pipe under it and rolled it a little ways, picked up the back pipe when it came free and placed it in front. Sort of like the Egyptians moving a block of stone to the Pyramids
The only real down side to the rig was the fuel tank. It held about a quart of gas. It was just for testing purposes and was to be replaced with a more substantial tank some day. It did run the welder long enough to actually strike an arc.And back to the crank... a neighbor - (he was a senior in high school while I was a freshman - but I could claim the distinction of having the Mayflower Madame in my class
) - asked my Dad if he could borrow the welder to work on his car. We formed a working party and rolled the welder to his garage. After some instruction on the starting process the fellow gave the crank a spin. In theory the spiral slot on the crank would cause it to disengage when the engine fired. Provided the operator held onto it. The fellow let go and the crank began to spin with the engine shaft. This of course put the machine horribly out of balance and the vibration caused the machine to "float" around the garage floor. Some quick thinking by someone led them to pull the alligator clips off of the temporary battery and the engine came to a stop before any damage was done. A little remedial training in the starting process and Dad and I returned home.A while later the fellow was knocking at our door. He could not get the welder to strike an arc. A quick inspection showed the stinger layed out from the welder to the work site - the exhaust maniforld from his car sitting on a cinder block The ground lead was still nicely coiled in its holder on the side of the machine. "What is this wire?' my Dad inquired. "I don't know" said the kid. "We only use the stinger in class". "Where do you weld in class?" "On a metal table..." After a lesson in basic electricity we were back to the house.
That evening Dad looked out the window and saw his welder sitting in the neighbor's driveway - in the rain! GET THAT WELDER BACK HERE. NOW! That was the first, last and only time the machine ever struck an arc in anger. Some years later Dad gave the welder to his brother Joe.
Uncle Joe's house was on the side of a hill. The basement floor at the back was in fact at ground level. Being creative and industrious Uncle Joe cut a doorway in the foundation for easier access to his basement shop. The welder was moved from the garage where it was always in the way and placed in the basement for storage. Unfortunately a couple of months later the Ramapo river overflowed its banks (as it often does) and the water came up about 3 feet above the basement floor. The flooding was short term and the basement wall held it back. EXCEPT for the new doorway
The basement and the welder was quite well flooded. That was back in the late '70's or early 80's. I have no idea what happened to the welder after that. I will ask my sister if there are any pictures of the machine in the family albums.Ken
p.s. If anyone wants to discuss Sidney Biddle Barrows please start a new thread