Welding Tips and Tricks

Hello Everyone, greetings from England

Have been looking at some of the great advise on this site for sometime now, but have only joined today, and would firstly like to wish everyone a happy new, and the best of luck in 2012

I am in need of buying a diesel generator welder, as most of the work I am getting is in remote location (farms etc) Why there is lots of information and recomendations on workshop based machines I cant seem to find anything on the above? I have recenly been using a loan machine (Mosa TS200) and it is a very good a reliable machine but rather noisy...the longer the leads are the better!

I was wondering what type of machines are available in the US and if importing one is a worhwhile investment? I need a one up to 200 amps. also on wheels so it can fit in the back of my van, not one you hitch behind a truck or van. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Regards

Mick

Miller's "Bobcat" is about the most popular welder/generator you will see over here. Almost 95% of the mobile service trucks I see carry one and Miller is known for it's excellent service. Here is a link to a good description of it......It also shows an optional travel package (wheels)

http://www.millerwelds.com/products/eng ... del=M90334


There is a Miller dealer in the UK, on the link above go to "where to buy" click international and use the drop down menu for the UK.

Good Luck and Happy New Year to you too!
Steve

Hi there

Thanks for your help and information, but I have contacted Millar and the Bobcat is not available in England....just my luck!

You are my only reply from the USA....come on guys, someone out there must have been to this little island and laid down some beads?

I can buy one over hear for about £2500 which is about $3200...are we in the same ball park?

Mick

Hi there,

Lincoln weld'n'power is a potable machine that I have heard of. Its on the Australian Lincoln website but I am not sure if it is availible in the UK.

https://content.lincolnelectric.com/au/ ... _20230.pdf

Also these from Miller, I didnt know they had so many models

http://www.millerwelds.com/products/enginedriven/

Hope it helps

Also Mick

I'm in two minds. Stats are different that I was thinking. Ball park figures are different as compared to mine. Still in process of thinking.

I run a Lincoln Vantage 300 on a dedicated truck and am reasonably satisfied. It may be a little overkill for what you are looking at but larger is better than too small. It is remote capable, spool gun capable, scratch start tig capable. The generator end runs 110 v and 220 v as well as 220 v three phase to 11.5 kw. This one does between 40-60 hours on 15 gallons of diesel depending on load. I try to change the oil every 100 hours. It is US EPA tier 4 compliant so emissions are low. It has arc force control. It doesn't seem to weld as smooth as the old 1950's model SA200 but it will pass any cert. I have run up to 3/16 7018 Excaliber but it labors with it. This is at around 7000 to 7500 foot above sea level elevation in SW Wyoming. She always starts up in the cold ( coldest has only been -20 f so far). New price is currently around $13,500 usd until the new epa regulations double the price for the new models according to the supply store.

I hope this helps,
Rick

Hey Mate, I can see from the before post that you have already received some really good information. I now own a Lincoln 250 Ranger and have had it for probably 6yrs or so and with very few problems. I have in the past owned Miller Bobcat,Legand and Big 40, and several Lincolns and probably the best by far was the Pipeliner but other than the Bobcat and Legand the others would be a overkill for what you want. This Ranger would do what you are looking to do, I run a LN-25 wire feeder off of it and the tig arc is very smooth as well. And in the hurricane season it will run my whole house if I need it. I think you said you would be loading the welder into the back of a van, I believe with a small boom installed in the back of the van you could load a model such as this without any problem. Something else I've done recently and never thought I would is invested in a 110v powered mig welder for really thin material. I never thought I be welding with the same power that toast my bread, lol, but I was really amazed at what that little welder will do. I went on a couple jobs that all I took was that little box,my hood and a extention cord. I retired a couple years ago (somewhat) so have down sized quite a bit. I have this unit mounted in the back of a 1 ton 4-wheel drive service truck and it has never let me down. I have run it hard for 14-16hrs in a day and not a problem. I can't remember all the spec on it right now as far as weight and such but I'm sure there is a Lincoln dealer on the island. Just my pence worth.