Engine Driven Welders

[wroughtn_harv]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I use the Fleetweld 5P, not tried the 5P+. I understand it has a better appearance given the same operator.)</font>

I like the 5P+ for a couple of reasons. Probably the most important one is ninety nine percent of my welds are bottom up, just the way I prefer to work I guess. The plus just seems to easy to work with in this position. The puddle seems to be more plastic and easier to control. I really enjoy working the puddle and watching the magic happen.

Another reason I really like it is it's an easy clean up. I use a cup brush on a small angle grinder most of the time. But if it isn't convenient the plus still cleans up with a hand brush and no chipping hammer.

Taylor, 5P is the red rod pipeline welders use for their root welds. It's an E6010 which is the DC verison of E6011. 5P+ is also E6010.

The difference between 6011 and 6010 is the eleven rod can be used with AC or DC plus or minus. The ten rod won't work with AC.

If I have my rod pouch on am visiting a bud welding up something with his buzz box or using AC I will attempt to sneak in a stick of Plus just to see his reaction. It's fun to watch. Almost as much fun as the sorry son of a southern sheep chaser had at my expense when they handed me some stainless filler rod to weld aluminum via TIG. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

For me the biggest difference between red and grey rod is red cuts harder and is nasty to clean.

It's been explained to me there are grey rod weldors and there are red rod weldors. It's almost like a Ford pickup versus Chevrolet real truck thing. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[slowrev]

I don't believe the 3 phase capable welders only put out single phase power. 3 phase is for the welding portion only. I am sure there are some huge units out there that generate 3 phase for use, but none of the smaller ones I have seen do.

 

[_RaT_]

Actually there is a Miller Bobcat that generates 3 phase power. 11,000 watts/3 phase/480V. It is called the Bobcat 3 Phase. The welder is still single phase.

Wroughtn Harv, do you ever do AC Tig? off a engine driven? Any need to have that capability? I should think the smaller inverter type with wave change and frequency adjsutment would be mor esuitable, but I know next to nothing about Tig. It looks like one of the most interesting ways to weld though.

I used to use the red sticks because I would visit a construction site and find them laying around all over the place. I would collect them and use them on my Dads Lincoln 180 stick welder. I did pipe with a 6010 root pass and 7018 fill in the 6G position. That was some time ago. I just hobby weld now.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

My tig set up is a Dialarc 300 single phase machine set up on AC with high frequency box and an air cooled torch.

I don't see why the same set up wouldn't work just as well if not better on the Trailblazer.

I like tig. But then I like gas welding and tig is just gas welding with a different heat source. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

My biggest problem with aluminum is I watch the puddle and work it like I do steel. That makes for an ugly bead of sorts.

Welding or cutting is speed and heat. That's why machines do it better than human beings. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif I have a bud that tigs aluminum and it's just gorgeous. He tells me I spend too much on looking at the welding and not enough concentration on consistant movement.

If I lived in a perfect world it would probably be a tig one.