Getting a Suitcase (welder that is)

   / Getting a Suitcase (welder that is) #1  

AlanB

Elite Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2004
Messages
2,550
Location
Clarksville, TN, USA
Tractor
NH 1925
Going Kayaking with my dad this weekend, and we had been talking about trailer building etc. and he called me yesterday and said he would bring up the large suitcase welder to go behind my Miller Trailblazer.... Said he is just not doing that heavy of work to use it and I should have it..... Gotta love that.

I think it is spooled with .045 innershield right now and he said he has a couple extra rolls as well.

Now that my friends, is some serious welding capacity.
 
   / Getting a Suitcase (welder that is) #2  
I'm not familiar with that model, but I have a Miller Passport. Which is a self contained dual voltage suitcase welder that uses CO2 as shielding gas. LOVE IT. :D But lets face it, bigger is better so you should be pretty happy. Having a big welder is nothing but pleasure when the welding jobs are big. My little Passport is great, but . . .
 
   / Getting a Suitcase (welder that is) #4  
Alan I bought a suitcase welder on Ebay made by snap on. However its only 12 volts & wire feed, it has saved me out in the field where there is no juice a few times. In the shop I use the miller 250 for serious stuff.
 
   / Getting a Suitcase (welder that is) #5  
Bob_Skurka said:
I'm not familiar with that model, but I have a Miller Passport. Which is a self contained dual voltage suitcase welder that uses CO2 as shielding gas. LOVE IT. :D But lets face it, bigger is better so you should be pretty happy.

As Bob likely knows, my welding supply company let me "test" a Passport for about a week (they are pretty good like that with me - they ought to, as much as I've spent with them over the years). I have to admit, the Passport not only impressed me with it's capabilities, but also impressed me with the very short learning curve for people who are not every day, or every week, welders. I don't bother to memorize all the technical terms, but the Passport is easier to run a great looking bead, with good penetration, than many much larger welders.

My son had never touched a welder before in his life and I had him running "acceptable" beads within about a half an hour. I'm not talking about bird crap looking welds, but reasonable beads with good continuity and good penetration. He cannot lay down welds quite as nice with my MM251 but, oddly enough, does reasonably well with my Hobart Stickmate 235 on DC, reverse polarity with 6013 1/8" rods.

I mention this only because it is very important for the 'casual' welder to be able to quickly pick up the ability to lay down strong welds with their machine. There isn't much more frustrating to a casual welder than 1) having to constantly grind their welds off and try again, 2) having people comment that their welds look like bird droppings, or 3) having nice looking 'cold' welds that break at the worst times. The easier the welding machine makes it to make competent welds, the better. I place the Miller Passport in that category. I'd have to say it's only drawback is that it is not cheap. But, in general, you do not get quality for cheap. Many people seem to under-rate just how much a Passport will really do.
 

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