Welding On A New Tractor

[RobJ]

O&A welding involves steel not brass. Brass/Bronze (alloy) is used in brazing. And no it does not mix with the steel--it does stick to it VERY well, but it is not nearly as strong. It is great for repairing pinholes in hyd tubing or wear though spots. It can be use to fill a scratch in a hyd cyl rod. It melts at a much lower temp than steel, but it does have its uses.

Ahhhh, closest we ever came to steel was using a coathanger on some small stuff.

 

[DonT-B7500]

Unhooking a battery on a vehicle when welding will only protect the battery, all other electronics are still connected to the tractor, it may even be worse than leaving the battery hooked up as the battery may act as a capacitor to absorb any spikes

 

[AlanB]

One of the projects I do regularly too keep my hands in practice is too Silicone Bronze torque converter vanes for a performance shop.

In the summer months, when hot and sweaty, and I get my wrist down on the steel table, then accidently draw the arc across the filler rod instead of the peice I am welding.............. Yeah, hi freq hurts

 

[ccsial]

That electricity seems to bite some people more than others.

I know one thing that it depends on is how dry your skin is. I have very dry skin these days. I can't even operate one of the old capacitive touch screens unless I lick my finger.

 

[jimmer2880]

Help me understand how unhooking the battery doesn't HELP to protect the components.

My theory (which, must be incorrect by the qty of people saying it doesn't work), is that in order for damage to occur, there must be a circuit. So, the positive & negative sides must both be connected. Kind of like how a bird can sit on a bare 10,000 volt high tension power line without getting fried. When you disconnect the battery, there is no longer a circuit (in my mind anyway).

However, of course, most items ground to the frame, so you'd have to break that connection before being completely isolated. But, how can sending positive juice through the frame make a circuit complete?

 

[dbdartman]

Jimmer, as Sandman pointed out, it's the high frequency spike to start the arc that will cause trouble with electronics, not current flow. In my case, I was typically Tig welding on race cars, so the electronics needed protection from the hi-freq spike used to start the arc & keep the electrode (a sharpened expensive piece of tungsten) from contamination due to touching the base metal.

Bottom line is: If you're using Mig or stick (where the electrode is actually contacting the base metal to start the arc) you are extremely unlikely to have any trouble. Place the ground clamp directly on the piece being welded & your chance of hurting anything becomes even more remote.

Think about this: Muffler shops replace how many thousands of exhaust systems daily. Most every system requires at least SOME welding. They clamp the ground directly on the pipe without isolating the electronics in any way. They typically use a Mig, but I've seen some gas weld (Tig would be too slow!). The cars always start right up. Besides, if this was a problem, there would be warnings somewhere on the car advising against welding without following the electronics isolating procedures, & muffler shops would practice "safe welding" rolleyes to keep the lawyers at bay.

 

[dfkrug]

Muffler shops replace how many thousands of exhaust systems daily. Most every system requires at least SOME welding. They clamp the ground directly on the pipe without isolating the electronics in any way. They typically use a Mig.....

That's a great real-world example.

For an example of how hi-freq can induce currents in unconnected bits
of metal, put some chunks of foil in your microwave.

DC arc welding is low voltage (30VDC) and high current (100+ A) and is
safe when properly used.

 

[RobJ]

Think about this: Muffler shops replace how many thousands of exhaust systems daily. Most every system requires at least SOME welding. They clamp the ground directly on the pipe without isolating the electronics in any way. They typically use a Mig, but I've seen some gas weld (Tig would be too slow!). The cars always start right up. Besides, if this was a problem, there would be warnings somewhere on the car advising against welding without following the electronics isolating procedures, & muffler shops would practice "safe welding" rolleyes to keep the lawyers at bay.

Really man, STOP making real world sense, it kills all the science in it. Like I said, I've never heard of a problem and so far no one has posted one. I'd be more worried about sun spots!

 

[BTDT]

So, have you got your mods done yet, it's been almost a week?

 

[Soundguy]

Unhooking a battery on a vehicle when welding will only protect the battery, all other electronics are still connected to the tractor, it may even be worse than leaving the battery hooked up as the battery may act as a capacitor to absorb any spikes

Some MOS devices may not agree with you.

Soundguy