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Up Topic Welding Industry / General Welding Discussion / Mobile aluminum welding?
- - By phaux (***) Date 06-20-2009 14:02
Yesterday I went out to weld on a boat and the guy didn't want to bring the boat to shore otherwise I would have sticked it. So, I had to haul an inverter tig welder, generator and tank across the docks and onto his boat to work on it. It was pretty neat, but I was just wondering what everyone else does for inside/ hard to get to aluminum and ss welding? Anyone know of any inverters tigs that are small enough to run on 115 but still have hf?
Parent - - By makeithot (***) Date 06-20-2009 19:53
Working on boats is one of my mainstays, there are a number of units that will do the job. What I use is a Miller big 40 deluxe with a Hifreq-box not so handy if I can't get within 100' of the truck but, those days are rare and when they do happen I rent a barge and load the truck on it. I also use a spool gun for larger jobs that also hooks right into the machine but I have to be within 30' to make that work.
Parent - - By phaux (***) Date 06-20-2009 20:03
See, and that's the problem. I'm looking for something portable and can't seem to find something that'll fit what I need.
Parent - - By bbwinc (**) Date 06-20-2009 20:31
Check out the miller dynasty, friend of mine has one and has did a few on site alum. repairs with it. Not sure the capabilities running on 115 but might be what ur looking for. U going to run a liquid torch with ur set up?
Parent - - By phaux (***) Date 06-20-2009 22:21
Looking to go dry, the less parts the easier it is. Used a Thermal Arc 185 last night I believe, good machine, had to crank it up as the aluminum was 1/2". Looked at the Dynasty, Miller's pretty proud of their machines for those prices. Looking at a Lincoln machine a guy has for cheap. Only does DC but you can do aluminum with stick or DC tig.
Parent - By DaveBoyer (*****) Date 06-21-2009 04:30
Most of the 115 volt machines are built around the 20 amp service available in a standard home outlet. Most marinas offer 30 amp 115 volt service, but I have not seen any 115 volt machines built to take advantage of the greater input power with the exception of My Century built small MIG that draws 25 amps, and I wouldn't reccommend that You use one of these.

Another point to consider is that there is frequently a lot of voltage drop in marina power wiring due to being long runs. If You can arrange to get the boat closer to the bulkhead You might have fewer problems related to low input voltage under load.

I run a spool gun on an Airco Dip Pak 200, this is a single phase machine comparable to the 250 amp single phase machines commonly sold today. It will run 3/64 aluminum MIG easily on a 50 amp 230 volt service, which is available in many marinas. Mine has 50' leads on the spool gun and if fitted with larger wheels would roll easily on a dock.
Parent - - By aevald (*****) Date 06-20-2009 22:56
Hello phaux, you have described a scenario that currently isn't an easy one to deal with. If you use "any" 115 volt inverter capable of welding on aluminum you likely won't have enough power to handle anything much more than possibly 1/16" to 3/32" material thickness. Stick welding on aluminum is probably a last resort type of approach if you have tried welding with that process much. DC tig on aluminum can certainly be done and is done in many cases, it does, however, have some drawbacks as well. I believe, it is best suited to heavier material thicknesses and on materials that can be prepared very cleanly and generally not a repair type situation but more so fabrication related. DC tig for aluminum also requires Helium as a shielding gas. This amounts to requiring higher flow rates for shielding and also somewhat limits it's use in any sort of outdoor scenario.
     The way that I generally view work on aluminum goes something like this: if it is heavier material, ie. 1/8" and up in structural or sizeable applications, I would opt for some sort of wirefeed process with a minimum of around 250 amps of power. If the work is smaller in size or has intricasies involved, I would opt for some sort of TIG process: 1/8" or less material thicknesses or smaller parts, a machine of around 180 amps, 1/8" and up, a machine of 200 amps or greater. If portability is an issue I would try to use an inverter power source with AC capability and hi-frequency equipped, otherwise as makeithot mentioned, a multi-process AC/DC portable engine drive that can be equipped with a hi-frequency box or spoolgun is the way to go. Just my $.02. Best regards, Allan 
Parent - - By has2tig Date 06-22-2009 01:37
Look at the dynasty 200.  Its a little pricy but an absolute amazing machine.  You can run it on 110v and it has one of the nicest arcs in an inverter machine.  The only draw back is the 200 amps which is limited to about 150 amps on 110v but still enough to weld atleast 1/8.
Parent - By DaveBoyer (*****) Date 06-22-2009 03:20 Edited 06-22-2009 03:23
This machine does put out more than the ones I was refering to, 100 amps stick & 140 amps tig on 115 volts, and does take advantage of a 30 amp power line on 115 volts.

http://www.millerwelds.com/om/o2240y_mil.pdf
Up Topic Welding Industry / General Welding Discussion / Mobile aluminum welding?

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