Hello makeithot, I haven't seen this done personally, however, it is certainly possible to tie the two engines cooling systems together. If you do this though, take careful precautions to guard the hoses so that they don't suffer damage and cause a leak, in that case you could lose two motors. It would be relatively easy to use the two heater hoses off of the truck to supply the in and out connections off of the truck's motor, on the welder you would probably need to tie into the water pump with one of the lines and then find a plug somewhere on the block or head of the motor to connect the other line. Like I said if you do this be careful how you route the hoses so as not to end up with any leaks. Interesting thought, good luck and regards, aevald
On one of my rigs I've got one of those super quiet lincoln 300 rangers with the Kubota diesel in it. I use a liquid to liquid heat exchanger as the Nextell cup guys use to transfer heat from the truck to the cooling system of the welder. Little worry about fluid loss taking affecting both engines. Check with Fluidyne or some of the other racing radiator companies for a smaller size exchanger that is easily plumbed. Prior to the Fluidyne unit, I used one from a Mercruiser engine package as found in larger boats. Works well for me as even with an increase over stock battery Cold Cranking amps, those little starter had such a time trying to crank that thing at sub-zero tempature.
Another racing idea is to use an aftermarket gear reduction starter. They require less cold cranking amps but with the gear reduction they supply more cranking torque for those cold northern mornings or high compression.
a soft copper pipe wrapped somewhere around your truck exhaust would be the cheapest farmer solution, almost free, just place far enough away from manifold to prevent boiling of ethylene glycol when thermostat on welder closes.
I have a Miller Big 40 and had to prepare it for cold weather and I couldn't find a block heater for it so I was advised to install a rad heater..you install it on the lower hose to the engine. I have tried it in-15 celcius and it seems to work good.What Northern climate are you headed to?
Headed for Grand Praire AB start up is sceduled for middle of feb. It's not the coldest place I've ever been but they don't call the windy city for nothing last time I was there it never stoped blow'en.
makeithot , e-mail me and i will foward you a page you can check out for starting equipment you can contact them if you need to they are in alberta may be close to where you are going . good luck . willie
Hi All,
My welder and truck engine are connected as mentioned. My welder is a Lincoln 300D Kubota.
Under the hood of my truck I cut tees into the heater hose lines going to the heater core, one per heater hose. From these tees I have heater hose running back to my welder, each one has a ball valve at the tee as well. The heater hoses come through my welding deck floor and connect to heater hoses coming from the welder engine block. There was an inline circulating heater on the welder motor but I took it off and connected the truck heater hoses to the connections that were there. I also put Pioneer type hydraulic connectors onto the heater hoses where they jump up into the welder. Makes it easy to disconnect the hoses and not lose fluid if I have to remove the welder. It is sure nice to have the machine hooked up to the truck. Don't even need to use the glow plugs, most days. Can drive to site and not have to have the welder running either. The truck and welder have been connected together for four years and I have had no problems.
By the way I live in Grande Praire. Do you mind saying who you are coming to work for and where? Just curious and I am working so not trying to horn in on your action. Be sure to pack some good wind blocking clothes because it has been very windy the past week, as usual. Not too cold though.
Hopefully my description was helpful and not too hard to follow.
On Edit:
I forgot to mention that I ended up using two hose calmps per connection because with one they always seemed to leak. Also go with the best quality hose that you can get.
I've never had a problem starting my 305D in real cold weather. Hold the glows for 30 seconds, crank it over and keep holding them till the engine sounds like it's going to hold its own.
Before having the welder and truck sharing coolant I relied on block heaters, etc. Usually the machine would start but many times if one was at a remote camp job the power at the parking lot areas would go out overnight. When one's machine is hooked up to share coolant there are no worries about this problem. Also when traveling to jobsites, sometimes two hours one way, there is no need to start the machine and let it run.
I also feel that the engine will be saved unnecessary wear caused by cold starting. When it is forty below and even colder you can put your hand on the block and it is toasty warm. It starts just like a summers day as well. Wear and tear is lessened in my opinion.
IRWelder,
We are most likely closer to sexsmith. still waiting for confermation on exact details myself. When that happens I'll let you know. Thanks for the info on the heater
Makeithot,
I am thinking that you must be going to work at the Formaldehyde plant, (I think that is what it is anyway), by Sexsmith. They have constructed a huge steel building on the site so far. Looks like it could be a good project, are they on schedule ???
last I heard they are not . civil work has yet to be completed but I'm not sure.
There is a listing on oilfield.com company name is not listed, for Grande Prairie they are asking for rig welders,pipefitters,B-pressure hands have you heard about any of this. I did send a resume but as yet have heard nothing. Still have not heard about the go ahead on that other job yet.
Makeithot,
Not sure what project that would be for? Perhaps something happening at the Weyerhauser pulpmill?? Ainsworth really scaled down their workforce at the OSB plant expansion south of GP. Laid off a bunch of contractors and are carrying on with a smaller crew, I guess they are in no real rush to complete the project with the price of OSB being low.
IRWelder, Had some news today apparently as you have suggested the project is on hold untill OSB prices go up.
If you don't mind me asking...Is there a need for more pipeline rig welders in Grand Prairie? I have been trying in Ft.St John but things have slowed down since last year? Any idea who should I contact?
Hi jcull,
It is pretty slow around G.P. as well. Most contractors are using their steadys and apparently not taking on too many new guys. Of course that could change in a week or two given the nature of the patch. If you do come here one place to check out would be Fabcor, I beleive that they are one of the busier pipeline outfits at this moment in time.
Hello IRWelder,
Hi!..Thanks for the tip...I heard that well drilling was only down 10% in Alberta this year but I guess that doesn't neccessarily mean that they are going to be running pipe from those wells. Is it easy to find accommodation in Grand Prairie or is everything pretty booked up?
Hi again,
Well drilling is slower, probably down to a more normal number, not like it was there for awhile. As for accomodations, I have no clue really. Being that I live here I don't pay much attention to motel vacancies , etc. There probably are vacancies though being that there are so many motels and hotels??? Maybe you could check vacancies online?? Alot of guys are camped out also, must have been fun when it was -40 ish before Christmas. Much cheaper though, I would think.
Hi ..Well we made the rounds to Ft St. John,and Grand Prairie and we had a great trip but everywhere was the same..natural gas has dropped and there isn't much extra work for us out of town welders.Possibly in a week or so.I sure saw alot of rigs there so it does seem busy.
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