Question what I want for a new portable welder.

[Rex in OTZ]

Im looking to get a new portable welder, I would most likely travel by boat or float plane or snowmobile so it might limit me to useing a smaller portable 110volt generator as well I do have a Honda EU2000 portable generator.  I had most my experence with stick welding I learned on my Fathers old Forney back as a youth on our Nebraska ranch (love that 6011) the idea of a wirefeed is wonderfull and had welded allot of steel with one (cattle fenceing & gates worked a little with the boys at "Creighton Post & Pipe" a subsiderary of Linn Post & Pipe outta Kansas)
I think the portable welder would be called in to weld Aluminum boat repairs, we have some tough water conditions here in Northwestern Alaska that have actually beaten the bottom structure right out of boats (example seen a Wooldridge 20" that had every rib in it busted and the chine and keel had nasty lingthwise cracks 2-3 foot long)


The Boss said ther was some extra $$ for a 220 volt welder, so Im thinking of a wire fed Stick/Tig combo (Miller vs Lincoln?)
So I have a light portable 110volt to shore up the hull also has the ability to weld steel with flux core wire, them I can limp er home to use a chain hoist and 220 volt tig welder.

[SHOOTALL]

i have used both and both were good . The supply we use sells both . Its a ford vs chevy thing . If i were you i would go with the one that has a supply house the closest . If that is equal the miller would get the nod , color matches my New Holland . Just kidding , i have a miller stick welder that is 20 years old and going strong .

[30-30man]

I have a small Lincoln Mig I bought from lowe's.  I think it is the 135 model, not sure.  It will take gas or the flux core.  The flux core is nasty and splatters all over the place, but I can make a good bead.  I've been really surprised what a 110v machine will do.  It has welded 1/2 thick steel on some of my old plows for the Farmall.  They are still holding with several thousands of pounds of stress on the tounge.  I don't have much experience welding aluminum, but I think they have the wire for it.

[Rex in OTZ]

Well I did some checking round if I were to weld alumnium in the field I'd need massive amperage to do anything, Aluminum Mig will only go so thin (mainly used for structral) so welding a cracked boat hull is out the question if the skin is too thin (blow holes in it) so My boss allowed  for two welders one Tig at the shop where we have a hoist and a small Miller 160 wire fed welder (shielded and fluxcore) as a couple boats I do maintain have heavy hull thickness I may be able to cobble a weld on one on a sand bar up river If I have to 1/8" and thicker, the main componet would be to use the Mig to fix any broken structure and temporarly patch the leaks till the hull can be pulled completely outta the water for Tig welding.

The only other laternative would be a aircraft style Lap or doubler rivet patch.

[fr3db3ar]

they make wire for welding aluminum with the 110 flux cores??  or only gas shielded.

[mechanic]

they make wire for welding aluminum with the 110 flux cores??  or only gas shielded.

Gas shielded only to my knowledge, and as the poster said, not good for thin stuff.  Need tig for that.  You might experiment with aluminum soldering on some scrap.  I've repaired some alum. radiators this way.  Use propane with a small flame.

[SHOOTALL]

why tig only ? Tig and mig will do the same operation one uses a consumeable electrode and the other does not and you feed the rod in by hand . I have welded light ga metal ( duct work )with both Mig is good for production work where lots of cont. welding is nessary and tig is better for small jobs in tight places but either will work . The electrode holder on a tig outfit can and will get to hot to hold sometimes ( we often keep a bucket of water to dip it in to cool it down ) a mig gun seldom gets that hot .
I once saw a guy weld two alum drink cans togather end to end with a stick welder , alum rod and some liquid he dipped the rod in every so often ( maybe alstate 31 flux mixed with water but not sure ) . and have seen a beautiful bead on wood , the weldor clamped a piece of wood in the ground clamp struck an arc on the clamp and run a bead across the wood , lots of smoke ! I tried that and could do it but not a row of nickles . I have gas welded/ high heat brazed  alum with alstate 31 flux and nonfluxed alum rod , Bases for parking lot light poles that had cracked and broken in a wind storm . That was over 15 years ago and they are still standing . We have also welded jet fuel lines both tig and mig ( they are alum after going thru. the water seperators ).

[Rex in OTZ]

I useally approach a project in a manner like it would and most likely develope into a can of worms project, The welder selection was to do basic structral aluminum fixes in the field with the option of flux core for steel the fact its portable is a +, the fixed 240volt Tig/stick welder for the shop adds additional support for lite gage materials (aluminum, stainless, other's) the fact that I have a good old fashoned stick welder is a old & comfortable welding method that is simple and direct (DC) I love that pun!

Yes I did research and contemplate and asked a few my associates in other locations what to expect what I could pull off and what equipment I'd need (nothing like finding out you dont have enough welder or generator when the rubber hits the highway!)

Ole Rex may not be the sharpest tool in the box but experence has taught me to get a grasp the situation first before chargeing in un-equiped and out guned and ignorant (all seem to keep each other company?)
kinda like quick sand the more you struggle the deeper you get till soon your in over your head.

[WD45]

They do not sell aluminum wire for straight flux core welding to my knowledge. You must get the kit that most of them sell to swap your flux core machine over to mig and most do not carry enough amps to do very thick aluminum until you get into the higher dollar 240 volt units.
The 110 units are also somewhat sensitive to where you plug them in. 110 household circuts are not all created equall not to mention the possibility of needing to use an extension cord. I use a 110 unit for a lot of stuff and it's handy for a lot of things around the house and farm BUT for your intended use I would be very carefull of what I buy. I hate to see people buy a piece of equipment and then be stuck with somthing that won't do what they need it too.   

[SHOOTALL]

WD45, I only use the gas shielded units , thanks for the insite . To be honest i like tig for what we do but have used mig on pipe after the root pass

[Rex in OTZ]

I wanted a portable welder that I could weld either steel or Aluminum, have the spool gun and the new bottle of gas so all I need is something brokein to fix!

[hillbill]

keep yur eyes open, cant remember last time i bought sumpin that actually worked without fixin it.

[Rex in OTZ]

Now have a semi portable Honda 6500watt gen and flux cor for steel = 

[Rex in OTZ]

Was last Aug that I had to borrow a welder to do some tack welding "at work "was no fun welding heavy epoxy coat paint and zinc plaited metals.
The $80 110 volt chinese mfg arc welder worked better than I thought it welded mild steel just fine.
Would have been a breeze if the steel was bare or rusted instead of all coated over with Zinc & paint, the Honda EU2000 was enough to do the job useing 1/16" 6013 and 6011 welding rod.

It had been raining all the time there and this was the best I could find to get the work completed.
ground was soaking wet. seems the welder attracted mosqitos and no-seem's like crazy.

[gypsyman]

Rex, make sure your upwind of that zinc when your welding. Not good for the brain cells. gypsyman

[Rex in OTZ]

The new portable welder has been used this past week fixing a boat at work (G-3, 2072)
one the guys noticed a crack on the side weld of the bench seat, we pulled up the floorboards and found a whole bunch of cracks on welds, especially on the hat rib areas.
The little 110 volt welder I was useing and have the small bottle of Argon gas(not in picture)
 
The bottom picture you can see little tabs of Blue masking tape, those are areas where we found one or more cracks, ended up welding over 40 cracks, replaces a whole bunch of Alum 3/16" pop rivets as well.