For those who were interested, here is the "final" info about the homemade onboard welder using an alternator.

First, I'll run through a parts list/price list of what I used then I'll show a couple of pictures.

<ul> Large case Ford Alternator $19.62 at Pick-n-Pull. $4.00 of it was using their exchange policy. There was a $5.00 core charge that is not reflected.
Mounting brackets $0.00. I had a bunch of scrap metal around so I had no cost associated with this. If I would have bought it, it would have totalled under $5.00.
fan belt $37.00 at NAPA. As you will see in the pictures, I am running a serpentine belt system... thus, it is a big chunck of change <IMG SRC="smilies/frown.gif" border="0"> lighted switch to alt $0.00. I had it at home already. Worst case is $5.00.
small wire to field pole on alt $0.00. I have a TON of wire at home. Worst case is $5.00.
30amp fuse holder. I had it at home already. Worst case is $5.00.
200 amp stringer. Tweeko TW9110-1101. $31.91 at Central Welder's. I could have used a cheap $10.00 from Harbor Freight, but I've used their cheap stringer before and it sucks.
2 Female plugs. Miller MIL 057608(yellow) MIL 039800(Red) $7.20 each at Central Welder's. These are the large colored plugs you will see in the panel below.
2 Male plugs. Miller MIL 039878(yellow) MIL 039608(red) $11.34 each at Central Welder's. These are the male plugs on the "welding" cables.
16 foot 4 guage booster cables. 782-5253 $28.09 at NAPA. These are the "welding" cables.
[/list]

As you can see, I am into it for right around $150. It could have been made for MUCH cheaper if you didn't use the fancy plugs and quality stringer... probably as low as $50 if you bought new battery cables.

The wiring is VERY simple. Simply use a +12 volt wire to supply power to the field connector when you want to weld. The lug that would goto the battery is your +voltage for the welding cable. And a ground is provided by the alternator case.

Here are a couple of pictures:
http://www.pirate4x4.com/ubb/uploads/lj_mount1.jpg
http://www.pirate4x4.com/ubb/uploads/lj_mount2.jpg

These first two show the Ford alternator mounted in the gap on the Chevy 5.0L TBI engine.

<IMG width=519 height=242 SRC="http://www.pirate4x4.com/ubb/uploads/lj_panel1.jpg">
<IMG width=378 height=280 SRC="http://www.pirate4x4.com/ubb/uploads/lj_panel2.jpg">These next two pictures show the panel that has the switch and two welding plugs on it. The red one is my +voltage and the yellow is the ground(only did yellow because they didn't have a matched set of black in stock)

<IMG width=317 height=343 SRC="http://www.pirate4x4.com/ubb/uploads/lj_ground.jpg">
<IMG width=292 height=253 SRC="http://www.pirate4x4.com/ubb/uploads/lj_plugs.jpg">
These last two show the end of my welding cable with the stringer, ground clamp, and two plugs.

I haven't officially tested it out yet because I am still playing with the upper radiator hose as well as wiring the welding alternator to the plugs. Should be able to test it out by this weekend... when I do, I'll post some weld pictures.

Hope this helps someone else.

[ 10-22-2001: Message edited by: Lil'John ]

WOW!!!!
good info dude.

i'll be looking for the test picks.
steelman

Can't wait to see you burn some rod with that thing. Post an update with live action shots. Also where in CA is Central Welding?

Joe

Central Welder's Supply has three locations in Northern CA:
<ul> One in Gilroy(the guys there don't seem to know their head from a hole in the way <IMG SRC="smilies/frown.gif" border="0"> )
One in Salinas(haven't been to this one yet)
One in Watsonville(this is where I got most of my stuff from.... this is also where they do the companies welding machine repairs... VERY good crew when I was there)
[/list]

I should have the thing fired up by this weekend <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0"> I'm now waiting to get two radiator hoses <IMG SRC="smilies/frown.gif" border="0"> I'll post some pics on how well it does. Hopefully it will work well enough for me to do some running boards for my Taco.... the super low duty cycle of the Century portable welder hurts(10-15 minutes of welding to 8 hours of charging <IMG SRC="smilies/eek.gif" border="0"> )

Ok can you post pix or diagrams of the wiring? Looks like the alt runs full time to the switch but stops there. Then you turn the switch to "on" and it is then hot? I am assuming the yellow runs to the alt casing/motorblock. If thats the case it seems easy enough. like a 2bannana project.

Originally posted by Just make it stop Skyetone:
<STRONG>Ok can you post pix or diagrams of the wiring? Looks like the alt runs full time to the switch but stops there. Then you turn the switch to "on" and it is then hot? I am assuming the yellow runs to the alt casing/motorblock. If thats the case it seems easy enough. like a 2bannana project.</STRONG>

Ask and ye shall recieve <IMG SRC="smilies/tongue.gif" border="0"> (I'd show my wiring directly but I'm still not QUITE done with it... I haven't wired the alt to the plugs.)
<IMG width=491 height=449 SRC="http://www.pirate4x4.com/ubb/uploads/lj_weld_wire1.jpg">

I copied this diagram and hacked it a little from another web site. So, the 1 pin it shows on the alt with +12 coming to is actually the field plug on the Ford alternator. Also, in my case, I used 10 guage wire instead of 16:-)

Also, from the alt to the plug in pannel on mine, I am actually using 2/0 guage wire <IMG SRC="smilies/eek.gif" border="0"> But from the panel out, it is only 4 guage <IMG SRC="smilies/frown.gif" border="0"> In the future, when I want the 50 feet of stringer, I'm ready <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

And yes, you are correct, the yellow plug is actually the ground to the alt case <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0">

And yes, once the switch lets +12 to the field connector on the alt, it is hot and ready to make sparks.

I actually rate this as a 1.5 banana job... the hardest part of the whole thing is finding the right alt and mounting. The wiring is easy and the "beautification" shit I did was just to make it look good <IMG SRC="smilies/tongue.gif" border="0">

Just curious but has anyone seen the tech article on this? ???

Originally posted by Brandon:
<STRONG>Just curious but has anyone seen the tech article on this? ???</STRONG>

Yup have read on more than one occasion. Wife wonders why I drag the computer into the throne with me.

Joe

Originally posted by Lil'John:
<STRONG>Central Welder's Supply has three locations in Northern CA:
<ul> One in Gilroy(the guys there don't seem to know their head from a hole in the way <IMG SRC="smilies/frown.gif" border="0"> )
One in Salinas(haven't been to this one yet)
One in Watsonville(this is where I got most of my stuff from.... this is also where they do the companies welding machine repairs... VERY good crew when I was there)
[/list]</STRONG>

Thanks was wondering if there was one close to the east bay where I am at.

Joe

Originally posted by Brandon:
<STRONG>Just curious but has anyone seen the tech article on this? ???</STRONG>

Yep... unfortunately, in this one case, it is sort of like a sports box score: Gives you final result but not all the details <IMG SRC="smilies/frown.gif" border="0"> OTOH, I found two other web sites that went into onboard welders: One gave a LOT of details with a wiring diagram but was for converting a GM one. The other gave a little more information than Jeff's but also didn't give a "wiring diagram" or part #'s. No big deal on this project as I didn't find it too hard to do other than "where do I hook the switched +12 to on the alternator" that wasn't covered in Jeff's <IMG SRC="smilies/frown.gif" border="0"> All three sites DID give some good information.

I asked a few questions (http://www.pirate4x4.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=10&t=014466) about 5-6 days ago about onboard welders to clarify some of Jeff's information and expand upon it. Since I got some good answers and a few "interested people", I thought I'd post it with a little more details(Part #'s and costs specifically).

They do weld. I have the 90A Ford large case alternator. It will run any 3/32 DC rod. I know, I need to practice more, but I had a pot of coffee and a 1/4 inch weave at the end of the rod. The upper bead is 6011 and the lower 7014.

http://members.home.net/cglabe1/Air/welder6.jpg

[ 10-25-2001: Message edited by: Pin Head ]

Looks good you even have a York squeezed in there. <IMG SRC="smilies/eek.gif" border="0"> You got me thinking about doing a similar set-up on mine if I can make room. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

very informative post, If I wasn't so lazy I'd add it to the tech section <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0">

Originally posted by Brandon:
<STRONG>very informative post, If I wasn't so lazy I'd add it to the tech section <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0"></STRONG>


It would be cool if posts like this stuck around for a bit longer than the meetings, trail rides, and questions, IMHO. <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0">

Nice pics, and thanks for the info. This is a mod I woul like to do, if I can ever finish my current project. How hard would it be to include a amp-meter and an adjustable throttle-cable to contol engine idle (and therefore amperage) with?

Originally posted by Brandon:
<STRONG>very informative post, If I wasn't so lazy I'd add it to the tech section <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0"></STRONG>

If you'd like, I can clean it up and make it 90% ready for the tech section <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

Originally posted by Pillard:
<STRONG>Nice pics, and thanks for the info. This is a mod I woul like to do, if I can ever finish my current project.
</STRONG>

Hahahha... I know the feeling. My "justification" for this project was: "I need to buy a longer $40 serpentine belt, might as well add a welder while I'm at it" <IMG SRC="smilies/eyemouth.gif" border="0">

Originally posted by Pillard:
<STRONG> How hard would it be to include a amp-meter and an adjustable throttle-cable to contol engine idle (and therefore amperage) with?</STRONG>

Once you get finished mounting the alternator, these would be half a banana jobs <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

The hand throttle-cable would be a 1 hour job. The tough part would be mounting the cable on the carb. The rest of it would be routing the cable, drilling hole, and mounting the knob/lever.

The amp-meter is also not a biggy. I think the toughest part would be finding one that goes up to 150+ amp that is sealed. From there, you would mount it in-line with the positive stringer. Again, another 1 hour job.

I'm looking at doing a volt meter but may also do the amp meter on mine... just no money to get "THAT" fancy <IMG SRC="smilies/clown.gif" border="0">

so the alt isn't hot all the time. You have to switch it to hot? I thought they had power going out but when the belt turned it made power. I didn't think you'd need power in I guess I am saying. Thanx alot. PLEASE make it ready for tech page. I would love it. I think I will save the info though.

WTF is a stringer?

and those pictures of weld beads several posts above.. will those hold?

its a good idea, Id like to see it work.

the stinger is the clamp that holds the welding rod

Originally posted by Just make it stop Skyetone:
<STRONG>so the alt isn't hot all the time. You have to switch it to hot? I thought they had power going out but when the belt turned it made power. I didn't think you'd need power in I guess I am saying. Thanx alot. PLEASE make it ready for tech page. I would love it. I think I will save the info though.</STRONG>

The alt is not producing power until you excite it <IMG SRC="smilies/eyemouth.gif" border="0"> Not with dirty words but with power to the field.

If the folks here would host it, I'll take the time to do a quality write up with some better pictures of everything I used(plugs, finished picture of the wiring, etc). Brandon? Lance?

Originally posted by ozarkjeep:
<STRONG>
and those pictures of weld beads several posts above.. will those hold?
</STRONG>

Bear in mind that most of the homebrew onboard welders are 100 amps or less. In the past, I've used a small 100 amp arc welder with good sucess(motor swap, PS swap, etc)

Using the correct rod is VERY important... there is an unbelievable number of types and sizes- I found 4 common types at the autoparts store alone <IMG SRC="smilies/eek.gif" border="0"> For my upcoming test, I'm going to use 3 different rods: 6011 in 1/8" and 3/32" and a 6013 in 1/8".

Prep is also fairly important... clean metal will weld together better than greasy/rusty stuff <IMG SRC="smilies/rolleyes.gif" border="0"> I don't believe the homebrew welder will do 1/4" in a single pass... but then again, I haven't tested it out yet so I can't say this with 100% certainty <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

I will do my testing as soon as I get a radiator hose(on order). I'll lay a couple of beads like the picture above. I'll also do a quick mock up with some 1/8" tubing I have and some 1/4" plate I have <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0">

Last year I used this same idea to make a little welder out of a Briggs and Straton lawn mower engine and a Ford alternator. It worked fine, it was kind of a strain on the Briggs & Stratton engine but it welded OK, but it is now derelict because the little lawn mower engine was really old and something inside it broke and metal shavings mixed with oil started spraying out the exhaust. Maybe I'll take the alternator off and use it for a welder in my car now, I never even thought of doin that! <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0"> Anyway, I know you guys don't wanna hear this but this on-board welder is prolly a temporary thing at best... Be warned that running the voltage directly to the field is gonna burn out the diode bridge in the alternator much sooner than it would burn out just using it as an alternator, I would say that it is not going to last very long. I guess it doesn't matter though if it is only for emergency trail repairs, but I'm telling ya that if you use this much it will burn your diodes one at a time until when they are all gone, the alternator will no longer work.

Originally posted by Nukeiridium:
<STRONG>Last year I used this same idea to make a little welder out of a Briggs and Straton lawn mower engine and a Ford alternator. It worked fine, it was kind of a strain on the Briggs & Stratton engine but it welded OK, but it is now derelict because the little lawn mower engine was really old and something inside it broke and metal shavings mixed with oil started spraying out the exhaust. Maybe I'll take the alternator off and use it for a welder in my car now, I never even thought of doin that! <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0"> Anyway, I know you guys don't wanna hear this but this on-board welder is prolly a temporary thing at best... Be warned that running the voltage directly to the field is gonna burn out the diode bridge in the alternator much sooner than it would burn out just using it as an alternator, I would say that it is not going to last very long. I guess it doesn't matter though if it is only for emergency trail repairs, but I'm telling ya that if you use this much it will burn your diodes one at a time until when they are all gone, the alternator will no longer work.</STRONG>

right on man thats one of the issues that i have only seen addressed with 1 of the users here. why would you really want the diodes? you can weld AC thats what an alt would produce without the diodes. i never understood the DC stuff because of this issue.

why would you really want the diodes? you can weld AC thats what an alt would produce without the diodes. i never understood the DC stuff because of this issue.


Without the diodes, you will get 3 phase AC form the alternator and you can only get it across any two poles of the three phases. This means that you can only use 1/3 of the total power. The other reason that DC is good is that you mave a much larger selection of welding rod with DC.

The diodes are not fragile. They are rated at 300 V (peak inverse voltage) and 70 A each, which is over twice what each phase puts out.


Originally posted by ozarkjeep:
and those pictures of weld beads several posts above.. will those hold?


Shyeah! They are just like any other beads from a 3/32 rod. Just look at the penetration at the end of that 6011 bead.

[ 10-25-2001: Message edited by: Pin Head ]

Originally posted by Nukeiridium:
<STRONG>Anyway, I know you guys don't wanna hear this but this on-board welder is prolly a temporary thing at best... Be warned that running the voltage directly to the field is gonna burn out the diode bridge in the alternator much sooner than it would burn out just using it as an alternator, I would say that it is not going to last very long. I guess it doesn't matter though if it is only for emergency trail repairs, but I'm telling ya that if you use this much it will burn your diodes one at a time until when they are all gone, the alternator will no longer work.</STRONG>

True, I do see the alt burning out eventually. But, for the most part, an on-board welder is more of an emergency type thing than a "go weld up a full tube frame" type thing <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0"> I don't see myself using it for more than 15 minutes a wheeling trip.

I liken this project to an on-board air system. I doubt anyone is seriously going to do industrial high-duty cycle work with one... but for filling tires and the occational air powered tool, it is perfect.

I also haven't heard a long term report on anyone who has done this project. Hmmm, maybe a Kragen lifetime warrantied alt would be a good thing in this case <IMG SRC="smilies/laughing.gif" border="0">

True, I do see the alt burning out eventually. But, for the most part, an on-board welder is more of an emergency type thing than a "go weld up a full tube frame" type thing I don't see myself using it for more than 15 minutes a wheeling trip.
Yeah, you have a point, it's a great thing for emergency or occasional use, I just didn't want people out there to think it was OK to use one of these for big long projects <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0"> You have the right idea though.

Nice job. If I may add some general comments to this since I've done a 140A one this summer. You won't have much use for an Ammeter since it'll only show the true amperage under load while welding and you better be looking at where you sticking that fire! <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0"> A hand throttle is sufficient and with a few tries you can mark what RPM to run what rods. Mine runs a 1/8 electrodes easily but I have an externally mounted 200V/200A rectifier. The cooling of the rectifier is the main problem. As to not having a rectifier it's like running on 2 less cylinders. DC produces a smoother arc and with the high-frequency of the weldernator it'll agitate the weld puddle (and produce cleaner, stronger welds) many times more than an AC buzz box. AC is 60Hz cycle, the alternator turns over 7000 RPM at full go. You do the math. I have some additional info on my site: members.home.net/t.molnar (http://members.home.net/t.molnar) if interested. Btw, do you have any problem with the alt. slipping under load? How is your belt routing?

Originally posted by Nukeiridium:
<STRONG>...but I'm telling ya that if you use this much it will burn your diodes one at a time until when they are all gone, the alternator will no longer work.</STRONG>

Perhaps a silly question, but what about running this second alternator to a spare battery thus serving as a buffer and keeping the heavy loads off of the alternator. What would you need to install to get your battery up to high voltage. I know you can draw enough current from a car battery to get say 36v at some really high current. But what would you use to transform it? A transformer?

Or what about using some huge capacitor to again serve as a buffer to the alternator?

Or does this not address the problem of running for long periods of time at voltages near the PIV of the diodes in the alternator?

Originally posted by Lil'John:
<STRONG>
I liken this project to an on-board air system. I doubt anyone is seriously going to do industrial high-duty cycle work with one... but for filling tires and the occational air powered tool, it is perfect.
</STRONG>

Hmmm.. before I bought the compressor for my garage all I had was my onboard air.. and it saw extensive use. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0"> Hours.

I visited my buddy's place and we went out into the "storage area" with two of my onboard air equipped rigs and ran the cut-off wheel at 100% duty while cutting parts off a few rigs with no problems.

Every trail ride I'm the guy that fills EVERYONE's tires..

And when I go 4x4 racing I use the onboard air when changing tires n' such..

I abuse the heck out of my Yorks. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

Only problem I've had is every couple years the 3/8" HD flexible air hose I used in places has a tendency to fail from the heat of the compressed air and the engine bay, and the pressure switch sticks now n' then.

Perhaps a silly question, but what about running this second alternator to a spare battery thus serving as a buffer and keeping the heavy loads off of the alternator. What would you need to install to get your battery up to high voltage. I know you can draw enough current from a car battery to get say 36v at some really high current. But what would you use to transform it? A transformer?

Or what about using some huge capacitor to again serve as a buffer to the alternator?

Or does this not address the problem of running for long periods of time at voltages near the PIV of the diodes in the alternator?


You would need a battery delivering about 24-36 V to maintain an arc and there is no way a single lead-acid battery is going to deliver more than 12V by itself, although 2-3 of them would do it. I don't think that you need a buffer. One of the worst things you can do to an alternator is a "load dump" where you rapidly disconnect the load, like when you break the arc. As the field collapses in the stator, it generates relatively high voltages, which is why the diodes have a high PIV in comparison to their normal operating voltage range. This has not been a problem with the large case Ford alternator so far after going through a couple dozen rods. The main limitation I have noticed is the stator temperature. After running 3 rods in about 5 minutes, the stator is too hot to hold your hand on it, while the diodes are much cooler. At $15, used alternators are cheap enough to try to burn one out and see how it fails. Right now, I am betting that the insulation in the stator fails before the diodes.

Originally posted by Pin Head:
<STRONG>You would need a battery delivering about 24-36 V to maintain an arc and there is no way a single lead-acid battery is going to deliver more than 12V by itself, although 2-3 of them would do it. I don't think that you need a buffer. One of the worst things you can do to an alternator is a "load dump" where you rapidly disconnect the load, like when you break the arc. As the field collapses in the stator, it generates relatively high voltages, which is why the diodes have a high PIV in comparison to their normal operating voltage range. This has not been a problem with the large case Ford alternator so far after going through a couple dozen rods. The main limitation I have noticed is the stator temperature. After running 3 rods in about 5 minutes, the stator is too hot to hold your hand on it, while the diodes are much cooler. At $15, used alternators are cheap enough to try to burn one out and see how it fails. Right now, I am betting that the insulation in the stator fails before the diodes.</STRONG>

Yes, stator cooling is paramount that's why the large case alternators are better (and is what PPW is using). You can also hook up a regulator to the second alternator and wire it into the charging circuit with a switch boosting the charge while winching for example.

Yes, stator cooling is paramount that's why the large case alternators are better (and is what PPW is using)


That is why the "Delta" wired stator is better for welding applications as it has lower I2R heating losses than the "Wye" configuration that most car alternators use. They aren't hard to re-wire, so I'm going to try rewiring one before the destructive testing. I bet that this is what PPW means when they say that their stator is "hand wound". There is an awful lot of wire in that sucker to be winding it by hand.

What about this guys set up he has resters and stuf but he does need to lear how to weld though

shit forgot the link
http://www.huv.com/jon/jeep/Welder/portable-welder.html

I finally got to fire up the welder and give it a test <IMG SRC="smilies/cool.gif" border="0">

The good news is it works. No belt slipage under load(I have a serpentine belt over about 1/3 of the pulley). I was doing SOME welding at about 1200 rpm with a noticable bog of the engine when welding. The arc also made a sound like one of the "noise" footballs <IMG SRC="smilies/devil.gif" border="0"> Could be considered obnoxious. After three rods, the Ford alt was a little warm but not blistering.

The bad news. My tests showed me once again why I like to use a wire fed welder: I suck at arc <IMG SRC="smilies/clown.gif" border="0"> Also, at 1200 rpm, I was burning through some fairly thick "sheet" metal with all three test rods(two were 1/8" one was 3/32") <IMG SRC="smilies/frown.gif" border="0"> I also had a bit of difficulty keeping an arc but I blame that on my crappy arc welding ability <IMG SRC="smilies/wink.gif" border="0"> not the welder itself.

I'm going to go through a few more rods to get back to some semblance of being able to arc weld then I'll post some pictures tomorrow night.

The other good news is the engine stayed under 180 degrees the whole time(Chevy 5.0L engine with 4 core LC radiator and a flex fan)

Question? Does the alt. have a voltage regulator or does the voltage go up with the RPM's?

Originally posted by 66CJdean:
<STRONG>Question? Does the alt. have a voltage regulator or does the voltage go up with the RPM's?</STRONG>

No voltage regulator was used or harmed in the making of this welder <IMG SRC="smilies/eyemouth.gif" border="0">. My understanding is that as the RPM's go up, you get higher voltage.

Originally posted by 66CJdean:
Question? Does the alt. have a voltage regulator or does the voltage go up with the RPM's

It sure does. I get an open circuit voltage of about 100 V at 2,000 engine RPM and it maxes out at about 150 V at 3,000 RPM. That is why you can run 110 V DC tools (like lights or brush type motors) off of one of these welding alternators. It will run my 4.5 inch angle grinder. Of course that voltage drops to about 27 V when you strike and arc or even less with 1/8 rod, which is why it is hard to maintain an arc.

Thanks that makes sense. I have done one of the other AC Delco ones where the diodes and regulator were removed or jumped out but never done one using as a DC welder. I agree it is a better way to go due to penitration and rid choices.

As promised, here is a picture of the welds done using this system.

The picture labels the type of rod used(6011 and 6013). Both rods were 1/8" thick. The metal being burned is about 3/16" thick. There were three rows of each rod put down. The engine RPM was at about 2200 rpm and it sounded like it droped down about 200 rpm when I struck an arc and was welding.

I show the front and back side of the weld... I probably should cut em in half and show that too but my cutting tools are currently dead <IMG SRC="smilies/frown.gif" border="0">

<IMG width=298 height=270 SRC="http://www.pirate4x4.com/ubb/uploads/lj_front_weld.jpg">
<IMG width=404 height=322 SRC="http://www.pirate4x4.com/ubb/uploads/lj_back_weld.jpg">

No comment about the ugly welds <IMG SRC="smilies/eyemouth.gif" border="0"> And I didn't have a chipping hammer to get all the slag off.

Enjoy and expect to see a cleaned up version of this article in the tech board here to supliment Jeff's <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0"> Thanks Lance <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

lil john you got me inspired!

Its awwn!. dont forget to weld upside down all you have to do is reverse the + and - leads. It should suck the welding rod right off your stickonto the piece being welded. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

Originally posted by BellyUp:
<STRONG>lil john you got me inspired!
</STRONG>

Hehehehe.... I got "inspired" by the famous, I have to spend $40 on a serpentine belt.... to hell with it, lets spend $100 more for an onboard welder while I'm at it <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

Originally posted by BellyUp:
<STRONG>Its awwn!. dont forget to weld upside down all you have to do is reverse the + and - leads. It should suck the welding rod right off your stickonto the piece being welded. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0"></STRONG>

Hmmm.... I didn't know that.... one more thing for me to try and remember <IMG SRC="smilies/glasses.gif" border="0">

Just curious why you are using 6011 rod when you have a dc source for welding. 6010 would give you better penetration, easier to start arcs, less spatter etc. than 11 does. This is my onboard welder :<IMG width=300 height=200 SRC="http://www.pirate4x4.com/ubb/uploads/03007.jpg">

ha ha ha.. Bring that with you on trail 11 of Telico mt. NC.. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0"> I am sure we will need it. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

Originally posted by jasonmt:
<STRONG>Just curious why you are using 6011 rod when you have a dc source for welding. 6010 would give you better penetration, easier to start arcs, less spatter etc. than 11 does. </STRONG>

I was just grabing some sticks that Napa autoparts had on the shelf to test out the welder... no concious reason on why I grabbed the 6011 and 6013 other than that was what they had <IMG SRC="smilies/tongue.gif" border="0">

Originally posted by jasonmt:
<STRONG>This is my onboard welder :<IMG width=300 height=200 SRC="http://www.pirate4x4.com/ubb/uploads/03007.jpg"></STRONG>

Hmmm.... yeah, I'll strap one of those on the butt end of my Cruiser <IMG SRC="smilies/eek.gif" border="0"> Ok, maybe not <IMG SRC="smilies/clown.gif" border="0">

Nice beads John! If you can run 1/8 inch rod, you can weld anything you are likely to encounter. I ended up going cheap on mine, because I don't leave it mounted and only bring it out when I need it.
Parts list.
Alternator $15
V belt $8
brackets free
Welding Cables free (they do double duty as jumper cables)
Wiring free (spade lug and alligator clip <IMG SRC="smilies/smokin.gif" border="0"> )

Total: $23

http://members.home.net/cglabe1/Air/welder1.jpg
http://members.home.net/cglabe1/Air/welder2.jpg
http://members.home.net/cglabe1/Air/welder6.jpg

I call the truck the " pig " for a reason - get it stuck once and you will know why. B.T.W. even all loaded up with tools/etc it will still legally pull a 10000 # trailer. However back at the trailhead it is a pretty popular piece of equipment. Onboard air, 300 amp cc/cv welder, wirefeed backpack and 12000 watts of power.

Lil'John,

Can you repost your pics?

I'll see if I can dig up the pictures again. :)

where's the damn pics?!?!?:(

The thread is five years old... Try the tech section where there's a writeup of how to make an obw.

Hmmm... looks like they dropped again.

I'll see if I can find them one more time ;)

where's the damn pics?!?!?:(

Dang, 5 year old post... pics would be cool. Does anyone have an update or any other great ideas?

shitty, no pics?? any else got a build up page with a ford alt??