welder from stick to mig/tig

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Hi, i'm new to the site and have been welding some but i am not good enough to call myself a welder yet...but what i'm needing help with is i have a miller 225G bobcat welder and i'm wanting to swap it from stick to mig or tig (havent made my mind up yet) where do i find a "kit" to do this, i have had a mig welder before and it was fun, i have never had a tig so i might try that unless its a crazy ammount of money to do it
Reply:If you are wanting to do aluminum mig, you can use Miller's SGA 100C control unit with either Miller's 3035 or 3545 Spoolmate spoolguns.  These will also handle hard wire and flux core.  Around $1000 or  less for the complete setup.  I run this setup off my Lincoln Ranger 8 with no problems.  Not meant for large production day in day out use, as the small spool use would get expensive when compared to using a suitcase or other style wire feeder capable of using the more economical size spools.  To me, this is the easiest way to get up and running.  I have run a tig off of my engine drive also, but everything was manual.  Scratch start, no high frequency.  To have all the bells and whistles such as high frequency, remote amp adjustment, etc. you would be looking at a few more dollars.  Depends on what you want to do or what your needs are.  Check out the suppliers on line for the spoolmates and controlers for pricing.http://search.store.yahoo.net/cgi-bi...m/mimigwe.htmlhttp://search.store.yahoo.net/cgi-bi...com/cyberweld/http://www.weldingmart.com/Qstore/p001733.htmhttps://weldingsupply.securesites.co...in/einstein.plGood luck.Last edited by smawgmaw; 12-20-2009 at 10:41 AM.A few of my toys !LinuxMintManjaroMiller Roughneck 2E Lincoln WeldPak 100HTP MTS 160 Chicago Electric 80amp Inverter   Victor O/A
Reply:Unfortunately, Bobcats are limited in what advanced processes they can do, as Bobcats do not have remote-control capability like Rangers and Trailblazers have.   For least complication, the easiest thing to do would be to trade your Bobcat for a Trailblazer or Ranger.  There are also many other options as well, all of which I considered when I wanted to have more advance process capabilities on the truck with my Bobcat.The most effective way to run tig from your Bobcat is to use the Bobcat as a generator to power a seperate portable tig welder, like a Maxstar 150 or 200 or Dynasty 200.    That way, you can have such nice tig features as foot pedal or finger control for varying and turning off and on the current, gas valve  and pre/post flow timers controlled by the remote, high freq or lift start, or even ac output with high freq for tig'ing aluminum.  A Maxstar 150STL cost about $1300 with the tig kit and the STH (high freq start) model cost about $1600 with tig kit.  These are small easily portable dc machines for welding steel and stainless.  The Dynasty, which is alot more money, would be needed for ac aluminum welding. Tig can be run directly from a Bobcat with an air cooled torch with built-in gas valve, but you'll have no start feature and the torch will be 'hot' all the time, as there's no way to turn off the weld output power from the Bobcat without a controller.  The controller for tig from a Bobcat is the HF251-D1, with contactor kit.  These cost about $1000.  They provide contactor on/off, remote pedal connection, gas valve and timers and high frequency start for dc and continuous for ac.   This is not as desirable as a seperate tig machine running from the Bobcat's generator power, but it is an option to look at.The cheapest most effective way to run mig from your Bobcat, provided you don't need a whole lot of output power, is to use the Bobcat again as a generator to power a sperate portable mig welder, like a Millermatic 140, 180, 211 or Passport.  I do this with my Bobcat.  I have a Passport and a Millermatic 175 and run both from the Bobcat.Another way to run mig from a Bobcat is with a voltage-sensing arc-powered feeder, like a Suitcase VS or LN25 or Hobart Hefty.  These feeders don't require remote control to operate.  They connect on the weld output cables of the Bobcat just like stick welding, except the feeder and torch take the place of the stick electrode stinger.   These feeders are usually $500-1000 used and $1500-2000 new, so they are a little more money than a seperate mig welder, but they can output more juice since they use the Bobcat's full weld output power capability, which is greater than most portable migs can output.  The Millermatic 211 though would be an exception.  With 210 amps max output, the 211 approaches the Bobcats 225 amp max output.  A new 211 is a little under $1000 for the machine.The Spoolmate spool gun and SGA100C controller that SMAWGMAW mentioned are the least expensive way to connect a spool gun.  If you want a more expensive heavier duty spool gun, then you would use the Spoolmatic 30A and WC115A controller with contactor kit.  Cost is about $1200 for the gun and $1000 for the controller.   Used Spoolmatics can be found for $500-700 typically.Another way to have advanced mig/tig processes with a Bobcat is to use the Bobcat as a generator to power a multi-process welding machine.   I do this with my Bobcat and XMT 304.  The XMT has mig/tig/stick capability and is a truely excellent stick/mig welder and an acceptable dc tig welder.  I use the XMT to power my Suitcase RC remote-control mig feeder and Spoolmatic spool gun with WC24 controller, as well as use it for dc tig welding with a foot pedal and air cooled torch with built in gas valve as well as for stick welding.   It far surpasses the Bobcat in weld/arc quality in all processes, is reasonably portable and runs fine from the Bobcat's generator output.  A used XMT 304 CC/CV cost about $1500, or $3500 new.  It provides lift arc start for tig, remote constant voltage output for mig and a very high quality arc for stick.Last edited by DesertRider33; 12-20-2009 at 11:31 AM.MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:DR covered the options pretty well..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan