What happen to the miller wildcat?

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My friend has a small farm and asked me about a light weight engine welder for repairs. I recommended the wildcat but after looking on Millers web site they don't list it any more. Did they stop manufacturing the wildcat? Anyone know why the wildcat is gone from Millers lineup.
Reply:More than likely.It went the same way the Renegade and Reach did.Probably a marketing faux pas Expert Garage Hack....https://www.facebook.com/steven.webber.948
Reply:How much does he want to spend?Option #2:A small inverter welder will run off a 5000 watt generator nicely and burn 1/8" rods very well.The miller 150s and the ESAB 161 are two I've had experience with.Dave J.Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance. ~George Bernard Shaw~ Syncro 350Invertec v250-sThermal Arc 161 and 300MM210DialarcTried being normal once, didn't take....I think it was a Tuesday.
Reply:Dave J:I've thought about a generator to use out at the airport.  I am based on a dirt strip with no electricity.  I just bought an HTP 201 that I could to some work out there with but I'm worried about the output of some of these "generators".  Some of them are actually alternators and put out the worst ac wave form you can imagine.  It's like a saw tooth wave with a hitch in each up and down slope.  Will these inverter welders run on those type power sources or should I look for a real generator with a pure sine wave.  I've seen fairly low hour "Onan" RV generators show up on Craigslist that could be built up into a nice genset.Last edited by skyboltone; 07-22-2015 at 11:00 PM.DanI hope that when i'm dead and gone, people will remember me and think; "Boy, that guy sure owed me a lot of money!"
Reply:I have a decent amount of time on using a Bluestar 185, great little machine ALWAYS starts, even when its -20C.  99% of the rod its used on is 1/8" 7018. The only draw back i have seen is when used at the peak of its duty cycle(or a little over) it will eat rheostats but i highly doubt your friend will use it that hard.  (its on rheostat #3 or 4)
Reply:I think he is willing to spend the money for a bobcat but doesn't want that much weight, I'm not sure the miller blue star at a 185 amps will be enough for what he needs. He can buy a new Hobart champion elite at his local farm store for $2800.00 but it weighs 500 pounds. I don't have any experience with the blue star so I can't give him good advice on how well it welds. Weight is the real issue not price.
Reply:Originally Posted by skyboltoneDave J:I've thought about a generator to use out at the airport.  I am based on a dirt strip with no electricity.  I just bought an HTP 201 that I could to some work out there with but I'm worried about the output of some of these "generators".  Some of them are actually alternators and put out the worst ac wave form you can imagine.  It's like a saw tooth wave with a hitch in each up and down slope.  Will these inverter welders run on those type power sources or should I look for a real generator with a pure sine wave.  I've seen fairly low hour "Onan" RV generators show up on Craigslist that could be built up into a nice genset.
Reply:I ran many small inverters off of my Thermal-arc scout 170, (probably the best small engine drive ever built) and have not had any issue with my MQ 6000 running the same.Only issue it not having enough power to run at peak output, but never from the quality of the output power. I had more issues with Honda inverters/Yamaha inverters trying to keep up with the smaller welding inverters, then any old standard genny.. (Including cheap china made genny units. Onan gennys work great too.. Did that with my Motor home.. (4000) Attached ImagesLast edited by Brand X; 07-22-2015 at 11:15 PM.Esab/Lorch ET-220iEsab 160i caddyThermal LM-200 Lincoln feedersThermal Pee-Wee 85sThermal 60i- 3phase /RPC powered (Beast)Thermal Drag-gun 35CINE 1500 Klutch 140i
Reply:I've run the Miller, multimatic 200 suitcase) off the Miller bluestar 145 and it runs really well when dialed in(flux core only)I love my bluestar 145 though, runs 1/8 7018 very well, and 6011 (3/32-1/8) well enough for me to do sheet metal.
Reply:I'm amazed it has enough power to run 7018, Hobart makes and sells the same welder for less money in our area. Maybe the 145 will be enough welder for occasional repairs on the farm. I will let him know what you said, thanks.
Reply:Skyboltone, do you isolate the ground on your scope to view the welder output? I was informed that the hi weld current could fry a scopes hi impedance inputs.
Reply:That scope shot was of the output of an el-cheapo generator that I used at a shop I set up in a shipping container out near the airport in South San Francisco. I was building custom guitar amps at the time and could play as loud and long as I needed to.  Nobody cared because the sound of the jets overpowered everything I could put out!  I guess though, to answer your question as best I can, I think I would use caution before scoping the output of a welder.  I've had this same sort of discussion with an EE on a university faculty about the output of three phase rotary converters.  It was over on the Old Woodworking Machinery forum. We were arguing about phase vector diagrams on the theory side and what's happening in reality when looking at turning single phase into three phase etc. etc.  It was a real yawner for most folks as I'm sure this post is here. But, he was concerned that in order to get a true picture of the sine wave timing on a rotary converter you would have to lift the ground on the scope.  When I asked him if he had done that he said no, "why don't you try it on yours".  Ha ha ha ha ha. He had quite a bit more mental horsepower than me you see.....The scope used in that photo is an old Tektronics analog unit.  One of the lastest and greatest and could probably survive the abuse. I don't think I'd try it with my digital Tek.  In any case we finally agreed that the best course would be to create a separately derived scope power source with no connection between the neutral or equipment ground in the building where the tests were conducted.  An isolation transformer if you will.  You would have to make one because the code requires that they tie the equipment ground across commercially available isolation transformers.  We never did it because there are other issues regarding output under load that could only be resolved by building a three phase load that we could control pretty precisely.  I don't think we cared enough about the problem to do that.  So, to look at the output of a welder you'd want to see what it looked like when at idle and at load you know? And build an isolated scope power source. I don't think that the scope input impedance would be at issue here.  You're measuring potential not current.   If you put the scope leads in SERIES with the welder you'd have a problem.  So now I've totally de-railed the poor OPs thread here.  Ha ha.  Sorry.  As you were.Last edited by skyboltone; 07-23-2015 at 10:39 AM.DanI hope that when i'm dead and gone, people will remember me and think; "Boy, that guy sure owed me a lot of money!"
Reply:Inverter welders are pretty tolerant of input voltage, there's so much electrical magic happening in there that a little wave form fluctuation doesn't bother them too much. They take it in rectify it into DC and convert that to high frequency and run it through a transformer before rectifying it again to give you your welding output. The whole process is monitored by the machine and adjusted as necessary to compensate for input fluctuations to maintain a steady output.
Reply:I would love to have an inverter with frequency adjustments but I don't want the sensitive electronics that seem to occupy the housings. Repair is so expensive. Field use is tough. I would not want to have an inverter in a farm or airstrip situation. Imho.Lincoln Power Mig 210MP MIGLincoln Power Mig 350MP - MIG and Push-PullLincoln TIG 300-300Lincoln Hobby-Weld 110v  Thanks JLAMESCK TIG TORCH, gas diffuser, pyrex cupThermal Dynamics Cutmaster 101My brain
Reply:Originally Posted by kctgbI think he is willing to spend the money for a bobcat but doesn't want that much weight, I'm not sure the miller blue star at a 185 amps will be enough for what he needs. He can buy a new Hobart champion elite at his local farm store for $2800.00 but it weighs 500 pounds. I don't have any experience with the blue star so I can't give him good advice on how well it welds. Weight is the real issue not price.
Reply:I rented a gas machine about a month ago to run some 3/32 6013.  I was amazed at how well it did.  I was turned way down on the power and it kind of sang rather than buzzed.  If that makes sense.  Two guys could lift it up into the my pickup no problem.  I don't recall the brand but in rental service one would think that it would hold up fairly well.  If you want I could drive by there and find out the brand and model.DanI hope that when i'm dead and gone, people will remember me and think; "Boy, that guy sure owed me a lot of money!"
Reply:Originally Posted by RobertJWhen the Wildcat was discontinued the Blue Star 185 was updated and now matches what the Wildcat had for output, it should have no problem running 1/8" 7018.