Tig welding from engine drive welder.

admin

Hi all I recently purchased an engine drive that I've mainly been using as a generator to power my mig machine and occasional stick. Can't wait to buy a suit case!… Or get better at stick. Today I found a guy down the road that had some old tig stuff laying around and I saw a brand new tig torch with a lug that connects to the bolt on the engine drive. He threw in a full pack of cups, a Y adapter, 2 welding jackets and a brass fitting that I have no idea what it is used for. I will include pictures.3 Questions.I paid $100 all together was that a fair price?What is the fuse looking thing on the tig lead?What is the brass fitting used for?
Reply:Looks like you got a good deal. Tozzi covered all the parts you need to do tig off a CC engine drive or stick machine in this thread.http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php...-Welder-PeopleYou have almost everything you need but I don't see a flow meter for the gas and a cylinder of 100% argon. You have a Y splitter that will allow you to attach 2 flow meters to one cylinder so you can back gas stainless that isn't shown in Tozzi's thread. A bunch of guys have picked up inexpensive flow meters from HTP IIRC. Cylinder size, all depends.  If you want/ need a small portable cylinder, a  60- 125 cf cylinder is a good size that is easy to move. This can be an advantage if you use the lug and hook up like shown in Tozzi's thread to long leads away from the machine.  Gas however is less expensive per cubic foot the bigger the cylinder size. If your engine drive is on a trailer, you can go an use bigger cylinder without too much hassle, but then you need to stay closer to the machine or add more gas hose...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
Reply:The "fuse looking thing" in pic#1 is just extra insulation. The brass fitting in pic#2 is to hook the power cable from the tig rig to the hose and to the welding lead or terminal, it is what is connecting the fuse looking piece to the tig rig.And the Y adapter is to hook 1 regulator to two hoses. We use these to supply argon to the tig torch and a purge hose at the same time when welding stainless.
Reply:Originally Posted by JakeHHi all I recently purchased an engine drive that I've mainly been using as a generator to power my mig machine and occasional stick. Can't wait to buy a suit case!… Or get better at stick. Today I found a guy down the road that had some old tig stuff laying around and I saw a brand new tig torch with a lug that connects to the bolt on the engine drive. He threw in a full pack of cups, a Y adapter, 2 welding jackets and a brass fitting that I have no idea what it is used for.
Reply:Just clamp your stinger onto the power block, which is the brass thing with an eye hole in it. No need to bolt it in. Then ground whatever your welding like any other process. Hook up your gas line and flow meter into the power block and start welding
Reply:Originally Posted by That Guy ThereJust clamp your stinger onto the power block, which is the brass thing with an eye hole in it. No need to bolt it in. Then ground whatever your welding like any other process. Hook up your gas line and flow meter into the power block and start welding
Reply:Looks to me like a good score for $100.
Reply:Would I be able to use this torch on a high freq box? Or just lift start?My welder has AC so I would like to be able to do aluminum. What high freq unit do I need for a ranger 10k and how much would it be?
Reply:I'm not all that familiar with the Lincolns, so I may be wrong. I don't think the Ranger is set up to run a remote like a pedal for amp control. If so AC alum tig even with a HF box will be quite difficult and you had better have a lot of alum tig experience to accomplish it..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
Reply:DSW,I think that Y splitter you're referring to is for use on the low pressure side of a flow meter, NOT the high pressure side between the tank valve and the flowmeter.  The low pressure Y fitting let's you split the gas flow after setting the flow rate; which is of limited usefulness.  The High Pressure side T to run 2 flowmeters from 1 tank has the appropriate CGA fittings and is rated for the full pressure coming from the tank.Here's an example of a high pressure T fitting for an oxygen tank.  An argon tank would have different threaded connections.I agree that $100 was a good deal for what you bought.  That low pressure Y fitting with shutoffs is useful if you want to connect two seperate machines to the same bottle, but only run one at a time.  I've used them to connect a manual oxy-acetylene torch and a machine torch to the same fuel and oxy bottles.  But I only used one or the other at any given time.  I suppose you could use that Y on an Argon flow meter to TIG weld and back purge for stainless.  But you'd have to fiddle with the shutoffs on the Y to get the flow to the backpurge down low and avoid starving the torch of argon.  I rather use the correct high pressure T and 2 flowmeters for stainless work so I can independently control the torch gas flow and the backpurge gas flow rates. Originally Posted by DSWLooks like you got a good deal. Tozzi covered all the parts you need to do tig off a CC engine drive or stick machine in this thread.http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php...-Welder-PeopleYou have almost everything you need but I don't see a flow meter for the gas and a cylinder of 100% argon. You have a Y splitter that will allow you to attach 2 flow meters to one cylinder so you can back gas stainless that isn't shown in Tozzi's thread. A bunch of guys have picked up inexpensive flow meters from HTP IIRC. Cylinder size, all depends.  If you want/ need a small portable cylinder, a  60- 125 cf cylinder is a good size that is easy to move. This can be an advantage if you use the lug and hook up like shown in Tozzi's thread to long leads away from the machine.  Gas however is less expensive per cubic foot the bigger the cylinder size. If your engine drive is on a trailer, you can go an use bigger cylinder without too much hassle, but then you need to stay closer to the machine or add more gas hose..
Reply:Heres a high pressure manifold for connecting 6 flowmeters to 1 supply.  I've only ever seen these used with big Liquid Argon tanks.  But I know you can buy a 2 way T for using 2 flowmeters with 1 gas cylinder.  I have one in my shop.Benson's Mobile Welding - Dayton, OH metro area - AWS Certified Welding Inspector
Reply:I saw a miller box that connected to your engine drive with  + and - leads and then ran your torch and foot pedal off the box. Anybody know what model it is? Tig alum and HF with amp control is a must in the near future can anyone give me a picture of your engine driven tig set up? Thanks!
Reply:The pedal only turns the arc on and off with that Miller HF unit. It does not change your amps while welding..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
Reply:Is there a  unit that will control amps that would work with  the 10k plus?
Reply:Are you asking for a stand alone tig that you can plug into the Aux power on your Ranger?If so there are plenty of options for that. Since it sounds like Alum tig is the way you want to go, you are looking at an AC/DC capable inverter that will run off 230v power. Dynasty 200 DX from Miller or the Thermal arc TA 186 or the older TA 185 would fit the bill nicely. You are talking about a few thousand to get them tough new. TA 186 will set you back close to $2k, The Dynasty 200DX with the pedal etc more.Used the TA 185 can occasionally be found for less money. Watch the Dynasty 200's used though. They are a popular scam on CL. Guys offering them for stupid cheap money either are trying to get you to send them a payment for a nonexistent machine, or they have a dead unit they are trying to get you to buy. Used Dynasty's have been showing up a bit more since the 280's came out, but you still need to be aware and test the units 1st.Tranny tigs off the aux power is questionable. I don't think the Ranger really has the output to run most of them even on lower settings. 10K may just be the surge rating and cont output is down around 8KW like it is with the newer Bobcats. That's not enough to run most tranny units to do alum..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
Reply:Dang I was really hoping to be able to tig alumn. off of this machine. Guess it's gonna stay as a generator lol.