Engine driven welder performance

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I am a small independent logging contractor and repair my own equipment in the field. I currently use a Lincoln sa-200 and love the way it welds. Two issues I have with it are size/weight and lack of AC power. I have been thinking of switching to a smaller portable of the Ranger, Bobcat, Champion variety. They seem to produce AC welding power and run it through rectifiers for DC. Would I notice much difference from my sa-200  in the way they weld on DC with 7018? I seldom weld over 150 amps or so.Another option would be an older Hobart with the two cylinder Wisconsin (G-200 series for example) as I think these have a DC only generator. Some models also have 3kw 110v AC output, I think with a separate winding. Anyone know if they are old school DC like the  Lincoln and how well they weld?
Reply:If you can afford it go with a trailblazer302 or ranger 250. You probabaly won't use all of the features of these machines. They will weld a bit nicer than the bobcats or lower priced rangers. But don't get me wrong all the major brands will due the job or they wouldn't be a major brand. Of the ones you listed the champion would be my last choice.
Reply:The Ranger 250 will do anything the SA-200 will and quite a bit more. It welds exactly like a 200 in pipe mode.  I say this with 35 or more years with the SA-200 and over 4 years with a Ranger 250. It is a DC machine but has AC output for tools, two 120V and one 240V, with a total output of 8,000 watts. It is also 100% duty cycle.  Can't comment on the Millers as I've only ran one Bobcat for a couple of days. It was OK. Lincoln does make some less expensive machines which will do what you want.
Reply:My step dad bought a used Hobart champion 8500 for repairing stuff around the place and it welds awesome!  Easy to stop and start and lays down a nice bead. It's way smoother than the Lincoln Ideal Arc transformer rectifier machines at my community college thats for sure.
Reply:Originally Posted by stickkidMy step dad bought a used Hobart champion 8500 for repairing stuff around the place and it welds awesome!  Easy to stop and start and lays down a nice bead. It's way smoother than the Lincoln Ideal Arc transformer rectifier machines at my community college thats for sure.
Reply:These are my opinions on the machines i have used compared to the SA 200 which i have used alot.Lincoln Ranger 10000-I dont think they will run 7018 with a SA 200.Especially with 1/8" or larger rod.They seem to do decent work with 3/32"Miller Bobcat-Not even close.All the ones i used were older ones cant say about the newer ones.Lincoln GXT-Not even closeLincoln 250-Ive only used this machine maybe 100 hrs.I havent been impressed with it but its been some pretty nasty welding.I did take my last cert.test with it and it did fair.Im looking for a machine too and it will be a Lincoln 250 or 305G,if i can get someone to let me try a 305.
Reply:All of the small welding machines lose auxillary power capacity as welding amperage rises. Even the Trailblazer. I used one (Trailblazer DC) for most of a year and it was a good welder and much better than the bobcats I had used in the past, but if you read the manual you will find that even with the double generator setup that one still comes down as the other goes up. It is a good welder.I have a Lincoln Eagle 10,000 and it will run 5/32 7024 all day long without a break. It probably welds as close to an sa-200 with 7018 as anything I have ever used. It's 210 amps at 100% duty cycle and has 10,000 watts aux ac power. New cost runs around 2300.00. I got this one at Sam's Club. Like the sa-200 it is bare bones right down to coarse current and fine current controls. I also have a Reddarc GX271 (same thing as a Ranger 275) and it has the sharpest most focused arc I have ever seen. It will run 7018 with an arc so short you get flashed by your a/d hood. I make my living primarily repairing heavy equipment and have yet to run into anything where I wished I had just a little more power (but that is one of the reasons I bought it). It is rated 275 amps at 100% and 300 @ 60% with 8000 watts aux ac power.I used a Hobart Champion years ago (they dropped it from the product line after Miller's parent company bought them out) and it was some kind of smooth. The 10,000 has that many watts ac and I believe is rated 225 amps at 60% duty cycle. Check their literature though as it has been a while. I looked into it when I bought the Eagle. It may just be a Bobcat with a different paint job now.When it comes to welding machines the best advice I have is buy what you want and what you think will meet your needs because it is your money and you have to live with it. Just because I love it doesn't mean you will.The difference between art and craft is the quality of the workmanship. I am an artist.
Reply:why not get a dc ac power inverter and for a few hundred dollars you can have ac power and the sa 200 welding charateristics. thats what I am planning to do on mine when I get some time and money.
Reply:Originally Posted by Accident pronewhy not get a dc ac power inverter and for a few hundred dollars you can have ac power and the sa 200 welding charateristics. thats what I am planning to do on mine when I get some time and money.
Reply:I'll throw this in. You can run any tool with a brush type motor and single speed switch on DC current. Incadesent lights will also run on DC. If the power tool's switch is to light duty you will fry it. I bought the first 4 1/2" grinder to hit my LWS. It was a Mikita and the switch was too light. Fryed two of them and put in a 20 amp rated switch, no more problems. Only grinder I ever had a problem with on DC. Also did the same thing running a Victaulic groover. Put in a higher amperage switch and no more problem. DC current also will fry variable speed switches.
Reply:Oldtimer, just out of curiosity's sake what do you set the machine at on dc to run lights or tools? Might just come in handy one day if push comes to shove.
Reply:You will have to run it a high idle to get 110 V, you won't have to change the weldings settings. The ones made from the middle '70s, I don't remember the exact year, will rev up when you apply a load to the 110V circuit and also has an auto idle switch on the control panel that will cause it to run at high idle when in the off position. Before that you could buy a solenoid type gadget to install on the vacuum idler that would do the same thing but it has been so long that I have forgotten the name. You can always block the idler open manually. Someone might tell you that you can't weld and grind, etc. and weld at the sams time. Not so. I've welded with a helper running a grinder at the same time quite a bit (when I had a helper) and never had a problem with it.