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Hello, I am posting this request for my cousin from Colombia, South America. He has been welding structural steel for 11 years now and has asked me to find him a new welder to start his own business. He cannot buy where he lives because a $1,000 US welder costs about $7,000 there due to markup and taxes. Making $30 a day, it would be incredibly difficult to afford after living expenses. His Experience:His work is 95% structural welding 1/4" (6.2mm) steel I and H beams, he has worked on welding small span 30 foot bridges for private mountain ranches to structural steel for a 10 story apartment complex. In S. America, EVERYTHING is concrete. Labor is cheap and concrete has great soundproofing, insulating, and anti-seismic properties. Most of the buildings he works on have structural steel skeletons and then metal decking/concrete form welded to the steel supports. His Current Machine:At his current job he uses an old transformer based DC arc welder with E7018 1/8" rods and sometimes E6010 rods. They sometimes have to connect DIRECTLY to MAINS POWER in the street because residential and even commercial breaker boxes are tremendously INSUFFICIENT. He has some experience with MIG welding, but wire is expensive there and so are the machines when they break. His Needs:Portable - where he lives, gasoline is expensive and there are more motorcycles on the road than pickup trucks. This makes portability a BIG issue as he would have to pay to transport anything that wouldn't fit on the back of his 200cc motorcycle or that he couldn't build a motorcycle trailer for. But being portable also means it is easier to STEAL - which is a HUGE issue where he lives. Budget - As I mentioned before, he is very fortunate to make around $30 PER DAY as a welder, working 10 hr days, Monday through Saturday! If the total cost got too high, I might be able to loan/gift some money to him. Duty Cycle - I think that even if he begins working for himself, with structural steel, it is always best to have a high duty cycle (Transformer beats Inverter here?). He has told me stories of having smaller transformer machines overheating in the 100 degree weather and having to have 2 shop fans blasting air onto the welder so could finish a job. Arc vs MIG/TIG/Arc:He swears by the 40 year old AC/DC transformer arc welder at his current job. The problem with these types of welders is the ENORMOUS shipping cost. It is about $1.50 per pound, with a 150 pound limit for air-travel before overweight charges come into effect. I looked into a Miller Dialarc for him and they weigh 350 to 700 pounds, but everywhere on the web people swear that if they work when you buy it, it will work until you sell it or die! Would something like a Lincoln AC/DC 225/125 be enough to weld structural steel with a good duty cycle? It is definitely lighter than a Dialarc! I have read about Inverter Arc welders and they seem to be a good option. They use less energy, portable, are lighter for shipping, but they can damage easier than the transformer types. Would this be something he could reliably use at country ranches with only a 30 amp, 240V Generator with 8000 Watts (this is usually the type of generator available at ranches). What about MIG welding? I read the E71T flux-core wire is a common MIG welding wire for structural steel work. Would a product like a ThermalARC 211i be something good for him? He could rent out the machine for TIG welding, but would this machine be good enough for structural MIG or Arc welding???If you have made it to here, THANK YOU!!!
Reply:I would choice this one:http://articulo.mercadolibre.com.co/...0-amperios-_JM***** ESPECIFICACIONES *****Alimentaciòn220V+/-15% 50/60HzPotencia de entrada(KVA)6.6No-load voltage(V)60Output current adjustment(A)20-200Duty cycle %60No-load loss(W)25Efficiency %91Power factor0.93Mauricio
Reply:I'd say an ESAB 161 with a cost of under $500 would be the ticket. My TA161 (similar machine) runs off a 5000 watt generator with zero problems. Inverters are light. The entire suitcase with leads can be strapped to the back of his bike.If your willing to gamble, an Everlast 140 will cost half of that, but I'm not sure about the durability on those. It may be great for years, but the quality control of their products aren't the same as the bigger manufacturers. Probable part of how costs are kept under control. They're more if a replace it if it breaks business model.Last edited by Drf255; 09-11-2014 at 05:31 AM.TA Arcmaster 300CM3XMT 304S22P12 suitcase feederX-Treme 12VSOptima pulserTA161SMaxstar 150STLHypertherm PM45OP setupStihl 020AVP, 039, 066 Magnum
Reply:I've got an Everlast PA 300 and virtually no experience but if you guys think a 140 would do I'd suggest the OP also investigate the Longevity 140 for $230 at Home Depot.Plug it in and try it before shipping.
Reply:Thank you all so far for your replies - they are much appreciated.So it looks like a "suitcase" or inverter Arc/TIG welder is the best choice for him? My only question now is about the duty cycle. I googled E7018 and for the 1/8" rod it look likes the welder should be set at 90 to 150 Amps. Is that AC or DC? And if the welders you guys are suggesting are the 140 Amps, those look like they only have a duty cycle from 30-60%. If he were to buy the 200 Amp welder suggested, how high would his duty cycle be at the Amperage needed to drag E7018? And what about OCV? I read about OCV and it looks like the max is 90 for safety reasons, but does it matter with an inverter? I saw that inverter don't need as high an OCV as transformer-based Arc welders. And if he is welding DC, the amperage would be lower, correct? And what about the combo MIG/Arc/TIG welders? Or an Arc/Plasma/TIG welder? Are those all-in-ones really only mediocre at doing all 3 things, but not great at any one function? The only reason I ask is because that would give him the ability to do more jobs or rent out the rig to his welder friends that know MIG or TIG. It doesn't look like the weight or price of those is much more than an Inverter Arc DC welder.And can even a 300 Amp be run off of a 30 Amp 240V 8000W Generator Circuit?Last edited by efranco; 09-11-2014 at 10:18 AM.
Reply:All in one units with MIG needs to have room for the MIG wire spool which makes them a lot bigger. Inverter arc welders in the 150 Amp range are really small.I have a small 220V Lincoln Invertec that is a 150 Amp unit. It also comes in a 170 Amp version. Duty cycle on that version is 80% @ 160A, 70 degrees F and 35% @ 160A, 100 degrees F.Weight on that unit is around 15 lbs without leads. And it's made to run on generators and up to 200 ft extension cord. At 170 Amp it uses 5100 W so you need a generator that is bigger.Below is a test of the smallest machine in the series, the 135 Amp.I have no idea what they're talking about but you can see the size of the unit and how they abuse it.I'm not sure what you can buy in south america but shipping a unit of this size is a non issue. You should also be able to find other brands with similar performance. Last edited by Pete.S.; 09-11-2014 at 04:41 PM.
Reply:Be aware that electronic based inverters are VERY intolerant many times of line spikes and voltage changes. If he may have to tie directly into the mains ( shudder) he may end up destroying an inverter very quickly. Inverters aren't usually a " blows one piece, replace one piece", when they go, they are usually a cascade failure where one thing blows one thing after another down the line all at once. Many times the cost to repair that sort of damage is more expensive than what it costs to simply buy a new machine.Transformers due to their design can take all sorts of electrical "abuse" and keep on going. They are heavy, but that extra weight is a big part of why they are often considered "tanks". Inverters are like fragile crystal and break very easily, even the best of them under "abuse"..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:I don't know what they were saying but that was pretty impressive. The water dumped on it and dragged by a car holy crap. I don't use many Lincoln products but I've seen miller maxstar 150 a lot and they were pretty nice. I don't know what little miller inverter they put in the snorkel lifts but they work real nice also for 1/8 7018 structural. They are mounted in some of the lifts and stay outside in the rain.
Reply:Perhaps you should be used ESAB 161 or Hobart ARC 130.Welder Reviews | Best Buying Guides for 2015
Reply:Transformer the Tombstone AC/DC 250 build a trailer to haul it around ,or a TM -500. Will weld anything with a LN-25 /Hi freq/ gouger too.Big 7028 rods will out run .045 mig.
Reply:Rig up a fan setup from the get-go, since he will have generator power available. This way he can keep the thermal overload as far away as possible from the very beginning. 1st on WeldingWeb to have a scrolling sig! HTP Invertig 400HTP Invertig 221HTP ProPulse 300HTP ProPulse 200 x2HTP ProPulse 220MTSHTP Inverarc 200TLP HTP Microcut 875SC
Reply:Being that you are going to run into issues with getting service on any machine if it breaks sure to his location, I would consider looking for a used machine. If you can find a working Powcon machine. Those are probably the most durable inverters on the planet. A 200 or 300 series would be a good fit.Tiger Sales: AHP Distributor www.tigersalesco.comAHP200x; AHP 160ST; MM350P, Spoolmatic 30A; Everlast PowerTig 185; Thermal Dynamics 60i plasma. For Sale: Cobra Mig 250 w/ Push-pull gun. Lincoln Wirematic 250
Reply:UPDATE:Thank you all for the replies. I discussed them at length with him and he decided on an Everlast IGBT PowerARC 300 with digital current readout. It cost $370 NOS in the USA and shipping to Colombia was another $80, so all in he was at ~$450. Earning $30/day, it would take about 15 days to pay off, in reality probably 2-3 months though when factor in cost of living - not too bad overall. The good thing is the duty cycle of this model is 100% at 240 Amps/29.6V.Is an auxiliary fan setup necessary for an inverter welder? |
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发表于 2021-8-31 22:09:09