Anyone welded with auto alternator?

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After seeing videos of homemade rigs as well as ads for commercial units(Zena,Premier)I'm wondering if proper,sound  welds could be achieved with my 12hp wisconsinspinning a 150 or 200 amp alternator.Anyone here have experience with this?Miller a/c-d/c Thunderbolt XLMillermatic 180 Purox O/ASmith Littletorch O/AHobart Champion Elite
Reply:i have a Scott 125 amp dc welder that i started with in the mid 1970's. it uses a 7hp Wisconsin Robin motor hooked via belt to an alternator. still does a great job for a low amp welder. handles 1/8" 7018 all day. neat little welder. 1 guy can pick it up and chuck in the pickup with ease.Last edited by jbmprods; 09-10-2011 at 04:46 AM.225NT bobcatAEAD200LEScott 125mm175, mm252 w 30A, PT225mm211, TA 181iHyper Therm 380, cut master 529100X & XX, Digital Elite6 Victor setssmith little torch, meco midget kalamazoo band sawsteel max saw evoulution circular saw
Reply:Is current adjustment made by changing  rpm or is there an amp control knob(field voltage control)?Miller a/c-d/c Thunderbolt XLMillermatic 180 Purox O/ASmith Littletorch O/AHobart Champion Elite
Reply:amps are set with a knob.225NT bobcatAEAD200LEScott 125mm175, mm252 w 30A, PT225mm211, TA 181iHyper Therm 380, cut master 529100X & XX, Digital Elite6 Victor setssmith little torch, meco midget kalamazoo band sawsteel max saw evoulution circular saw
Reply:I TIG weld with one all the time. It's only a 90A unit but it has gotten the job done on any thin metal I've had to weld. If you check the introduction part of the form I started a thread there with a couple pictures of a 2-pass weld done on 1/4" plate in a corner joint. I'm about to post some pics of my setup in my intro thread so have a look if you're interested.Brad GeorgeCurrent Equipment:AIRCO Heliwelder IV 300Amp Model - Total Awesomeness!Old 120v Hobart Handler MIGVarious grinders, cutting tools, hammers, clamps, ect..."I'm an amateur welder with lots left to learn..."
Reply:I watched a gentleman weld a tierod end on a 1975 pickup using jumper cables off of his pickup battery and using one of the clamps as a rod holder the second going to ground.  I have used the old army tank alternators as a welder, loved it at the time.  Still have the motor set up with the alternator to use if need it again.
Reply:I guess my question should be:Can a person stick welding with an alternator make a proper weld or just get metal to stick together well enough to get their busted 4wd out of the woods?Miller a/c-d/c Thunderbolt XLMillermatic 180 Purox O/ASmith Littletorch O/AHobart Champion Elite
Reply:I don't know about stick welding, but I'm sure it's just fine, but for TIG welding DCEN it welds just like any other TIG machine does. It's a CC power source and puts out a smoother arc than my old AC/DC buzz box did(for TIG) mostly due to the alternator output being rectified 3-phase at a much higher frequency than the single phase 60hz my buzz box got from the breaker box. My alternator only supplies 80-90A though and all I have at my disposal are ancient 1/8 rods and they just won't stay lit at that amperage. With some smaller rods I would trust it 100% to run a proper bead.Brad GeorgeCurrent Equipment:AIRCO Heliwelder IV 300Amp Model - Total Awesomeness!Old 120v Hobart Handler MIGVarious grinders, cutting tools, hammers, clamps, ect..."I'm an amateur welder with lots left to learn..."
Reply:Brad- Your homemade tig set-up(intro thread) looks like it works very well.Nice job.Maybe I missed it in the thread but what sort of rheostat did you use?Do you know the resistance and power(watts) values of the rheostat?Miller a/c-d/c Thunderbolt XLMillermatic 180 Purox O/ASmith Littletorch O/AHobart Champion Elite
Reply:Thanks, I just wanted to learn to TIG weld and couldn't justify the cost of a real machine w/o learning a little bit of how to do it. Reading and videos only got me so far.For the rheostat, I have no idea what the resistance of it is or anything like that. I tore the headlight switch out of an '88 Dodge Shadow and I'm using the dash-light dimmer portion of it between the charger and the field coils. This sets the maximum current allowed.And for the pedal I'm using, between the wall and the charger, it is from a sewing machine, I thought it was a rheostat(like the old school ones) as well but upon taking it apart I'm pretty sure its a Phase-Angle Controller, it's got a Triac in it, looks just like the inside of a dimmer switch for 110v AC lighting, only for higher amperage. This varies the input current to the battery charger and thus also varies the output current up to the max set by the rheostat. As a side note though, an AC Rheostat foot pedal would work equally as well to vary the input current from the wall. I got a wiring diagram floating around here somewhere I'll post up for you guys.Brad GeorgeCurrent Equipment:AIRCO Heliwelder IV 300Amp Model - Total Awesomeness!Old 120v Hobart Handler MIGVarious grinders, cutting tools, hammers, clamps, ect..."I'm an amateur welder with lots left to learn..."
Reply:Here's the wiring diagram for my exact setup. Just in case anyone can't understand my crappy descriptions of how the thing is setup. =)For the rheostat. I know the image says 10-15A, I say this because it has to be able to handle whatever power your battery charger is able to output. You don't want things melting and catching on fire.Also for anybody interested in how a triac driven phase angle controller modulates the AC current from the wall outlet, here is a link that explains it pretty well.http://knol.google.com/k/electronic-...rs-chapter-16#Last edited by blasphemy000; 09-29-2011 at 11:20 AM.Brad GeorgeCurrent Equipment:AIRCO Heliwelder IV 300Amp Model - Total Awesomeness!Old 120v Hobart Handler MIGVarious grinders, cutting tools, hammers, clamps, ect..."I'm an amateur welder with lots left to learn..."