portable welding

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I attend Ohio Northern University and am on the SAE Mini Baja team there.  My team is interested in purchasing a welding set up to take to competitions and on the road with us.  We are looking for mostly TIG and plasma capabilities, with some MIG.  If possible, I would like to use a Miller Dynasty series welder and whatever plasma you guys recommend.  What different set ups( budget, middle class, and high end) equipment would you recommend and what will work well with other equipment.  I am new to this so any questions just askThanksMatt
Reply:Mini Baja? Sounds like the work will need to be done where there is no place to plug the dynasty in. I'm thinking Trailblazer or Ranger GXT. Either will power a plasma cutter too.
Reply:Portable rig110 volt MIG FCAW or GMAW6000 Watt generator. Grounding rod ready to pound into the ground. for the generator.Oxy-actyelene rig. Or plasma 110 and couple of tanks of shop air.4 inch grinder.One portable welding curtainOne welding blacket.
Reply:we currently have a compressor and a 220 MIG. we are planning on making next years frame out of chromoly and as far as im aware it needs to be TIGed? yes there will be no place to plug anything in at so i will be needing some sort of generator
Reply:You could get a dynasty or something like and a generator large enough to run and maybe save a few bucks. But with the trailblazer or ranger gxt you wouldn't be spending much more money but you would have all the electricity the you could use. Want to have an airconditioned race trailer out in the middle no where? Want that generator to run 8-12 hours on 1 filling? Want enough power to run lights and tools while welding? Want to make sure that you never out grow your equipment even if you need to weld 1" steel? The engine driven welder does it all.
Reply:which would you recommend between the trailblazer and ranger? i am partial to miller but open to other suggestions
Reply:get a vantage 500 haha kiddingthe trailblazers and rangers are both good machines.  Im partial to the boys in blue but lincoln rangers are very good machines too.
Reply:The Trailblazer is a great machine, but a good bit more than the Ranger GXT.  I have two GXT's, and one of the main reasons I bought them was because of the ability to hook a foot pedal into the machine, and tig in the field.  The Trailblazer has more welding output, but the GXT has more generator power.  The GXT has 11,000 watts versus 10,000 watts on the Trailblazer.  I keep a high frequency box on the truckfor tig work, as well as a Hypertherm 30 plasma, and so far the GXT has performed well on everything I have thrown at it.  I would think that a GXT with a Dynasty 200, and a hypertherm 30 would handle anything that you would encounter on the trail.I'm a Lover, Fighter, Wild horse Rider, and a pretty good welding man......
Reply:My reference books indicate you can weld SAE 4130 steel using an OA torch and bare 4130 filler rods (no copper coating).  Base metal and filler rod need to be extremely clean - no rust, scale - wipe with MEK or acetone.  Go in slow with flame to pre-heat weld area (375 F/190 C), use forehand method, and withdrawn flame from weld slowly to keep hydrogen and oxygen away from weld until it cools.  Sanctioning body may not allow it's use.TeddCoHTP Microcut 400 & Invertig 160DC  Smith Dual Guard MD-510 OA Rig  Lincoln SP135+  Hobart Stickmate LX 235/160
Reply:How about some type of underhood welder and  an inverter for power.  How much welding will you guys have to do?
Reply:Originally Posted by Donald BranscomPortable rig110 volt MIG FCAW or GMAW6000 Watt generator. Grounding rod ready to pound into the ground. for the generator.Oxy-actyelene rig. Or plasma 110 and couple of tanks of shop air.4 inch grinder.One portable welding curtainOne welding blacket.
Reply:there is no set amount of welding we will have to do. the welding equipment is for emergency use only.  this year at the competition we only took a couple angle grinders hand tools and an air compressor because we had no welding equipment. we ended up bending a few tie rods and having to use other team's welders in order to weld reinforcements in place after straightening them.  basically its a pain to have to search around for a team that has a welder and is not using it lol