Eco mod my welder - Page 5

Elcam84 · 03-11-16, 10:27 PM

I like the cutting of the cord mod. More tools should be like that imo. I would prefer to use an extension cord instead of dealing with the mess of cord management.

That's a good looking weld especially impressive for a molded machine.

oil pan 4 · 03-15-16, 09:25 PM

Now I should be able to weld aluminum with AC.
I picked up a century universal high frequency arc stabilizer.

What this does is super imposes a 4 to 32 MHz, 3,500 volt arc onto the welding leads.
This little box is not a welding power source, you plug this thing into your welding machine then plug your welding leads into this machine.

With the cover removed and turned on it interferes with unshielded electronics from at least 20 feet away.

I modifications so far:
Miller plug welding leads.
Miller welding lead receptacles.
Put a faraday cage inside the enclosure under the louvers. Yes I have brass screen.
Installed a 130v MOV to suppress funky high voltage transient voltages on the 120v input power side.
Installed a light so I know when its on and set to kill.
The light also helps suppress transients.
Replaced the panel toggle switch with a switch on 15 foot cord.
Installed a handle on the top.

Need to cut a hole and install a fan.

oil pan 4 · 03-19-16, 12:32 AM

The only thing more economical than building a tig out of a simple AC stick welder is to use a welder that doesn't need any gas, electrodes or filler. An electric resistance welder or a spot welder.

So I have started collecting micro wave oven transformers from the scrap yard.
Plan is to strip off the secondary windings and replace them with one wrap of heavy welding cable. Then keep doing that over and over paralleling more and more transformers until I get an insane amount of amps that I can use to spot weld thicker metal together.

jeff5may · 03-19-16, 10:03 PM

I have done that before, and found it was easier to wind the secondary with 8 or 10 AWG solid wire. The welding cables have thick insulation on them, which makes it hard to get enough actual copper in the core.

Another good source for transformers is battery boosters. My favorite model is the Schumacher box about the size of a small microwave. The selector knobs break pretty easily compared to the rest of the unit. If you know any commercial farmers or ranchers, chances are high that they have a pile of these things somewhere, all with broken knobs. I have turned a couple of those into mini AC stick welders by removing the rectifier, attaching the jumper cable straight to the transformer output inside the unit. Put a stinger on the other end, and voila! Works with the little bitty sticks from tractor supply. Two wired in series will work with 1/8" sticks.

The older ones are black and blue and higher capacity, the newer ones all have wheels.

oil pan 4 · 02-20-17, 08:23 AM

Did another one. I took my 120v air compressor which had power factor corrected, with 140uf and converted it to 240v with a different motor. I used my box of capacitors and an amp meter to power factor correct it like usual.
It ended up only needing 50uf.
It went from running a 0.2 power factor unloaded to a .96, saving almost 4 amps.

Elcam84 · 02-20-17, 06:20 PM

Nice. My jet pump for the well runs at a pf of .95 out of the box. Not bad for a cheap import motor. I do need to wire it up for 220 though. It's just an irrigation pump so it doesn't get used all the time.
Haven't checked my table saw or other tools in the shop as I don't really worry about power factor.

oil pan 4 · 02-22-17, 10:19 PM

Yeah no need to worry much about power factor on occasional use tools unless:
On generator power.
Use long extension cords.
I use both, some times at the same time.

oil pan 4 · 12-04-17, 03:19 PM

I got a bigger welder. A miller model 250, which is a dialarc 250. It weighs around 350lb.
I did a minor power factor correction, two 55uf motor caps wired Lto N on each line, reducing consumption by about 2.2 amps across the entire operating range.
Installed miller receptacles like on my HF box, input voltage gauge and surge protection.
It didn't come with leads so I put 35 foot long 2/0 cables on it. Plus I can now use all my smaller 1ga down to 6 gauge leads that I use on everything else that have miller Jacks on them.

03-15-16, 09:25 PM	#42
oil pan 4 Land owner Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: NM Posts: 1,026 Thanks: 12 Thanked 127 Times in 107 Posts	Now I should be able to weld aluminum with AC. I picked up a century universal high frequency arc stabilizer. What this does is super imposes a 4 to 32 MHz, 3,500 volt arc onto the welding leads. This little box is not a welding power source, you plug this thing into your welding machine then plug your welding leads into this machine. With the cover removed and turned on it interferes with unshielded electronics from at least 20 feet away. I modifications so far: Miller plug welding leads. Miller welding lead receptacles. Put a faraday cage inside the enclosure under the louvers. Yes I have brass screen. Installed a 130v MOV to suppress funky high voltage transient voltages on the 120v input power side. Installed a light so I know when its on and set to kill. The light also helps suppress transients. Replaced the panel toggle switch with a switch on 15 foot cord. Installed a handle on the top. Need to cut a hole and install a fan. Attached Thumbnails

02-20-17, 08:23 AM	#45
oil pan 4 Land owner Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: NM Posts: 1,026 Thanks: 12 Thanked 127 Times in 107 Posts	Did another one. I took my 120v air compressor which had power factor corrected, with 140uf and converted it to 240v with a different motor. I used my box of capacitors and an amp meter to power factor correct it like usual. It ended up only needing 50uf. It went from running a 0.2 power factor unloaded to a .96, saving almost 4 amps. Last edited by oil pan 4; 02-20-17 at 06:40 PM..

03-11-16, 10:27 PM	#41
Elcam84 Apprentice EcoRenovator Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: TX Posts: 275 Thanks: 2 Thanked 31 Times in 24 Posts	I like the cutting of the cord mod. More tools should be like that imo. I would prefer to use an extension cord instead of dealing with the mess of cord management. That's a good looking weld especially impressive for a molded machine.

03-19-16, 12:32 AM	#43
oil pan 4 Land owner Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: NM Posts: 1,026 Thanks: 12 Thanked 127 Times in 107 Posts	The only thing more economical than building a tig out of a simple AC stick welder is to use a welder that doesn't need any gas, electrodes or filler. An electric resistance welder or a spot welder. So I have started collecting micro wave oven transformers from the scrap yard. Plan is to strip off the secondary windings and replace them with one wrap of heavy welding cable. Then keep doing that over and over paralleling more and more transformers until I get an insane amount of amps that I can use to spot weld thicker metal together.

03-19-16, 10:03 PM	#44
jeff5may Supreme EcoRenovator Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: elizabethtown, ky, USA Posts: 2,431 Thanks: 431 Thanked 619 Times in 517 Posts	I have done that before, and found it was easier to wind the secondary with 8 or 10 AWG solid wire. The welding cables have thick insulation on them, which makes it hard to get enough actual copper in the core. Another good source for transformers is battery boosters. My favorite model is the Schumacher box about the size of a small microwave. The selector knobs break pretty easily compared to the rest of the unit. If you know any commercial farmers or ranchers, chances are high that they have a pile of these things somewhere, all with broken knobs. I have turned a couple of those into mini AC stick welders by removing the rectifier, attaching the jumper cable straight to the transformer output inside the unit. Put a stinger on the other end, and voila! Works with the little bitty sticks from tractor supply. Two wired in series will work with 1/8" sticks. The older ones are black and blue and higher capacity, the newer ones all have wheels.

02-20-17, 06:20 PM	#46
Elcam84 Apprentice EcoRenovator Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: TX Posts: 275 Thanks: 2 Thanked 31 Times in 24 Posts	Nice. My jet pump for the well runs at a pf of .95 out of the box. Not bad for a cheap import motor. I do need to wire it up for 220 though. It's just an irrigation pump so it doesn't get used all the time. Haven't checked my table saw or other tools in the shop as I don't really worry about power factor.

02-22-17, 10:19 PM	#47
oil pan 4 Land owner Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: NM Posts: 1,026 Thanks: 12 Thanked 127 Times in 107 Posts	Yeah no need to worry much about power factor on occasional use tools unless: On generator power. Use long extension cords. I use both, some times at the same time.

12-04-17, 03:19 PM	#48
oil pan 4 Land owner Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: NM Posts: 1,026 Thanks: 12 Thanked 127 Times in 107 Posts	I got a bigger welder. A miller model 250, which is a dialarc 250. It weighs around 350lb. I did a minor power factor correction, two 55uf motor caps wired Lto N on each line, reducing consumption by about 2.2 amps across the entire operating range. Installed miller receptacles like on my HF box, input voltage gauge and surge protection. It didn't come with leads so I put 35 foot long 2/0 cables on it. Plus I can now use all my smaller 1ga down to 6 gauge leads that I use on everything else that have miller Jacks on them.