Engine driven welders and what you need to know. I talk a lot of crap about what I really don't like so don't take offense. Its all a matter of opinion.
My father had a bridge welding business, and we wore out 2 Miller Bobcats. They never died, just wore them out. Both were Onan 2 cyl engines. They have a very bad design for the throttle down to idle control. It works to make the engine idle when not welding, but the problem is, when you turn the key off, the engine releases an electric solenoid, and the carburetor goes wide open. That means, with the ignition cut, the carb goes full throttle, and the engine coasts down from whatever speed it was at, all the while dumping a bunch of raw gasoline into the cylinders. Because of this, you get massive carbon buildup in the heads. One time the Onan locked up while cranking, and I found the carbon was keeping the piston from reaching the top. So I personally would hold the throttle solenoid closed when I shut off the key switch, but other guys in the field, I am sure they did not. Pretty big design flaw I would say. But we bought a case of oil filters and changed the oil and air filter very regularly. Being a 3600 rpm welder, they were loud. They made us money, but not a graceful machine. We also had a small single cylinder 16hp Kohler powered Lincoln AC welder. A toy machine, but it welded some for us. One time the piston broke in half, right in the area of the oil control rings. I got a new stock size piston, re-cut the vakves, and put her back together. It ran fine for a long time after that, until we sold it. So I have found, that light duty stuff can be a pain in the ass. Or at least things with poor engineering can be a pain. Good video on what you have found that works. I always watch you for practical knowledge. Thanks. --Doozer
I have a Lincoln 225 with the 2 cylinder horizontally opposed Onan engine. Bought it new in 1978 - still going strong thousands of hours later..just got to take care of it. Beautiful arc, voltage and current control. Not enough capacity for arcair. Like your videos..Aloha from Hawaii
Are you on Instagram? If so, what is your account name? I want to message you there or if you have an email for work, I can email you! Thank you Miguel
400 amp @100% duty cycle is my minimum requirement for heavy machinery repair. The other stuff is a bit weak. Now the old Lincoln SA, SAE, Sam's etc... are outstanding stick machines pure DC output is a dream. The SAM-600 with a CV package is a great machine. My current machine is a Miller Big Blue 400P about 15 years old now. Nice to see you again
I run a sae 400 as my main machine but I have a sa200 short hood project. since they both only run dc aux I keep a small generator for other tools that don't run on dc
I used to have an old wheelbarrow looking dc only welder/light tower power source. It was about a 1941 model year. Single speed Onan chugger twin-cylinder. It was a one-trick pony but it produced an arc that was so pure and stable it was like looking into a miniature sun. I wish I still had it. My current machine is a Miller 225 with the 16 horsepower Onan twin. It does fine for my non-industrial needs. My homeboy Larry has the Miller 250. It has a Kohler twin and seems to perform well enough.
Love to have a lincoln. Older millers are ok. I stay away from newer millers. I hope millar learned about putting aluminum windings in welders they are junk. Boards failed.
I had an Onan that you're talking about on a Bobcat 250 the machine was purchased new in 1989 or 1990 I don't know how many hours is on the machine it was a fencing crew and the dude said that he ran the machine all the way up into 2015 I got it how welded with it for 3 years then cell phone Sally got me at a red light
It appears to me from watching your videos occasionally that you and I do pretty much the same type of work. In my humble opinion, the Lincoln Ranger 305G (the equivalent to the Miller Trailblazer 304) is the best choice. I currently own my third one. Still have the original that was purchased new in 2005 and has 7600+ hours on it (I did have to put boards in it a few years ago). The second one, I put 3200 hours on it over 7-1/2 years and sold it for more than I paid for it. I’m now running my third one and love it! However, please be warned; before getting my current 305G I tried a new 330MPX. Absolutely a piece of crap!! I refer to it as an a “abortion that lived”. Made Lincoln exchange it for a 305G EFI. Another disaster! It was worked on 3 times and it still wouldn’t idle correctly. Welded and generated power fine but wanted to run wide open ALL the time. Finally, after 14 months, Lincoln replaced it with another 305G (carburetor) and it works great! I run a LN 25 Pro Dual feeder 95% of the time and run a lot of dual shield. I also run my Hypertherm 45XP with ease for extended periods of gouging. Works great!
305g's are awesome and will blow the doors off an old trailblazer every time. I was interested in the new 330 mpx and started asking around a bit, and the consensus was a resounding No stay away. People that I heard of that had them went back to the 305G ranger. They are hard to beat for what they are.
The 330MPX welded and generated power fine. I bought the Activ8X feeder to go with it and the CrossLink technology worked flawlessly but, that’s where the love affair stopped. The engineering of the machine is a total disaster of the simple but important things. One, the engine sits in a stamped tray with a one inch lip turned up around the bottom of the engine. This forces the oil to actually have to run uphill when draining the oil. I had to take a die grinder and cut a slot in order to get the hose to lay flat as to get all the dirty oil out. Two, you have to completely remove the hood to change spark plugs every 500 hours which involves removing the control panel. In my situation, that meant that I would have had to take the welder off the truck to get to the screws on the left side of the machine. Three, there’s no 14 pin amphenol plug and the 330MPX does not produce 42 volts AC power making my Cobramatic push-pull feeder unusable for welding aluminum. Lastly, it needs a clear 18” of clearance on all sides of the machine in order to cool itself. In my situation because of my truck layout that I’ve had since 2006, the welder ran dangerously hot to the point that it would run wide open sometimes for 45 minutes after the work was complete in an attempt to circulate enough air to cool itself back down. Again I say, an abortion that lived!
SHAME goes to show Lincoln have engineers that have never worked with the product that they produce. The 305 G is Awesome Machine especially when they were only 3600 New. That 18 inches of Clearance for Cooling is A Joke for Rig Trucks. I heard those 330 are eating boards like Crazy too.
Sam 650 brewski I've got a rare SAE 350 they also made a 450 I wished I would have bought the Sam 400 that was on sale just right down the road but really I want SAE 500 heavy yes capable Beyond imagination I think Miller makes like a 800 or an 850 or something like that you can run a hypertherm 125 I think 18,000 watt plasma on fire welding runs them and that's the problem with most equipment repair is that they use a torch to cut ar500 or grade 80 grade 90 plate you lose so much value of the metal when you do that the correct way to cut it is with a plasma cutter but it's hard to power a plasma in the field that will cut 3/4 1-in plate the SAE 500 you can put an inverter on it and then I can power the plasma oh yeah
The only experience I had with an onan was an old bobcat 225. And that thing was atleast 30 years old at the time and it still ran like a top. Around 2010 I ran a brand new trailblazer 302, We were using it way above it's indented purpose working on huge surface mining equipment. running 1/16 dual shield wire and gouging, and within a few months it was crap you strike an arc and it would light up then the engine would bog down and the arc would nearly go out. My partner had a Lincoln 305G and it was better in every way, It started better it welded better and it just plain stood up. My first job they ran ranger 305D's excellent machines just loud as heck. there have been many pipelines welded in western Canada with ranger 305g's very impressive machines for what they are. But like the vantages their is a chance that sometime in their life the chopper board may go out at any time. My good buddy has a 2007 vantage 300 with the kubota, over 7000 hours on it trouble free. But the vantages are even becoming old school machines now a days. after welding with a new fancy inverter pipe machine going back to the vantage feels it like welding with an old dinosaur. I have a 2011 miller big blue 500D cc/cv deutz engine with the big auxiliary generator I bought from new. Incredible machine. and a lincoln 305G as a backup (but of course the board went out on the lincoln) But man I had the chance to put some time on a new pipe pro 400 with the wireless interface control. And man you get spoiled quick. Incredible. It'll be interesting to see how these new machines stand up to the test of time. Because once you spend some time on one you never want to go back to anything else.
I have a 150 amp Zena. Before that I had a Lincoln 140 amp WeldnPower for about 30years.. The Zena is the superior of the two by far. The Lincoln gave me power which was nice as I live well beyond public utilities.
Once you learn to read an angle grinder and die grinder for AC/DC most of the battle is won with an 'ol Lincoln. And they all sound great! But when it's time to save the day running a house... Miller BB or TB for the win. Great video!
we have one of those John Deere POS's on the shop truck at work-yes,it's garbage. Sold my Bobcat 250-that damn thing had a great arc,way better than my Ranger250gxt. I'm happy with my pipepro 400 Mitsubishi,I run alot of wire off it and it's a BEAST!
Now the Bobcat 250 the Ranger 250 both have a 50 amp plug the 225 they do not the 225 will not run hypertherm 45 XP 250 will I've done miles of cutting and gouging in the field with it the only problem I had was it melted extension cord plugs together I know I know I know you're not supposed to use a 120 extension cord on a 240 Outlet but Home Depot sells the stuff to make adapters just so you know now it will kill a grinder pretty quick so just make sure you know which ones got the power to it which one don't
18:03 Ranger 9 is a 250 Ranger 8 is a 225 Ranger 10000 isn't no different than a Ranger eight I bought a 10,000 to run my hypertherm 45 XP yeah that was a shit show I thought that the 10,000 would be more than enough machine the power it well no it's not it's got that little breaker and that little breaker will break so I ended up with the Ranger 10,000 it came out of Florida with like 10 or 15 hours on it took a little work to get it running since it had been sitting for 20 years look like a brand new machine anyway buddy of mine welds with them type of things and I gave it to him
I’ve got a mid 90s Miller Bobcat 225 NT with the onan in I’ve got 2190 hours on it runs good but it’s got just a touch of blow by and I’ve got to add about a cup of oil about every 30 hours or so other than that damn good machine for my needs
Cross Country 2 buddyman bought one of them 11000 for the machine 6 months later 3000 for boards the disadvantaged the pipe Pros all them they will do the same there's no difference the good machines that got some weight to them you just going to have to get around it 13:50
I believe it's the service life where that machine is lived if it's lived in a bumpy Rocky location you can pretty much bet that board's going to be dead before long if it said in one spot or been babied not beat up and bounced around on truck bed and all that stuff then it's probably good my first experience with crack boards with the Panasonic robot back in the early nineties they had dropped the machine right outside the shop door that thing ran for years and then over time with the heat that cracking that board showed itself can you talk about a shitshow
My father had a bridge welding business, and we wore out 2 Miller Bobcats. They never died, just wore them out. Both were Onan 2 cyl engines. They have a very bad design for the throttle down to idle control. It works to make the engine idle when not welding, but the problem is, when you turn the key off, the engine releases an electric solenoid, and the carburetor goes wide open. That means, with the ignition cut, the carb goes full throttle, and the engine coasts down from whatever speed it was at, all the while dumping a bunch of raw gasoline into the cylinders. Because of this, you get massive carbon buildup in the heads. One time the Onan locked up while cranking, and I found the carbon was keeping the piston from reaching the top. So I personally would hold the throttle solenoid closed when I shut off the key switch, but other guys in the field, I am sure they did not. Pretty big design flaw I would say. But we bought a case of oil filters and changed the oil and air filter very regularly. Being a 3600 rpm welder, they were loud. They made us money, but not a graceful machine.
We also had a small single cylinder 16hp Kohler powered Lincoln AC welder. A toy machine, but it welded some for us.
One time the piston broke in half, right in the area of the oil control rings. I got a new stock size piston, re-cut the vakves, and put her back together. It ran fine for a long time after that, until we sold it.
So I have found, that light duty stuff can be a pain in the ass. Or at least things with poor engineering can be a pain.
Good video on what you have found that works. I always watch you for practical knowledge. Thanks. --Doozer
Ranger 8, 2 cyl Onan, 6k hours. No issues. It has started burning half a quart of oil every 40-50 hours in the last 200 hours or so.
I have a Lincoln 225 with the 2 cylinder horizontally opposed Onan engine. Bought it new in 1978 - still going strong thousands of hours later..just got to take care of it. Beautiful arc, voltage and current control. Not enough capacity for arcair. Like your videos..Aloha from Hawaii
Are you on Instagram? If so, what is your account name?
I want to message you there or if you have an email for work, I can email you!
Thank you
Miguel
400 amp @100% duty cycle is my minimum requirement for heavy machinery repair. The other stuff is a bit weak. Now the old Lincoln SA, SAE, Sam's etc... are outstanding stick machines pure DC output is a dream. The SAM-600 with a CV package is a great machine. My current machine is a Miller Big Blue 400P about 15 years old now. Nice to see you again
I don't own an engine welder and probably never will. But I still found the video very interesting thanks.
I run a sae 400 as my main machine but I have a sa200 short hood project. since they both only run dc aux I keep a small generator for other tools that don't run on dc
👍🏻🍻
I used to have an old wheelbarrow looking dc only welder/light tower power source. It was about a 1941 model year. Single speed Onan chugger twin-cylinder. It was a one-trick pony but it produced an arc that was so pure and stable it was like looking into a miniature sun. I wish I still had it. My current machine is a Miller 225 with the 16 horsepower Onan twin. It does fine for my non-industrial needs. My homeboy Larry has the Miller 250. It has a Kohler twin and seems to perform well enough.
Have you noticed that the lawnmower machines have done away with AC welding. And they use to sell Hi Frequency boxes for tig welding aluminum.
Love to have a lincoln. Older millers are ok. I stay away from newer millers. I hope millar learned about putting aluminum windings in welders they are junk. Boards failed.
I had an Onan that you're talking about on a Bobcat 250 the machine was purchased new in 1989 or 1990 I don't know how many hours is on the machine it was a fencing crew and the dude said that he ran the machine all the way up into 2015 I got it how welded with it for 3 years then cell phone Sally got me at a red light
I saw one of those old Hobart welders it had a V8 engine on it the guy wanted 700 bucks for it it was mounted on a trailer
It appears to me from watching your videos occasionally that you and I do pretty much the same type of work. In my humble opinion, the Lincoln Ranger 305G (the equivalent to the Miller Trailblazer 304) is the best choice. I currently own my third one. Still have the original that was purchased new in 2005 and has 7600+ hours on it (I did have to put boards in it a few years ago). The second one, I put 3200 hours on it over 7-1/2 years and sold it for more than I paid for it. I’m now running my third one and love it! However, please be warned; before getting my current 305G I tried a new 330MPX. Absolutely a piece of crap!! I refer to it as an a “abortion that lived”. Made Lincoln exchange it for a 305G EFI. Another disaster! It was worked on 3 times and it still wouldn’t idle correctly. Welded and generated power fine but wanted to run wide open ALL the time. Finally, after 14 months, Lincoln replaced it with another 305G (carburetor) and it works great! I run a LN 25 Pro Dual feeder 95% of the time and run a lot of dual shield. I also run my Hypertherm 45XP with ease for extended periods of gouging. Works great!
305g's are awesome and will blow the doors off an old trailblazer every time. I was interested in the new 330 mpx and started asking around a bit, and the consensus was a resounding No stay away. People that I heard of that had them went back to the 305G ranger. They are hard to beat for what they are.
I am A Big Fan of the 305G. What did you not like about the 330?
The 330MPX welded and generated power fine. I bought the Activ8X feeder to go with it and the CrossLink technology worked flawlessly but, that’s where the love affair stopped. The engineering of the machine is a total disaster of the simple but important things. One, the engine sits in a stamped tray with a one inch lip turned up around the bottom of the engine. This forces the oil to actually have to run uphill when draining the oil. I had to take a die grinder and cut a slot in order to get the hose to lay flat as to get all the dirty oil out. Two, you have to completely remove the hood to change spark plugs every 500 hours which involves removing the control panel. In my situation, that meant that I would have had to take the welder off the truck to get to the screws on the left side of the machine. Three, there’s no 14 pin amphenol plug and the 330MPX does not produce 42 volts AC power making my Cobramatic push-pull feeder unusable for welding aluminum. Lastly, it needs a clear 18” of clearance on all sides of the machine in order to cool itself. In my situation because of my truck layout that I’ve had since 2006, the welder ran dangerously hot to the point that it would run wide open sometimes for 45 minutes after the work was complete in an attempt to circulate enough air to cool itself back down. Again I say, an abortion that lived!
SHAME goes to show Lincoln have engineers that have never worked with the product that they produce. The 305 G is Awesome Machine especially when they were only 3600 New.
That 18 inches of Clearance for Cooling is A Joke for Rig Trucks. I heard those 330 are eating boards like Crazy too.
@@dusty1498 Thanks for the reply. It would be great if Lincoln would just add CrossLink to the Ranger 305G. That works great!
What about the Lincoln 305
Got that SAE 350 soft Ark when you want it aggressive when you need it with the caressing ability to Dazzle you through any situation
Sam 650 brewski I've got a rare SAE 350 they also made a 450 I wished I would have bought the Sam 400 that was on sale just right down the road but really I want SAE 500 heavy yes capable Beyond imagination I think Miller makes like a 800 or an 850 or something like that you can run a hypertherm 125 I think 18,000 watt plasma on fire welding runs them and that's the problem with most equipment repair is that they use a torch to cut ar500 or grade 80 grade 90 plate you lose so much value of the metal when you do that the correct way to cut it is with a plasma cutter but it's hard to power a plasma in the field that will cut 3/4 1-in plate the SAE 500 you can put an inverter on it and then I can power the plasma oh yeah
The only experience I had with an onan was an old bobcat 225. And that thing was atleast 30 years old at the time and it still ran like a top. Around 2010 I ran a brand new trailblazer 302, We were using it way above it's indented purpose working on huge surface mining equipment. running 1/16 dual shield wire and gouging, and within a few months it was crap you strike an arc and it would light up then the engine would bog down and the arc would nearly go out. My partner had a Lincoln 305G and it was better in every way, It started better it welded better and it just plain stood up. My first job they ran ranger 305D's excellent machines just loud as heck. there have been many pipelines welded in western Canada with ranger 305g's very impressive machines for what they are. But like the vantages their is a chance that sometime in their life the chopper board may go out at any time. My good buddy has a 2007 vantage 300 with the kubota, over 7000 hours on it trouble free. But the vantages are even becoming old school machines now a days. after welding with a new fancy inverter pipe machine going back to the vantage feels it like welding with an old dinosaur. I have a 2011 miller big blue 500D cc/cv deutz engine with the big auxiliary generator I bought from new. Incredible machine. and a lincoln 305G as a backup (but of course the board went out on the lincoln) But man I had the chance to put some time on a new pipe pro 400 with the wireless interface control. And man you get spoiled quick. Incredible. It'll be interesting to see how these new machines stand up to the test of time. Because once you spend some time on one you never want to go back to anything else.
I have a 150 amp Zena. Before that I had a Lincoln 140 amp WeldnPower for about 30years.. The Zena is the superior of the two by far. The Lincoln gave me power which was nice as I live well beyond public utilities.
Once you learn to read an angle grinder and die grinder for AC/DC most of the battle is won with an 'ol Lincoln. And they all sound great! But when it's time to save the day running a house... Miller BB or TB for the win. Great video!
we have one of those John Deere POS's on the shop truck at work-yes,it's garbage. Sold my Bobcat 250-that damn thing had a great arc,way better than my Ranger250gxt. I'm happy with my pipepro 400 Mitsubishi,I run alot of wire off it and it's a BEAST!
Now the Bobcat 250 the Ranger 250 both have a 50 amp plug the 225 they do not the 225 will not run hypertherm 45 XP 250 will I've done miles of cutting and gouging in the field with it the only problem I had was it melted extension cord plugs together I know I know I know you're not supposed to use a 120 extension cord on a 240 Outlet but Home Depot sells the stuff to make adapters just so you know now it will kill a grinder pretty quick so just make sure you know which ones got the power to it which one don't
18:03 Ranger 9 is a 250 Ranger 8 is a 225 Ranger 10000 isn't no different than a Ranger eight I bought a 10,000 to run my hypertherm 45 XP yeah that was a shit show I thought that the 10,000 would be more than enough machine the power it well no it's not it's got that little breaker and that little breaker will break so I ended up with the Ranger 10,000 it came out of Florida with like 10 or 15 hours on it took a little work to get it running since it had been sitting for 20 years look like a brand new machine anyway buddy of mine welds with them type of things and I gave it to him
I’ve got a mid 90s Miller Bobcat 225 NT with the onan in I’ve got 2190 hours on it runs good but it’s got just a touch of blow by and I’ve got to add about a cup of oil about every 30 hours or so other than that damn good machine for my needs
Good job Im not going to make comment Lincoln but the new Millers I'm happy . But I also need scratch start tig and also I need airarc.
I use a DX 185 miller but I'm a mechanic not a full time welder been great for what I need .
Good video! I agree with your take.
Dont you have anything more modern in the us than those old machines?
Have a ranger 8 with the onan and never an issue ! Does exactly what I need
Thanks for the video!
Great video brother 👍👍👍🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Cross Country 2 buddyman bought one of them 11000 for the machine 6 months later 3000 for boards the disadvantaged the pipe Pros all them they will do the same there's no difference the good machines that got some weight to them you just going to have to get around it 13:50
I believe it's the service life where that machine is lived if it's lived in a bumpy Rocky location you can pretty much bet that board's going to be dead before long if it said in one spot or been babied not beat up and bounced around on truck bed and all that stuff then it's probably good my first experience with crack boards with the Panasonic robot back in the early nineties they had dropped the machine right outside the shop door that thing ran for years and then over time with the heat that cracking that board showed itself can you talk about a shitshow
Is been while
Great video Ethan good to see you at it again.