New welder !

Well , new to me . Found a Lincoln Weldpak 175 in like-new condition , he was asking $375 I offered $275 and he accepted . It really is like new , contactor tip is clean and so is the nozzle . It also came with a

2lb roll of flux core and a regulator . And to add some icing to the cake , I sold my Weldpak 100 to a neighbor for $130 so my net cost was only 145 bucks . The only downside is that this one is 220V , so it's not as portable as the 110V Weldpak 100 . I'll be changing some power plugs out so all the 220 stuff will use the same one . The 8ga power cord (from the panel to a female plug) for the plasma cutter will become an extension cord that will work with the new MIG , the TIG and the plasma cutter .
Reply to
Snag
Loading thread data ...

Well , new to me . Found a Lincoln Weldpak 175 in like-new condition , he was asking $375 I offered $275 and he accepted . It really is like new , contactor tip is clean and so is the nozzle . It also came with a

2lb roll of flux core and a regulator . And to add some icing to the cake , I sold my Weldpak 100 to a neighbor for $130 so my net cost was only 145 bucks . The only downside is that this one is 220V , so it's not as portable as the 110V Weldpak 100 . I'll be changing some power plugs out so all the 220 stuff will use the same one . The 8ga power cord (from the panel to a female plug) for the plasma cutter will become an extension cord that will work with the new MIG , the TIG and the plasma cutter . Snag

-----------------

Good catch!

Speaking of new welders, a couple of impending projects are pushing me toward buying a spot welder. I've used an industrial one and have some experience with adjusting the settings. What's the opinion of the 240V Harbor Freight one? It lacks a timer but they aren't that hard to make.

Reply to
Jim Wilkins

I can't help you with that question , but I have seen some interesting plans based on MOT's ... (microwave oven transformers)

Reply to
Snag

I can't help you with that question , but I have seen some interesting plans based on MOT's ... (microwave oven transformers)

Snag

---------------------

I've built quite a bit of high power industrial equipment, up to 1000A and

1200VAC plus 300VDC EV batteries, and seen the damage a mistake or poor connection can cause. Although a spot welder is simple it is considerably beyond what I'm willing to build working alone without engineering advice. I'm very careful with 120V and bought a megger to check insulation.

I was out sick one day and came back to find a large black burn circle on the floor, centered on where another piece of equipment had been and extending up onto the machine I had been working on, where I had been standing. The story was that some newly hired junior engineers had been trying to determine the proper phase sequencing to a power supply by holding the 480VAC cables against the terminals, and one slipped and touched and grenaded a large electrolytic capacitor.

One of them had previously tried to convince me that the base of a grounded-emitter transistor would draw only microamps from a connection to a higher voltage source, a TTL output, because that was a simplifying assumption in the transistor model. I couldn't convince him that the base was a forward biased diode that would short out the source.

Reply to
Jim Wilkins

Nice. Now lets hear about duty cycle on a welding marathon. I know. I know. You might not have a large welding table fully tacked up ready for a nonstop welding just now. When you do have a project like that let us know how it goes.

Reply to
Bob La Londe

I do not know, but I sure would like to. There are some products I could sell if I felt I could recommend a low cost machine to my customers to assemble. There are tax reasons I would just want to sell ready to weld parts and an assembly jig.

Reply to
Bob La Londe

Electricity is some funny stuff. I've mentioned this before but it may be worth another mention. For about 10 miles of an 18 mile underground telephone cable there was a 100KV (I think that's correct) cross country transmission line running parallel... on the other side of the road... A long way on the other side of the road. The induced voltage on our telephone cable was so high it was dangerous. I didn't understand it at the time, but we ran some sort of step down transformer to drop the voltage. I still don't know how we overcame the noise completely. We had physical pairs, 4 24 channel digital T carriers, and a couple 82A 6 channel analog carriers on that cable as well. I guess to some extent that goes to how well the old 500 desk/wall sets were built. LOL.

We used to trouble shoot induced noise from distribution lines with an AM radio. Just drive around with the truck radio tuned to signal free frequency and listen for a change in the noise. When it spikes the power pole nearby will almost always have a cracked insulator.

Reply to
Bob La Londe

At 230V input it's rated 30% duty cycle at 130 amps . IIRC the Weldpak 100 was 20% at max output of 80 amps . The main thing is it will weld heavier stuff than the 100 does . Rated at 3/16" with shield gas ,

5/16" with flux core . It's very seldom I need to do a marathon welding project these days . But it's for sure this machine is more capable than the old one if I do .
Reply to
Snag

At 230V input it's rated 30% duty cycle at 130 amps . IIRC the Weldpak 100 was 20% at max output of 80 amps . The main thing is it will weld heavier stuff than the 100 does . Rated at 3/16" with shield gas ,

5/16" with flux core . It's very seldom I need to do a marathon welding project these days . But it's for sure this machine is more capable than the old one if I do . Snag

-------------------------

I have a PowerMate (Century) Tote MIG rated at 75A. After practicing on the Miller at the Voc-Tech I took it in to learn to use it better. Although I couldn't the instructor could weld 3/16" steel with it.

Reply to
Jim Wilkins

The gems we get here, the pragmatism, the depth of "how to do it knowledge" - love coming to this group... Now you say it I can see it - but I would never have known that "trick of the Trade".

Reply to
Richard Smith

The 100 would do 3/16 with flux core and a slow weave . With solid wire and gas I'd get cold lap beads if I wasn't careful . It did do

3/16" OK on outside corners but that's about all .
Reply to
Snag

During dove season we could just look for feathers on the ground. LOL.

Reply to
Bob La Londe

Oh no!!! How things are.

I've put out a feeder with just "vegetarian" bird seed to try to help the doves nesting on the side of my house, behind an old satellite dish. I love to see them, but as ever it could be shown that life is hard, seeing their travails really brings it home.

Reply to
Richard Smith

I love to see them, but as ever it could be shown that life is hard, seeing their travails really brings it home.

-------------------------

Subsistence was hard for humans until quite recently, my father was a barefoot Appalachian farm boy whose parents didn't have electricity or running water until he installed them in the 1970's. I've carried a kettle of hot water out to thaw and prime the water pump on a freezing morning. My mother told me how she hated having to pick the worst looking potatoes out of the barrel to eat, so the supply would last until the next crop. Now people have forgotten what the advances gave us and oppose them, for instance vaccines, electricity, fertilizer.

Reply to
Jim Wilkins

My wife remembers living without indoor plumbing and electricity . She lived in southwestern Kentucky as a small child . I agree with your last sentence except for vaccines . Only because all vaccines are not created equal , and some of these they're pushing now IMO cause more harm than good .

Reply to
Snag

While we have our fair share of feral cats we also still have plenty of wild predators to manage the cats and many climates that are hostile to such a narrowly evolved predators as the domestic house cat. Our feral cat population is not likely to wipe out any of our bird populations as has happened in the UK. If you like the birds in the UK, buy a pellet gun and hunt cats. Not kidding. (Close range head shots only at your power levels.)

As an aside I have wondered why your song bird population does not replenish regularly from nearby lands. There are plenty within the flying range of a determined sparrow, and the migratory birds could make the passages like a Sunday stroll. Are your feral cats really that dominating that they keep the song bird levels so low?

Morning and Whitewing dove populations in North America are strong (with a narrow hunting season). Now we have an invasive Eurasion dove (collared dove) that really needs to be wiped out on the continent. There is a 365 days season and no limit on those in my home state. At first it looked like they were going to overwhelm the morning and white wing populations. They are a larger dove, but the numbers seem to have stabilized. Still North American Wildlife managers are mixed with attitudes from eradication to heavy management. I have no idea if the Eurasion dove has impacted the smaller protected dove species like Inca dove and ground dove.

I used to hunt the Eurasion dove with a pellet gun much more powerful than any you are allowed to own in the UK without a gun permit, but I just don't have the time these days. The breasts are quite tasty when roasted in a jalapeno shell with a thin layer of cream cheese all wrapped in a strip of bacon. Sure a shot gun works, but pellets are so much cheaper than shotgun shells.

I know. I've exposed myself as one of those evil hunters. Now you won't like me any more. LOL. Like most people who hunt I try to stay in tune with the current management reasons for why things are regulated the way they are. I've never been a kill crazed blood luster, and neither is any other hunter I know. I actually started hunting seriously to supplement my grocery budget when I was saving for college. Everyday after work I would walk down the hill into the desert in search of cotton tails.

If it helps I do have a cat feeder... er I mean bird feeder... out front of the house.

Reply to
Bob La Londe

We have three seed and one suet feeder for the wild birds . And 5 feral cats - well , 3 of them are nearly-grown kittens . They focus more on the moles and other ground-dwellers , much easier hunting .

Reply to
Snag

Bob - I have been to Texas and am able to join in in their favourite relaxational activity. The only think I took note of was the cooking and serving suggestion with jalapeno shells and a strip of bacon.

Reply to
Richard Smith

If you have the opportunity just look for recipes for Jalapeno Dove Poppers. There are a number of variations of the recipe. My wife finds Jalapenos a little over powering of the other flavors, so we use a milder pepper. Of course adjust for allergies. Goat cheese if cows milk products are an issue. Beef bacon or duck bacon if pork is an issue. Its all good.

Reply to
Bob La Londe

My wife remembers living without indoor plumbing and electricity . She lived in southwestern Kentucky as a small child . I agree with your last sentence except for vaccines . Only because all vaccines are not created equal , and some of these they're pushing now IMO cause more harm than good . Snag

----------------------

formatting link

Reply to
Jim Wilkins

PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.