Onboard welder?

Anybody runnin an on board welder? I've heard of guys runnin 'em, just wonderin how. I think it's a pretty good idea as we all have or will at some time need one on the trail. Is it even worth it? I'm guessing that for as many amps as it would pull you would need to be running a dual battery set-up and a bigger alt.? Any thoughts?

 

dual battery not needed.
and..the kit comes with the alternator.
at least the kit my buddy has did.
he just bumps the engine speed up to about 1500-2000 and welds away

 

$850
Major ouch on the wallet...

 

what is included in the kit? $850?!??! No way I'm not droppin that much. There's got to be some one who has done this himself w/o a kit.

 

Here ya go.......
http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/on-boardwelder/index.html

You may have to Copy and Paste the address into your browser. Me, I'm gonna order the Premier Powerwelder. It has a 110 volt output so you can run a blender...I mean grinder. And besides, what doesn't cost $800 when you're buying Jeep parts?

 

I made one for about $100 from a 94amp NAPA knock off of a Delco 12SI I won off of Ebay for $20. The rest of the money went to #2 welding cable, a stinger, ground clamp, quick connects, and a switch for the field exciter. I used a gearshift lever and cable from an old mountain bike I had for a throttle setup.

I used this site: http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/2472/obweld.html

Then these sites for further reference:
http://www.huv.com/jon/jeep/Welder/on-board-welder.html
http://home.comcast.net/~t.molnar/Obwelder1.htm
http://www.madelectrical.com/electricaltech/delcoremy.shtml

It was a fun project and it works great.

 

That has got to be easier to set up that it is to learn how to weld.
I want to install one on my car now. haha

 

Now that looks easy...If anyone makes their own welder out of an alternator, let me know how it works out.

 

Here is a write-up of my setup that cost me about $100. --> welder write-up link

 

After one time being stuck on the trail with a broken drag link I went an bought a ready Welder
http://www.premierpowerwelder.com/readyweld/readyweld.html

I found one for $400 shipped on Ebay.

It's not a $100 welder but it's definitely quality and it's not an $800 welder.
You need 2 batteries though. If you run a winch this shouldn't be an upgrade you would think twice about.

 

The weldernator was actually an easy afternoon project, it was a little intimidating at first since I had never opened an alternator before... The intimidating feeling faded fast when I realized how simple an alternator really is. For the GM-Delco Alternator you just have to bypass the voltage regulator, and remove the exciter diode shown in this drawing from this writeup: http://www.huv.com/jon/jeep/Welder/on-board-welder.html



I also used this simple diagram from the same writeup but I did not add the resistors shown:



The alternator modification was actually the easy part and took me about an hour to complete (I changed out a bolt and added some quick connects for the welding cables)


The hardest part and most time consuming was planning the placement and fabbing up the weldernator mount. I ended up using some scrap flat bar I had laying around for the mount, bolted the rear pivot support to the engine block and welded the front pivot to the alternator adjusting arm.


Then I created a weldernator adjusting arm from old bed frame angle iron which just hooks to the passenger side radiator/grill support bar (that runs back and attaches to the firewall)


It is not a permanent setup, I only throw the weldernator on when I need it, otherwise the torsional movement of the engine when wheeling would bend the radiator/grill support rod. It only takes 5 minutes to throw on the jeep when I need to weld with it.

I added a switch and an inline 20 amp fuse to power the exciter field of the weldernator seen in the left top portion of the following pic. I also attached a plugin to run a drill or grinder:


I rigged up a hand throttle from bike parts, use my dwell meter to dial in the RPM I want, and use a cheap hand held multimeter to check the voltage output:



I bought a new ground clamp, two ~15 foot #2 welding cables, (odd lengths left at the end of the spool at the LWS) and welding quick connects, but used an old stinger I had laying around.


Here is a pic of it mounted above the alternator, that angle makes it look like the belts are touching, they really aren't:


I was very surprised at how well I could weld with the weldernator, not that I am a good weldor, but I actually weld better with it then I can with the old Miller Thunderbolt. Of course the high frequency DC from the weldernator has it's advantages over the AC only Thunderbolt.

So, for $100 I can say I built an onboard welder that works just as well as the $800 kits, and the $700 I saved will buy a lot of scrap metal and parts for the Jeep and a lot of beer for me.

Creating a welder out of an alternator was the most enjoyable jeep project I have completed to date. I definitely suggest to anyone thinking about installing an onboard welder to research a DIY setup such as this or the others listed above before you decide to buy a kit. It would be well worth your time no matter what you decide.

Enjoy!