Portable welders

[Cruiserdrew]

We had a bad break on the trail this weekend, which ended up being repaired with a welder that another guy was carrying. It looked like the pictures that Metaltec put up of the Ready Welder but it said Lincoln on it I think. We had 2 batteries on the ground, connected in series and that welder rocked!

So my question is, which welder to get for trail use? The battery based welder seemed perfectly adequate-without any hard mount alternater based complexity. So which portable welder to buy and why? I want to buy only one, and I have 3 rigs that I go places in. I want to spend this $ only once. That is going to be my Christmas present to myself. Christmas may be early this year!

[Curran]

Drew,
I bought a Ready Welder. They can be found cheap on eBay.
My reasons were 1) I can use it between two different rigs without added expense or hassle and 2) I don't need a truck with a running engine to weld with it. This is key given the project I'm working on. 3) cheap.
Unfortunately, I haven't welded a bead with it yet. I may try tomorrow.

[flowman]

I think you've answered your own question--I don't have any experience w/ the Ready Welder and it's cousins, but if you want to buy only one, and have it available no matter what rig you're driving--that sounds like the way to go. And the Ready welder can be used with an AC power source (I think they mean a buzzbox type), so it can be your home welder as well.

I don't weld (yet), but I've been thinking this might be the way I'll go as well.

[Rich]

Drew, you might find the second post in this thread of interest.

http://forum.ih8mud.com/workshops-tools-home-improvement/46838-another-welder-thread.html

[Cruiserdrew]

Originally Posted by Rich

Drew, you might find the second post in this thread of interest.

http://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=46838

Thanks Rich-that Go-weld looks nice, but it is very hard to separate hype from truth on their website. I'd like first hand experience, what worked and what didn't. I also like simple and what we used on this recent Rubicon trip was dead simple: two batteries plus a spool gun. The guy welded a jeep frame and our driveshaft in about 15 minutes-maybe 2 minutes of actual live arc welding. It was impressive. Anyone out there actually use a Go-weld?

[Rich]

What caught my interest is that the Go-weld was recommended by Scott from Mobi-Arc. As Scott is working for a welder manufacturer, I presume that he has some relevant info.

My welding experience is limited to a test drive of a Lincoln tig welder, so I'm afraid I have no personal experience to share.

I, like you, see the value in an onboard welder. But I already wheel too heavy. I would probably have to leave something home if I add a welder.

[alia176]

Andy,

This is gonna sound a bit strange but why not simply carry a few sticks of 3/32 welding rods (stick welding) and modify one end of a jumper cable with a stinger? If you're thinking of going with a double (or triple battery for thick stuff) battery scenario and have to deal with removing terminals, rearranging batteries and such, then using stick welding method is very functional and inexpensive. I mean, this is for emergency situations only and you're welding flux core (with ready weld or Go Weld) anyway. Save the $500 for a fancy wire feeder and spend about $20 for a stick welding setup. Plus, this setup is easily transferrble between your three vehicles or simply have the same setup in each!

Just my CB (Cheap Bastard) .02 cents worth!

Ali

[Cruiserdrew]

Hey Ali-you cheap bastard...now you have to pick up the bar tab at Cruise Moab next year!

You're probably right and if I hadn't seen this battery powered spool gun in action, that's probably just what I would do. However, it worked so well, and was so controllable, that I just gotta have one. Flux core does not make the best looking welds in the world, but it was good enough for our purposes. I may make up a stick set up for a test run, but I would worry about burning through stuff, since I'm not exactly the world's best welder. The critical weld we had to make was the drive shaft tube to flange base. The tube itself is quite thin, and I'm not sure we could have stick welded that without damage. The driveshaft weld was good enough to be a permanent fix.

Thanks for the input.

[locrwln1]

Just my experience, I have the ready welder. It has been used a ton. We had to weld up (lincoln lock) the rearend in my buddies full-size ramcharger running 37's and a built motor in Moab a couple of years ago. He is still using that same rearend. It's been used a bunch for trail repairs and most every thing that has been welded has held up. The only thing that we had problems with was welding a buddies fj40 springs after he broke them in many places in the sluice box on the 'con. He was able to drive it out the rest of the trail to Tahoe and then down the highway to Reno. So I think they work great. Mine has been used with two and three batteries. The downfall to the three batteries is that it burned a hole in copper tip that I need to replace, in fact it is about time to clean up some of it's abuse wear and tear. I sold my rock rig so, I haven't used it in a while. I did get a good deal on mine so that helped. And luckily for me, I've never had to weld on my truck. (knock on wood)

[honk]

Originally Posted by flowman

And the Ready welder can be used with an AC power source (I think they mean a buzzbox type), so it can be your home welder as well.

I don't weld (yet), but I've been thinking this might be the way I'll go as well.

Unfortunately, this is not the case. A Ready-Welder, being a DC based device cannot be operated using an AC 'buzzbox' type welder as it's power supply. If you buy one with the expectation of being able to run it from an old tombstone welder with AC only output you're in for a disapointment.

On batteries it's a pretty neat welder.

[rusty_tlc]

Originally Posted by honk

Unfortunately, this is not the case. A Ready-Welder, being a DC based device cannot be operated using an AC 'buzzbox' type welder as it's power supply. If you buy one with the expectation of being able to run it from an old tombstone welder with AC only output you're in for a disapointment.

On batteries it's a pretty neat welder.

I think this is what they were thinking about.

Originally Posted by readywelder.com

The Ready Welder can also be used as a Spool Gun, by connecting it to a Stick Welder or a conventional MIG machine. It operates from 115 AC volts while plugged into any welding device which might require such an addition, for example, when welding aluminum.

Link