Under Hood Welder

[tjpatte]

Has anyone managed to shoehorn a underhood welder in a cummins (ie Mobie and the like)? Can't figure out where to fit one in. Plus it would be nice to have the abilty to run electric power tools Since I've had my MIG and done the work on my buddies TJ, this would allieviate alot of my concerns about being ably to take care of problems with my truck on the trail. I mean how many "Jeepers" are gonna have a spare part for my truck when something goes south Can you imagine it "Hey, can I borrow or buy that "spare" stub shaft for a Dana 60 for my Dodge or "How about that NP 241HD tail housing, are ya gona use that!?!?!". Yes, I know that the housing is Aluminium (sp?), but you get my point



Have a good one!



Tom

 

[David_VT]

There are a couple of power solutions out there that might work for you.



I was looking into sources of emergency house power and looked at a 5kw generator solution that the military is using. The name escapes me at the moment but MCROSSLEY is aware of it. Pricey at something like $3500.



I talked to a local NE vendor for them and was talked out of it at the time as the product was not yet mature. He told me of a customer that moved to big inverters and was able to run his welding equipment from that.



Currently I have a 1KW elcheapo inverter that works well enough for my (non-welding) power needs.



Good luck

 

[illflem]

Since the space under a Ram's hood is so limited I feel a hydraulic pump off the transmission PTO is the way to go to power larger generators, compressors, welders etc. Even seen a Ram with a backhoe mounted on the rear. Anything powered off the electric system just won't cut it size wise. Many pumps are available that bolt right on.

 

[tjpatte]

Thanks for the advice guys.



David_VT, It's not as much that I would like an A/C output as the ability to weld something up on the trail. I've thought about the generator deal but then I would need to carry the generator, gas for it, my Lincoln SP175 Plus (BTW GREAT MIG welder. Even makes me look like I know what I'm doing , my welding gas, and all the periferal (sp?) gack. Mobi and Premeir make welders that are stick (and I could live with that) and come with alternators that make over 200 amps and have the ability to run single speed A/C tools (ie single speed drills and pretty much any grinder).



illflem, While I think the PTO idea would be great for industrial applications I can't imagine what the hosing implications would be for someone like me who offroads and would only use it occasionally (I'm Hoping ) . However, I would love to checkout any place that sells pumps that would fit our trucks and what they can be used for. If you have any links PLEASE let me know.



Has anyone ever mounted a PTO on their Dodge? If so let us know! We have all the hookups for them and I've seen them on OLD Dodges (ie the 50's Power Wagons) and old jeeps.



Have a good one.



Tom

 

[illflem]

This Canadian company has a wide assortment of PTO products, http://www.driveproducts.com/home.htm , find the brand name of what may interest you then do a search for a local supplier. Their support page has some very good technical info and tips.

 

[pcorssmit]

If you're looking to do a Cheap on board welder, there was a fair amount of talk on the Pirate 4x4 board about it recently. Basically, you use a non-internally regulated alternator or an internally regulated but bypassed regulator. Some guys were using the large case Ford ones, 100-140 amp or so. Not as good as the commercially available ones, but a fraction of the cost.



Here's one of the threads: http://www.pirate4x4.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=10&t=014673





Pete

 

[Mallory]

Here is a cheap way to "trail weld" . Carry a couple extra batteries connect in series and weld off them. To charge them run a hot wire from the battery on the truck to a relay then to the extra batterys, use the ingnition switch to activate the relay. The extra batteries charge while the truck is running then disconnect while the truck is off. Makes for good campsite power also.

 

[Hutchew]

Underhood welders.........

tjpatte, I had a premier under the hood of my 93 CTD back in '95, and it worked great, with two exceptions. First, these were designed for gas rigs (higher rpm) and the stock premier pulley had me up against the governor to be able to weld. Hope that makes sense, 22-2300 rpm in nothing for a gasser, but was pushing the little 5. 9 pretty hard. Premier did ship me a one-off pulley that was smaller and helped out quite a bit, but last I heard, it wasn't a production item. The second thing is that the control unit on the Premier wasn't very weatherproof, so you had to be carefull (I wasn't ) or you would get water in the case and ruin the printing on the voltage gauge. Wasn't a big deal though, as everything else worked even when it was wet. Pat and the rest at Premier were great people to deal with and tons of help. I think I read somewhere lately that their unit will weld at idle now, so you might check. Things do change, and my experience was 6 years ago with their product. I will say I ran their welder for 5 years with no other problems, and plan on putting it on my 'new' truck as soon as I find the time.

I also have a Mobi-Weld unit on my work truck, a 2000 F-350 SD Powerstroke, which has NO room left under the hood for this kind of stuff. I really liked the way the mobiweld unit looked, and it is supposed to be weatherproof. They will sell you an extension kit for their unit, which allows you to mount the control head where ever you like. I mounted mine in a custom wheelwell box in the bed. Makes it really easy to work off the tailgate. The wiring and such for this unit was more complicated (might have been me that made it that way ), and it was also made for a gasser, but I was able to weld with it on the Powerstroke with no problem.

IMO, either one will do a great job, but I lean towards the Premier if I had to pick a favorite. I don't know if they make an extension kit for their machine, but it probably wouldn't be hard to fab one if you had to.

Hope it helps... ... ... .

 

[SS]

1st post - I hope this works. Sorry it took so long to respond, but I've been on the road again. You all know how it goes.



As Mallory suggests, if you are just interested in being able to weld on the trail, you already have the bulk of what you need (2 batteries. ) A couple of 6-8' cables to connect them in series and you can weld darn near anything. I'm not much of a welder, but one of the guys I 'wheel with carries the cables/welding rod/mask and has welded everything from axleshafts to spring hangers to tie rods. (It was my axleshaft and I 'wheeled with it for a year before replacing it. ) We both have quick disconnect battery terminals and if we pull up next to each other he can be welding in 2 minutes. Requires 2 vehicles with a Jeep and a Land Cruiser, but with a Cummins you can be self-sufficient. You can weld for a long, long time with 2 batteries without worrying about starting the vehicle afterwards. He generally carries 6011 or 6013 in various sizes, but I think 6012 is made for DC and may be better? The only thing I've noticed is that if you "stick" the rod, it turns red hot in a hurry. Try it with 2 old batteries in your shop before you hit the trail if you are skeptical. Good luck!

 

[tjpatte]

Hutchew, Ya know I never thought about remote mounting the control box. Good idea, just have to figure out where. If I mounted it in the cab then Mackenzie (girl friends daughter) would probably wind up welding Barbi to Minda (the dog) cause you know how 6 year olds are But seriously, I'll try to think of something. As far as the pulley thing I know exactly what your talking about. Kinda figured the company would have planned for that but guess not.



I've heard about the battery thing and they even have a kit for it that they showed in one of my 4X4 mags. Don't care for that idea at all. Either carry extra batteries or subject mine to a even harder life than they already have. That and you don't have any output control. Kinda like watering a cactus with a firehose.



Tom

 

[Alaskaskiff]

Just saw in the Northern catalog a dc 24v wire feed setup. Looked reasonable.