Weldnator

[CrealCritter]

Anyone here built a weldnator? Basicly it's a regular old automotive alternator (with a little modification) and standard 12 volt automotive battery to cause the altwrnator to operate at its maxiumn voltage that you can then use to arch weld.

I'm putting 4 alternators on the veggie hauler (my 03 Silverado 4 wheel drive pickup truck). For one of the 4 alternators, I'm going to wire it up so I can switch it to become a weldnator, then switch it back to be a regular alternator. Once I have that working I may play around with it and see if I can't get it to run regular old AC power tools like skillsaw / drill / sawsall / lights / ...

But I'm also be adding a inverter to generate enough AC power to power some stuff in the house in the event of a power outage.

If you've built an weldnotor please chime in and share it with us.

Thanks

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Uh no...have not - but think it sounds pretty awesome!!

 

[NH Homesteader]

No but my husband's a mechanic and welder so I'm gonna ask him about it when he gets home. I've never heard of such a thing!

 

[CrealCritter]

No but my husband's a mechanic and welder so I'm gonna ask him about it when he gets home. I've never heard of such a thing!

Thank you for asking him! Not a new idea by anymeans ... There are lots of YouTube videos and atricles on the net about "Weldnator".

Mention to your husband that I plan on using a GM large case AD244 / 250 amp alternator for the weldnator.

 

[Chic Rustler]

Sounds fun

 

[CrealCritter]

Sounds fun

Well yeah... Anytime fire is involved it's fun for us guys. I can be pretty certain though that the duty cycle is very very low on a weldnator. I mean running a alternator at it's full potential it won't take long for it to get hot and have to be shutdown to cool off. But for the little bit of arch welding I do it should be fine for me.

 

[NH Homesteader]

He knows what it is, I just don't! He said they work alright for short periods of time but will burn out. He said that's the perfect alternator to use though. He knows people who have done it in case they break something wheeling in the woods, then they go home and fix it with their regular welder.

Do you not have a generator? He said you'll use a heck of a lot more gas running things in your house that way. But we lose power a lot so we are used to needing a generator. So I guess if you don't, no use in buying am expensive generator!

 

[CrealCritter]

He knows what it is, I just don't! He said they work alright for short periods of time but will burn out. He said that's the perfect alternator to use though. He knows people who have done it in case they break something wheeling in the woods, then they go home and fix it with their regular welder.

Do you not have a generator? He said you'll use a heck of a lot more gas running things in your house that way. But we lose power a lot so we are used to needing a generator. So I guess if you don't, no use in buying am expensive generator!

Thank you for having the conversation with your husband. He seems like a really smart guy. Power outages are very few around here. I would say in the last 5 years we've had less than an hour of power loss. It's not near enough to justify a generator. I think I might be at an advantage though because the president of the co-op lives on my road, so when there is an outage it's repaired quickly... I've even seen the co-op president in a bucket doing lineman's work to get our road up and running again. He most definitely is not afraid of getting his hands dirty - that I can say without a doubt. Being a member of an electrical co-op is way different than buying electric from a company. When there is a power outage itsi all hands on deck. Yes even the members help where they can. I've ran a chainsaw a couple of times myself.

 

[NH Homesteader]

Ha we are members of a co-op. We lose power constantly! I mean, it's ridiculous how often. But I'll be fair, the power lines run through heavy wooded areas and we get a lot of snow. Though we often lose it on sunny summer days too. I joke it's because a moose farted in the woods lol. Lots of moose too

 

[CrealCritter]

Ha we are members of a co-op. We lose power constantly! I mean, it's ridiculous how often. But I'll be fair, the power lines run through heavy wooded areas and we get a lot of snow. Though we often lose it on sunny summer days too. I joke it's because a moose farted in the woods lol. Lots of moose too

So if I hear what you are saying... Moose Farts are more than just stinky then?