DIY manifold welding question.
 

So I need to get a welder. One to weld up a JGS manifold kit would probably be one of my bigger jobs, aside from random brackets, ets. The problem is I live in a condo, and have to work on the cars out of my parent's garage. The garage is only wired for 110v. What welders are you other DIYers using at home?

JGS recomends one that will do 200amps on their site, but that's not feasible. Do I really need one that powerful or will I be able to get by with one that does 90amp if make sure to prep well?

First off. Fluxcore :) no gas, cheaper to use, and you can use it outside without a windshield, and its hotter (better weld)

I like clarke because of the warranty and price (its what i have)

I have welded with lincoln and millers, and well i like the clark fluxcore the best. (the lincoln and miller were both mig)

Harbor Freight becasue its cheap, but I would only get the 240 volt of that version

yeah, 240v isn't an option. I told dad I'd pay to have an electrician come do it, but i get a very stern 'no' lol. So I can either survive with a 110v for now, or wait until the new job pans out, and I can sell the condo and upgrade to garage with an attached house. but that'll happen when???

I was thinking if 90amp/110v version wouldn't cut the mustard, maybe mock it up and tack it and have someone else finish it for me. But then that'll add to the cost.

dont they have a washing maching...i see an extension cord in your future....

240V excentsion are expensive, make it yourself.

You can do it with a 110. I did mine (1/2 mild steel flange with schedule 40 weld els) and its fine.

if you have an electric dryer that for sure it.



Actually everything Ive made has been with 110v including an offroad car (still works beautifully)

I've used a harbor freight 110 mig/flux and it worked as well as the CH I had. It welded and was cheaper.

Get a Clarke, hands down the best cheapest mig/flux core welder out there.

are you guys seriously building manifolds with flux core?

i thought i was bad off having mig'd i/c piping..

damn and i thought you knew stuff nester.

migged I/C piping is probably stronger at the weld than anywhere else if it's done right. I've made several sets of IC piping and exhausts with my fluxcore. Never had a problem with a weld.

A 240V extension 'cord' is relatively cheap to make. Get the cord cap/outlet from HD. Use 12 gauge Romex. I've been running a 75' extension cord for years on some moderately high amperage equipment.

When purchasing a welder, buy the highest power one that you can afford.

This is possibly the best welding accessory that you can buy:
http://www.weldingvideos.com/gmaw.html

and a cheap place to get welders

www.weldingdepot.com

i know a little about a lot of things. i also have a professional fabricator in my crew. The only time he migs something is to tack it in place before he tigs it.. ;)

he would probably use a acetylene torch and a coat hanger to weld things together before he'd break out a flux core welder..

TIG looks great, but overkill in most instances. If you can afford to do every little thing in TIG, well then why not. For the small-scale stuff we do (face it, all of our stuff is small-scale) it isn't a make-or-break cost difference, so custom shops love to do it for the snobby factor. But in large-scale projects (think industrial construction) MIG is still used as the "better weld," where submerged gas arc welding is still being used in the routine stuff, and is perfectly fine.

My downpipe is sched 40 pipe, two sections and flanges welded with a ~100amp 110v cheapie Mig. Still together with over 1k miles of which there were numerous heat cycles from boosting with every drive. I think the cheap flux core is adequate for most DIYers and will pay for itself with just a few projects. The biggest caution - know your duty cycle. Cheap welders have low duty cycles and the quickest way to kill one is to ignore it.

Do what i do, isntall a giant fan on the side :) cool that bich and ignore till the smell gets bad.

seriously? that doesn't sound like a bad idea and I've got a 12" 1300cfm fan laying around.

Yeah look it up online alot of people do it, especially for cheapo welders.

Just cute it iinto the side of the welder. but you would probably want to remove the stock (small one in the rear) to get the best air flow

lol.. So i was getting back to this thread, and did a quick google search on the adding a bigger fan. here's one of the top links I came up with: http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/home...der-96259.html How's that for DIY?...

Yeah really you only need a giant transformer.

Yeah, but I only paid $160 for my HF mig. For the extra $100 I spent I would rather have something that looks good in my garage <G>...

fuck the case, my time is more valuble. FOr 100 bucks thats less then half a day at work.

Thanks to Craigslist, this is what i'll be picking up this weekend: http://www.hobartwelders.com/product.../handler125ez/

it's upgradable to gas shield for later on...

good luck with that

So, what do you guys think of this basic design? Simple, effective, and somewhere between a log and full 4-1 design. The runners for cyl 2/3 will go straight out. Cutting the center elbows and welding them like the picture will help direct/smooth exhaust flow, and keep the pulses from 1/2 and 3/4 seperate. The turbo flange sticks out about 5.5", and should leave room enough for a 2.5"dp. I may end up rotating the center portion about ~30* up to help clear the 'shelf' area, but preliminary measurments says it should be ok as is.
http://faditara.smugmug.com/photos/205172039-M.jpg

Really I think space will be the biggest thing to deal with

Yeah given the shelf and the hood clearance i dunno if you are going to be able to come in close enough to fit the turbo dude.

yeah, that's why i'm thinking about angling the center collector portion up. As is, there is about 1" between the turbine/exhaust side and the shelf. Plenty of hood clearance.

If you can get the turbo in there it is a great design. All the gases flow the right way. Clearing the shelf will be the biggest hurdle. If you use a small compressor housing with a large wheel that would probably do the trick, but you would have to have the compressor housing machined to pull it off... it would be rather stealthy though since it would appear to be a much smaller turbo than it really is.

Mark