Anyone have a schematic for a Premier Power Welder, Link Arc, Zena etc. onboard welder?
jeeperjohn
Onboard welder schematics.
Here are three links to OBW articles.... Rick has a homebrew one on his jeep, works great!
http://www.huv.com/jon/jeep/Welder/on-board-welder.html
http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/on-boardwelder/
http://www.geocities.com/damonfg/obweld.html
-Mel
http://www.huv.com/jon/jeep/Welder/on-board-welder.html
http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/on-boardwelder/
http://www.geocities.com/damonfg/obweld.html
-Mel
Yep, I am planning on building one. I have seen many different write ups on building a welder. I am especially interested in what is in and how the control boxes work on the various commercially available welders. Not that I would do any reverse engineering
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Re: BTT Anyone???
All the 'Control Box' does is apply current directly to the rotor, instead of letting it pass through the regulator.
All you need is an On/Off switch, a verbile resistor (Rheostat type like from a old time heater control works best), and if you really want to get fancy, voltage & amperage gauges.
Run your power through the On/Off switch, through the resistor and off to the alternator rotor.
Voltage can be taken off the rotor input, or off the voltage produced from the unit (or both if you REALLY like to watch gauges move...)
The amperage will have to be through a shunt, and off to the gauge...
If you want a crude wiring diagram, I can whip one up. (I need to do one for the article anyway...
![Image]()
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If you are at a salvage yard anytime soon, look for a Leece-Neville alternator off a big truck.
They are easy to spot, they are the ones that have two large terminals (Positive & Negative) coming out of the back.
They are super easy to modify for welders, have GREAT output, and are the only common alternator you can do reverse polarity welding with...
If the web geek ever gets my page up (like that's ever going to happen...)
I have a pretty large write up on how to modify all of the alternator types, and the outputs of all of the common alternator types as welders.
The Leece-Neville wins hands down! It really kicks butt!
All the 'Control Box' does is apply current directly to the rotor, instead of letting it pass through the regulator.
All you need is an On/Off switch, a verbile resistor (Rheostat type like from a old time heater control works best), and if you really want to get fancy, voltage & amperage gauges.
Run your power through the On/Off switch, through the resistor and off to the alternator rotor.
Voltage can be taken off the rotor input, or off the voltage produced from the unit (or both if you REALLY like to watch gauges move...)
The amperage will have to be through a shunt, and off to the gauge...
If you want a crude wiring diagram, I can whip one up. (I need to do one for the article anyway...
If you are at a salvage yard anytime soon, look for a Leece-Neville alternator off a big truck.
They are easy to spot, they are the ones that have two large terminals (Positive & Negative) coming out of the back.
They are super easy to modify for welders, have GREAT output, and are the only common alternator you can do reverse polarity welding with...
If the web geek ever gets my page up (like that's ever going to happen...)
I have a pretty large write up on how to modify all of the alternator types, and the outputs of all of the common alternator types as welders.
The Leece-Neville wins hands down! It really kicks butt!
Re: BTT Anyone???
Thanks. You confirmed a lot of what I was thinking. If you will excuse a dumb question, does the variable resistor help other than manually controling voltage (110 DC)? I have been keeping my eyes open for a Leece-Neville alternator but no luck so far. Any tips on identifying the one I am looking for (I am assuming some are more desirable than others)? I would really appreciate any info or drawings you will share.
Thanks in advance,
John
Thanks. You confirmed a lot of what I was thinking. If you will excuse a dumb question, does the variable resistor help other than manually controling voltage (110 DC)? I have been keeping my eyes open for a Leece-Neville alternator but no luck so far. Any tips on identifying the one I am looking for (I am assuming some are more desirable than others)? I would really appreciate any info or drawings you will share.
Thanks in advance,
John
Re: BTT Anyone???
The big Leece-Neville will come in three flavors.
The 105 Amp
The 130 Amp
The 160 Amp.
Although the tags will sometimes read screwy, like 102, 109 or 135...
The OEM user just though that sounded cooler than the standard 105, 130, 160...
Leece-Neville only released rectifier bridges in 105, 130 & 160, so regardless of what the tag reads, you have one of the three.
Look for voltage! You are looking for a 12 volt alternator.
For obvious reasons, if you acquire a 24, 36 or 48 volt alternator, throwing 12 volts at the rotor isn't going to get you anywhere.
Most large trucks use 12 volt charging systems now, so 12 volt units are a lot more common than they were 20 years ago...
Don't walk past a 24 volt Leece-Neville if you can find one for cheap.
Most of the case parts, brush/ regulator holders will interchange, PULLEYS will interchange, and the rectifier bridges will interchange.
It would be a very good parts source, and those brush holders and pulleys are hard to find, and expensive when you do...
For obvious reasons, the 160 amp is the one to have, but the 105 welds everything I've tried it on so far, depending on the size of the rods...
The smaller the rod diameter, the better you will do with limited amperage. (Thanks CJ Dave!)
The verbile resistor is for controlling the current you throw at the Rotor, and that in turn controls the output.
You get the unit about where you want it doing test beads and adjusting with engine RPM, and you can use the resistor to 'Find Tune' your weld...
The resistor works well, I got mine from NAPA for about $12.
Ask for a generic heater motor control, and make sure the knob moves smoothly, and doesn't have 'Notches'.
If it has 'Notches', reject it. You can get that close with engine RPM adjustments...
With the resistor, if you watch the voltage output, you can actually quick charge a battery in a pinch, and just for giggles and grins, I've excited mine with flashlight batteries to charge a battery...
(Test bench battery dead, and charger outside on the lawn mower.
'D' cell mag light handy, so I thought, "What the he11?.."...... It worked!)
Used the verbile resistor to control output, and used the welding clamps to charge the bench battery....
'D' cells don't last long, but if you were REALLY in a pinch, this is another option...
EXERCISE CAUTION AROUND THIS DEVICE!
This alternating generator is capable of putting out 130 volts at over 160 amps,
And IT CAN KILL YOU!
The big Leece-Neville will come in three flavors.
The 105 Amp
The 130 Amp
The 160 Amp.
Although the tags will sometimes read screwy, like 102, 109 or 135...
The OEM user just though that sounded cooler than the standard 105, 130, 160...
Leece-Neville only released rectifier bridges in 105, 130 & 160, so regardless of what the tag reads, you have one of the three.
Look for voltage! You are looking for a 12 volt alternator.
For obvious reasons, if you acquire a 24, 36 or 48 volt alternator, throwing 12 volts at the rotor isn't going to get you anywhere.
Most large trucks use 12 volt charging systems now, so 12 volt units are a lot more common than they were 20 years ago...
Don't walk past a 24 volt Leece-Neville if you can find one for cheap.
Most of the case parts, brush/ regulator holders will interchange, PULLEYS will interchange, and the rectifier bridges will interchange.
It would be a very good parts source, and those brush holders and pulleys are hard to find, and expensive when you do...
For obvious reasons, the 160 amp is the one to have, but the 105 welds everything I've tried it on so far, depending on the size of the rods...
The smaller the rod diameter, the better you will do with limited amperage. (Thanks CJ Dave!)
The verbile resistor is for controlling the current you throw at the Rotor, and that in turn controls the output.
You get the unit about where you want it doing test beads and adjusting with engine RPM, and you can use the resistor to 'Find Tune' your weld...
The resistor works well, I got mine from NAPA for about $12.
Ask for a generic heater motor control, and make sure the knob moves smoothly, and doesn't have 'Notches'.
If it has 'Notches', reject it. You can get that close with engine RPM adjustments...
With the resistor, if you watch the voltage output, you can actually quick charge a battery in a pinch, and just for giggles and grins, I've excited mine with flashlight batteries to charge a battery...
(Test bench battery dead, and charger outside on the lawn mower.
'D' cell mag light handy, so I thought, "What the he11?.."...... It worked!)
Used the verbile resistor to control output, and used the welding clamps to charge the bench battery....
'D' cells don't last long, but if you were REALLY in a pinch, this is another option...
EXERCISE CAUTION AROUND THIS DEVICE!
This alternating generator is capable of putting out 130 volts at over 160 amps,
And IT CAN KILL YOU!
Re: BTT Anyone???
Thanks. Have you got to play with a Zena on board welder? If not, it has a current (?) control dial and a boost button on the stinger. I guess the dial is used to fine tune the current and the boost button(used to get arc started) just bypasses the conlrol dial to temporarly supply max current and voltage? Atleast I'm not out in left field on this one. Humm...Add a 12 volt voltage regulator ang get a back up charging system..... Getting complex but cool. What are other alternator options?
Thanks. Have you got to play with a Zena on board welder? If not, it has a current (?) control dial and a boost button on the stinger. I guess the dial is used to fine tune the current and the boost button(used to get arc started) just bypasses the conlrol dial to temporarly supply max current and voltage? Atleast I'm not out in left field on this one. Humm...Add a 12 volt voltage regulator ang get a back up charging system..... Getting complex but cool. What are other alternator options?
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