I bought one a couple of years ago for a headlight issue, it’s an amazing tool. The ability to push power from any point in a circuit was super helpful with finding a short (loose terminal in the firewall plug!).
CK5
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Got any cool tools lately?
- Thread starter nvrenuf
- Start date
I bought one a couple of years ago for a headlight issue, it’s an amazing tool. The ability to push power from any point in a circuit was super helpful with finding a short (loose terminal in the firewall plug!).
I have had one for years. Use it monthly.
I have wanted one for a while, I was having a issue in my escalade that I needed to power stuff to find the issue, it was a fuse I missed but the prob lead me to figuring that out.
I was against using one for years, just liked the simple test light. Then I got one for free and haven’t been back.
I need to put a new cord on mine. The rubber is all greasy and cracking. What get for stepping on a Mac truck
I put my welding setup on steroids, I sold this...
I sold that for more than I paid for it ~5 years ago. What started this is I found a Dynasty 300, just the bare machine, that someone bought to start a business with "friends" that then it fell through, so I bought it for half price, still brand new in the box with no plug on it yet, with the factory warranty!
I feel like these are my forever welders since I can't really upgrade them any more at this point without going 3 phase. I have room to put my 625 plasma on there but I usually run that in a different spot anyway.
The 220 worked flawlessly, I will miss the easy swap between MIG and TIG (just pick it up and start). But I gained the amperage I needed to TIG thick cast aluminum intakes, it also has a much lower low end I noticed immediately the first time I ramped down the pedal. And the MIG has pulsed MIG capability and a 350 A capacity while at the same time having a lower bottom end as well.
Since it was just the machine I sourced the water cooler, tig torch, and wireless foot pedal myself (eBay find), I also have a finger pedal on the way from 6061.com.
Does anyone notice my two "abominations"?
Then I modified the cart by building an upper deck that I bolted to the cart and has 4 cable hangers on it I made from exhaust U bends. I also swapped the chinsy front cord hangers for some with better support I made, and added a rod rack to the back to organize my filler rods. I 3D printed the dividers to separate the sizes.
A cheap grill cover to keep the fab dust off when not in use...
The DMX250 gun that came with the 255 is huge, so I bought a 100 to leave for thinner stuff and easier access, the 250 will remain setup for the larger wire.
I replaced these chinsy cord hangers with the units I made below that with more support...
These are made from scrap 1" square tube, and some 3" exhaust bends.
I made this from 1" x .120 wall DOM, 14 gauge steel sheet, and some 16 ga 2.5" exhaust bends.
I sold that for more than I paid for it ~5 years ago. What started this is I found a Dynasty 300, just the bare machine, that someone bought to start a business with "friends" that then it fell through, so I bought it for half price, still brand new in the box with no plug on it yet, with the factory warranty!
I feel like these are my forever welders since I can't really upgrade them any more at this point without going 3 phase. I have room to put my 625 plasma on there but I usually run that in a different spot anyway.
The 220 worked flawlessly, I will miss the easy swap between MIG and TIG (just pick it up and start). But I gained the amperage I needed to TIG thick cast aluminum intakes, it also has a much lower low end I noticed immediately the first time I ramped down the pedal. And the MIG has pulsed MIG capability and a 350 A capacity while at the same time having a lower bottom end as well.
Since it was just the machine I sourced the water cooler, tig torch, and wireless foot pedal myself (eBay find), I also have a finger pedal on the way from 6061.com.
Does anyone notice my two "abominations"?
Then I modified the cart by building an upper deck that I bolted to the cart and has 4 cable hangers on it I made from exhaust U bends. I also swapped the chinsy front cord hangers for some with better support I made, and added a rod rack to the back to organize my filler rods. I 3D printed the dividers to separate the sizes.
A cheap grill cover to keep the fab dust off when not in use...
The DMX250 gun that came with the 255 is huge, so I bought a 100 to leave for thinner stuff and easier access, the 250 will remain setup for the larger wire.
I replaced these chinsy cord hangers with the units I made below that with more support...
These are made from scrap 1" square tube, and some 3" exhaust bends.
I made this from 1" x .120 wall DOM, 14 gauge steel sheet, and some 16 ga 2.5" exhaust bends.
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.120 1" dom ! Is that sanctioned welding kart racing spec. Didn't know they were that strict.
Nice set up.
Nice set up.
Yeah I had some pieces leftover from previous projects, that's the simplest design I came up with to hold the 255 above the 300. It bolts in from under the cart with 3/8" bolts.
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bottles are to small . and no mag clamp ground . 
The bottles are 120 cf, the biggest I could buy without renting them several years ago, and mag clamps don't work on aluminum or stainless. I think the huge size of the cart makes the bottles look smaller than they are, the very top of the top welder is over 5.5 ft off the ground. That ground I made for the TIG is 1/0 cable with a 300A Tweco clamp.
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That’s no miller cart… 
I use a mag clamps for both welders. I have a 1/4" plate with a 4 foot lead and clamp for aluminum. 8 use it for everytning now. I lay the plate on the table. The 4 foot lead lays on the table. Mag ground is never under foot, and not trying to pull my work piece off when I trip over the coard. 
Does anyone notice my two "abominations"?
That’s no miller cart…
You caught it, I took off the Vucan Prime stickers and put Miller stickers on the cart and cooler.
If you look at the "compare to" on the $400 Vucan cart it's actually a close copy of the $1400 cart Miller sells for their Laser welder setup. I picked it up from the store predented
, and with tiny hardware but overall the drawers and door are nice. I just wish the bottom door for the helmet was an actual drawer like my old cart, and not a flip up cover, being a somewhat tall guy I hate those things. It's bad enough being a low door, but flip up so you got to slide it almost out of the way to access your stuff is even more annoying.And the TIG cooler is a $430 Primeweld unit I got from 6061.com, I couldn't get myself to drop $2K on a Miller cooler to protect a $400 Miller torch. It plugged right into the back of the dyNasty 300 cooler control output and has a flow alarm that I had to take apart and adjust to get it to not be on all the time, but it works fine now. I unplugged the pump and turn the cooler on and the flow alarm still works. The alarm in my torch hand should still work too.
I use a mag clamps for both welders. I have a 1/4" plate with a 4 foot lead and clamp for aluminum. 8 use it for everytning now. I lay the plate on the table. The 4 foot lead lays on the table. Mag ground is never under foot, and not trying to pull my work piece off when I trip over the coard.
I have a thick ground tab I welded under the side of my welding table I fabbed over 10 years ago, I just leave the ground clamp on that most of the time and it doesn't need to go on my workpiece. And when I weld things off the table I can easily move it anywhere fast, even stainless and aluminum, and it doesn't have steel debris sticking to it all the time.
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Yeah, I’ve had that same cart for years and it is really worked out well
I need a welder.
kubota blew a seal on the crowd cylinder so we had them all gone through.
So fresh and so clean!
So fresh and so clean!
I've had great luck with Miller, over the years I've sold a Millermatic 211, a Syncrowave 210, and the Multimatic 220, since I took excellent care of them, combined, I sold them for the same as I paid for them, the resale is crazy. However, the initial cost is quite a bit more.
If you are on a budget Hobart is cheaper and still a quality unit, same company as Miller, just less adjustability and features. The Handler 210 is comparable to the Millermatic 211. My father has had a Hobart 180 MIG for nearly 30 years, still works great.
If you want very low cost some people really like the Primeweld or Everlast stuff, I just couldn't bring myself to buy an offshore welder because it's still a lot of money and I worry it's a throw away.
HTP is in between like Hobart, but made in Italy and cheaper than a Miller or Lincoln but not so cheap you would feel like it's a throw away.
i got lucky over the years and own 3 330cf c-25 bottles .
and the mag ground was a joke for the aluminum
i got lucky over the years and own 3 330cf c-25 bottles .
and the mag ground was a joke for the aluminum
How do you fill them? Places around hear won't swap anything bigger than 120 unless you rent it from them.
Nice welder, I can't wait to up mine. Thinking of going to a miller 211 auto set or maybe one of those everlast multi process weldesr.
