EU2000i & Backwoods Welding
Anyone have any experience running a very small welder (either flux core MIG or stick) with a Honda EU2000i?
Thanks for any help,
Brad
Thanks for any help,
Brad
Forum Discussion
33 Replies
BradW wrote:
I know this can be done, but from the you tube videos I watched, the welds look pretty bad and it seems very hard to run a bead very far...
Not sure what you saw on YouTube, but with the correct rod and polarity, plus clean base metal and some practice… You should be able to weld quite well with the 24-36V battery setup. This is why I carry E7018 (dry, dry, dry!!), use reverse polarity (electrode +) and also have a small wire brush on hand.
The only other electrode I would consider is E6011… and then only if the material was very dirty, or galvanized.
The "shell of flux" thing you mentioned is common with 7018, especially when re-striking. The trick is to quickly clean-up the end of the rod with a flat-file before restriking. This prevents the flux from cracking off when striking the arc.
For a "planned" welding project I do think a portable MIG/flux-core machine is the way to go. The alternator driven arc welders also work awesome, but are fairly expensive if you only plan to use it occasionally. For an emergency repair on steel, you simply cannot beat the battery powered solution in terms of size, cost, ease of use, and efficacy.
-MarkBradW wrote:
msiminoff wrote:
For emergency repairs, a pair of (or three) 12V batteries wired in series makes a remarkably good DC SMAW (stick) power source. Although I have never needed to do it out of necessity, I have practiced a bit and I'm confident that I'll be able to successfully manage a field repair if push ever comes to shove. I do carry a set of jumper cables, a makeshift stinger and couple sticks of E7018 (in a vacuum-sealed bag) in my tool box and I wouldn't hesitate to pull batteries from my truck and/or camper if I needed to get my rig fixed.
I think this is going to be my best bet for now. I know this can be done, but from the you tube videos I watched, the welds look pretty bad and it seems very hard to run a bead very far. I hear people say that when you first touch the stick to the metal, instead of sticking like is usually the problem, the highy amperage available from the batteries actually blows/vaporizes the end of the rod leaving a shell of flux. Then you have to keep forcing the rod into the metal surface. Just the opposite from the stick welding I've done.
And that was test welding on clean 3/8" flat bar setting on a welding table. I can only imaging the problems running a vertical weld or overhead.
We have a very remote "rustic" one-room cabin; takes a 4wd to get to it on a good day. Sometimes it takes a 4wd and a good which on a bad day. I may need to weld on something up there like a steel bracket or a steel fire ring. That would be very limited in the quantity of welding. But mainly I would be welding on a big heavy steel gate. That could be anything from repair vandalism to some other major repair or modification. That could end up being quite a bit of welding.
I confess that I have gotten lazy and spoiled using a MIG.
When I get some time, I'm going to try some 24volt welding in my garage to see how bad it is.
Let us know how it works out for you.- Yep, that would do it. I just don't want to dump $600 into a tool that I would only use very occasionally. The other thing about it if I had a RWII, I would feel obligated to haul it we me on every jeep trip. They take up a lot of room that I don't have.
Brad 
Battery powered wire spool rigs are available, this might be the way to go
Spool gun battery welding
Ready welder, mobile portable spool welder battery poweredHuntindog wrote:
I have never tied it, but perhaps reversing the polarity would solve the problem.
He discusses that here: http://youtu.be/8tHJ0NSjZnMBradW wrote:
I have never tied it, but perhaps reversing the polarity would solve the problem.msiminoff wrote:
For emergency repairs, a pair of (or three) 12V batteries wired in series makes a remarkably good DC SMAW (stick) power source. Although I have never needed to do it out of necessity, I have practiced a bit and I'm confident that I'll be able to successfully manage a field repair if push ever comes to shove. I do carry a set of jumper cables, a makeshift stinger and couple sticks of E7018 (in a vacuum-sealed bag) in my tool box and I wouldn't hesitate to pull batteries from my truck and/or camper if I needed to get my rig fixed.
I think this is going to be my best bet for now. I know this can be done, but from the you tube videos I watched, the welds look pretty bad and it seems very hard to run a bead very far. I hear people say that when you first touch the stick to the metal, instead of sticking like is usually the problem, the highy amperage available from the batteries actually blows/vaporizes the end of the rod leaving a shell of flux. Then you have to keep forcing the rod into the metal surface. Just the opposite from the stick welding I've done.
And that was test welding on clean 3/8" flat bar setting on a welding table. I can only imaging the problems running a vertical weld or overhead.
We have a very remote "rustic" one-room cabin; takes a 4wd to get to it on a good day. Sometimes it takes a 4wd and a good which on a bad day. I may need to weld on something up there like a steel bracket or a steel fire ring. That would be very limited in the quantity of welding. But mainly I would be welding on a big heavy steel gate. That could be anything from repair vandalism to some other major repair or modification. That could end up being quite a bit of welding.
I confess that I have gotten lazy and spoiled using a MIG.
When I get some time, I'm going to try some 24volt welding in my garage to see how bad it is.msiminoff wrote:
For emergency repairs, a pair of (or three) 12V batteries wired in series makes a remarkably good DC SMAW (stick) power source. Although I have never needed to do it out of necessity, I have practiced a bit and I'm confident that I'll be able to successfully manage a field repair if push ever comes to shove. I do carry a set of jumper cables, a makeshift stinger and couple sticks of E7018 (in a vacuum-sealed bag) in my tool box and I wouldn't hesitate to pull batteries from my truck and/or camper if I needed to get my rig fixed.
I think this is going to be my best bet for now. I know this can be done, but from the you tube videos I watched, the welds look pretty bad and it seems very hard to run a bead very far. I hear people say that when you first touch the stick to the metal, instead of sticking like is usually the problem, the highy amperage available from the batteries actually blows/vaporizes the end of the rod leaving a shell of flux. Then you have to keep forcing the rod into the metal surface. Just the opposite from the stick welding I've done.
And that was test welding on clean 3/8" flat bar setting on a welding table. I can only imaging the problems running a vertical weld or overhead.
We have a very remote "rustic" one-room cabin; takes a 4wd to get to it on a good day. Sometimes it takes a 4wd and a good which on a bad day. I may need to weld on something up there like a steel bracket or a steel fire ring. That would be very limited in the quantity of welding. But mainly I would be welding on a big heavy steel gate. That could be anything from repair vandalism to some other major repair or modification. That could end up being quite a bit of welding.
I confess that I have gotten lazy and spoiled using a MIG.
When I get some time, I'm going to try some 24volt welding in my garage to see how bad it is.- What do you want/need to weld Brad? In a pinch I think a single EU2000 might get the job done for thin materials and with a low voltage setting.
I have welded with my Hobart Handler 140 (both MIG & flux-core) powered by a pair of EU2000i's on many occasions with excellent results, even on steel plate up to 1/4" thick. Of course I keep Eco-Throttle OFF on both generators while welding. However, I'm not sure I would describe $2500 worth of generators and a portable welding gear as "backwoods welding" :E
For emergency repairs, a pair of (or three) 12V batteries wired in series makes a remarkably good DC SMAW (stick) power source. Although I have never needed to do it out of necessity, I have practiced a bit and I'm confident that I'll be able to successfully manage a field repair if push ever comes to shove. I do carry a set of jumper cables, a makeshift stinger and couple sticks of E7018 (in a vacuum-sealed bag) in my tool box and I wouldn't hesitate to pull batteries from my truck and/or camper if I needed to get my rig fixed.
Cheers,
-Mark bigfootford wrote:
Son used my 2000 with a Lincoln mig.. Light duty it worked just fine.
We ran the honda in normal mode, not econo.
Heck we ran a lincoln mig on 100ft of 14 ga extension on a 20 amp service all day welding fences.
Jim
Thanks for the reply Jim. I was thinking: gen on normal mode, .030 wire, small welder on a low setting might work.
Brad- Son used my 2000 with a Lincoln mig.. Light duty it worked just fine.
We ran the honda in normal mode, not econo.
Heck we ran a lincoln mig on 100ft of 14 ga extension on a 20 amp service all day welding fences.
Jim
