Ready Welder II???

[TwistedCU]

RE: Readers Rides Help

Still looking at welders. I came across this product and want to know if anyone has used it or seen it in action. Any comments would be appreciated as I am just learing about this stuff and need all the info/advice I can get to make my decision on what type of equipment to get.

This "Ready Welder II" looks like a really cool product. It is a mig or flux core that can run on 24V (2- 12V auto batteries in series) and weld up to 1/2" steel, aluminum, etc. Very small, very portable, and could easily be taken along on a trail ride!

Okay they do a good job of making it sound like the best choice on thier website, lets have it from those who actually use welders...
I've seen these for under $400 shippied:
http://www.readywelder.com/home.htm

 

[White]

RE: Re: YJ-1; Chevy-0

Looks really nice. The short distance from the spool to the tip would make feeding alumimun wire alot easier.
Kinda concerned about the "Extra Circuit Board " . Do they burn up easily ?
Still looks like a good thing to have.

 

[TwistedCU]

Looks really nice. The short distance from the spool to the tip would make feeding alumimun wire alot easier.
Kinda concerned about the "Extra Circuit Board " . Do they burn up easily ?
Still looks like a good thing to have.

I have no idea on the circuit board. I've never even welded before :?

 

[jps4jeep]

Re: RE: Re: RE: 2006 FJ - It

I agree with Tom, but... I would spend the extra $$ and get a miller! the blue ox 110 mig is a great welder! plus you can get a optional seperate wire feed gun for aluminum (the wire is very flexible and can bind in a long feed)

If you can not afford a miller... Lincoln would be my second choice.

 

[jps4jeep]

RE: Re: RE: Another welding question

In retrospec, that is a portable unit huh... I like it as a portable unit... but if you gonna weld up a roll cage or something, not sure.

 

[OLDJeeper]

Give it a shot. Looks like a handy Tool for the trail.

 

[TwistedCU]

RE: YJ 15 to 20 gal tank conversion

Well I would want to use it at home too. I was thinking of a couple batteries in the garage with a slow charger for them to power it. Could this thing be used reliably to make bumpers and stuff?

 

[XJNick]

Hi,

I was thinking of a couple batteries in the garage with a slow charger for them to power it.

You'll probably need more than a "slow" charger. For example, if the welder is pulling 300 amps @ 24 volts, and you are supplying 24 volts by using two 12-volt car batteries in series, you'd likely be draining them fairly quickly. Thus, you'll probably want a charger which can dump a good amount of power back into the batteries to charge them in an hour or two (say 20-40 amps). Otherwise, you might have to wait 8 hours to let batteries charge, which I'd imagine would be annoying...

However, reading the website you linked to seems to suggest that these welders do not have any type of current regulation. So, I'm confused how this is supposed to work without either A) melting or vaporizing the metal you are trying to weld (due to too much current) or B) Killing the batteries by pulling too much current through them. There has got to be some means of regulating current, I just don't see it mentioned or explianed??? The fact that the welder runs off of 24 volts shouldn't affect the welds. Most 120 or 240-volt welding machines run on low voltages as well (via a large step-down transformer in the unit). It is the amount of current that matters to get a good weld in a given application.

-Nick :!:

 

[TwistedCU]

RE: A Whole Year Already?!?

Very good point Nick. This is probably the biggest downside to this type of setup, while the biggest advantage would be portability...

They suggest using deep cycle batteries like an optima for example. Their claim is you can get approx 45 min out of them on a single charge for 1/2" steel, and up to 4 hours for small metals...

here's some more info...
http://www.readywelder.com/manual.htm

FAQ's:
http://www.readywelder.com/faqs.htm#1

 

[jps4jeep]

Re: RE: Re: RE: Re: This one was done RIGHT!

But for the price of two red tops, you could have a very nice and reliable 110 mig

 

[TwistedCU]

Belt Replacement

But for the price of two red tops, you could have a very nice and reliable 110 mig

Yeah. $400 for the ready welder, another $300 for batteries, another ?$?$?$ for a charger... starting to look like it's not a feasible option. If I had the kind of money to spend on this kind of setup it would be sweet to have on the trails, but it looks like this is not for me - at least for now.

To answer Nick's question about voltage regulating, I beleive the resistance of the fed wire would maintain a constant voltage/current. It must work somehow and that 's all I can think of... Like you wrote, there's nothing on the website.

Still hung up between stick/arc -vs- mig, but I'll have to rule out this unit.