Otodat

Welder review- for anyone interested. Ended up getting a weldtech 4015mp from an outfit in Christchurch and it turned up three days later. Had been meaning to get a 15A plug sorted out but new toy, so couldn’t wait. This is a multi process machine that does stick welder, plasma cutter and tig. Big part of getting this is the days of chucking the old young model b (pictured below) in the back of the wagon when I needed to weld something out of the workshop are fading. This thing is so light in comparison, and having a plasma cutter has been on my wish list for some years. First job was cutting out some new tilt linkages for the hedgecutter out of 10mm plate. It seemed to be approaching the limit of its capabilities as a plasma. It might be something to do with the way I’m using it (ie operator error) but I found it impossible to keep a straight cut. In the end I cut the shape slightly wider and ground the cut after to tidy it up. Was fairly slow cutting but this thing has a neat function where you can start it by depressing the trigger once and it will stay on until you lift the hand piece. After this I tried it on some 6mm plate and it cut through like butter, clean and fast. It works good enough for what I want to do, hopefully get better with practice. Next I tried out the welding function on some 10mm off cuts. Oh man, so freaking awesome, so smooth and heaps of grunt. Unfortunately at this point the 70 year old electrics in the workshop decided maybe to much grunt and the lights went out, which revealed around six power outlets in the shed were powered by a short extension cord near the toilet with going out one outlet then in another. so that’s all good, needed to get an electrician anyways. A week later some cracks started to appear on the head of the hedgecutter so threw the welder in the wagon the next morning. I was a bit dubious about hooking off the power from the farmers shed, running out a long extension lead and welding some fairly thick steel. I set the welder on 95 amps with some 3.2 rods and went at it. Job done-no problems. Pretty stoked, yeah it’s not weld porn but the thing stopped falling in half at least. In conclusion- this thing is pretty sweet. As a welder it’s probably the best one I’ve used. As a plasma it does what is says, but 10mm is definitely its upper limit. I’ve never done any tig welding before, for me it would have been absolutely ideal if it could be used as a mig. I asked the supplier before I got it if a spool gun type setup could be used on it, which would be adequate for my use, but they said it couldn’t be done. Bit of a shame. I may give the tig part a try one day when I have time just to satisfy my curiosity. At this stage would recommend to anyone looking for this type of machine. Hopefully it stands the test of time.

Possibly it would have a two stage relay for the fuel pump?

Yeah I could easily enough get a 15A plug put in the shed and a converter for when it’s out of the shed if need be.

Oh that sucks, other welder is out of aus, probably be a hassle gst etc i guess. Although same weldtech machine is in Christchurch for a little extra https://www.trademe.co.nz/business-farming-industry/industrial/manufacturing-metalwork/welders/auction-2238238817.htm

Looking at getting a new welder so dragging this back up. I need a portable stick welder for repairs but would like to have a plasma cutter set up in the workshop at other times. Needs to be able to cut and weld up to 10mm steel. These two on tm look like they would do the job. https://www.trademe.co.nz/business-farming-industry/industrial/manufacturing-metalwork/welders/auction-2237324533.htm https://www.trademe.co.nz/business-farming-industry/industrial/manufacturing-metalwork/welders/auction-2237872314.htm Will need this to run off normal house socket. When cutting/welding 10mm would it go for a decent amount of time without cutting out or am I asking too much? Keen to hear from anyone that has experience with them. Or alternatively I have 3 phase in the shed. Would it be better to get a decent plasma and a cheap portable welder?

If the rag is damp but not soaked with thinners seems clean up fine or can use wax and grease remover, wipe it on with a rag then wipe off before it drys with a clean rag. Personally I’ve found a bit of thinners to be better. The primer doesn’t need to be thick for stuff like this as long as it sticks to the brunox and the top coat sticks to it should be fine. Scotch brite pads are really good for making a surface for paint to stick to with taking it off like sanding etc. Best to do a test patch when mixing different paints. Killrust is a bit weird to paint with compared to the other few paints I’ve used and takes ages to dry but seems to hold up ok.

Yeah i’m far from an expert. The stuff I’ve done I gave the brunox a quick scuff with a scotch brite pad then a wipe over with thinners on a rag otherwise the paint wouldn’t sit flat. I use killrust as well because it’s available locally but I think I might of used a different primer I had sitting around last time, can’t recall what type it was sorry. Found it best to put a very light coat over the brunox first followed by a heavier coat as the brunox dries quite hard and smooth. Used brunox and hammerite on my daily to tidy up some chassis mounts and a bumper without any sanding and brushed on (with 2 or 3 coats) and it’s holding up well after 18 months.

I have used hammerite ( also from mitre10 ) over brunox on chassis and bumpers and it is held up well. Usually leave any rust converter at least a day before before putting any top coat over to avoid reactions. You could also try an intermediate primer between brunox and the killrust, seems to stick better. What part of the Waikato are you in? Anyways keep up the good work.

Sweet vans, what’s the setup with that silver one?

Yeah the 55 is the id of the frame

Cool thanks I measure 55x38 on the round bush and 62x30 on the top of the steel block

Hey scooters, just out of interest would you be able to measure the blocks and front bushes so I can compare to President ones, cheers.

Damn that was a good read, can’t quite figure it out- is the greenish truck the gtref truck now? anyways awesome work going on here, watching with interest.

Good score, that shell looks dam tidy

Have been reading up on that looks really good