Welding Tips and Tricks

Fondof Advan 200A AC/DC TIG Chinese machine (re-badged as "Renegade" for local Australian importer)

Just made a quick video to gloss over the machine. I will do another one with some welding samples once I can get a camera set up better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2Rf_ubK ... detailpage

Kurt.

Thats a nice looking machine for an import - not sure I like all the digital panels - maybe old fashioned , but it's not easy just to glance at it to check settings - interested your able to run that on an inverter - you must have 1 heck of a battery bank on that solar array ( maybe we could get a picture of your set up )- look forward to seeing what it welds like - not seen this model yet in the UK - do you mind me asking how much it cost. I'm guessing this is for your own hobby stuff - not commercial - so a Dynasty was kinda spendy.

Thanks noddybrian,
I would have to agree with you regarding the digital control panel. The dials do have the advantage of a quick view and you know were your at and perhaps a little more robust (easier to fix if there is a issue). The better(more expensive) digital control panel machines are able to save setting once you get them dialed in for a particular job and bring them up at the push of a button. While mine dose remember the last setting when turned of it doesn't have the preset save option.

There are two versions of the model welder I have. While they look the same. One has the foot controller and the other doesn't . The one without the foot controller doesn't have the input to add a controller later. Apparently the foot control model I have has a few other features over the base model but I don't seem to be able to see what they are. Anyhow the base model is $750 AU and the model I have was $1100 AU. Although most products tend to be cheaper in the US and UK than Australia due to the larger market / competition. It Came with foot pedal,Argon reg, MMA leads, earth leads,Tig torch and a few consumables. Just the typical induced gear.

For me efficacy - (power factor ) of a welder was important consideration as I am powering it off grid.

I will be using the welder for home hobby use. Although I have been making SS outdoor furniture from home for some time. But its more of a part time home based business than anything commercial. My background is fitter and turner by trade. I have been working in the engineering / maintenance of the dairy food industry. So lots of stainless steel fabrication and food grade pipework. At work we used Kemppie and Esab both nice machines to work with although only DC welders. I had a scratch start 160A dc Esettie tig at home for the past 12 years and it was time to upgrade so something with more features and tackle some AC welding. The big name welders are quite expensive in Australia so I couldn't justify the cost for my use.

Regarding the inverter that powers the house and my workshop is a 6000w continuous 100% duty at 40 degC 12,000w peak 240v single phase inverter . I have 4000w of solar panels that charge a 1330AH 48v of battery bank (63kwh of battery capacity) Its got enough grunt to run my , welder, lathe, mill, cold cut saw, 16cfm triple cyl air compressor, Car hoist and all the usual work shop equipment. If you happen to try and overload it. For example weld at 200Amp while one of your friends runs the air compressor at the same time my wife starts the electric oven grill. It will automatically start a 8kva 3cyle diesel generator and supply up to 15,000w contentious as the inverter and generator work as a team.Though I have never had the generator start due to overload and I have done a lot of welding with my old 160A machine.

Pic of power room. Inverter and charger to the left, battery's to the right .



Generator room

That is a sweet setup!

I'm amazed the backup generator hasn't kicked in. This speaks to your original design.

To those who would like to move off grid, I'll point out some things you are well aware of...

The backup generator needs regular testing and maintenance, fuel preservation/replacement.

The battery bank has a finite life. The replacement must be figured into the ultimate cost.

The solar array is sensitive to the accumulation of dust and dirt, as well as possible damage from sleet and hail.

There's some complicated electronics in a system like this, with the potential for failure. A spare parts inventory is advised if you're doing this distant from society, or as a "prepper".

I'm impressed this system has the capacity to operate a welder, even at that PF., for any lenght of time!

While welding and plasma cutters consume large amounts of energy over a short time the actual total over the day is quite small.

I weld a lot of 1.6mm wall ss rhs on my furniture and weld in the range of 40 - 60A at this rate my welder consumes between 700w - 1000w. I could weld for 1hr constantly without stopping (1hr constant is a lot of welding in one go) At 60A 1hr of welding would only consume 1kwh. The battery capacity 63kwh :. Most of the time I am welding in the day time and the welder is powered directly from the 4000w of solar panels without consuming anything from the battery.

I got a bit of welding flash out the corner yesterday playing with settings on the foot pedal while looking at the welders display and set up a camera (I should know better ) So when my scratchy eye settle down I will make the 2nd video of the machine in action.

Some pics of the stainless steel furniture a have been making with my old primitive scratch start tig welder

Fully blended corner joint


Completed setting ready for delivery


Befor passivation




Kurt.

Thanks for the update on power supply - now that is a really nice set-up , I'm quite envious , hate to think of the original cost, but to be able to use your gear without mains power is awesome. I keep an old 2cylinder Lister air cooled diesel with 8 Kva generator as a standby just in case as my place is rural with overhead power lines, but it's hand start ( but very reliable ).

I don't like to use the word as to some people it implies " nutter " - but are you a " Prepper" or is the power solution necessary due to location - I like to always have a back-up of some sort, but surely the set-up cost of this will take a very long time to recover against the cost of buying electricity & as Steve comments the batteries & panels don't last indefinately.

Nice looking furniture - never thought of making any like it , but I have maybe 15meters of brushed RHS stainless so I might make the parents a new outdoor table. All the best with your projects.

The initial reason for being off grid is the location of the Property while its not all that remote only 10km from average sized country town and only 100km from The capital city. It's location in the hinterland and local terrain on the side of a mountain. Places it several KM from the nearest grid network. It would have cost several hundred thousand to connect to the grid to the property And around $40,000 to be off grid

Funny enough the electricity unit price in Australia is so expensive now (around 28 - 40C kwh in some areas) that even with the ongoing cost of battery replacement (every 10 - 15 years) Its actually on par or perhaps a little cheaper to be off grid in the near future. Prices are coming down to go off grid and a similar system to mine could be built now for around $35,000 now.

Nothing wrong with the old old Lister air cooled diesel's. The home across the road that's also off grid uses a single cyl Lister. Nice slow revving and surprisingly efficient engines.

The first welding job I did when we moved in was welding up next doors exhaust on there Lister. They had been putting up with e leaky exhaust for 7 years

Then he started asking about exhausts for his vintage motorbikes. Rule one .. if you want time to your self then never tell anyone you can weld


Kurt.

Ok back to the review of the Fondof welder.

After welding DC tig for the past 15 years I was keen to see what all this AC business was about. Now I have a machine that will do it I guess its time to give AC a shot.

I Picked up some 4043 filler rod Friday afternoon. Dug up a dirty old sheet of aluminum around 3mm thick from the shed this morning. Didn't bother cleaning it Just set the machine on Auto AC at around 120A and hit the trigger Dam this AC welding is noisy! - looks like it works at least I like the cleaning action you get with AC as the sheet was dirty as hell and it just strips it back. Some black soot that wipes off I'm guessing that's just from all the oils and crap that was on the sheet.

Anyhow pic of first AC run dirty sheet of aluminum.



I wont take it any further with AC as far as the review. I will come back to it later after having a play but AC looks like it will be fun and open up some more options .

Next I will set it up for DC and do a few stainless welds next. That way I'm working in a area I have some experience with and I can do a more serious review and compare it to a few other DC welders I spent a lot of time with like the kemppi , ESAB and Esseti. At this stage I really cant judge it as a AC welder as I have no experience in that area.


Kurt

noddybrian wrote:Thats a nice looking machine for an import - not sure I like all the digital solar panels - maybe old fashioned , but it's not easy just to glance at it to check settings - interested your able to run that on an inverter - you must have 1 heck of a battery bank on that solar array ( maybe we could get a picture of your set up )- look forward to seeing what it welds like - not seen this model yet in the UK - do you mind me asking how much it cost. I'm guessing this is for your own hobby stuff - not commercial - so a Dynasty was kinda spendy.

Yes machine looks nice to me..I am looking to purchase it.. Is it worth or not?

Hi there, great review and nice welds!
I had a chinese rebadge (different badge) and similar control footprint. I liked the controls but my welds were crappy because it had a strange arc. I tried a Dynasty which was a great result so that was it. The china unit went on ebay for about 5 seconds and I reached real deep in my pockets and bought a Dynasty 200DX which I bash every day on the job and I am stoked.

A mate of mine decided to update his 14 year old Esab Caddy and bought a Renegade DC power source but let the smoke out of it after 3 months. Sent it back for warranty repair, got it back but it won't tig weld unless it is switched to stick mode. He uses it now as a stool in his shed and still uses his old caddy on the job.

There are plenty of people that say their china welders are great and I believe them, but I have not seen anyone using them on an industrial level or as a primary tool for their trade that says the same thing.

Comments anyone?