[Glowzinski]

I weld stuff when I see it. You know what I mean? I get an idea, draw it out and make it.

I would be fine using a Suitcase. I thought, Miller said it would not work 100% because the Bobcat does not have some arc thing.

From Miller.

If you are planning on connecting this Feeder or MIG Welder to the output of your Bobcat 250 you options are limited considering you list of options. The Bobcat 250 does not have a 14 pin remote connection so none of the feeders listed can be used. The Bobcat 250 does not have ArcReach either so you would be purchasing a feeder you would not be able to use the ArcReach on.

[MinnesotaDave]

I weld stuff when I see it. You know what I mean? I get an idea, draw it out and make it.

I would be fine using a Suitcase. I thought, Miller said it would not work 100% because the Bobcat does not have some arc thing.

From Miller.

If you are planning on connecting this Feeder or MIG Welder to the output of your Bobcat 250 you options are limited considering you list of options. The Bobcat 250 does not have a 14 pin remote connection so none of the feeders listed can be used. The Bobcat 250 does not have ArcReach either so you would be purchasing a feeder you would not be able to use the ArcReach on.

Use the Miller xtreme 12vs. Adjust as needed at the welder end, then weld away. Arc reach is a new fancy thing that isn't needed for most people.

But the qualifying question asked is a good one. You're buying awfully big stuff without a reason it seems?

Not judging you, I like big stuff too. But I have a shop to use it in.

I also own more spares than a sane person would normally have, but they get rotated out occasionally

[cj737]

You can also consider the 8vs Suitcase:
https://www.weldingsuppliesfromioc.com/ ... old-951582

Its very much like the 12vs in features, lower amperage limits and lighter duty cycle. But still plenty capable for most folks. And it too, should easily run off your Bobcat.

[Bill Beauregard]

I weld stuff when I see it. You know what I mean? I get an idea, draw it out and make it.

I would be fine using a Suitcase. I thought, Miller said it would not work 100% because the Bobcat does not have some arc thing.

From Miller.

If you are planning on connecting this Feeder or MIG Welder to the output of your Bobcat 250 you options are limited considering you list of options. The Bobcat 250 does not have a 14 pin remote connection so none of the feeders listed can be used. The Bobcat 250 does not have ArcReach either so you would be purchasing a feeder you would not be able to use the ArcReach on.

Use the Miller xtreme 12vs. Adjust as needed at the welder end, then weld away. Arc reach is a new fancy thing that isn't needed for most people.

But the qualifying question asked is a good one. You're buying awfully big stuff without a reason it seems?

Not judging you, I like big stuff too. But I have a shop to use it in.

I also own more spares than a sane person would normally have, but they get rotated out occasionally

Dave;

Like me, you are mentally ill. You have a need for tools you only vaguely imagine you'll ever use. Psychiatrists can fix people like us, but after paying the psychiatrist, you'll wonder if the tools weren't cheaper.

I am equipped for projects I will never live long enough to realize. So what? It gives me a fulfilment. I'm never more alive than when I try to resolve a challenge.

If the OP wants a great welder, I support his search. Personally I don't agree that a Bobcat is an alternative to plug in power. It was meant for a different need.

Willie

[MinnesotaDave]

Dave;

Like me, you are mentally ill. You have a need for tools you only vaguely imagine you'll ever use. Psychiatrists can fix people like us, but after paying the psychiatrist, you'll wonder if the tools weren't cheaper.

I am equipped for projects I will never live long enough to realize. So what? It gives me a fulfilment. I'm never more alive than when I try to resolve a challenge.

If the OP wants a great welder, I support his search. Personally I don't agree that a Bobcat is an alternative to plug in power. It was meant for a different need.

Willie

I don't have a problem, I can quit anytime I want... The old Idealarc 250 I bought Tuesday is only to see if I like it better than my Dialarc. See, it's just an experiment so it doesn't count

Like I said, I don't judge him If I did, pot and kettle ring a bell

Psychiatrists better not fix me, who would use all my tools??

[Glowzinski]

HAH! Well, it’s Bobcat power or I have to find a place to bring all my stuff.

[Anarchy61187]

I weld stuff when I see it. You know what I mean? I get an idea, draw it out and make it.

I would be fine using a Suitcase. I thought, Miller said it would not work 100% because the Bobcat does not have some arc thing.

From Miller.

If you are planning on connecting this Feeder or MIG Welder to the output of your Bobcat 250 you options are limited considering you list of options. The Bobcat 250 does not have a 14 pin remote connection so none of the feeders listed can be used. The Bobcat 250 does not have ArcReach either so you would be purchasing a feeder you would not be able to use the ArcReach on.

The only thing arc reach is for is so you don't have to walk back to the power source to adjust your volts/amps. If your only 20 feet away it's an unnecessary luxury, if you was to be doing something 30 feet in the air away from the bobcat then you would probably want it.
If your just working from your shed and trying to have all this equipment packed in there than is likely you are out of room. Get a suit case feeder, smaller foot print and will do what you want from a mm252.

[Franz©]

https://www.ssccontrols.com/tig-cross-reference-guide/ probably has or will make a translator cord to go from the suitcase to the Bobcat. It becomes very easy since you have AC power available from the shed to drive any 120 volt AC suitcase and won't need that from the Bobcat.
Bobcat will provide welding power to near any suitcase, the problem comes into play when the Bobcat trys to provide both welding power and drive power.

ITW's beloved multipin plug & play connectors are only plug & play when you buy everything ITW thinks they can sell you.
Remember, ITW makes & sells welding equipment. They don't solve problems, that is against the ITW 80/20 Policy, and ITW Techs only know what their screen says. The problem solvers got retired in 2011.

[Glowzinski]

The stuff you guy have said about the volts, amps and other stuff, it is really interesting. I’ve not a clue what any of it means. Any recommendations on a book that could explain it?

[Franz©]

Lets come at this from a different angle.

A suitcase doesn't care what power source is providing the welding current (electrons) to the big heavy cable coming out of the suitcase. The suitcase can be powered by a transformer machine, an inverter machine, a generator or even a battery and it will still weld provided the current is sufficient.

A suitcase is in great degree a giant spool gun, nothing more and nothing less.

Just like the spoolgun, the suitcase needs welding power and it needs power to open the gas valve and turn the wire drive.
The suitcase and the power source are independent of each other, and if you ain't paying for the wire, you can sit there and run it through the gun all day without welding. Many suitcases run on 120 volt AC coming from a convenient plug on the wall. Many suitcases run a hundred feet or more from the power source providing the welding current. The whole purpose of a suitcase was portability, and a 100 pound suitcase was a lot easier to hang from a davit than a 800 pound MIG welder was.
Suitcases were a key element of replacing weldors with welding machine operators!
Most people running suitcase feeders in industry and on construction sites are brain maximnized adjusting the wire speed and pulling the trigger, and teaching them to toggle the purge switch may be too much to ask.

Since ONLY welding current from the power source needs to come from the machine to the suitcase, it's a walk in the park. It'e even easy with a Bobcat as long as the Bobcat interface human who pulls the trigger on the gun at the suitcase 3 floors up leaves the Bobcat running at speed. I can and will guarantee you though, the trigger puller is not smart enough to do that.

Marrying a suitcase to an engine driven machine presents a chalenge, since the operator won't run the engine drive at speed when he can waste 2 hours a day calling in from the phone that is DEFINITELY smarter than he is.

Why does ITW put a 19 pin Canon plug on Bobcats, Trailblazers and other machines?
Because those plugs are HUGE moneymakers.
Why does ITW reconfigure the pins on the 19 pin plug at different points of production of the same machine?
So they can sell more crap.

In the world of digital electronics, only 2 wires need go to the machine from the suitcase, but that cuts ITW profits.
ITW definitely doesn't want you connecting a 2005 suitcase to a 2018 Bobcat or Trailblazer, they want to sell a new suitcase to run off the new machine. Given the crap ITW has built since taking Miller over, you probably need a new suitcase anyhow because ITW cut parts off for the one you've used for 10 years.

Bottom line, you need 2 control wires from a suitcase to the engine driven machine. Those wires trip the solonoid that puts the machine into high speed to deliver welding current. If you need to remotely adjust current, you need 3 more wires. That is a long way from 19.

Now, feel free to tell me I'm wrong based on what the idiot sitting at a screen calling him/herself a ITW Tech says.
Remember, the Tech is only there till he/she can find a damn fool to pay his/her student loans, and only knows what the screen says.

Ask the "Tech" how to connect a Cobramatic push/pull system to a Trailblazer and make it work with pre and postflow on the Argon valve while you have him/her on the phone.

[cj737]

The stuff you guy have said about the volts, amps and other stuff, it is really interesting. I’ve not a clue what any of it means. Any recommendations on a book that could explain it?

https://science.howstuffworks.com/envir ... ion501.htm

[cj737]

Here's a shortcut to the 12vs manual showing how you would connect the suitcase to your Bobcat. The 14-pin connector on the Suitcase goes to the MIG gun, NOT the welder. The MIG gun comes with the Suitcase.
https://www.millerwelds.com/files/owner ... 8L_MIL.pdf


Your Bobcat, if its even recently built, is more than capable of powering a Suitcase. I'm not sure what the Miller Tech was thinking or what flavor of coffee he had been drinking, but whether its the Suitcase or a MillerMatic MIG, your Bobcat will serve 240v to run them all.

Now, if you are in the middle of a weld, and someone else uses a grinder plugged into your Bobcat (using the Bobcat as a power source for 120v) you might experience a small blip in your arc while the generator side of your Bobcat cycles up the secondary power feed. You might. You definitely will if you were using the Bobcat to Stick weld, and someone plugged another portable welder into the 240v plug and powered their welder. Double "welding" off a Bobcat will result in power drops at arc starts (either side). But that is likely to be a non-issue for you.

Grab the 8vs from the web link I gave you, or the 12vs and a bottle of 75/25 and MIG weld your balls off

[MinnesotaDave]

The stuff you guy have said about the volts, amps and other stuff, it is really interesting. I’ve not a clue what any of it means. Any recommendations on a book that could explain it?

Hooking up a voltage sensing feeder is super simple.

Note, the weld cables actually provide the power to run it.

If running self-shielded flux core, the gas line is omitted.

Screenshot_2018-04-22-08-12-51.png (108.41 KiB) Viewed 2395 times

[Glowzinski]

Total mind blow. haha

I am printing out the manual. I will read the stuff on the site.

Good times.