Yes indeed. I have done this with a flux core wire feed welder...one of those Chicago Pnuematic machines that uses 120vac. On wire welding, you use DC negative electrode, positive ground. I installed a 200a rectifier in mine. The difference it makes is amazing! I'm not a professional welder, just a retired process engineer who still experiments with fabrication equipment.
As a word of caution when using high voltage connections you should use crimped lugs in stead of solder. If they solder gets hot the connection can fail.
Electrical Diagram Please !!! Thank you for the instructional video, much appreciated. I am looking to convert an old Miller Generator/welder that only does AC into a AC/DC welder. This helps inspire me to continue this project. By the way I hope you used connectors that were rated for the current they will be exposed to. You can get crimp connectors rated for different current ratings, they are made from different metals and are different thicknesses. I already did something similar to my Harbor freight flux core mig welder. I used a rectifier in it to make it perfect portable off-road welder.
Hi! Thanks for watching the video. I'm happy to inspire your project. The connectors to each diode rectifier have to hold a fair split low current, the joints however might get hot. The cable of the secondary coil is made of aluminium so I had to wrap-soldier the copper wires around them. The schematic is pretty simple, parallel between all the diodes bridges, then from the bridges the AC parallel pins go to the secondary coil of the welder and DC go to the welding wires, according with the polarity you want to use the welder with. If you need more info please write me an email.
Referring to the original connection between the secondary coil and the output cables? I thought the same thing when I opened it but then I figured that the crimps all together with the cables, makes a bigger surface, the resistance should be lower and there's no way the crimps could open, they were really tough when I tried to bend them, I had a hard time and had to cut them twice
I have a question, does the terminal, and thin cable serve to equalize the current in case the diode at higher temperature decreases its threshold voltage? . Another query do diodes work cold? Sorry for my bad English, very interesting your video, thanks for sharing.
Hi! Actually no, I haven't even considered that, I must be honest. I read up on it and if I got it right, the junction voltage decreases slightly while temperature increases as you wrote. Would be interesting to measure the output voltage and current while using the welder after some time. How "cold" you mean the diodes to be? According to what I read, like any semiconductor, the colder it gets, the less resistance it's gonna have thus the better it will work.
@@dudemakesstuff Hello thanks you for taking your time and answering me. When I asked if it works cold, I meant that it works far from its junction temperature, which is a maximum of 125 degrees Celsius. (data sheet). I once observed several burnt diodes in a converter, and this was due to the fact that when using diodes from different batches tje diodes are not the same, and, the current is not distributed equally between the diodes, and the diode through which the most current circulated was the diode with the most power dissipated, lowering its threshold voltage and at the same time, causing greater current circulation, and even higher temperatures, and more current, temp, current, etc. Remembering this, I surgery my previous doubt. According to what I was able to read today, your system should not have problems since the capacity for normal use is oversized, although not so much for the case of a short circuit, which is when the electrode gets stuck. And above all because of the current imbalance, greatly reducing its effect (according to an ST application note) since all the rectifiers share the same heatsink. In practice, I really like your design, that's why I try to imitate you and I wanted to clear my doubts, since I have the opportunity to contemplate your experience and use it as a base. The behavior depends on the type of semiconductor if it is majority or minority carriers, but you have a good point. Thanks for helping.
Yes indeed. I have done this with a flux core wire feed welder...one of those Chicago Pnuematic machines that uses 120vac. On wire welding, you use DC negative electrode, positive ground. I installed a 200a rectifier in mine.
The difference it makes is amazing!
I'm not a professional welder, just a retired process engineer who still experiments with fabrication equipment.
هل تلحم الالمنيوم ❤❤
As a word of caution when using high voltage connections you should use crimped lugs in stead of solder. If they solder gets hot the connection can fail.
Electrical Diagram Please !!!
Thank you for the instructional video, much appreciated. I am looking to convert an old Miller Generator/welder that only does AC into a AC/DC welder. This helps inspire me to continue this project. By the way I hope you used connectors that were rated for the current they will be exposed to. You can get crimp connectors rated for different current ratings, they are made from different metals and are different thicknesses.
I already did something similar to my Harbor freight flux core mig welder. I used a rectifier in it to make it perfect portable off-road welder.
Hi! Thanks for watching the video.
I'm happy to inspire your project.
The connectors to each diode rectifier have to hold a fair split low current, the joints however might get hot. The cable of the secondary coil is made of aluminium so I had to wrap-soldier the copper wires around them.
The schematic is pretty simple, parallel between all the diodes bridges, then from the bridges the AC parallel pins go to the secondary coil of the welder and DC go to the welding wires, according with the polarity you want to use the welder with.
If you need more info please write me an email.
I would not trust crimp on connectors. I would solder them
Referring to the original connection between the secondary coil and the output cables?
I thought the same thing when I opened it but then I figured that the crimps all together with the cables, makes a bigger surface, the resistance should be lower and there's no way the crimps could open, they were really tough when I tried to bend them, I had a hard time and had to cut them twice
I have a question, does the terminal, and thin cable serve to equalize the current in case the diode at higher temperature decreases its threshold voltage? . Another query do diodes work cold? Sorry for my bad English, very interesting your video, thanks for sharing.
Hi! Actually no, I haven't even considered that, I must be honest. I read up on it and if I got it right, the junction voltage decreases slightly while temperature increases as you wrote. Would be interesting to measure the output voltage and current while using the welder after some time. How "cold" you mean the diodes to be? According to what I read, like any semiconductor, the colder it gets, the less resistance it's gonna have thus the better it will work.
@@dudemakesstuff Hello thanks you for taking your time and answering me. When I asked if it works cold, I meant that it works far from its junction temperature, which is a maximum of 125 degrees Celsius. (data sheet). I once observed several burnt diodes in a converter, and this was due to the fact that when using diodes from different batches tje diodes are not the same, and, the current is not distributed equally between the diodes, and the diode through which the most current circulated was the diode with the most power dissipated, lowering its threshold voltage and at the same time, causing greater current circulation, and even higher temperatures, and more current, temp, current, etc. Remembering this, I surgery my previous doubt. According to what I was able to read today, your system should not have problems since the capacity for normal use is oversized, although not so much for the case of a short circuit, which is when the electrode gets stuck. And above all because of the current imbalance, greatly reducing its effect (according to an ST application note) since all the rectifiers share the same heatsink. In practice, I really like your design, that's why I try to imitate you and I wanted to clear my doubts, since I have the opportunity to contemplate your experience and use it as a base. The behavior depends on the type of semiconductor if it is majority or minority carriers, but you have a good point. Thanks for helping.